Logistics

[monkeysmamma]

I have 2 little boys with autism and primary immune deficiency disease. We are trying to schedule a trip to the World this May, and as I'm trying to pull it all together, I'm getting rather overwhelmed. The boys (ages 4 and 7) fatigue easily, and typically are in bed by 6pm at home. While we're open to the possibility of being able to keep them up longer, I don't want to plan on it.

We have to keep the trip on a tight budget and we're not planning on getting the park hopper. We'd like to do the dining plan and include a couple of character meals. I suspect we'll stick mainly to the Magic Kingdom, but I'm not sure what to do about ADRs. I know we'll need to make ADRs for the character meals, but should we make them for all of the table service meals? I hate to commit ourselves to a scheduled time and place, but I also don't want to be wandering around in search of food with 2 tired and grumpy little guys. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

I would say, book in advance for any restaurants you can't afford to miss. If there is somewhere you'd quite like to go, but wouldn't really mind if you missed it, I wouldn't bother booking it. Just turn up early that day and see if they have any tables at about the right time for you. A lot of the more 'casual' TS places are easy enough to get tables at. Sci-Fi Dine-In for instance, can normally find you a table within about an hour of you asking (often less).

If you get there and find that every TS place in the park is booked solid, you could always try one of the nearby resorts. If you're in MK you could try Wilderness Lodge, or one of the monorail resorts. Or, if you were done for the day, you could hop back to your resort and eat there.

Completely away from the meal questions, do you know about the Guest Assistance Card (GAC)? If not, have a look at post 6 in the disABILITIES FAQ. Though it isn't a front of the line pass, this card can give you a few accommodations to help you mitigate your sons' disabilities. I would suggest, for instance, that you talk to them about getting "stroller as wheelchair" permission on your GAC, to allow you to take a stroller through lines and into buildings like The Land, where they are not normally permitted. This should help you save their strength a little.

Following on from that, how many adults will you have in your party? Will you have enough to have a stroller / wheelchair for each of your boys? If so, I'd strongly suggest that you do this, to help save their strength and stop them from being worn out before lunch time. Depending on their size, they may both fit in a Disney double stroller, but if they don't, you may need to rent or bring two separate ones.

Good luck and have a wonderful trip!

 

[monkeysmamma]

Thanks for the reply. I like the idea of going to a resort for a meal and a bit of a break for the kids. The stroller as a wheelchair sounds like a good idea too. How does that work with the lines? Can you go through the regular lines, or do you have to go through the exits? I'm not sure DH will go along with a stroller or wheelchair for our 7 year old, and I'd hate for us to be separated through all of the rides.

Thanks again!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

If you used a stroller as wheelchair, you would go through the wheelchair entrance. For the majority of rides, the wheelchair entrance is the same as the normal one. In these cases, you would go through the regular line, and would normally be pulled aside somewhere near the boarding point, to board in a separate area (often the exit). Some rides in MK and EPCOT do not have mainstream queuing, due to the time they were built, so you will have to use a separate entrance. Even when you're using a separate entrance, you will often wait just as long as if you were in the regular queue.

Disney does their best not to split up groups, and the official line is that they will allow up to five other people to accompany the person in the wheelchair. In your family's case then, you should all be allowed to stay together. In some shows, you may have to sit some of your party in the row in front, if companion seats are limited.

I would strongly recommend you look into using some kind of assistance for both of your sons, if they both have stamina issues. At Disney, you can easily clock up 6 to 10 miles a day, which is a lot for anyone to handle. If your husband needs more convincing, pick a place that is about two or three miles from your house and ask him if he thinks your son could walk all the way there. If he says yes, ask him if he thinks he could walk there and back again, for the amount of days you will be at Disney. Chances are, he will look at you like you're crazy, but this is comparable with a fairly gentle Disney trip. A wheelchair or stroller would just allow your son to conserve his energy for the fun stuff, without having to worry about whether he will be able to get to the next ride. A lot of kids without any health issues use strollers at Disney, up to about the age of 12, or older.

Hope this helps!

 

[monkeysmamma]

A wheelchair or stroller would just allow your son to conserve his energy for the fun stuff, without having to worry about whether he will be able to get to the next ride. A lot of kids without any health issues use strollers at Disney, up to about the age of 12, or older.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, this does help and I'll talk to DH.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Good luck!

 

[ireland_nicole]

If they don't have tactile issues sharing space w/ each other, I would definitely get them a double stroller and use it w/ the stroller as w/c GAC. We have an 8 and 5 y/o and could not live w/o it. If you need to budget, we got the double jeep stroller for about $70 last year before we left, and just gave it to someone else on the last day (we no longer had room in our car-oops) You might even be able to get one second hand at a consignment shop, Craigs list or Ebay. I would strongly, can't tell you how much, get ADR's for every table service meal. Additionally, get them for the first dinner seating (or lunch, if you'd rather have a big meal then, and then a CS at the resort before bed). We went for 2 weeks last year may/june and it was really crowded, and frankly, waiting an hour for a table was so not an option. With ADR's at the earliest time, we never waited over 5 minutes and were served pretty quickly too. I highly recommend character meals, they are a great way to meet characters w/o long lines and pressure. My kids loved Donald Ducks breakfast at AK, Winnie the Pooh and friends at Crystal Palace in MK, Liberty Tree tavern in MK (Minnie, Goofy, etc), the Garden Grill in Epcot (everyone in farmer clothes, so cute) and Playhouse disney play n dine at Hollywood studios. This time we're also trying Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary (I left out the princess ones, but if your boys are interested, there are some fabulous ones). Anyway, plan everything you can, and then be flexible if your kiddoes can't do any more. We even planned one high intensity then one low intensity attraction. Last tip, do not underestimate Tom Sawyer Island. Little guy heaven. Have a Magical Trip!