1st. time trip with autistic child

[magic kingdom park]

WE ARE PLANNING OUR FIRST TRIP TO DISNEY IN THE FIRST PART OF OCTOBER, WE HAVE A SIX YEAR OLD SON WITH PDDNOS ,SOMEWHERE ON THE MILD AUTISM SPECTRUM , I WAS WANTING TO KNOW IF THIS IS A LESS CROWDED TIME OF YEAR TO GO AND ABOUT WAITING IN THE LINES, HE DOESN'T TOLERATE THE WORD WAIT IN ANY SITUATION FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, AND WHAT ABOUT STAYING OFF SITE ?

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES.

You have picked a good time to go. October is not a busy time. We have been there in September (also not a busy time) and found that many rides didn't have a line at all. There is another post right now about taking children with autism to WDW. I hope it's helpful to you.
On-site or off site both have advantages. Many people find the off-site paces to be less expensive and if you have a car, it's not that difficult to get back and forth. If you will have to rely on shuttle buses, find out how often they run. Some of the off-site places have very infrequent shuttle buses. Make sure you know how far away the palce is if you will be off-site. The first time we stayed in Orlando (like 17 years ago), we got a hotel that said "minutes to WDW". That was true, but we expected that to mean a few minutes, not more than 30 minutes.
On-site gives you free parking (otherwise $6 a day) and WDW transportation. A lot of people like that because they can go to the parks for part of the day, go back to the hotel to swim and then head back to the parks. In October, the parks won't be open late at night though, so going back may not work out as well as during the summer when the hours are later.

PS. You might want to turn your caps lock off if possible. It's a little harder to read and on internet discussion boards, it's considered to be sort of the equivalent of shouting.

 

[magic kingdom park]

Sorry about the caps, wasn't thinking I guess. When you say the parks are not open late, about what time do they close, and do they still have the night fireworks and shows?

 

[Crazy Kanga]

Hi Magic Kingdom Park! I have an 8 year old mild/moderate autistic son and we have been twice. I highly recommend staying on site if possible and preferably on the monorail(GF,Poly,Contemp) as it will make life much easier for quick trips back to the pool or room for a rest. I would imagine that crowds might be a little heavier this year in Oct. due to the Fairy Tale package deal, but still better than traditional school break times. Also make sure to go to guest relations and get a Guest Assistance Card, it will help with line waits, the CM at guest relations will explain how to use it. I would take a letter from your doctor just in case they ask for it. Have fun.

 

[tebright]

I have an 11 year old PDD son and this December will be our second trip to DW. We do lots of other day trips and weekend trips with him so he is very used to traveling. Our issue is a quick exit if we need it.

We prefer to take our car everyday to the parks because we cannot always guarantee that he won't have a melt down. If he has one of them I wouldn't want everyone on the monorail or bus to be exposed to it...lol. He's a great kid though.

On our first trip I was not prepared for the noise level which I will be this time. Most of the shows are very loud so make sure you bring earplugs if he is sensitive to noise. We got a Guest assistance pass for our family if we needed it. This allowed us to wait in a different que and normally were able to get on the ride earlier. We went in early May last time and the lines were small so we didn't need to use it that often. This year we are going the first week in December so hopefully it will be the same.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[SueM in MN]

When you say the parks are not open late, about what time do they close, and do they still have the night fireworks and shows?

You can check the DIS site (www.wdwinfo.com) for closing times when you get closer to the date. Normally, all the parks are open later in the summer - partly to accomidate crowds and partly because it is light later at night. Epcot is always open until 9pm and they always have Illuminations, but the night parade and fireworks at MK might only be shown on Friday and Saturday nights during non-busy times. So you will want to check the schedule before you make your plans. During non-busy times, MK might close at 8, along with the Studio and AK usually closes at dusk - maybe 5pm during the winter months.
Here's a
site with a lot of good info about touring WDW with someone with autism. It has a good explanation of the Guest Assistance Card.

 

[Poohnatic]

Hi. I'm the mom of a 7yo DS with Asperger's Syndrome. We travel to WDW every 8 months or so and find that it's best to stay on site with a car. The first few trips (our 5th in just over 2 years is 9/28 through 10/4) we used Disney transport nearly exclusively. We've found that having our car at the ready helps out when we have meltdown issues.

We try to follow my son's lead in most cases and look for the signs that a storm is brewing. He's afraid to try new things, but once he does, we can't get him to stop doing the new thing!

A pool is a must for us. We get a lot of mileage out of a couple of pool mornings, or if we take a dip before bed.

We keep a refrigerated cooler in our room with favorite foods in it. We have other issues (severe allergies to food dyes) that keep us on the watch for what goes in my son's mouth. We stock the cooler with his favorite yogurts, fruit, cheese, wine (for mom and dad) and some sandwich meats. It helps out when he's having a 'I don't want to try anything new" day. He also barely sleeps, so if he wakes at 6 am and we're sleeping, he can get a yogurt out and not pester us to take him for breakfast!

