DD has DS and traveling to Disney in February!!

[HawkeyeFan]

Hi everyone! We are taking our 4 kiddos to Disney for the first time at the end of february. Our 8 yr old has Down Syndrome and gets tired easily, not the most patient and get's over stimulated pretty easily. Any suggestions on how to make this trip as relaxing as possible?? Our other kiddos are 9,4, and 1..... I know, we're crazy.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Get a Guest Assistance Card, a stroller she will fit in or a wheelchair for those tired times, and distractions for waits in line or outside of rides. Scope out areas in the parks to relax and get away from the stimulation. And remember, she may surprise you with how well she does. My brother with Prader Willi sure did!

 

[LisaBi]

Aaahhhh....that's how my son with Down's was on our first trip. We planned it as a "once in a lifetime" kind of trip. Yeah, right. He was still mostly non-verbal back then. After we got home, every time I picked up the car keys he said "go didy wold?" Needless to say, we went again...and again...and again.

If he is still small enough for a stroller....USE ONE and get the "stroller as wheelchair" GAC. If he's too big, do rent a small wheelchair. My DS is now 19 and there is no way we can do the parks walking. In addition to the typical low muscle tone and easily fatigued, he has odd shaped feet that blister the ENTIRE bottom of his feet if he walks too much. I found that out the hard way at a local park I thought was small enough for him to walk.

 

[HawkeyeFan]

Aaahhhh....that's how my son with Down's was on our first trip. We planned it as a "once in a lifetime" kind of trip. Yeah, right. He was still mostly non-verbal back then. After we got home, every time I picked up the car keys he said "go didy wold?" Needless to say, we went again...and again...and again.

If he is still small enough for a stroller....USE ONE and get the "stroller as wheelchair" GAC. If he's too big, do rent a small wheelchair. My DS is now 19 and there is no way we can do the parks walking. In addition to the typical low muscle tone and easily fatigued, he has odd shaped feet that blister the ENTIRE bottom of his feet if he walks too much. I found that out the hard way at a local park I thought was small enough for him to walk.

Great advice!! I wondered about this, our girl has some feet issues as well and I can't imagine her walking all over the parks everyday. I, myself, get exhausted just thinking about it! lol

 

[LisaBi]

Also, if you do need a wheelchair if she is too big for a stroller, definitely look at renting from an off-site vendor. They are cheaper than Disney, and usually in better condition. And more importantly, the distances from parking or bus stops can be huge. On our first trip after DS out grew strollers, I planned on renting in the parks. On our first day we did breakfast at Chef Mickeys, so then took the monorail to Epcot. There is a huge, long ramp down from the monorail platform (I didn't know at the time there is elevator i probably could have used) then still a long walk into the park. We weren't even inside the park yet when he sat down and said he was done. There was no way he was taking one more step. I was able to get a CM to get us a wheelchair to finish the journey into the park and to rental place. But otherwise I don't know what we would have done.

 

[adisneymama]

A friend recently rented a wheelchair for her mother for the parks. She actually was able to rent the chair at home from a medical supply store for about $50 for a month! Much cheaper and she already had the chair with them since she was driving. Just thought I would mention that in case you are driving.

 

[peemagg]

There are companies out there that rent the special needs strollers that hold around 100 lbs. There are numbers in the FAQ's sticky for the ones recommended on here.

There is a FAQ's sticky at the start of this forum that has a lot of information that you will find useful. Another resource would be to also get the book "Open Mouse" by PassPorter's.