Disney and an autistic 4 year old

[Loudymommyof2]

Hi. We are traveling in late May to DisneyWorld with my 4 year old son who is mildly autistic. He was diagnosed in November 2008 and attends a special needs preschool to help him with attention span, OT/PT issues, and conversational speech. To the naked eye the average person would think that he is just like any "normal" (whatever normal means LOL) preschooler. On allears.net they suggested that obtaining a GAC is ideal for people traveling with a child with autism. My husband and I are struggling with this. I feel that it might be a good idea b/c our son's attention span is zero and waiting in line takes a toll on him. Also he tends to meltdown if he is at the end of his waiting time - thus we get stares, whispers, etc. My husband doesn't want to get it b/c he says he will feel bad using the pass while there are other people who have a stronger need for it. Can anyone give me any advice? Also we're both worried that if we do get it and use it, people will make nasty comments to us and we'll have to defend ourselves as to why we need it. Any thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!

 

[Nik's Mom]

I hear you. We felt that way before. We have 2 autistic children, both high functioning. We always got the GAC, but only used it one time up until this trip. Finally, on our trip last week, we ended up using it a lot. Without the GAC, there was no way that our youngest son would have been able to ride anything. He is having a lot of problems with dealing with crowds, especially in tight spaces. And he can't tolerate a lot of noise. So we did use the GAC a lot.

I would say to get the gac and use it if it is necessary. If you don't need it, then you don't have to use it. But at least have it available to you.

Also, keep in mind that the Gac doesn't always mean front of the line access. You child may still have to wait. Be real specific when addressing your son's needs to the cm and they will assign the proper GAC to you. In our case, we still had to wait in the regular line for certain rides. In that case, we were sure to hit those rides first thing in the morning.

Remember that the GAC is there to assist your sons special needs. You are not taking advantage. Your child does have a disability.

Good luck to you.

Sue, I hope I"m not saying anything that isn't allowed on the boards. Please feel free to edit my post if necessary.
Thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

If you have not already looked, check out post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. It is all about Guest Assistance Cards (GACs).

Also, keep in mind that a good touring plan (or at least knowing which attractions are busy when) is going to potentially me much more helpful than a GAC. The GAC will help only with attractions. If you are in a busy park, it will be congested and busy everywhereyou go. A touring plan will help you be where it is not busy. We just got back and for example, Spaceship Earth at Epcot had a long line with over an hour wait in the morning. We came back in the afternoon and it was basically walk right on.
Fastpasses are also your friend. You can send one member of your group to get Fastpasses for the whole group. When your time comes you all return to the attraction and will have a short wait - usually less than 10 minutes.

 

[bookwormde]

Welcome,

You will find a lot of information on this section on issues directly related to children (and adults) on the spectrum and enjoying WDW. It takes a little digging back through the threads but it is well worth it.


I always get a GAC for my DS9 aspergers, while we only use it rarely it is very helpful when needed. What it generally does is give you an alternate waiting area or uncrowned access point for the ride or attraction. It is not intended to shorten the wait so bring activities for the wait times. It in no way inconvenience or takes anyone else’s place when you use it so do not concern yourself. Virtually all of the CMs are great and really make a magical place even more special.

We also have an active community sub board where we discuss non WDW autism issues if you are interested.

Have fun planning and feel free to ask question when you do not find good information on the thread.

bookwormde

 

[makelifehappen]

I am going to have to be brutally honest here...*but in the most positive sense*

I live life with 2 children on the Spectrum (and others in the family). There are not alot of people in this world that would ever understand our needs, unless they walked a day in our shoes. I am well aware of the misunderstandings from others, as it is not a "visable disability", but this was also true within our own family.

We had to really warm up to the idea that our children had unique needs, that they were simply overwhelmed by various things that were no big deal to others, had unpredictable responses to sensory stimuli and often resulted in hard to manage behaviours and meltdowns.

It took a while to truly "accept" that this was a "disability" and stop expecting "normal" everyday happenings...as our lives are so unpredictable from moment to moment.

There is absolutely no shame in making use of the GAC for your childs needs.

To be completely honest, we never would have been able to return to Disney more than once if we didn't have this accommodation. I am sure it would have been the most miserable time and well, the GAC more than tripled our experience there.

It is the reason that WDW will get our money, year after year. They really do take care of their guests and you should not have to feel guilt for something like this. We have enough to contend with in our daily life, let your vacation be free of stress, misunderstanding and judgement.

We are an extremely active family. We go from morning 'til night if/when possible and WDW made no mistake in allowing us the freedom to enjoy ourselves when offering accommodation for our repeat visits.

We have never been made to feel uncomfortable.There has never been a question or odd glance. People just seemed more sensitive and more accommodating. We have even had accommodations made that allowed our daughter (who has anxiety) to skip a particular bit of an attraction and was placed directly onto a ride, so that we didn't get through a line-up to find that she couldn't cope and ran screaming back down the aisle in fear.

Now that is DISNEY MAGIC!

I have had one person (another guest) ask why we were entering through another door, but I just casually said our child had special needs and carried on. I was a bit annoyed at the fact that I felt pressured into divulging that sort of information, but her question wasn't malacious in the least. She just wondered if she was in the wrong line...

I say, go for it! You won't find anywhere else in the world that is this sensitive to our needs. Enjoy!

 

[Aliisa]

I felt similar to you when we went last August with my 3 year old, I got over it really quick! It is such a life saver. No one ever made any kind of comment. (Although when the Toy Story ride was 100 minutes and we got the accommodation we needed, a lady in the line was taking pictures- she thought we were celebrities LOL! ) They even gave me a sticker for my stroller so I could take it in lines- WONDERFUL!

