I am new here and have been avidly reading over the sticky's & threads. Wish I had found this board months ago!
We will be taking our first trip to WDW next week. Our party will be: myself, dh, 13yo ds, 10yo dd, 6yo SN dd, FIL, MIL & BIL w/SN. We are staying at the cabins at Fort Wilderness resort.
My questions regarding GAC are that I'm not quite sure what to ask for since I'm not sure what to expect. For my daughter, she has Kabuki Syndrome (similar to Down Syndrome). She just learned to walk about a year ago and still tires easily. We rented a special needs stroller (Otto Bock Eco Buggy through CARE Medical) because I know she won't be able to walk all day at the parks. She can probably stand to wait in line for 15-20 minutes before melting down. She totally does not grasp the concept of "wait your turn." She enjoys mild rides (nothing jerky, no roller coasters). Should we expect most lines to be longer than 15-20 minutes this time of year? It is my understanding that some rides would allow us to wait in a separate waiting area with a GAC. Is this a quieter area? Maybe someplace where we can sit and read to her or play with her to distract her while we wait? She has sensory issues and sudden loud noises are a problem. Any attractions we should avoid? Moving walkways will also probably be scary for her. Are these usually pretty short? If so, we can hold her while on them. Or can we keep her in the stroller? What about taking the stroller on the buses/boats? Is it feasible to plan to take her back to the resort sometimes during the day or does it take too long to transfer back to the resort and then back to the parks? We will have 6 full days in the parks and are planning 2 days in MK, 2 in Epcot, 1 in AK and one in HS. We are also planning for my 13yo & 10yo to have some time riding the "fun" rides that they love, so I'm sure we will split up sometimes. I would love to hear from others who travel with both typical children and special needs children and how you work things so that everyone has a great time. We planned our trip through a vacation planner and she made up touring plans for us each day, so hopefully that will help too.
Do we need to go to guest assistance (or whatever it is called) and get a GAC each day, or do we just do it once at the first park we visit.
For my brother-in-law, he is 37yo and functions on about a 3yo level. He is pretty patient to wait in line, as long as it is not too long (more than an hour.) I think the moving walkways will be his biggest issues. He has major proprioceptive & vestibular issues. Can we find out in advance which rides have the moving walkways so that we can avoid them.
Our only other "issue" is that my 10yo is gluten-free, but from reading the threads, this should be the best vacation she has ever had food-wise. For our advance dining reservations, we have already noted that she is gluten-free.
Anything that I am not thinking about that we should know?
I am so very excited! Our kids still don't have a clue that we are going. They think we are going to Missouri. LOL!
We will be taking our first trip to WDW next week. Our party will be: myself, dh, 13yo ds, 10yo dd, 6yo SN dd, FIL, MIL & BIL w/SN. We are staying at the cabins at Fort Wilderness resort.
My questions regarding GAC are that I'm not quite sure what to ask for since I'm not sure what to expect. For my daughter, she has Kabuki Syndrome (similar to Down Syndrome). She just learned to walk about a year ago and still tires easily. We rented a special needs stroller (Otto Bock Eco Buggy through CARE Medical) because I know she won't be able to walk all day at the parks. She can probably stand to wait in line for 15-20 minutes before melting down. She totally does not grasp the concept of "wait your turn." She enjoys mild rides (nothing jerky, no roller coasters). Should we expect most lines to be longer than 15-20 minutes this time of year? It is my understanding that some rides would allow us to wait in a separate waiting area with a GAC. Is this a quieter area? Maybe someplace where we can sit and read to her or play with her to distract her while we wait? She has sensory issues and sudden loud noises are a problem. Any attractions we should avoid? Moving walkways will also probably be scary for her. Are these usually pretty short? If so, we can hold her while on them. Or can we keep her in the stroller? What about taking the stroller on the buses/boats? Is it feasible to plan to take her back to the resort sometimes during the day or does it take too long to transfer back to the resort and then back to the parks? We will have 6 full days in the parks and are planning 2 days in MK, 2 in Epcot, 1 in AK and one in HS. We are also planning for my 13yo & 10yo to have some time riding the "fun" rides that they love, so I'm sure we will split up sometimes. I would love to hear from others who travel with both typical children and special needs children and how you work things so that everyone has a great time. We planned our trip through a vacation planner and she made up touring plans for us each day, so hopefully that will help too.
Do we need to go to guest assistance (or whatever it is called) and get a GAC each day, or do we just do it once at the first park we visit.
For my brother-in-law, he is 37yo and functions on about a 3yo level. He is pretty patient to wait in line, as long as it is not too long (more than an hour.) I think the moving walkways will be his biggest issues. He has major proprioceptive & vestibular issues. Can we find out in advance which rides have the moving walkways so that we can avoid them.
Our only other "issue" is that my 10yo is gluten-free, but from reading the threads, this should be the best vacation she has ever had food-wise. For our advance dining reservations, we have already noted that she is gluten-free.
Anything that I am not thinking about that we should know?
I am so very excited! Our kids still don't have a clue that we are going. They think we are going to Missouri. LOL!