keristars
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2011
- Messages
- 9
This is my first post to this forum, so please forgive any faux pas I make. I did poke around a little bit, but figured that the best way for me to get the advice I need is to just start a thread and see what y'all can say.
I'm 27 and will be taking a 5-night vacation the week after Thanksgiving. I've traveled on my own in the past, and I enjoy going on vacations all alone, but this is the first time I will be going to WDW alone. I have been to WDW at least 50 times in my life, so I sort of know what to expect... except that the last time I went down for more than a day was 6 years ago, and we were there as part of a conference, so our meals and so on were comped. Also, I'd say 95% of my stays were at FW, where we had our own RV and food.
My brother is a CM. He runs the boats from the TTC and resorts to MK (not the ferry - the little launches). He will be staying with me at least one night, so that we can have quality sibling time together (I live in Jacksonville and we both work or go to school full time, so we haven't been able to hang out much, so we're looking forward to being able to do silly sibling stuff at the resort - also, we're both hobbyist photographers, and we like to play with our cameras in places with interesting architecture - just like WDW).
I have two different sets of friends who live across the country who independently made plans to also be in WDW the week after Thanksgiving, which is why I am planning my trip for that same week. But I don't want to be with them all the time, so I am not planning the details of my visit around their plans, except to know that J will be at the MVMCP on Tuesday, so that is the night I will try to go to MVMCP, that W will be at Epcot on Wednesday, so I might go with her then, and so on.
Finally, I have Asperger's syndrome. It's fairly mild compared to many other people with the disorder, and since I'm 27, I've learned to compensate for it in many ways, so most people don't even have a clue that I'm not neurotypical. Except... when I'm at Disney, there's a lot of sensory stimuli, and I'm also very keyed up and excited, which means my symptoms are more likely to manifest.
Here's an example: I went to the Flower & Garden show this past April with my dad, because it's my favorite time of year at Epcot and he promised me a day at Disney as my Christmas present. I found that I was fairly well disoriented by the crowds and noise, so that I often would be unable to get from, say, the Land to the Living Seas without getting turned around and lost. Even just going from the back part of the UK pavilion to the Rose & Crown took forever, because I couldn't focus enough on locomotion, and my dad had to come find me. (This is how I describe it, but you might be familiar with the "wandering" that kids with Autism often do? It's basically that.)
I also forget to eat when I'm at WDW (or at an art museum, or library, or any place that makes me excited and happy). My dad practically had to force me to a counter service restaurant, because it was 1pm and I hadn't had anything since 6am that morning. When I got there, I was unable to articulate what I wanted to order - likewise, when I was at a pin kiosk a bit later, I was unable to articulate the questions I needed to ask of the CM regarding a 40th anniversary exclusive pin I was looking for. I am often unable to use words in situations where I am over stimulated, so I thus either go without, or a family member/friend speaks up for me.
And, finally, I was almost unable to wait the 30 minutes for Soarin' because the noise and lighting in the hallway were almost unbearable. If I weren't so acutely aware of not embarrassing myself or my dad, or if I hadn't learned over the years to suppress these kinds of things, I probably would have shutdown while sitting there. Standing in lines really gets to me - I don't do well with standing mostly in one place for very long because of my rotated pelvis, but I also tend to feel trapped, which makes me anxious, which in turn makes it more difficult for me to deal with loud noises and painful lighting. With my dad there, I was able to focus on him and have him help distract me, but when I am there alone...
(Also, there was a slight problem of being hand-flappy, but I don't think that'll cause difficulties if I'm on my own. Nor would the way I walk circles around the front of an attraction before I go in.)
So...
While I am confident that I will be able to take a solo vacation the week after Thanksgiving and not have anything major go wrong, I would like to minimize potential problems and also have plans in place to accommodate my Asperger's. I will be staying on Disney property, though I don't know where just yet (waiting to see if my baby brother can help me with discounts) - most likely it'll be at PO-Riverside or FWCabins, because they are in my budget and I know from experience that they are good places for me to wind down at the end of the day (my favorite thing as a kid was walking to Settlement on autumn/winter mornings at FW). I also want to be able to rely on WDW transportation, since I can't drive after too much excitement.