We also use the park strollers, although you may want to bring your own. The helpful thing about the park strollers is that they are covered and 'enclose' your child on three sides...it cuts out that excess stimuli. My son isn't a big hat fan, but at WDW he wears a baseball cap almost constantly. Look at ways you can help him cut out all the stimuli that bother him...each of our kids is different. My son has issues with toilet flushing and hand clapping, but most other things don't seem to bother him.

There's a link on here somewhere about the Guest Assistance Card, GAC for short. It will help on those occasions that you encounter lines and other situations that your son may react poorly in.

Get a Birnbaum guide and start researching. Involve your son. Including him in the planning will help things go smoothly once you arrive. We have the park planning videos (and DVD) and those bring the park to your child and give him an idea of what's in store.

If you have meltdowns occur, it's helpful to find a nice out of the way nook (they are plentiful--trust me) to get your child calmed down. We have found quite a few areas to do this over time.

Feel free to ask away here on the boards. We're here to help!

Suzanne

 

[SueM in MN]

There's a link on here somewhere about the Guest Assistance Card, GAC for short. It will help on those occasions that you encounter lines and other situations that your son may react poorly in.

There is a link to another website that has a good summary of the GAC in the post I made right before Poohnatic's.

 

[s&k'smom]

Hi and welcome. first you will have a great time. October is a great month to do. I absolutely agree with all of the above as we used many of those tips ourselves last October. We mailed down a package of DS's favorite foods (he won't eat in restaurants) and brought a stroller for him. Even though he was six he is skinny enough to fit in an umbrella stroller. You may want to think of that too. Get PS's for every restaurant even if you don't use them as that too will cut down (hopefully) on any waiting time. Swim every afternoon and really just follow his lead that's exactly what we did. We found too that as the week went by it got easier and we didn't do any very late nights as all the walking and swimming exhausted both the kids and they just wanted to go to sleep at night. Keep an eye on these boards as you will get lots of help. Oh when make your ressie if you need any special help (for us we had to have a first floor room, no elevators) let them know. They can't promise anything but CRO has never let me down yet.

 

[Amaris]

Here is another suggestion. If your child responds well to visuals, or social stories, try using those in advance. Our biggest issue with our daughter is transitions... so if we prepare her well for everything, she makes us glad we did, ha ha! We talk about lines, waiting, show her pictures of "waiting," and we bring plenty of things for her to do while she waits, including snacks to eat . You can prepare for EVERYTHING but the more prepared you are, the easier it will be.

Our best trips have been ON property where the hotel is a hop, skip, and jump away. Makes it great for needed breaks.

Also, we always leave both of our kids in the kids clubs and the CM's have always done very well with them Our kids are both HF autism.

 

[ChrisMN]

Hello, this is my first post here.

My wife and I are thinking about taking our nearly 5 year old son to Disneyworld in September. He has PDD, on the milder end of the autistic scale. We plan on getting him a GAC to help the trip go a little smoother, as he doesn't handle waiting very well at all.

My biggest concern about taking him this year to WDW is that he is not yet potty trained. We started to train him last week (after a six month hiatus), but I doubt he'll be completely independent of his diaper by September. I fear that with the commotion of being in a theme park, he won't feel comfortable doing his duty. If anyone has any tips for dealing with a non-potty trained autistic child at WDW, I'd like to hear them!

My other concern is transportation; mainly flying in an airplane for three hours, and then getting him around the parks without him getting tired. Should I bring a stroller for him or should we rent strollers at the parks? I have a jogging stroller that I'd prefer to bring along since I know it fits him. The stroller collapses easily, but are these allowed on airplanes? Also, should I be worried about having the stroller stolen while at the parks?

Any tips or info will help, thank you!!

-Chris

 

[Amaris]

Sorry I can't help on the potty training but with our kids we use a dvd movie on the airplane which helps. If you have a laptop you can bring a dvd... someone mentioned on another thread that some airports you can rent players which is a neat idea. Also I would highly recommend a stroller. I have never had one stolen.. as far as bringing your own or renting, renting would be easier but bringing your own would be more comfortable plus you can take it everywhere.. but do you want to carry it from place to place ( fold it on busses, etc) You just have to weigh which would be better for your family.

When mine were 4 and 5 we would have never survived without a stroller. I am worried this time as they are 6 and 8 but I still don't think they can stay with us walking... we are going to try as they are too big for a stroller now, YIKES!

 

[sadeeyore]

Hi
Our first trip to Disney was end Sept 2001. DS has autism was aged 5. We returned to Disney Aug 2002. We stay off site in a villa. DS is a fussy eater - So a freezer for large supply of croissants is a must and access to Mcdonalds style chips/frys.

GAC are great and the CM are really helpfull.

