Accomodations for "Behaviorally" disabled child

[joemmons]

I was wondering if anyone has had experiences with taking a "Behavioally Disabled" child to Disney. My 9-year old son is classified as multiply disabled by our state and is a special school. He's on medications so he often appears normal. But he has a horribl y low frustration tolerance, often triggering horrible outbursts. In my state (NJ) amusement parks have special accomodations to allow him (and our family) to not wait in line. I heard from a friend that Disney was the same, and when I made my reservation I was told to go to Guest Services when we arrived and they would accomodate us. But the polite woman had no information on how.

Now I'm paraniod on what I may have to face on this vacation if they aren't willing to give us the special pass , but I can't find any information on if they will for our situation, if the pass allows the family to all go (if not, it's worthless to us), what documentation we need, etc. Has anyone had this experience?

Thanks!
a Mom who's trying

 

[Michigan]

Even with a GAC you will still have to wait in a line. The only front of the line access is for Make a Wish kids.

Get a fastpass on the rides that have them and that will cut your wait time.

 

[joemmons]

That's a real bummer. Then I was very mislead by the woman at reservations. We never planned a trip to Disney because my son just can't handle the lines. He'll insist he can, we'll be in line for a half an hour with no problem, then bam- melt down (he's got a neurological disorder- a bit unpredictable).

I may have to cancel and see if he's better next year, then. I expected more from Disney

 

[KirstenB]

Is there a chance you all could go during a slow time of the year? We've been in early December, January (anytime after the first), and parts of February, and the lines have been almost nonexistant. Think 10 minutes or less. This also means no waits for food either, which is a huge blessing when you have hungry kids. I don't know if your son is affected by weather, but the times I've listed are generally cooler temps, in the 60-70 degree range. I hope you're able to get to WDW, it's a magical place for kids and grownups!

 

[Mickiethepooh]

That's a real bummer. Then I was very mislead by the woman at reservations. We never planned a trip to Disney because my son just can't handle the lines. He'll insist he can, we'll be in line for a half an hour with no problem, then bam- melt down (he's got a neurological disorder- a bit unpredictable).

I may have to cancel and see if he's better next year, then. I expected more from Disney

With respect, the reservation person really has no clue what Guest services will or will not do.
You need to call Guest services AT THE PARK not the hotel and speak directly to a manager, explain your exact situation and what you will need and see if they have a GAC that can help you. I have heard and seen some behavioral children with GACs that did give quicker access that were not Make a Wish children.
The only way to be sure is to talk to the people that know for sure and that would be guest services manager. Also get names and ask for a written email from this person stating whatever it is they tell you.

 

[joemmons]

Thanks- rescheduling might be better than canceling alltogether. We're currently booked for mid September. I was trying to avoid the busy season, but not take him out of school too much (he needs the development). January might work, though. He can handle some extent of waiting- it's just hard when after an hour of being in line he melts down - or has an anxiety attack- just before you get on the ride

 

[joemmons]

Good advice- that's exactly what I need to do... One way or another, I'll know what we're facing.

THANKS!!!

 

[tw1nsmom]

As someone else suggested, try going at the slowest times of year. We've gone in January when most rides were walk-ons. Also, try looking at some touring plans. I used Tourguide Mike for our last trip. When looked at his advice, it seemed very simplistic and kind of a rip-off. However, when I used his touring plans and his advice on which park would be least crowded on a given day, we had almost no waits, and this was in March (hardly the slowest time of year).

Maximize fastpass use, and get a GAC allowing you to wait in a less crowded area if need be. You'll still have to wait, but you won't be in line with other people. Know when to take a break and know when to call it a day. You really don't need front of the line access if you time it right.

 

[joemmons]

Thanks- I didn't realize they would allow you to wait somewhere else- that in and of itself may help a lot. The wait time isn't the problems as much as much as the noise, the standing, the not being able to move around, and all the people around him that trigger his issues.

I just spoke to someone at Disney. Getting to them was difficult, but once I was able to the woman was very helpfull. She explained that they had many flavors of passes (including not waiting in line), and to have his psychoanalyst detail his limitations, and they would find the right one. It sounded like they can really design a solution, which is really what we need more than just skipping all the lines (we are trying to expect him to deal with "normal" situations as much as possible- we just need a back-up plan for when that doesn't work.)

On a side note- this is the first time I ever posted anything on a forum, although I read them often. I am again amazed at how strangers will take the time to help strangers. I really appreciate the responses from evenryone! You are all truely magical!

 

[KirstenB]

One more thought, you mentioned going in mid september. Years ago, dh and I always went then (before kids) because our anniversary is then. That was always a slow time of year too, so you may want to keep those dates.

