Help for 1st Time Visitor w/autistic 2 year old

[Mommyof3angels]

I need some advise. This is our first visit to to WDW. We will be there July 18-July 15. We are staying ay Pop Century. I need some honest opioins on whether we should rent a car while we are there. I would like to be able to get to the parks and back to my hotel rather quickly as my son is autistic. Also is it possible to share meals on the meal plan? Help!!!!!

Thanks in advancE

Oh yeah our cast is Me, my mother my daughter who is 13 and my son 2

 

[sanbornangel]

The bus is easily accessible from the resorts. They do tend to get crowded, however the cast members are extremely helpful. We have never rented a car. The wait for the bus can be from 5 minutes to 20 minutes. This year is the first year we are using the meal plan. No advise there. Good luck. It will be the best time ever!!!!!

 

[Nik's Mom]

Hi! We've made 3 trips with our 6 1/2 year old autistic ds, and 3 1/2 year old ds. My autistic ds was 2 for his first trip. I'd suggest renting a car in the summer. The buses can get busy. If your little one is about to have a meltdown, you want to get back to the resort asap, and not have to worry about the bus arrival time. We went in May during a slower period and found the buses to be great. My concern is that summer time may mean heavily packed buses.
I'd also like to suggest that you get to the parks at least 30 minutes before the gates open. This helps a lot with crowds! Have a great trip!

 

[kdtwiss]

Hi - I hope you have a great time! If your child is a picky eater, I would absolutely rent a car. It was necessary for us to hit the grocery store a few times to get over the hungry melt downs my poor ds was having. Just being able to get some familiar food/drinks/snacks was invaluable. As far as getting to and from the parks, just remember even if you drive to the Disney parking lot - you still have to take a boat over to MK. At least that was my experience- anyone back me up on that?
Also be sure to get a GAC, which will be a real life saver. We could not have gone w/o it. Because we had a GAC we never went to the parks early, I let the kids sleep, have a good breakfast and a swim before hitting the parks. I think it helped get everyone off on the right foot. (except DH who complained constantly...ugh...)
As far as the dining plan goes, you can share with your little one at buffets or table service meals. 2 year olds can not even buy the meal plan if you wanted to. IMO the meal plan is awesome. Be sure however (if your child is picky) to research those menus and pick the right places. The buffets are awesome for characters (and soft serve ice cream) but as far as food goes for picky eaters not so great. Chicken nuggets- ok, not hot mostly tho, pizza - really horrible. Also if your trip is in July (very busy time) be sure you plan your meals 180 days in advance. I know it sounds impossible, but if you don't you may find yourself very limited as to where you can eat. A few of the restaurants have a great varied children's menu - Spoodles, Le Cellier,to name a couple.
I would also suggest headphones for loud noises if that is a problem, and I got these great lightsticks at Walmart that are almost like those snap glo stick thingys, but they run on batteries. Great for dark rides, but not distracting for other people as a flashlight can be.

 

[cabowser]

My son found the busses to be fun, but he was four and your son is a lot younger. They would not let us have the kids in their strollers (Charlie still rides in a stroller most of the time) on the busses, and that transition bothered him.

As for the food, Charlie is a big mcdonalds boy and we had some issues because he would not eat anything but nuggets. I managed to find that they sell them at Canada in EPCOT and on the road that leads to the tower of terror in MGM, but we packed food for him when we went to the Magic Kingdom.

We stayed in the cabins at Ft. Wilderness specifically for the kitchen and also for the extra room. Charlie needed a room to himself, so we put the other kids to bed in the bedroom and Dad slept with Charlie on the murphy bed. I slept with the other kids in the bedroom.

We also found that the doors were very easy to open from inside, so if your child is an escapee, like mine is, plan for how to keep those doors closed.

We liked that when we were at Ft. Wilderness we rented a golf cart and then everywhere we went we used the boat launch to the magic kingdom and then if we were going to EPCOT we caught the monorail. You can keep your child in the stroller on the boat and the monorail. Sorry, I know you aren't going out of Ft. W., but if you are park hopping, you might think about that monorail, instead of the busses.

Jan

 

[riu girl]

We were at Pop Century Dec 31 - Jan 8 and only used the busses (we did not have a rental car). We found the busses excellent. But yes, they do get crowded. My tip: if it looks like you will get standing room only on a bus, simply wait for the next bus. You will be at the front of the line and will have your pick of seats. We tried to sit right at the back so that people standing would not be able to stand right in front of us. People really do get packed in on the busses and if you can sit in a seat where no one can actually stand in front of you, this will give your child the space that they need.

