Sensory Integration Disorder and Disney

[Tinkerkristen]

Hi my family is heading to Disney in October and my DD who will be 3 has SID. She has Oral Motor Apraxia with the SID mix in. She should be fine with the people and waiting in lines but she might need some down time in the park. I figured the train would be a nice relaxing activity for her but I was wondering if anyone else had some ideas about other things to help keep her happy during the day. We are planning 1/2 days in MK, 1 morning and 1 evening. Then one day in AK.

Do you think with a note from her Dr they might let us use a baby station rooms for 10-15 minutes if needed? I do have and 18 month old, I could just pretend to nurse her I guess if need be.

We also booked the Crystal Palace, Cindys royal table, 1900 Park Fare and Chef Mickeys. I know she won't eat but I figured we would try.

She also has food issues and eats a limited selections of food and right now I have no idea how to handle that. I think of the two issues the food one bothers me the most. I am hoping we can find oatmeal at breakfast for her and yogart somewhere in the park???? Maybe??? Can Disney dinning help on this or should I spend 10.00 a night and get a fridge at POP.


So any advice is welcome! Thanks

 

[dzorn]

If your room has a coffee maker you could make your own oatmeal in the room.


I cannot reccomend this book enough but get Passporters Guide for Special Needs. DD has autism and I found it very helpful. On spot I found that is relaxing is the Little Garden that Belle Story time is located in . When it is not story time it is a quiet place to get away from the crowds.

Let all your ADR's know you have special needs and they are very accomidating about particluar diets. I would also contact . Brenda with Disney Restrauant Management. 407-824-5967 DD is on a gluten free diet and she was very helpful. She may be able to give you some more information on the Counter service places.

You don't say what time of year you are going, but I would suggest going back to the room early afternoon and enjoying the pool. That would allow for some down time. Then if the kids are up to it go back for the evening. We have planned to usually have lunches in the parks and then pool. The few evening plans we have we have left the morning free.


DD was 6 and loved spectro. She sat their memerized and did the homecomming queen wave for the entire paradee. Her arm was so tired by the end she was actually holding it up with her other hand.


Denise

 

[GretchGraham]

My DD8 has autism and SID. She also has many food issues and is very particular about what she eats. I found the dining CMs to be very helpful, but what I discovered is that DD was so excited and stimulated in the parks, she wouldn't eat anything while we were out. It was only when we returned to the room that she would eat, and she made up for lost time then.

I would have never made it that first trip without the in-room refrigerator. You can then bring a few of her favorites to stock in the room or you can have a grocery service deliver.

 

[Tinkerkristen]

Great I will call them and see what they can do for me. I know the rooms don't have coffee makers but I can bring something to boil water for breakfast. Lunch and dinner will be hard.

Stll wondering about down time in the MK. Thanks

 

[SueM in MN]

I figured the train would be a nice relaxing activity for her but I was wondering if anyone else had some ideas about other things to help keep her happy during the day. We are planning 1/2 days in MK, 1 morning and 1 evening. Then one day in AK.

I'd highly recommend the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in Tomorrowlnd in MK. It's an elevated, futuristic train ride thru Tomorrowland. If she likes the steam train from Main Street, she will probably like it.

Another restful thing to do is the Steamboat ride near the Haunted Mansion at MK. It's also relaxing - nothing very stimulating. Just very nice and takes about 20 minutes.

Don't forget the boats that go between the MK and the MK resorts. Also, you can take the monorail from the MK to the MK resorts. If you get off at the TTC, you can also take the monorail to Epcot and back again to MK. You don't need to go in to Epcot, you can just ride the monorail to the entrance. A lot of people with children with SID and ASD have posted that the monorail was their child's favorite ride.

You can just take the boats and monorails back and forth or actually go to some of the resorts. All of them have very large and comfortable lobbies, with cushy chairs and couches. Some have children's areas running Disney movies. You can also walk around the grounds, which are fairly quiet during the day since most guests are in the parks.

For AK, there are a lot of things. The Safari is very nice (although you need to be aware that there is a part near the end where your tram speeds up and goes on a hunt for "poachers". There are 2 nature paths - one in Africa and one in Asia. Those are very nice because you can go at your own speed and stay in one place as long as you like.
2 shows might work out well for you - there is a bird show in the Asia area that is pretty nice. There is also a Pocohontas animal show with a variety of animals.

For other suggestions - what types of things does she have problems with? What does she like? Dislike?

Do you think with a note from her Dr they might let us use a baby station rooms for 10-15 minutes if needed? I do have and 18 month old, I could just pretend to nurse her I guess if need be.

I'd recommend First Aid instead. There is one in each park. They are quiet, dimly lit and have a number of individual cubicles (3 walls and a curtain). Each cubicle has a cot, at least one chair and a bedside table. You don't need a doctor's note to use them (or to use the Baby Care area). First Aid would likely be a lot quieter than the Baby Care area.

We also booked the Crystal Palace, Cindys royal table, 1900 Park Fare and Chef Mickeys. I know she won't eat but I figured we would try.

