Are there alternate Exits from attractions?

[piercemom]

I'm new to this forum, so I'm not sure if this issue has been addressed before.I'm planning a trip to Disney in May with my family which includes three young adult age children with disabilities. All three require wheelchairs so we will be bringing help with us.
My main problem is with my son, every attraction/ride exits through a gift shop! My son has had major tantrums and has refused to leave stores, yelling swearing etc., locks the wheels on his wheelchair until he is allowed to buy something. He does not have a concept of money, so limiting the amount he can spend is not helpful, of course he's allowed to buy items at the park, just not at every attraction! The stores are like sensory overload and if he's tired he looses control.
Are there alternate Exits we could use to leave an attraction so we don't have to go through every gift shop?? Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[livndisney]

I'm new to this forum, so I'm not sure if this issue has been addressed before.I'm planning a trip to Disney in May with my family which includes three young adult age children with disabilities. All three require wheelchairs so we will be bringing help with us.
My main problem is with my son, every attraction/ride exits through a gift shop! My son has had major tantrums and has refused to leave stores, yelling swearing etc., locks the wheels on his wheelchair until he is allowed to buy something. He does not have a concept of money, so limiting the amount he can spend is not helpful, of course he's allowed to buy items at the park, just not at every attraction! The stores are like sensory overload and if he's tired he looses control.
Are there alternate Exits we could use to leave an attraction so we don't have to go through every gift shop?? Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Every ride doesn't have a gift shop-but many do. There are no other exits. Some exits have the gift shop on one side. For example-Buzz Lightyear. As you exit the moving platform, on the left is a wall of tv's to show your picture. AFter that to the right is a "photo op" with Zurg. If you pointed that out to him and moved quickly you could avoid him noticing the small gift shop area to the right.

At MK-the race cars, teacups, Goofy coaster, train, Peter Pan, It's a small World, Haunted Mansion, Country bears, Big Thunder, Aladdin, Dumbo, COP, Monster's INC,Jungle Cruise and the Tiki room do not dump you into a gift shop.

Studios-Great Movie Ride, TSM, Playhouse Disney, Lights Motor, Muppets do not end in a gift shop.

AK-Safari, Primevil Whirl, FOLTK,Nemo, and carnival Dino ride (like Dumbo) do not end in a gift shop.

EPCOT-Soarin, Universe of Energy do not end in gift shops.

 

[clanmcculloch]

You say this is a problem when he gets tired. Well, make sure he doesn't get tired. I know that comes across as condescending but that's not how I mean it. My 12 year old is autistic and meltdowns are pretty much guaranteed as she gets tired. What I said to you is what I should have said to myself several trips ago. I always tried to stretch out every moment at the parks that I could because WDW is just so wonderful for all of us, her included. Well, that meant meltdowns. I've since learned my lesson. This past trip we went over Christmas (yes, busiest time of the year). I subscribe to TourGuide Mike to help us maximize the trip while avoiding the crowds as much as possible. We probably accomplished more this trip than any past trip and we did it without meltdowns or exhausting ourselves. It really was amazing. The lack of crowds around us meant we could do so much more and she didn't get overstimulated by the huge crowds that we would have otherwise encountered. I was better able to schedule our days so that we had good long rests built into the day so nobody would get overtired. Everybody had their list of "must do" activities already in the schedule so we were sure that everybody go to do everything they really wanted. No meltdowns. It was so wonderful. Subscribing to TGM was the best $20 I ever spent on a Disney trip. I'll never go without TGM again.

 

[Chuck S]

At MK, the wheelchair exit from Stitch exits directly to the outside, near the restrooms between the two gift shops into which the amublatory guests exit.

 

[piercemom]

You say this is a problem when he gets tired. Well, make sure he doesn't get tired. I know that comes across as condescending but that's not how I mean it. My 12 year old is autistic and meltdowns are pretty much guaranteed as she gets tired. What I said to you is what I should have said to myself several trips ago. I always tried to stretch out every moment at the parks that I could because WDW is just so wonderful for all of us, her included. Well, that meant meltdowns. I've since learned my lesson. This past trip we went over Christmas (yes, busiest time of the year). I subscribe to TourGuide Mike to help us maximize the trip while avoiding the crowds as much as possible. We probably accomplished more this trip than any past trip and we did it without meltdowns or exhausting ourselves. It really was amazing. The lack of crowds around us meant we could do so much more and she didn't get overstimulated by the huge crowds that we would have otherwise encountered. I was better able to schedule our days so that we had good long rests built into the day so nobody would get overtired. Everybody had their list of "must do" activities already in the schedule so we were sure that everybody go to do everything they really wanted. No meltdowns. It was so wonderful. Subscribing to TGM was the best $20 I ever spent on a Disney trip. I'll never go without TGM again.

Thank you all for your responses, our last visit to Disney was five years ago... also around Christmas time, hopefully May will be a little slower time of year. I am not familiar with TourGuideMike ,but I will check out his site. Sounds like it may well be worth the small investment. Rest periods are a must, you're right! We're not staying in Disney this time, but at a time share at Orange Lake Resort. Spacing out our days at Disney may also be an option.

 

[livndisney]

Thank you all for your responses, our last visit to Disney was five years ago... also around Christmas time, hopefully May will be a little slower time of year. I am not familiar with TourGuideMike ,but I will check out his site. Sounds like it may well be worth the small investment. Rest periods are a must, you're right! We're not staying in Disney this time, but at a time share at Orange Lake Resort. Spacing out our days at Disney may also be an option.

You may want to make use of the First Aid areas. They have curtained areas for your son to rest.