BTMRR and KRR with ASD Child?

[kaffinito]

Hello,

I was hoping that someone here had had experience with taking an ASD child on BTMRR at MK and KRR at AK. My son (aged 7 almost 8) and I looked at videos of both rides, but we still aren't sure if they are something he would like to try. He needs a lot of tactile stimulation, but he is also very anxious (hence the videos). Last year he had trouble with the drop at the beginning of POTC, and it took him until his 8th ride before he felt good about it, yet he's been on some huge waterslides that I won't even try!

I was hoping that someone had taken an ASD child on either of these rides, and could give me their opinion as to whether or not we should try them.

Thank you!
Karen

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) to quite an extent ASD children are not the same. What will work for one child may send yours screaming in terror, and what yours love may freak out another. All I can suggest is see how they react as they get close to the attraction and kind of play it by ear.

(By the way, in this forum usually there is no need to bump a thread since it will take several days until it goes off Page 1.)

 

[kaffinito]

Good advice. I was hoping that someone else had experienced one of the rides and could tell me whether or not their child had a reaction to it. I know all ASD kids are different - (that's why they're so special! ) but I thought if I could tell John about one kids experience, that might help him make up his mind.

I guess I'll have to go with "plan B" and let John think that I'm scared that way he can be the big brave boy who helped me with the ride. (worked before on Maelstrom and Spaceship Earth! )

Any how - thanks - and I won't bump again!

 

[SueM in MN]

As Cheshire Figment mentioned, it's hard to figure out how one child's experience may relate to another child.

I guess I would concentrate on a few things about your own child and his experiences:
1) Has he ever been on a roller coaster, or would this be his first experience?
If this is the first, I'd suggest going on Goofy's Barnstormer first. You can see the whole track beforehand so he can get an idea of how it goes, what happens and you can see where people get on and off without riding yourself.
Also, the Barnstormer is short - only about 1.5 minutes. Both of the other attractions you mentioned are much longer.

2) Is he able to verbalize/communicate what about the attractions makes him anxious? He may not be able to exactly say, but he may be able to communicate something that helps you to guess.

3) BTMRR has a lot more motion to it. You are sort of thrown around from side to side. KRR has a more gentle motion because you are mostly floating.

4) At BTMRR, you can tell where you will be going because your ride car is on a track. Sometimes the track goes around a curve, so you can't see exactly where you are going, but you know the track is ahead.
At KRR, the 'track' is a channel in a 'river' of water. Your path is set, but the direction you go in the path is random. You could also just get wet or you might get totally soaked. If he's been on any of the waterslides that have random turning, he might be OK with that, so think of anything he has already done that's similar.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

Our child has autism with high sensory needs and input but each child is different. We watched the videos, check You Tube for video and talked about all the rides.

Once we in the parks I was careful to judge how our child was acting that day. He was happy, full of energy and so we went on the roller coasters. He loved the rides. However, he does not show any emotions, no smiles, no screams, no hands in the air. He did want to go back in the line so we took that as a good sign.

I suggest taking in the mood of your child that day. Going to ride and looking at it in person then seeing if he is up to going on it.

Good luck.

 

[cillakat]

I was suprised that my anxious kids wanted to go on BTMrr and *did it*. My dh was happy, excited and upbeat about it and that helped the kids more than when I am upbeat about the same. Novelty I guess. They're with me more

I went with the younger and quietly whispered in her ear the whole time "we're going to zoom down then to the right" so she'd know the down turned into something else.

the talking helped me tremendously as well.....i hate that freefall sensation, so it kept me focused on the 'this is finite' aspect of it. another key thing of btmrr is that the drops are also usually involving a hard bank right or left, which for me is much much better than dropping straight down.

we skpped KRR. the random suprised aspect of it is more than i can bear. i don't want to be walking around in wet clothes. in fact, i just *coulnd't* do it. my SID showing

we went on btmrr many many times. no KRR. potc was a little freaky for us, ditto for norway.


k

 

[kaffinito]

Thanks everyone! That's exactly what I needed to know! We will probably try KRR, since he doesn't have a problem with water slides and there are some really good videos of exactly how it looks on the web, and not try BTMRR until we've tried Goofy's Barnstormer first.

