autism and parades and shows????

[bookwormde]

Glad you had a great time, with caracters in the parks if you can the "handler" a quick idea about your child's needs they can often figure something out that works, it is not a formal GAC thing but very often works.

bookwormde

 

[Mishetta]

We want to let everyone know all my concerns melted the minute we got there the parades were so great and my DS was great we got a few comments when we used the GAC card but, oh well we had a great time. Disney amazed us with the accomodation for my son. We watched a few parades at Tonys patio and the XMAS parade on mainstreet and it was great we also suggest railroad station platform. The only hard part the GAC card does'nt work for characters so we had a hard time getting in to see them up close but we had booked 4 character meals so that helped

Thank you so much for letting us know how it turned out! We've been going to Disney for years & have never seen a parade for that same reason...I just don't think my son could handle it. But I may try either Tony's patio or that second level by the train! Other than that, we've never had issues using the GAC. I'm a pooh sized lady so I guess people are afraid to mess with me! (As well they should be if they should say anything about my little guy!)

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I found the GAC card does not help for parades/fireworks. At EPCOT a section was roped off for GAC holders and this area was more crowded and unruly than the regular area. My daughter has autism and I guess because she was not in a wheelchair or looked disabled people crowded us more. We ended up leaving.

At the MK we sat upstairs at the train station and that was not so crowded until the parade actually started.

One option for the fireworks is to go to the parking lot of the Contemporary and watch, no one goes here. We did this a couple times and were alone.

 

[disneymami]

my best advice is to position yourself as close to the exit as possible for a quick get away. We stood on the top section of the railroad station. It was not a bad view but we had lots of space. I lifted my heavy 8 year DD who has autism and held her tight. She also wore her noise cancelling ear phones which help to absorb much of the loudness coming from the fireworks.
This advice applies to the evening parade and then the fireworks. I think it worked well for us because we were just about the first people on the ferry back to the WL once the fireworks were over. My dd had just about enough of her day at the park so she was comforted knowing we would be back at our hotel in just a few minutes.

 

[Marina Del Rey]

Watch from afar, come early to get a good seat if you think he can handle being in the middle of crowds, bring along headphones or earplugs or whatever else you think may benefit. The goal is to have him as relaxed as possible to avoid over-stimulation, so approach that goal with methods that have worked before. I'm HFA myself and crowds for parades have never bothered me because I've always paid attention to the parades themselves, never to the noise from the crowds. Being in a packed crowd and getting yelled at in Jibberinglish is vastly different from being in a packed crowd just to view things. I have nephews and nieces with autism who are more easily over-stimulated, attributed, by me, to their ages, but they are fine in these sort of situations if held by an adult whom they trust.

 

[SueM in MN]

I found the GAC card does not help for parades/fireworks. At EPCOT a section was roped off for GAC holders and this area was more crowded and unruly than the regular area. My daughter has autism and I guess because she was not in a wheelchair or looked disabled people crowded us more. We ended up leaving.

At the MK we sat upstairs at the train station and that was not so crowded until the parade actually started.

One option for the fireworks is to go to the parking lot of the Contemporary and watch, no one goes here. We did this a couple times and were alone.

I can tell you that it's not just because your DD was not in a wheelchair.
My DD is in a wheelchair and if the area is busy, it's very tight and crowded. They literally park the wheelchairs within a few inches of touching each other so that they can get as many guests in as possible. The rest of the members of the wheelchair party are told to stand behind the wheelchair, so it does get really crowded. And, once you have entered the handicapped viewing area, it's VERY difficult to leave.
A stroller being used as a wheelchair would park next to the wheelchairs, so again, almost touching the next chair with their family behind them.

Guests with disabilities who do not have a wheelchair might be directed to the rope along the front of the area, but they will have people closely packed next to them. Some handicapped viewing areas have space toward the back where you can stand away from other people. You will be along the back though, with people ahead of you. If the area is quite busy, there may be as many as 3 rows of wheelchairs parked in front of you with their parties.

For that reason, most of the handicapped viewing areas are not really a good spot for people who don't have wheelchairs.