Interactive activities at WDW

[Nicole Smith]

My Husband and I are planning a trip to WDW the first week of May with our sons age 13 and 11. Our 11 year old is PDD and has some motion and noise sensitivity issues. When we took our first family trip to Disney three years ago, our younger son was terrified to even enter anything that looked like a moving ride. However, he absolutely loved the Agent P thing they had at Epcot. It absorbed him completely for hours.

It looks like they still offer this at Epcot, can anyone tell me if they do? And while he has gotten much better about being able to withstand certain types of up-down motion, (he can now ride in elevators!), I would like to be prepared with activities other then the typical Disney "rides" at each of the parks. If anyone could suggest activities at each of the parks that his father or I can do with him, while the other parent takes his brother on rides, it would be very, very much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Gracie09]

They offer Agent P (at least when I was there in June). In MK they have the Wizards of something. Its a card based game where you go to different areas of the park and "play" your card to defeat the bad guys. There are multiple bad guys and everyday you can get a new pack of cards. They also have the Wilderness explorers in Animal kingdom. You go around the park and do different activities and get a stamp in your book. In Epcot they also have the kidcots and passports that you can get signed at each of the countries.

 

[HopperFan]

At Epcot you still have Agent P. We saw a couple of the activities and said we are going to have to do next time.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/agent-p-world-showcase-adventure/

At Animal Kingdom this activity is AWESOME, for any age.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/animal-kingdom/wilderness-explorers/

At Magic Kingdom you have Sorcerers or Pirate Adventures
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/pirates-adventures/
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/sorcerers/

At DHS it is more limited but he might really enjoy Launch Bay and if still open One Man's Dream.
If you think he would interact with the Jawas, bring something to trade. They like bright and shiny. We took big gold buttons and jingle bells.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/hollywood-studios/star-wars-launch-bay/
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/hollywood-studios/walt-disney-one-mans-dream/

You might also get him the Hidden Mickey book and let him hunt them down. It's a great activity for any age, fun to do as family.

 

[gap2368]

as hopper fin said soccerers is a great fun game to play at the MK

there are a few show that he might like philter magic monster inc laught floor country bear jamboree are shows he might like and then there are some very slow rides small world or the people mover ( it dose go inside space mountain and it is dark for a few minutes

also here is a link to the cognitive disabilities I know you said he did not do rides last time but he may find if he know what to expect he may what to do a slow ride ( this starts on page 20 of this)


https://wdpromedia.disney.go.com/me...bilities-services/wdw_cognitive_guide_rev.pdf

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As other PP's have mentioned, there are some GREAT interactive activities in the parks! My DS8 would much rather do them than ride the rides as well!

He LOVES the pirate adventure and Sorcerer's in MK. You can do all 5 maps in the pirate adventure (and keep the maps as souvenirs!) and you could literally play Sorcerer's all day long. We've also encountered other guests that are major Sorcerer card collectors and sometimes they will trade cards with you - it's a nice way to get to know the game and socialize along the way.

Wilderness Explorer's in AK is AWESOME! It took us 4 visits to AK to finish the book, so you really can spend a lot of time doing that.

My DS also loves the activities in Innoventions in EP (sad so much of it is closed. the piggy bank game was his favorite!)

Launch Bay was fun! Bring a few trinkets in case the Jawa's are trading. They have some video games in there as well if he is interested.

 

[NeuroCindy]

I really don't mean to be rude, but can I ask what PDD stands for, I haven't seen that abbreviation (or my brain isn't picking up on it).

 

[lanejudy]

PDD = Pervasive Development Disorder. It is the diagnosis most commonly given to children on the autism spectrum.

 

[wilkeliza]

Animal Kingdom has a new interactive walking attraction now. It goes along with the new Lion King television show and is called the Lion Guard or something like that. Not really sure how long it is suppose to be going but I believe it is in addition to the Wilderness Explorers.

 

[Nicole Smith]

Thank you everyone for all the great replies. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I did get the hidden mickey book and am looking forward to checking out all of the activities mentioned whether or not we need to!!

I know a couple folks mentioned the slow rides, like It's a Small World, which should be perfectly fine. At this point, he's gone on, and enjoyed rides at our local amusement park Kings Island. In particular, he enjoyed a ride that was the equivalent to Buzzlight, a ride through and shoot-things deal. However, he has told me that he's seen a YouTube video
of the ride and it goes "super-fast". Does any one have any advice for dealing with this? Aside from saying fine don't ride it, but that may lead to not riding anything, which is also fine. But as I said, if he would go on it, he would like it... Ah, the joys of parenting the high functioning autistic child... they can setup the security on your home network but you have to remind them to go to the bathroom...

 

[design_mom]

The Buzz Lightyear ride goes the same pace throughout (slowly). There's one section where they simulate space and jumping to hyper speed, but it's all just done with lighting effects. The ride vehicle does not change speed. I'm not sure whether that would be enough to reassure your son or not.

 

[DisneyOma]

For Buzz, go in the exit and let him see the very slow speed that the vehicles actually go - it's definitely not 'superfast' in the least. Not sure where he got that idea - perhaps he got it mixed up with Toy Story over at DS? That one whips you around on the corners, etc. Buzz is loud though, so you may want to get him some protective ear coverings.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thank you everyone for all the great replies. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I did get the hidden mickey book and am looking forward to checking out all of the activities mentioned whether or not we need to!!

I know a couple folks mentioned the slow rides, like It's a Small World, which should be perfectly fine. At this point, he's gone on, and enjoyed rides at our local amusement park Kings Island. In particular, he enjoyed a ride that was the equivalent to Buzzlight, a ride through and shoot-things deal. However, he has told me that he's seen a YouTube video
of the ride and it goes "super-fast". Does any one have any advice for dealing with this? Aside from saying fine don't ride it, but that may lead to not riding anything, which is also fine. But as I said, if he would go on it, he would like it... Ah, the joys of parenting the high functioning autistic child... they can setup the security on your home network but you have to remind them to go to the bathroom...

I bribed my DS with a toy to go on BTMRR. I knew he would like it and he just needed to try it. After that, he wanted to do Splash and Space Mountain.

As other PP's have mentioned, Buzz isn't fast at all. I think DisneyOma's idea of having him look at the speed at the exit is a good one!

 

[HopperFan]

Animal Kingdom has a new interactive walking attraction now. It goes along with the new Lion King television show and is called the Lion Guard or something like that. Not really sure how long it is suppose to be going but I believe it is in addition to the Wilderness Explorers.

"From February 7 through early April, 2016"

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...uardAdventureBeginsatDisneysAnimalKingdom0005