Newbie saying hi!

[myjulybabes]

Hello all! I found these boards earlier today as I was just surfing around, looking for info on taking children with disabilities to Disney World! Thought I'd post a quick intro.

I am by far, no Disney vetran, but I aspire to be! LOL. I went once with my family about 11 yrs ago, when I was 15, and I've been dying to go back ever since. Especially now that I have kids of my own to share the magic with! My youngest, Aidan, is 2 yrs old and autistic. He absolutely loves the theme park in town (Six Flags St. Louis) so I just can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees Disney World for the first time. My middle child, Margaret, is 4. She's in love with anything having to do with princesses, so I know she'll have a blast. My oldest, Nick, will be 7 this month. He has mild SID (sensory integration dysfunction). He copes pretty well most of the time though.

I'm hoping to make the trip in about a year or so, and I'm kind of obessive about planning, so I thought I'd start researching now on what to expect when taking 2 children with sensory issues to a place as overwhelming as Disney World. We're comtemplating taking MIL and FIL along as well, and MIL has some hip problems, so she'd probably need a scooter or wheelchair, so all in all, I think I've found the right board here, wouldn't ya say?

~Josie~

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi Josie and welcome to disABILITIES

I think I can work to answer two of your concerns right away.

As you state, your children do not have a problem with Six Flags. In that case, they probably will be OK at WDW. However, normally a trip to Six Flags is one day while WDW will probably be at least a week. I would suggest starting your planning early and figure out a tentative schedule.

With two children with potential for meltdowns, I would think that staying at an on-property resort would be critical. The reason I would suggest plan early is if you will be spending most time at the Magic Kingdom you might want to stay at one of the monorail hotels. Similarly choose the location of the hotel based on what you will be doing most.

A mid-day break is a necessity! Napping and/or swimming/relaxing at the pool will help. Look at Park opening and closing times; go to the Park with early entry in the morning, take the break around lunchtime, and go to a Park that closes at a leter time.

As far as MIL. More than likely use of an ECV (or scooter) is probably better than a wheelchair. It is not noticeable to most people, but in a wheelchair you do realize there are hills! Unless the user/pusher is used to a wc it can be very wearing. Other advantages of an ECV are that it will give your MIL a sense of freedom and not being a burden. Also, with three children, and either two or three of them with strollers, you won't have the "staffing" necessary to push everything.

We normally suggest renting off-site rather than from Disney for various reasons, such as cost, availability and maneuverability. At this time I will not post the rental details, but you can see the listings on other posts. If using off-site rentals they tend to be very convenient. If you have a car, the ECVs break down into five pieces with the heaviest less than 40 pounds. If using Disney transportation there will be very few problems.

If your MIL has never used an ECV, most WalMarts and large grocery stores have them available for shoppers. She can do a "test drive" at one of those stores. Just realize the ones in the stores are larger and nowhere near as maneuverable as the rentals.

Anyway, I hope this information helps. Read other posts, ask all the questions you want. I think all the regulars here feel a need to assist where possible.

Mike

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES.
However you found us, I do think you are in the right place.
Even though most people think of MK with children, keep an open mind to the other parks too. We find MK to be the most overstimulating of all the parks, so we like it best in small doses. A nice thing about staying at one of the WDW resorts, is that it is very easy to be in MK in the morning, maybe go back to your hotel in the aftenoon (which we never actually have done) or change to another park. Or, you could take the monorail from MK to one of the MK resorts for a meal and a little break, then head back to the park. If you are staying on Disney property, you can get from one park to another with Disney transportation and not have to worry about where your car is parked.

 

[myjulybabes]

Thanks ladies! I think Aidan handles SixFlags well, because we know how to handle him there. Hopefully, some of the same tricks will work well in WDW too. Lines are never easy, but I think we'll try to go off season, or as close to it as we can get with the kids school schedules, use the FastPass and GAC if/when needed, to get a quieter place to wait, and we'll be ok. When I went with my family, we went the very beginning of June, right after school let out, and it wasn't TOO bad, temperature or crowd wise. Temps were like St. L in mid-summer, mid-high 80s, and I think the longest we waited in line in any of hte parks was 45 min. Obviously Sept or Oct would be better times to go, and if we can swing it, we will, but there are so many factors to consider! I've gotta say, I'm impressed that the Fast Pass is free. To do something similar at Six Flags, you have to rent the little thingo you stick in the machine to get your return time, and it's not cheap. We'll probably either do the mid-day break, or just start early in the day, and come back to the hotel early. I have ADHD myself, and while I'm old enough to have learned ways to control my behavior, I still get overwhelmed with all the noise and crowds.

