SPD and WDW - plan of action?

[KalamityJane]

DD (who will be 6 at the time of the trip), and I think probably DH, has/have SPD. Where DD is a sensory seeker when she is stressed, DH goes the opposite. You can imagine how much fun it is when the 2 of them are together and stressed...

Anyway. We have been to DL twice now. The first time went really, really well - we went in a low period, we walked on to just about everything, I think our longest wait was less than an hour to do the Princesses. We went back and rested every afternoon and went back at night. It was amazing.

Second trip was during Gay Days, and it was super crowded, hot and well, could have gone better. I'll leave it at that. We did stay at the GCH and then DLH which was awesome because we could run back to the room very quickly.

I'm planning a trip to WDW/Orlando to see my family, and have a vacation in Dec. 2014. I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep DD and DH calm and everyone even keeled. Right now I'm looking into renting DVC points for 1 bedroom villas at VWL and AKV, but my concern is the transportation. I think we will rent a car so we can leave quickly if needed, also we would be able to see our family in the area.

Should I look into Windsor Hills or renting a house somewhere instead? It's pretty much vital that we be able to come back to the place we are staying to decompress with all the stimulation in the parks. We are looking at staying longer, getting APs and doing a few hours in the park a day so that we can keep everyone calm.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get the best vacation we can? I should add, DD does the best in the morning, by night it is hit and miss. Same with DH.

 

[livndisney]

DD (who will be 6 at the time of the trip), and I think probably DH, has/have SPD. Where DD is a sensory seeker when she is stressed, DH goes the opposite. You can imagine how much fun it is when the 2 of them are together and stressed...

Anyway. We have been to DL twice now. The first time went really, really well - we went in a low period, we walked on to just about everything, I think our longest wait was less than an hour to do the Princesses. We went back and rested every afternoon and went back at night. It was amazing.

Second trip was during Gay Days, and it was super crowded, hot and well, could have gone better. I'll leave it at that. We did stay at the GCH and then DLH which was awesome because we could run back to the room very quickly.

I'm planning a trip to WDW/Orlando to see my family, and have a vacation in Dec. 2014. I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep DD and DH calm and everyone even keeled. Right now I'm looking into renting DVC points for 1 bedroom villas at VWL and AKV, but my concern is the transportation. I think we will rent a car so we can leave quickly if needed, also we would be able to see our family in the area.

Should I look into Windsor Hills or renting a house somewhere instead? It's pretty much vital that we be able to come back to the place we are staying to decompress with all the stimulation in the parks. We are looking at staying longer, getting APs and doing a few hours in the park a day so that we can keep everyone calm.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get the best vacation we can? I should add, DD does the best in the morning, by night it is hit and miss. Same with DH.

I know you mention transportation as an issue. You may want to consider where you will be spending most of your time. If you will be at MK the boat for WL will get you closer than driving your car. (If you park at TTC and need to leave quickly from MK you will need to exit the park, wait for either the monorail or boat to get back to the TTC, then wait for a tram or walk out to your car.) If you are going to spend most of your time at Epcot or the Studios, the Epcot resorts are a boat ride or walk away. There is a back exit from Epcot that puts you at the dock or bridge back to the resorts. (The walk may also help with decompression since the area is RARELY/never crowded.)

Have you considered a split stay? A few days near Mk and then a few days near Studios/Epcot?

 

[clanmcculloch]

If offsite is something you would consider (some won't consider it; I'm trying to convince my DH and he just isn't open to it) then IMO that's probably your best option. This will give your DD her own bedroom so that she can have quiet time all by herself if needed and enough room for your DH to have the same if needed. Some offsite homes even have their own pool so she could even decompress in the water without all the sensory inputs from other people being around yelling, splashing, and doing all the other things that people typically do when enjoying a pool. Pools can be unbelievably soothing for some kids with SPD so this could be a major plus if this is your DD. This would give her plenty of sensory inputs while your DH could go decompress somewhere else in the house by himself.

As livndisney said, driving to MK is where you'll have to deal with transportation. Some people pay to valet park at CR. Doing this would mean you could just walk back to your car instead of dealing with the monorail or ferry back to TTC. I know you get free parking with the APs but it would probably be worth the extra cost on your MK days to pay for valet parking in order to not have to deal with transportation back to your car.