He is able to analyze his feelings and communicate them so I can rely on his judgment about what he wants to do. He likes to get input from the DIS since he knows that all of you on here are 'experts" and he likes me to read him the posts. Thank you again for responding, I am a lot more at ease and I know he will be too!

 

[SueM in MN]

THe likes to get input from the DIS since he knows that all of you on here are 'experts" and he likes me to read him the posts. Thank you again for responding, I am a lot more at ease and I know he will be too!

Glad he enjoys our answers. Tell him that if he has any other questions, he should just have you post them and we will answer as well as we can.

Here is something for him:
These smilies are waiting in line for the roller coaster (they are kind of excited):
They have been waiting and are almost ready to ride. They are getting really excited and it's hard to stand still in line:
Now they are ready to get on:
And now they are riding (some of the bumps feel like jumping):
Some parts might be a little scary, but it's OK
Now they are done and they are so happy they went

 

[kaffinito]

Glad he enjoys our answers. Tell him that if he has any other questions, he should just have you post them and we will answer as well as we can.

Here is something for him:
These smilies are waiting in line for the roller coaster (they are kind of excited):
They have been waiting and are almost ready to ride. They are getting really excited and it's hard to stand still in line:
Now they are ready to get on:
And now they are riding (some of the bumps feel like jumping):
Some parts might be a little scary, but it's OK
Now they are done and they are so happy they went

Thank you! He loves this!!!! (P.S. He'll send you a reply by Friday night once he finishes thinking about the right one to send )

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you! He loves this!!!! (P.S. He'll send you a reply by Friday night once he finishes thinking about the right one to send )

I will be waiting

 

[brettgirl]

Just came back with my high functioning autistic, anxiety state son. He loved the roller coaster but he flipped out on KRR. It was when he got soaked in one fell swoop, he pinched me so hard on my arm and started screaming uncontrollably-I had to take his face with my hand and tell him to look at me and he is ok numerous times until he "came out of it" and calmed down. He is 7. He was quite proud of himself for accomplishing most of the rollercoaster big kid rides in the parks (too short for rockin roller). I do not make a big deal of the theatrics of the rides and he does not understand the jist of them anyway (tower of terror, haunted mansion), it's all fun and pretend.

 

[ireland_nicole]

My ASD DD is 8; tactile sensory seeking; but sound/light sensory avoiding; very anxious, also scared of the dark (yeah, finding the right light level is always a fun and interesting challenge) Anyway-

Caitie loved KRR and BTMR also Splash mtn. and the carousel. Didn't like the qeue in POC (used the penlight on the floor a lot). Most of the rides she liked she still kind of "froze" the first time through, but then decided she did like them, and then wanted them over and over.

HIH
Nicole

 

[BeckyScott]

Our son went on KRR just fine-- although it was hotter than heck that day so the water felt good. Oddly enough, a year ago we were at Silver Dollar City and went on a very similar raft ride and he hated it. So even from one year to the next made a difference. Or maybe it was the 20 extra degrees and the humidity.

Did not even attempt BTMRR with him, he doesn't do coasters, doesn't like things that move fast.

We did take him on Splash Mountain though, but managed to avoid him seeing the drop in advance. Once again, it was a very hot day and he really needed a cool-down. He didn't like the final drop and didn't want to go on it again, but it served it's purpose of getting him wet, and he didn't totally tantrum on us or anything.

One thing we did with him that worked quite well, and your son is old enough to understand. The "wildness" of the ride is directly related to how much they strap you in. You know the drill. Not even a lap-belt, that's a very safe boring ride. A lap-belt ride isn't too bad. A shoulder-harness is going to be a much crazier ride! DS knew that if it was only a lap-belt ride, it wasn't going to be really fast or really crazy. He didn't want to go on anything that involved a shoulder harness. That seemed a very straight-forward way for him to know what was okay and what wasn't. (of course, he still wouldn't go on BTMRR, but it's mostly because he saw it in advance)

 

[kaffinito]

Glad he enjoys our answers. Tell him that if he has any other questions, he should just have you post them and we will answer as well as we can.

Here is something for him:

Sue in MN Thank you very much for the story I liked the part with the smilies the best.

