Any chance of getting this accomodation??

[Zoemakes5]

I have a DS who has Aspergers. On a typical day, very few, if any meltdowns. He's also old enough that he's starting to be able to self-regulate a lot better.
BUT, we're going to DL, and a day (or three ) at DL is not a typical day! There are two areas that I can think of that might cause challenges for him. Waiting in line, particularly if it's hot or cold or if people are bumping into him. And, watching the fireworks and parades. I'm so worried about him having an anxiety attack as hordes of people close in on him.
Now, I know that there are things we can do to reduce some of these issues, like putting him in between other people in our party in a line so he wouldn't be bumped or pushed by strangers, have people sitting "around" him on the parade route, etc. Giving him a cd player or mp3 player with headphones to help drone out the sound. Or even, gasp and horrors, give him his gameboy with earphones on to help distract him. I don't want to simply not do those fun things.
Does Disney offer any assistance? Is there special viewing areas for parades and fireworks. I can't believe that my son would be the only one with these kinds of issues.
Does anyone here have any ideas or workarounds?
Thanks!

 

[Schmeck]

I'm not sure about DL, but WDW has a Guest Assistance Card (not a front of the line pass) that will let you wait in a quiet area. I know DL has something similar, but exactly sure what they have. Is there anything in the stickies FAQs at the top of this forum that could help you?

 

[krismom]

Yes, Disneyland doe shave a version of the GAC- I had to explaing my sons needs in much greater detail than I did at WDW though. My son's card gave him an alternate waiting area and allowed us to sit in the special parade viewing area (although only one of us could stay with him due to size). Good Luck and Have fun!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Um, Krismom means the size of the area, not the size of any person or persons.
Potential problem might be that even the special parade viewing area may get crowded.
OTOH, there are several areas at DisneyLand - I ended up in one near where the (nighttime) parade goes backstage. There was just me and another party with a member in a wheelchair, and a Cast Member not letting anybody else in that area. I don't think it had anything to do with the mom in the other party being a Security CM...

 

[SueM in MN]

The GAC (Guest Assistance Card) program works approximately the same at DL as at WDW, as far as I know, so the information about GACs in the FAQs thread will be valid at both parks.
They may be a bit more 'sparing' about giving out GACs at DL, but I think that's because until a few years ago, they had Special Assistance Passes, which all gave the same access, regardless of the needs the person had.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My 11 year old son also has Asperger's and we have taken him to Disneyland several times. His 1st visit was when he was 5 and we were concerned about meltdowns from waiting in lines. We had his occupational therapist write a letter explaining that he might become anxious from long waits. We took the letter to City Hall and received a Special Assistance Pass. This pass allowed us to bypass the lines and use the handicapped entrance on most rides. We would scope out the line and decide whether he could comfortably wait or if we should use the pass. We only ended up using it a few times (Dumbo, Peter Pan and Mr. Toad). Other lines seemed to be moving fast enough that he was fine. It was kind of uncomfortable at times because our son looks and acts perfectly fine most of the time. We got some dirty looks from people who thought we were cutting the lines.

We haven't used a Special Assistance Pass since that first trip and our son is generally fine with waiting in lines. Last year, we waited almost 90 minutes for Space Mountain and we didn't hear one complaint from either boy (the younter one is 8). I don't know if they still offer the same kind of pass or what kind of help it might give you but it's worth asking about. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[dclfun]

They no longer offer a pass to bypass the lines at Disneyland and are very careful even for those travelling in wheelchairs that if you are in an alternate line, your wait time will be the same as everyone else. They DO offer the alternate line though or a place to wait if possible ( isn't always possible the way DL is laid out). This might keep your son out of some of the crowds. Some people have used a stroller to give a child a sense of personal space and in this case they also have an assistance card where you can use your stroller as a wheelchair, thus using it in the queue lines. ---Kathy

 

[SueM in MN]

They no longer offer a pass to bypass the lines at Disneyland and are very careful even for those travelling in wheelchairs that if you are in an alternate line, your wait time will be the same as everyone else. They DO offer the alternate line though or a place to wait if possible ( isn't always possible the way DL is laid out). This might keep your son out of some of the crowds. Some people have used a stroller to give a child a sense of personal space and in this case they also have an assistance card where you can use your stroller as a wheelchair, thus using it in the queue lines. ---Kathy

that is similar to what I have heard.
The problem at DL was that many lines were not wheelchair accessible, so people were renting wheelchairs to get into the 'alternate entrance lines.'
What I had read was that because everyone who had a wheelchair or got a GAC got routed to those lines, it meant those lines were very long (sometimes much longer than the 'regular' lines), which meant that people who needed a quieter or less crowded space to wait got the opposite.