Family Waiting Areas

[Bear Mama]

We will be visiting Us and IOA the week of July 19th. There will be my two new high school graduates and my 14 year old son. my 14 year old is an awesome child but he also has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which makes going on vacations like this difficult sometimes. The OCD is pretty much under control accept he can still get anxious with really long waits and huge crowds. (I know this was not a good time to go but it was a gift.)

I had planned to buy Express passes for all of us but when I called today they told me that the passes for the days I want are now $37.28! Well, I cannot afford that so here is my next plan.

I will buy two Express passes. One for my son and one for either my husband or myself. ( This idea came from my graduates.) This way if he gets really anxious he can go ahead. I also learned about a family waiting area where he can wait untill we get up to the line. This would be great because his medicine can make him heat sensitive.

The questions are:
Has anyone been in these areas and what are they like? He will be waiting by himself.

Would I even need the Express pass if he can go to this area.

We have been to WDW and he did well because we planned ahead. I am sure he will do well again but I want to be extra prepared because it will be so crowded and hot.

Sorry this was so long! Any suggestions would be helpful!

 

[Motherfletcher]

I think the best thing for you to do is be at the turnstiles before the park opens. There will be a short anxiuos wait but when the park opens let them run to the Hulk at IOA or Shrek at USO. I hate lines and over the years have found the best ways to avoid them and leave the park when it get congested. A good touring plan will help ease the pain. I think I would get antsy waiting at the baby swap. If you are willing to split up the single rider lines may be a good option.

 

[Bear Mama]

Good idea Mother Fletcher! If you are there when the gates open can you see a few rides with out a lot of wait or just one?

 

[Motherfletcher]

No real waits until 11 if you hit Hulk and Dr. Doom first. Dr. Doom is a real slow loader and Hulk is real popular.
At USO have one member of your party take your tickets to get Jimmy Nuetron express passes while the others queue up for Shrek. After Shrek do the Mummy, Jaws, MIB, BTTF, ET, T2 and Jimmy when your time comes up. With kids that age you could skip ET. Shows they would like are the Horror Make-up, Beetlejuice and maybe Ghostbusters for the girls.

 

[BarbaraMB]

Some of the attractions let out in a gift shop. They are air conditioned and he might like browsing and looking for things for you to buy!

 

[mark & sandra]

Bear Mama- Although I'm not condoning it, I will let you know of a simple trick. Most of the rides that have child swap are set up for easy access to the ride. If one of the adults takes your son to the child swap area, the two of them could just walk onto the line and board immediately. If you try to bring your whole group through you'll likely be stopped but if it's only 2 you'll probably have no problem. You'll literally walk right onto the ride with no wait at all...Mark

 

[SpideyHulk24]

the Family swap areas have seating so it may be to your benefit to use that.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

We got issued a GAP pass which gives you access to the express pass line on every ride. My son is autistic and can't handle long waits and crowds and is also heat sensitive, its sounds like the same problems your son has. We have AP's and it is actually on his pass so all we have to do every morning is go to guest relations and they swipe his card and give him a pass. It is good for up to 6 people in a party. Check with the guest services when you get there to see if you can get one. If you explain his problems I'm sure they will give you one. If you have anymore questions about it I'll be glad to answer for you.

 

[SpideyHulk24]

That is a great idea! Make sure to use that benefit!