Flight from UK is nine hours we usually bring a gameboy and lots of gameboy games. Although a laptop with dvd player is a great idea (something to consider for next time)

When we potty trained my DS we used macaton signs and Pecs to help him. He has no hearing problems but we found that with signs he was able to let us know that he wanted the toilet when we were out as he couldn't talk much at the time. Sometimes using signs seems to help.

Have a great holiday
Helen

 

[s&k'smom]

Hi, definately a stroller. My DS was skinny enough that one of those umbrella strollers you can pick up at Walmart for $10 worked great. As for the toilet training the funniest thing happened with my DS we were plodding along trying to get him to do #2 on the toilet with no luck. We went to the Cape for the weekend and he really had to go. So I said to him in the hotel room as he was about to go "get on the toilet" he did. He thought it was so cool to go potty in a hotel. From there no problems!

 

[lalapodip]

Hi, Chris - good luck with the potty training. My son was about five when he was trained during the DAY only. He is 8 now and still wears pullups at night (and when he needs to do his "duty") but wears underwear throughout the day and reliably urinates in the toilet. You have lots of time!!

We will rent a stroller or wheelchair for our son on our upcoming trip - it is a necessity and part of my budget. No one ever "took" our stroller or wheelchair last year, but I was still a little nervous about leaving it, so I don't know if I'd bring my own or not. If your son loves his own stroller, then I would bring it. Let us know how you are coming along!

 

[leise]

We went in Jan 2003 with my 2 ds, 18months and 4 yrs old, the older one has ASD. We had a fantastic time, staying in All Star Movies, on site, and I have to say staying on site made the holiday for my son. The things he loved the most were the Disney buses to the parks, the monorail, the WDWtour TV channel on the TV in our room, which he learnt by heart and still recites 6 months later, the parades and the hotel pool. It made it so much easier being on site because we could really let him set the pace and come and go between the parks as we pleased. We built up our time in the parks slowly, from a few hours to all day by the end of our two weeks. He really loved it all, the whole disney experience, and his language came on so much. He still keeps asking to go to Disney now some mornings instead of going to school, which is a tough one as we live in the UK!
Also make sure you get a Guest Assistance Card. We got ours from the Guest Services in the Magic Kingdom, we just said Luke was autistic, and they were very helpful. It allowed us to use the fast pass queue, or disabled entrance to a ride, if there was a queue, because Luke doesn't do queues at all. We hardly used it though because being on site we could get into the parks early, and then the queues were non-existent. One Sunday morning we were in the Magic Kingdom at 8am as on-site guests, and we had done every single ride in Fantasyland at least twice with no queues before 9am when the park opened.
Can't wait to come back!

 

[lalapodip]

And welcome! Thank you for posting - it is always great to hear someone else's experience with an autistic child at WDW. I laughed to myself when I read how your son memorized the WDW channel while you were there - I was SO sick of "it's a zippity-do-dah-tip-for-the-day" by the end of our trip last year!! Dennis would hide the remote from us so we "couldn't" change the channel....

Glad to hear your trip was so successful and I hope that you get to visit again SOON!!

 

[ChrisMN]

Thanks all for the helpful posts. I feel better now about bringing our son to the parks at his age. We booked our vacation for September, and now we're REALLY excited! Our son keeps asking us for disneyworld, although he's never been there or really seen good pictures of the park We're eagerly waiting the disney planning video in the mail (been over two weeks now).


-Chris

 

[storylover]

Hi, I’m new but saw this thread and thought I’d share our experience. Several years back we took our sensory-impaired son at 7 years and had a great time. At the recommendation of his therapist, we brought a wheelchair because he wouldn’t have tolerated the long lines. He always had his own space; and it also kept people distanced from him if he needed it. We stayed offsite and had no problems. We went early in the morning, took midday breaks back to the hotel for swim/snooze and then went back to the parks in mid-late afternoon til closing. I read as much as I could about the rides so we knew what he could tolerate and couldn’t. The swap off worked really well as our other son wanted to try all he rides. We looked and were pleasantly surprised to find many quiet spaces; our favorite was the rose gardens at the end of Main Street. My son’s favorite ride was the car ride, nice and slow and steady. He loved it so much that the Disney attendant gave him 4 rides in a row.

 

[Nik's Mom]

We just returned from WDW with our sons (one is autistic). We used the GAC pass only once on Buzz Lightyear. My son ended up getting a stomach virus the first day and spent the first day in bed with a fever and vomiting. By the 2nd day in the afternoon, he was better and wanted to get to Magic Kingdom. Since he was still a little weak, I got the GAC to use his stroller as a wheel chair and we were able to take the stroller through the Buzz line. It was great. The CM's were very understanding.
We paid close attention for any signs that he was getting over-stimulated. If he looked like it was too much, we went back to the hotel and lounged in the pool. Our son had a great time!