Have a great day everyone!

~Josie~
& the kids

 

[s&k'smom]

Hi just wanted to say welcome to the boards. I too have found these particular threads invaluable in planning my trip. One tip I like to share is to get your kids involved in the planning. We happened to be staying at one of the hotels (GF) that was featured on the travel channel so we taped the episode and DS watched in a zillion times and it was amazing what he remembered. He immediately wanted to go to the pool! We talked aobut it a lot and also got the promotional video from WDW you can get and that really added excitement. I also got the Passporter book to right info in and my kids would see me scribbling and ask questions so it really made it fun. Look on past threads and you'll find a lot of planning tips.

 

[CarolDel]

Hi

Another newbie here, never been further than DLP before, and this is our biggest adventure. I have 3 lads 10,11 & 12. My eldest has Aspergers and my youngest is currently going through a dx possibly leading to dyspraxia and attention defecit.

I am also trying like mad to get as prepared as possible. My eldest DS biggest problems are going to be meltdowns from overstimulation and queuing. Luckily he thrives on facts and figures so I am getting technical data for him.

My DH & I can brazen out any stares or uninformed comments and my eldest just doesn't care anyway, it is my "middley" typically able lad that gets very embarrased and stressed when meltdowns occur.

Any tips would be welcome ( we will of course be separating from time to time and my mum is coming along so we will be 3 adults to 3 children)

 

[myjulybabes]

Thanks for the tips everyone, and welcome Carole!

My SID kiddo's biggest problem is loud noises, so I think I'm going to be doing a lot of research to find out ahead of time where we can expect that, so we can tell him ahead of time that it's coming. My autistic son is quite severely so, and non verbal, so though we plan to show him videos, and talk about what's going to happen, I don't know how much it will help.

Carole, I think finding out the facts and figures about DW and telling your son with Aspergers about them is a great idea! It will definitely keep him occupied, and get him excited about what you are doing! Maybe let him help you do research, depending on his abilities.

I'm so freakin' excited just thinking about going back! LOL

~Josie~

 

[CarolDel]

Hiya, thanks for the welcome, it is soooo much easier when people are on the same wavelength and understand the necessity for these seemingly trivial details.

I suggested ear plugs and he is quite receptive to the idea. We have chosen March and will be taking them out of school a bit early so are going from 18th March to 8th April ( just before the easter fortnight starts so I am hoping the crowds won't be too much)

We thought it would be too hot in the summer ( he doesn't do well at all when "hot n bothered") ( not many of us do though - lol) and would have to take the lads out of school for too long if we went at October break.

We are going for 3 weeks so that we don't try to cram it all in, we will be planning days in to chill out by the pool at the villa.

At the moment I am just casually introducing the odd fact or number - his fave prog is CSI so I just drop in that we can maybe visit Miami and maybe go on one of the air boats etc.

Once we have the villa, I will try and get him to help me calculate distances from the villa to the parks. Nice and slow and let him dictate the pace for taking on board the details.

Carol

 

[Sarahsmom85]

If you need something to keep son busy find out about "hidden micky". They are scattered throughtout the parks, finding Micky can be an added treat. I got the book Fodor's Walt Disney World with Kids 2004 at the library and even though my kid is 18 I'm reading it.

 

[mbb]

...funny how you read someone's post and think "there ARE other people out here just like us!! THANK GOD!!!"

Sometimes it feels like your family is the only one dealing with these issues...so glad this Board is here

 

[joshsmom]

I just wanted to say welcome and HELLO to my fellow St. Louisan!! Ok, I'm in metro-east, but we're not very far from each other! DS just had a kidney transplant in Sept., so I came to this board with all my questions too!! SO helpful! DS LOVES 6Flags also, but would rather be at WDW than anywhere else in the world!!

Planning is SO much fun and involving the kids makes it even better!! Have fun, plan, and then RELAX!!