I do plan to get a DDP, though I'm not sure which one will be best for me, since I am not sure I'd be able to handle ADRs (I'm not good with keeping track of time, and I don't want to worry about having to plan my day around where I'm eating dinner).
I would like advice from anyone who has been to WDW as an adult with Asperger's regarding how they have managed some of the problems I have described, or other potentials that might not have occurred to me. Children on the spectrum have very different experiences to adults, due to not having learned many coping strategies yet, so much of what I've read aimed at them isn't any good for me, or I've already incorporated it into my daily life. (Also, someone will inevitably suggest ear plugs - I can't abide those things, so will have to do without, or find another solution.)
I would also like advice from the solo adult travelers about good restaurants if you're eating alone and dislike places that are too dim or too fluorescent and are a somewhat picky eater (no seafood for me - allergy, and then I have issues with food texture). Plus, are there recommendations for hotels that are good for someone like me, staying alone? (Well, except my brother might stay a night or two with me.) I've heard plenty about the Boardwalk, but I'm not interested in the noise and nightlife. I prefer to spend the nights taking advantage of EMH or else enjoying the gardenscaping of the resort grounds. I won't be using a pool or hot tub, so I'm mostly concerned about proximity to noisy crowds and the comfort of the rooms/grounds.
There are probably other things I need to consider, but when I've traveled on my own in the past, it was always to places with a lot less sensory stimuli, and not so nearly as many crowds (though when I spent the month in France, I did spend a LOT of time in my room, decompressing).
Anyway, hello, and thanks in advance. I apologise for this first post being so long, but I've always had trouble being concise, and I wanted to make sure I included as much information as I thought would be relevant. I know I've missed some things, too, but oh well... (Oh! here's one: I've gone over the WDW official pages and things, but I have a lot of trouble extrapolating from general to specific and vice versa - which means that I can read about DDPs on the Go.com site, but be unable to figure out what it means for me until someone walks me through it. Or I can see the list of special tours/events, but be unable to understand anything about how they apply to me until someone guides me specifically. It's troublesome, and why I always had problems with math in school.)
I'm 27 and will be taking a 5-night vacation the week after Thanksgiving. I've traveled on my own in the past, and I enjoy going on vacations all alone, but this is the first time I will be going to WDW alone. I have been to WDW at least 50 times in my life, so I sort of know what to expect... except that the last time I went down for more than a day was 6 years ago, and we were there as part of a conference, so our meals and so on were comped. Also, I'd say 95% of my stays were at FW, where we had our own RV and food.
My brother is a CM. He runs the boats from the TTC and resorts to MK (not the ferry - the little launches). He will be staying with me at least one night, so that we can have quality sibling time together (I live in Jacksonville and we both work or go to school full time, so we haven't been able to hang out much, so we're looking forward to being able to do silly sibling stuff at the resort - also, we're both hobbyist photographers, and we like to play with our cameras in places with interesting architecture - just like WDW).
I have two different sets of friends who live across the country who independently made plans to also be in WDW the week after Thanksgiving, which is why I am planning my trip for that same week. But I don't want to be with them all the time, so I am not planning the details of my visit around their plans, except to know that J will be at the MVMCP on Tuesday, so that is the night I will try to go to MVMCP, that W will be at Epcot on Wednesday, so I might go with her then, and so on.
Finally, I have Asperger's syndrome. It's fairly mild compared to many other people with the disorder, and since I'm 27, I've learned to compensate for it in many ways, so most people don't even have a clue that I'm not neurotypical. Except... when I'm at Disney, there's a lot of sensory stimuli, and I'm also very keyed up and excited, which means my symptoms are more likely to manifest.
Here's an example: I went to the Flower & Garden show this past April with my dad, because it's my favorite time of year at Epcot and he promised me a day at Disney as my Christmas present. I found that I was fairly well disoriented by the crowds and noise, so that I often would be unable to get from, say, the Land to the Living Seas without getting turned around and lost. Even just going from the back part of the UK pavilion to the Rose & Crown took forever, because I couldn't focus enough on locomotion, and my dad had to come find me. (This is how I describe it, but you might be familiar with the "wandering" that kids with Autism often do? It's basically that.)