My only caution is it's still very hot (like in the 90's). As adults, heat never bothered us, but it bugs the heck out of both our daughters.

 

[joemmons]

Thanks! Glad to hear it may not be too crowded. Good thought about the heat- my son is also very sensitive to it. I'll get one of those cool-bands for around his neck, plan in a lot of cool-down and get-wet time, and make sure his doctor mentions it in his notes.

We're having a heat-wave here in Jersy now and after 7 straight "good" days in summer school (a lifetime first!) he's been horrendous for the last two. I'd forgotten how much that impacted him- I'll have to ask the teacher to keep him in tomorrow.

THANKS!

 

[WildGrits]

If you already have reservations for September, then don't change them. It is one of the quietest times to go.

Disney is real good at making the lines seem not so long. There are lots of things to look at as well as different holding areas. They have done a great job of making the whole que area part of the attraction as well. Nothing like Six Flags.

If he is accustom to constant entertainment, make you could bring his handheld for the waiting times. I know a lot of folks with Autism find this to be a help. Or maybe you could get some hidden Mickey books and use that time for hunting.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I also wanted to add that one of the main ways to avoid crowds (besides using fastpass), regardless of whether or not it's a slow or busy season is to AVOID the park that has extra magic hours. They're always going to be more crowded. The only way I would do an extra magic hour park would be to get there well before the early opening and leave and go to another park after about two hours at the extra magic hour park. Then again, you'd waste so much time traveling between parks I'm not sure it would be worth it. Also, if you go that route, you would have to pay for the hopper option.

 

[joemmons]

Thanks. It was Six Flags where my line horrors started. This should probalbly be better.

I'm already planning on surprizing him with a new games or two for his handheld- somehow that helps calm him. I love the Finding Mickeys idea, too!

And thanls for the advice about the extra hours parks. I'd set up an agenda to take agvantage of these days, not thinking about the added crowds. Time to do a little worth-while plan changing

 

[SueM in MN]

If you have not already checked out the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there is a section there about GACs (Guest Assistance Cards). There is some additional information about GACs in the thread titled "Open letter from SueM" near the top of the board.
No matter who you talk to before you get to the parks, they will not guarantee anything. At one time they did get information from guests by phone or email and send specific information about GACs, Unfortunately, there are people who do not have disabilities who see the GAC as a way to avoid lines and many of them will lie in order to get one. Some of them called or emailed and brought the letter or other information to Guest Services There have even been GACs on sale on ebay as a way to avoid lines. That is one of the reasons that Disney gives out little information and won't promise anything until you get there.
That is also why we try to keep specific information off of this board (******* AND IF PEOPLE POST SPECIFIC INFORMATION, THAT IS WHY WE DELETE IT***********)

As for the time you are going....
we have been to WDW in mid September and it was quiet enough that we had a GAC for our DD's needs, but did not use it because most waits were short. Even when the parks are busy (Like during Spring break when we have also gone), there are times when attractions are not busy. For example, the Safari and Kali River Rapids in AK usually have 1 hour waits in the early afternoon dusing Spring break. If you are there at or after 3pm, you can walk right on without waiting at all.

 

[joemmons]

Thanks, Sue. I totally understand why Disney doesn't like the detials published. When people take advantage of things like this it ruins them and then prople like me can't take their kids to Disney.

I understand the "no garantees" thing. So I'm going on trust that we'll work things out when we get there. With what we have to deal with I've learned to go nowhere unprepared, so that part is tough for me.

I'll just plan on bringing all the "proof" I can- the doctor's note, the school assessments, the bottles for the three meds he's on.

What I do like is that the alternate waiting area concept is a perfect Disney solution for families like ours (I read a little more about it last night). It's not the wait itself that we're trying to avoid so much as the line environment which often causes him to be overwhelmed in many ways.

I commend Disney for coming up with this solution. If they can do that, I'll trust that they'll take care of us when we get there. And I hope (and event believe) that like you we won't even need to use it. Thanks for the timing advice- I've been collecting all of that I can get

 

[tw1nsmom]

I wanted to pop in and mention one more thing. In addition to avoiding the extra magic hour park, getting there early can work wonders too. It will be marginally cooler in the mornings, and the crowds will be less. So many people sleep in on vacation, that you can often get more done before 11am than you can the rest of the day. Every time we go, I'm amazed to see the crowds pouring through the gates at 11am or later. Often, we've done all our key attractions for the day and are ready to go back to our room for a break, by the time the crowds are really arriving. We then go back to the parks for soaking up atmosphere, the night time parades/fireworks, and maybe one or two shows or attractions. If a park has a regular opening time of 9am, we make sure we're there no later than 8:30.