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- Sep 17, 2004
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We are planning on going to Disney for Spring Break with my husbands family. My little boy will have just turned 4 when we leave for the trip. He has Autism and SPD. He hates crowds, loud noises, lots of movement, smells, and heat. Unfortunately I have no decision making over when we go since this is a gift to us so I'm trying to prepare myself as best as I can but honestly I don't have much hope for this being anything but a disaster. I've been to Disney many times but not since 2004 and never with my kids. If anyone can offer tips to make the trip as easy as possible for my little guy, I'd really appreciate it. I also have a daughter who will be 5 and she loves all things Disney so we want to make it as wonderful for her and not make her miss too many things because of her brother. It's hard to balance![]()
You have received some great advice!
My son is 8 and high functioning. Please feel free to read my Trip Report, it's purple in my signature, it is a perpetual trip report as we go frequently.
My son always wears a hat to block his view of all the people.
He uses a medical stroller/wheel chair as his refuge.
We bring post it notes to put over toilet sensors.
A flash light or glow stick for if we get stuck on dark attractions.
A brush for Wilbarger Brushing Protocol.
Wears earphones to block noise, restaurants are where he has most problems.
Once he brought a pencil case of the tiniest Lego pieces. He put them together to distract himself.
He loves Coral Reef. He is just as happy watching the fish from the top level as he is watching them at window level. We usually eat right when the restaurant opens for either lunch or dinner. Once it fills up, it's too much noise for him even with the ear muffs. Ileonna is our favorite server. She knows us and knows he likes his own butter and extra ketchup. She also is great in how she words what she says to him!
We use him for a gauge of what we can do. Go at his pace. We eat at off times so that there aren't so many people around.
For example, we learned that we can't go to the F&W Festival on busy nights. He hates darkness and crowds. He did much better on a weeknight with little crowd.
Thank you for all the tips.
Do they have strollers for rent in the park with a hood? Do I get the wheelchair sticker for it the same time that I get the GAC? Whenever we go to the zoo, he likes to have the stroller to hide out in so that's definitely a good idea for Disney as well.
He does not do well at all in crowded restaurants so I'm guessing we will have to skip the character meals. That's going to break my daughter's heart![]()
We skipped character meals for years because of the expense and anxiety. But recently we went to the Tusker House and the Crystal Palace. Both for lunch, when they just started serving lunch. And it went great! We placed him where he could see the characters approaching, so there were no surprises.
I think you'll be surprised at how wonderful Disney can be. My son is very verbal and he says he loves Disney because it's the one place he feels "normal". Where else can you teach Cinderella and Prince Charming how to use the force?