Here we go again

[alizesmom]

We are planning to take the kids to WDW in early November. We've gotten to be practiced, though not expert, at taking our special needs kids there.

Things I would like to know:

how crowded should we expect WDW to be?

does anyone else go just to be there with no real plan to hit the attractions unless we feel like it (just wander the parks)?

is there a restaurant at WDW that you suggest we don't miss?

rope drop or no?

where would you stand for parades to avoid the speakers?

is there any reliable place where we could hire a nurse or two so we could spend a few hours just eating a dinner alone?

as special needs experts, which hospital do you recommend the most?

is there any one thing that is a Do not miss in your opinion?

Our goal is relaxation with as little contact with the medical world as possible.

Thanks, Karen

 

[LockShockBarrel]

What kind of special needs does your little one have? That can make a big difference.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I guess I should say "little ones" rather than "one". I read your post too fast and didn't see that you had said kids, as in plural.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I was there end of October/beginning of November last year. I'd say it was low-moderate for crowded, however, we didn't go to Micky's Super Scary Halloween Party and it looked to me like that was probably a lot more crowded than it was during the day (I know for a fact it was sold out the entire final weekend as well as Mon. Nov 1). The longest we waited for rides was 45min-1hr and most of those were on weekend days (the exception was a hot weekday afternoon where we waited 45 min for Splash Mountain). Other than our last day we were there in a heat wave (at the end of over 2 weeks with no rain) so it was in the mid 80s and up into the 90s which may have made a difference.

The friend/s I was with were mostly into attractions so we didn't do so much wandering, but I do enjoy wandering as well (and we did go all the way around the World Showcase so there was some wandering). I don't really know how to describe our touring style because I didn't feel rushed and we only picked a ride by queue length once, but then when I thought about it, I realised we'd done loads of things in relatively short amounts of time.

I liked showing up for rope drop, but that was partially because I was staying with friends 40 minutes away and it was much better to go early and leave early-ish. Plus it meant that the last day when it poured for most of an hour starting about 1PM, we still had done stuff so when I had wheelchair problems and got dangerously soaked it was okay to leave and we still felt like we'd had done most of what we wanted.

I haven't needed any sort of hospital care when in FL, but the friends I have in Orlando (who include both adults & kids with medical issues and a paramedic and PA) seem to strongly prefer Orlando Regional Medical Center & Alfred Palmer Hospital for Children (same hospital network). The trade-off, however, is that they're farther away from Disney than Celebration Hospital is.

 

[mdvlprof]

We don't go with 'a plan'. A couple 'must see/do', but other than that, we just wing it. Do what seems interesting.

 

[alizesmom]

What kind of special needs does your little one have? That can make a big difference.

Trachs, feeding tubes wheelchairs, MR, seizures, vent for sleeping, autism....and a partridge in a pear tree. Karen