If she doesn't eat at all, the CM might charge an entertainment fee rather than the full price for the meal. As the others mentioned, talking with the chef at each full service restaurant will be able to help you with food.

I am hoping we can find oatmeal at breakfast for her and yogart somewhere in the park???? Maybe??? Can Disney dinning help on this or should I spend 10.00 a night and get a fridge at POP.

You might be able to get the fee waived because having some food for your DD is a medical need. I have not been to the food court at POP, but all the other food courts I have been in have hot water for tea. So if you go to the food court, you would be able to get hot water - you'll just have to bring instant outmeal along with you. If you don't want to bring your children to the food court, one of you could get some hot water in an insulated coffee mug and bring it back to the room. Or you could bring a hot pot with you for heating water.
Again, I don't know about POP specifically, but the food courts I have been to had yogurt. Not sure how picky she is about the brand/type of yogurt, but it might work out for you.
A lot of people whose children have food issues bring a small cooler into the parks with them. If you need to replenish ice during the day, you can get more at many counter service areas.

 

[andijean]

The fact that you are thinking ahead about what to do for her will make a big difference. Everyone thought I was nuts about how much planning I did, but it made our trip so much more enjoyable for everyone. You didn't say what type of SID kid she is b/c this can impact some of my suggestions, but I will let you know about some of the things that worked for us. You are on the right track as far as meals. I would definitely recommend a fridge in your room. This took so much pressure off mealtimes. We ate all breakfasts in the room, it was hard to do all restaurant meals. I packed stuff in my suitcase and bought stuff in gift shop.(ie: breakfast bars, cereal, milk, oj, yogurt, applesauce, can fruit) Also, on those days where he didn't eat well we could go back to the room and some healthy things that he would like. I would ask for a fridge for medical reasons or baby that you need milk for and that way you won't have to pay. We did this at a non-disney hotel and they were more than happy to help us out. Also, if she has noise sensitivity you might want to re-evaluate some of your ADR's. My son had some real difficulty handling some of the restaurants and that was with earplugs in.

As far as ideas for the parks you are right that the train is a great one. I think one time we rode it around 3 times. The TTA also was a great idea it is a relaxing speed and you can stay on that one b/c it is never very crowded. We also liked the rocking chairs on the porches of frontierland and Tom Sawyer Island was great for him b/c he could run around and explore w/out a lot of people and noise. The MK is just very noisy in general and it was hard to get away from that sometimes.

At AK we just loved it b/c it just seemed so much more peaceful and less noisy. One thing that we did stay away from was "It's tough to be a bug" He did not like any of the 3D's they were too real and having all the other components in that show would have put him over the edge. We love the Dig Site. It was great to let him just dig and it never seemed too nuts in there. The other ideas suggested worked for us too, especially the trails b/c they could walk and still be near us and it was fairly quiet. We did use touring plans and that alleviated a lot of congestion and wait times. I highly recommend Tour Guide Mike's for that reason.

Also, we always brought a small cooler with us to the parks. I carried it on the plane packed with drinks and yogurt and then brought it to the parks everyday. They never questioned it at the gate.

Good luck to you and have fun! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[Disneylvr]

I agree with Sue, perhaps you should mention that you need the fridge for medical needs so you can keep DD's favorite foods in your room. My dd has autism, SID and suspected oral apraxia as well. We are going in just 12 days and I will be sure to post back here about our experiences.

 

[Tinkerkristen]

These are some great ideas. Thanks! MY dd's SID is all over the map because of her apraxia. So she had a little of this and a little of that. Its been hard finding an OT for her to get help.

I have called and reserved a fridge and have made notes on all the suggestions made here. I know the 3D shows and rides will be too much for her this year, but we are looking at it as getting her feet wet.

So thank you and if anyone else has any suggestions please post them.

 

[Juliah]

I agree that the train ride is relaxing, but just be aware that the whistle is loud. The whistle made my DDs (who have cerebral palsy and some SI, especially with sudden noises) nuts when they rode it when they were little. If she has trouble with noises, you might want to try to sit toward the back.

The monorial is wonderful, but for some reason the whooshing sound the doors make when they close still makes my girls feel panicky--even as teenagers. Your mileage may vary, just wanted to mention it.

I think one of the most relaxing things is riding the big ferry boat across the lake between the MK and the TTC, especially if you do it in the middle of the day when there aren't many passengers. As someone said, you could then walk through the grounds of the Polynesian or go to the lobby. One of the gift shops upstairs has some grocery items, so they might have something there that your daughter could eat. You could also walk out to the beach. There's at least one hammock along the beach at the Polynesian.

Don't know if this would be quiet enough, but there's a Pooh playground for small children at the MK near the Tea Cup ride. Also, just after you cross the bridge from the hub into Liberty Square, if you turn to your left before you get to the first shop, there are some benches kind of tucked away off the beaten path that you could sit on to relax. Not very many people walk through there. There's also a little gazebo in the rose garden that you can get to from the path to that goes from the hub to Tomorrowland.

BTW, scanning the Dining section of allearsnet.com, it looks like the food courts at the value resorts have yogurt, at least at breakfast.

Hope you guys have a great time!