The longest we waited for a bus to/from the parks/DTD was maybe 10 minutes max. The usual wait times seemed more like 5 minutes.

 

[Mommyof3angels]

Thanks for the replys. My son is a very picky eater. As of now he will only eat waffle or french toast(both plain) for breakfast not real big on lunch and cottage cheese and applesause for dinner. He has never really been around big crownds. Can any of you tell me how your children reacted to the characters and if you did anything to prepare them for the trip?

Thanks in advance

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

We have taken our now 6 DS (autistic) and 3 (sensory disorder) the last two years in a row. I cannot begin to tell you of the advancements these children have made during our trips. This last one, they both picked up swimming, by the end of our trip they were swimming across the pool by themselves (with life jackets on).

As for the characters, I thought that they would be scared, they have had bad reacations to Chuck E Cheese and Santa, but on our first trip when they were 4 and 1, they couldn't get enough of them!. Word of advice, follow their lead, if they want to see them, let them go up, but also don't wait in a long line to see them. We loved the Character breakfast at the Contemporary, because the characters came to you and it was more of a relaxed setting. I got priceless pictures and they still remember them coming to see them. We found that taking big breaks in them middle of the day, really saved all of us. The were allowed to "de-stimulate" and were ready to go back for more after a nice nap or swim. I would even suggest that if your going to eat at the resort, go outside or eat at the pool area. The cafeterias at the All Stars and Pop can be loud and really taxing. We would go to Coronado Springs to eat a couple of times, it was less crowded and the boys really liked the atmosphere. I now it sounds really anal retentive but the more you plan and know, the better and easier trip you will have for everyone. I planned which day we would be in which park (what days had early entry) and what events we wanted to see in which park. Oh yes, and get at GAC pass, it was a lifesaver.

Hope this helps

 

[kdtwiss]

I would consider getting a fridge for your room so you can have his cottage cheese and applesauce. Also be sure to pack a soft sided cooler to take to the parks. I can not tell you how hungry my poor picky eater was because I underestimated how tough it would be to find his favorites. I am pretty sure the food court will have a toaster for the waffles.
For getting used to the crowds, I would hit a couple crowded places just to get the feel of his reactions. Also to help him get ready for the crowds!
As for the characters - don't stress about that. It is very easy to avoid the characters if it turns out he does not like them . I would suggest renting a stroller at Disney as they are a very good place to retreat when /if he needs it.

 

[MBW]

And I would make sure to ask for medical parking when you drive to the park. This way, you can be as close as possible, should your son need to leave. Also, the car is a nice, safe environment to regroup the senses - If you're on a bus, it's just more of the sensory overload experienced in the park.

Of our two sons (both autistic), we have one picky eater, and one with dietary restrictions (celiac disease), so we definitely need a refrigerator.

I hope you have a wonderful time. The boys were 21 months and 3.3 years last time we went (now 6 and 7.5) and did great. Neither were frightened by the characters - in fact, Sam (older DS) loved them.

We leave in three weeks! I can't wait

 

[Cheshire Figment]

And I would make sure to ask for medical parking when you drive to the park.

You can explain that you need a space next to the tram row.

All the spaces in medical parking are marked as disabled parking and are patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff's Department (except All-Stars Resorts and WWS, which is Osceola County). If you park there you may get a $250 ticket!

 

[MBW]

You can explain that you need a space next to the tram row.

All the spaces in medical parking are marked as disabled parking and are patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff's Department (except All-Stars Resorts and WWS, which is Osceola County). If you park there you may get a $250 ticket!

For the OP, this might then be a good time to apply for a disabled parking placard from your state DoT, one which you can take with you and use with a rental. We had no problem having our doctor approve one (Maine has a "neurological disability" provision) as our son has always been a "bolter" and thus parking lots are a very serious hazard for him. He's also prone to serious meltdowns, and removing him to the safety of the car is substantially easier, particularly as he gets bigger and heavier.

We only use it in situations where HA parking is safer or if we know he'll be challenged in an environment (lots of noise, crowding, overstimulation, etc.) and thus prone to melting down. Disney definitely fits that criteria.