starflower said:
Not to hijack the thread, but can I ask a related question? How do they handle a child that is unable to wait, regardless of whether it is in a line or somewhere more sheltered? I'm asking because we will be taking my 7 year old son, who is also autistic, to WDW next May. His problem isn't so much tight spaces or sensory overload as he simply doesn't understand why we are waiting for something and will have fits if delayed too long. Would they treat it like a Fastpass and let us come back at a specific time? I checked the FAQ and it didn't seem to be specific about this particular thing.
When you go to get a GAC, explain the issues/needs that your son has like you did here and they should give you an appropriate GAC to deal with his needs as much as possible.
For rides, where the ride is continually loading, you won't really be just standing in lines, you will be moving slowly toward the boarding area. Some of the rides board slower than others or in 'batches' of people, so you might move forward quickly while they are taking people in and slower/stopped for a few mintes until another 'batch' is loaded. Some of those attractions don't have an alternate entrance and you will be waiting 10-15 minutes, even with a GAC.
For attractions that involve a theater, the wait in line can be long and if there is a line when you get there, you will be waiting in the same place until they start letting people into the theater for the next show. Many of the shorter theater shows have you wait in a preshow area (which is bascially a way for them to 'gather' and then 'hold' the right number of people for the next show. You might be in the preshow area for 5-10 minutes and the way to the theater is inside the preshow area, so there may not be a way to bypass that area; although you can ask, don't be surprised if they say that is not possible. For a ride like
Test Track or
Haunted Mansion they can bypass the preshow. For a show like
Little Mermaid they can't.
Some of the preshow areas are large and bright - like the
Hall of Presidents or
Muppets 3D. Some are fairly small and dark - like
Voyage of the Little Mermaid and
It's Tough to be a Bug.
Some have a roped off handicapped area where you can wait if you have a GAC (
It's Tough to be a Bug has one of those). Some don't - like
Little Mermaid has people with special needs wait along one side of the room, but you have people next to you in 3 directions.
Also, many people find that having a GAC that allows you to take a stroller in line helps a lot. Many people with children with autism have posted the WDW strollers are particularly good. A lot of autistic kids like the nice firm plastic they are made of and the solid sides and large canopy make a nice little safe shelter that makes waits much easier.
As was already mentioned, getting to the parks early helps a lot - less crowds, less stimulation. We can't get to the parks early with DD, but my DH and other members of our party have gone to MK early even in the height of Spring break (when it is
super busy) and were able to ride most everything in Fantasyland and several thngs like
Space Mountain and
Splash Mountain before 10:30 without waiting for anything more than 10 minutes. Some they walked right on more than once.
Knowing when things are busy will help you a lot - for example, the
Kali River Rapids in AK has long lines in the middle of the day. On our last trip, Dh and several other members of our group were able to walk on 3 times in a row later in the afternoon. Things like the Unofficial Guidebook to WDW and Tour Guide Mike (he is a sponsor of the Theme Parks Board) can help with figuring out those things.
And, last, I noticed you are not traveling until next May. I'd suggest that having the school staff work skills for dealing with 'delayed gratification' might be very helpful (for WDW and anywhere else he would not be able to get what he wants right away). He still may not understand why he is waiting, but you and he may have some better skills to deal with it.
Also, if he is using PECS, many people have made WDW related PECS for use during their trip and preparing for the trip. A lot of people have reported breakthroughs in communication during/after a WDW trip.
However, I am a firm believer in doing whatever works.