I also forget to eat when I'm at WDW (or at an art museum, or library, or any place that makes me excited and happy). My dad practically had to force me to a counter service restaurant, because it was 1pm and I hadn't had anything since 6am that morning. When I got there, I was unable to articulate what I wanted to order - likewise, when I was at a pin kiosk a bit later, I was unable to articulate the questions I needed to ask of the CM regarding a 40th anniversary exclusive pin I was looking for. I am often unable to use words in situations where I am over stimulated, so I thus either go without, or a family member/friend speaks up for me.
And, finally, I was almost unable to wait the 30 minutes for Soarin' because the noise and lighting in the hallway were almost unbearable. If I weren't so acutely aware of not embarrassing myself or my dad, or if I hadn't learned over the years to suppress these kinds of things, I probably would have shutdown while sitting there. Standing in lines really gets to me - I don't do well with standing mostly in one place for very long because of my rotated pelvis, but I also tend to feel trapped, which makes me anxious, which in turn makes it more difficult for me to deal with loud noises and painful lighting. With my dad there, I was able to focus on him and have him help distract me, but when I am there alone...
(Also, there was a slight problem of being hand-flappy, but I don't think that'll cause difficulties if I'm on my own. Nor would the way I walk circles around the front of an attraction before I go in.)
So...
While I am confident that I will be able to take a solo vacation the week after Thanksgiving and not have anything major go wrong, I would like to minimize potential problems and also have plans in place to accommodate my Asperger's. I will be staying on Disney property, though I don't know where just yet (waiting to see if my baby brother can help me with discounts) - most likely it'll be at PO-Riverside or FWCabins, because they are in my budget and I know from experience that they are good places for me to wind down at the end of the day (my favorite thing as a kid was walking to Settlement on autumn/winter mornings at FW). I also want to be able to rely on WDW transportation, since I can't drive after too much excitement.
I do plan to get a DDP, though I'm not sure which one will be best for me, since I am not sure I'd be able to handle ADRs (I'm not good with keeping track of time, and I don't want to worry about having to plan my day around where I'm eating dinner).
I would like advice from anyone who has been to WDW as an adult with Asperger's regarding how they have managed some of the problems I have described, or other potentials that might not have occurred to me. Children on the spectrum have very different experiences to adults, due to not having learned many coping strategies yet, so much of what I've read aimed at them isn't any good for me, or I've already incorporated it into my daily life. (Also, someone will inevitably suggest ear plugs - I can't abide those things, so will have to do without, or find another solution.)
I would also like advice from the solo adult travelers about good restaurants if you're eating alone and dislike places that are too dim or too fluorescent and are a somewhat picky eater (no seafood for me - allergy, and then I have issues with food texture). Plus, are there recommendations for hotels that are good for someone like me, staying alone? (Well, except my brother might stay a night or two with me.) I've heard plenty about the Boardwalk, but I'm not interested in the noise and nightlife. I prefer to spend the nights taking advantage of EMH or else enjoying the gardenscaping of the resort grounds. I won't be using a pool or hot tub, so I'm mostly concerned about proximity to noisy crowds and the comfort of the rooms/grounds.
There are probably other things I need to consider, but when I've traveled on my own in the past, it was always to places with a lot less sensory stimuli, and not so nearly as many crowds (though when I spent the month in France, I did spend a LOT of time in my room, decompressing).
Anyway, hello, and thanks in advance. I apologise for this first post being so long, but I've always had trouble being concise, and I wanted to make sure I included as much information as I thought would be relevant. I know I've missed some things, too, but oh well... (Oh! here's one: I've gone over the WDW official pages and things, but I have a lot of trouble extrapolating from general to specific and vice versa - which means that I can read about DDPs on the Go.com site, but be unable to figure out what it means for me until someone walks me through it. Or I can see the list of special tours/events, but be unable to understand anything about how they apply to me until someone guides me specifically. It's troublesome, and why I always had problems with math in school.)
. Maybe you can bring some snacks like granola bars, fruit etc. and eat them as a backup if you start to feel hungry and are looking for food. 