We are going again in June and I will get it again. I don't feel guilty, he goes to pre-school all day long, then comes home for 3 hours of ABA when other kids his age or watching cartoons and playing. They work hard and deserve something special. Thank you Disney!

 

[ireland_nicole]

We have not found the GAC to allow us "walk on" access. Yes, sometimes it shortened the wait, sometimes it makes it longer. We have found using TGM to be a lot more useful, and have also adjusted when during the year we go. (Now we go in Sept.) On our last trip, we didn't use the alternate entrance accomodation at all (we did use stroller as w/c and shaded queue, since becoming overheated can trigger seizures for DD, and her meds make her more photosensitive as well.)

 

[Brightsy]

I also have a son with autism. He's high functioning but he also has apraxia and he cannot communicate very clearly (though he surely tries with all his heart). He was 3 when we first went to WDW. We got a GAC then and everytime since.
We're going in August and I am definitely getting another GAC then, too. Hopefully we won't need to use it too much. We've taken him to a nearby 6 Flags last summer (we had passes so we went a lot). His ability to wait on lines has improved a lot. He's willing to wait on longer lines because he wants front row seats on the thrill rides. His ability to wait still isn't optimal and sometimes we need to wait in a quieter area or a less crowded one. Last time we went to WDW we would not have had nearly as much fun w/out the GAC. W/ it we were able to ride pretty much everything he wanted to. we waited on some lines, and used the GAC for others when needed.
I pray someday we won't need to use it at all, but I'll always get one, just in case.
As to stares and comments, it happens once in awhile. The best thing to do is ignore it usually. Now and then I've used those situations for "edicational" purposes...it's why I usually carry a pamphlet or three about autism on my person.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Tour guide Mike is a great source to decide which is the best park to go on a given day. We subscribe every trip just for that information. Another good sourse is RideMax. It will tell you which rides to go in a particular order to minimize the wait.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I just thought of something that I thought I should mention. We were just at WDW last week. I was assured over on the theme park board that people do not stampede over to the new Toy Story ride. Well, guess what happned last week? A Stampede! I'm not the only one who experienced it last week. We were one of the first families to arrive at the turnstiles last Tuesday. Once they opened the gates, people started rushing to the rope-drop area. It was roped off still, so dh and I staked out our spot toward the front. They kept making announcements not to run when they drop the rope. Well, once the rope was dropped, people started running to TSM. There was some pushing (not real bad, but still!) DH grabbed one kid and I grabbed the other and we walked over to TSM. By the time we got there, it was a crazy long line for fp, as well as stand-by.

By the time we got off the ride, it was 9:40am. The stand-by line showed 70 min wait, and people getting out of the fp line were saying it took them 30 minutes just to get the fp. Return times were for the early afternoon. By late morning, all fp were gone.

So, I just though I'd mention this so you are prepared. My kids were very nervous in the TSM area because of the throngs of people in that small area. Once in the fp line, we still had to wait maybe 20-30 minutes. So be prepared for that. It is definitely one of the slowest fp line to be in. Once we exited the ride, we got a good hold of the kids and left that area as quickly as possible. The crowd was very heavy there.

We went on the TSM several times, and experienced the same crowd level throughout the day over our 8 day trip. I'm not trying to scare you away from the ride. I just want you to be prepared. A social story about crowds might help your child deal with the situation.

Have a great trip.

 

[punky'smom]

Our DGS is autistic and my DM is in a wheelchair so last year we got the passes. My DD,Myself and my DGS wore our Autism pride T-shirts and we didn't get any dirty looks or whispers,etc The only trouble we had was a ride in Dinoland the CM said there was no other entrance and we would have to wait in the 30 minute line. We skipped it because there was no way my DGS could take the wait and not have a meltdown.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Our DGS is autistic and my DM is in a wheelchair so last year we got the passes. My DD,Myself and my DGS wore our Autism pride T-shirts and we didn't get any dirty looks or whispers,etc The only trouble we had was a ride in Dinoland the CM said there was no other entrance and we would have to wait in the 30 minute line. We skipped it because there was no way my DGS could take the wait and not have a meltdown.

Hi Punky's Mom. If you go back, you will want to hit those types of rides first thing in the morning. We walked right on Dinosaur when the park opened last week. Everyone else is running to Everest at that time.

 

[bookwormde]

Watch out for dinosaur, I still do not think my DS has “recovered”

bookwormde

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi Punky's Mom. If you go back, you will want to hit those types of rides first thing in the morning. We walked right on Dinosaur when the park opened last week. Everyone else is running to Everest at that time.

You can also hit most of the attractions in AK late in the day - like after 3 pm with little to no wait. This us even during busy times like Spring Break. Most people arrive to that park early and start leaving by 3 pm.

 

[Nik's Mom]

You can also hit most of the attractions in AK late in the day - like after 3 pm with little to no wait. This us even during busy times like Spring Break. Most people arrive to that park early and start leaving by 3 pm.

You know, in all of our WDW trips, we've never been to AK in the late afternoon. I wondered what it would be like at that time. We will have to try that method on our next trip.

 

[Loudymommyof2]

Thanks to everyone!!! You guys are awesome. Your advice has been so great and we are going to get the GAC. Everyone's advice has really opened our eyes and led us to think about things we hadn't. I have taken some cue from each of you and will use it while we're down at the end of May. You guys ROCK!!!