And and and ('cause he looks sad) and one more for you ::cop:

johna

 

[kaffinito]

brettgirl: thanks for the heads up on KRR - I’m going to try John out at TL the day before we go to AK for the rides, so maybe that might help me find some more problem areas. I really appreciate the warning – my oldest still freaks out when it starts to rain on him!

ireland_nicole: Your daughter sounds just like John! He had the same problem with the queue for POTC, and loved the ride after the first drop. He did the same thing on all rides though, he would freeze to try to keep from freaking out, and then settle down.

BeckyScott: That advice on the wildness of the ride being related to the straps is perfect! John thinks that’s the best way ever to tell if he can do a ride or not! (And I do too - I'm a BIG chicken! I freaked out on Spaceship Earth )


Thanks again for the advice!

 

[toodycat]

You never know what rides a kid will go for or not. My son has done the BTMRR once and it was OK, not great. For some reason, he liked that better than the Goofy Barnstormer. On the other hand, my friend's much younger ASD daughter just loves all roller coasters and is utterly fearless on them.

What bothers my son is POC. Are you ready for the reason? He finds the pirate with the dirty feet that you can see overhead repulsive. Go figure. He also hated the Tiki Room as the birds are too noisy.
However, he LOVES "Soarin" ---probably a vestibular thing--- "Mickey's Philharmagic" and "Buzz Lightyear"---all the sensory stuff, I'm guessing.
Most of the attractions at AK did not appeal to Jake. He had done Grizzly River Run in Disneyland and not been too happy, so I didn't even attempt KRR. And that scary Dinosaur attraction nearly scarred him for life!

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue in MN Thank you very much for the story I liked the part with the smilies the best.

And and and ('cause he looks sad) and one more for you ::cop:

johna

johna
I liked your message. I especially like the because we have a gray cat. We also have a black
I like the too.

 

[dcns4]

I love the story and may make one up about waiting in lines for DS.

DS is 9 and we leave for Disney in 11 days!! He's sure he doesn't want to do POC and Haunted Mansion. He couldn't even watch the Haunted Manion YouTube video. Not worth ruining the fun by forcing him to go. I think it goes back to an bad experience in Kindergarten on Halloween when the teacher played spooky music. He just doesn't like haunted stuff.

Any other comments about Dinosaurs in AK? A friend has recommended it but I have read that it is very loud. DS has sound sensitivies (can't do band concerts at school and has freaked at Boston Science Musuems IMAX theater) I'm thinking of bringing ear protection for him as his earpluggs he used to wear for swimming don't seem to block out enough nose.

Has anyone tried using an MP3 player while on rides? I thought if it was loaded with "his" music it might be easier.

Diane

 

[SueM in MN]

Any other comments about Dinosaurs in AK? A friend has recommended it but I have read that it is very loud. DS has sound sensitivies (can't do band concerts at school and has freaked at Boston Science Musuems IMAX theater) I'm thinking of bringing ear protection for him as his earpluggs he used to wear for swimming don't seem to block out enough nose.

Has anyone tried using an MP3 player while on rides? I thought if it was loaded with "his" music it might be easier.

Diane

It is VERY loud, very rough and things happen unexpectedly.
The rest of this will include spoilers, so if anyone doesn't want to know, skip my post.





It is a simulator ride, but you don't just stay in one spot. Your ride car is moving forward on a track at the same time that a computer is tilting it forward and backward and side to side. It is a 'sensory feast' for someone who likes a lot of sensory input, as long as they can handle the sound. It sort of feels like being on a roller coaster in the dark with fairly frequent sudden stops.

The story of Dinosaur is that you are in a time travel machine that is similar to a Jeep. You are going back to the time of the Dinosaurs to view some vegetation eating dinos in a calm time of the past. Unfortunately, the person who is controlling your car wants to find and bring back a small meat eating dino that lived in a bit more unsettled time, right before an asteroid hits.

It's dark, there is thunder and lightening and your car keeps speeding up and slowing down while going up and down steep terrain. Sometimes the 'narrator' says he thinks he located the correct dino and the car comes to a complete stop while he turns a light on the dino to check if it's the one he wants. The ones you 'find' are usually larger meat eaters that lunge and roar loudly at you and you have to get out as quickly as possible. Just as you find the 'correct' dino, the asteroid starts to hit (more loud noises) and you get out just in time.
Here's a youtube video of Dinosaur and here's another one that doesn't show the ride as well, but does show the load/unload areas.