Special Assistance Universal Studios

[darlingfamily]

Hey everyone! I have done a search in the forum to see if there is any updated or better accommodations for guests who need special assistance, especially for mental disabilities. My oldest has severe autism and would LOVE to go to Universal since he is a huge Dr. Suess fan along with some other attractions they have there. However, the last time I contacted Universal they made no accommodations for kids with and ASD. So, sadly, we have never even attempted to go due to his inability to handle standing in crowded or long lines.

Has this changed at all? My son turns 18 this year and for one of our trips down to Kissimmee I would love to take him there.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I called them last year and told them about the GAc that we get for our son at Disney and asked if they had anything like this and explained his needs and iwas told that yes, they do offer help to people who have special needs and they they have there own version of a GAC. I have not been to confirm, and I'm not sure how accurate the information is, but maybe I was tld the truth. Have you called them?
UPDATE
Ok-Just so you know, I just got off the phone with guest services and they told me that they have guest assist passes. They ( just like Disney) are issued on a case by case basis. Go to the guest services window, and tell them about your needs and what Disney normally does to help you out ( I promise thats what she told me) and they will be able to try and make the best accomidations for your needs. Ui hope that this helps some.

 

[sharadoc]

Hi. We went to Universal last year and were not as "happy" with their accommodation for a couple of reasons. My son has autism/PDD-NOS.

First, they will offer you a pass that will allow your son and one other person to wait in a family room while the rest of your party enters the regular line. When the party gets to the front, the members waiting in the room can join then.

We refused that option, as the anxiety it would cause with being split up would make the wait unbearable for the parent waiting with DS.

We insisted on the pass, as we were told we could have a pass by phone (just like you). I had to get a bit angry, as I explained that we would not have come and spent the entrance money if we had not been told we could get the pass.

The employee reluctantly and with a bit of anger then gave us the passes, one for each of us.

To use the pass, you get into the same line as the Universal resort guests and those that have bought the Front of the Line pass. The difference there is that there are no "return times" for these lines, so if a lot of people decide they want to go on a ride all at the same time, the line could have a wait that is the same as the regular line.

Even with the pass, he did not do very well and asked to leave in the afternoon and refused to return.

I can't say that it was terrible, but I know we've been spoiled by the great treatment and attitude at Disney. The only advice I would give you is to be prepared with as much information as possible.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you look in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, one of the posts is about Universal and has listed the different types of Guest Assistance Cards they have.

Some people have found the accommodations they were given worked well for them and others that they did not work at all.
Our last trip to Universal was many years ago; my youngest DD has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair because she can't walk. She also has other invisible needs that make waiting in a line with many other people very difficult. Like other people have mentioned, having a room where one of our group would wait with her while part of our group went thru the line would not work out at all.
The problem we had at Universal was that they 'saw' only the wheelchair and when we tried to convey the idea that DD had needs besides an accessible line, they just kept saying that all their lines were accessible and DD was in a wheelchair, so therefore, an accessible line was all they needed to provide.

 

[jmartinez1895]

The more I hear, the more I LOVE Disney.

 

[SAGE]

I have been thinking about Universal for our next trip. DS is a huge Harry Potter fan. Without some type of assistance for the lines, he'd last an hour!
I guess the other option is to stay at one of their hotels for a night.
Not an inexpensive visit. Taxi there and back to WDW + hotel + park ticket......

 

[kaytieeldr]

Not inexpensive, no - but staying there for one night gets you two days of Front of the Line access... assuming, of course, that you have two days of park admission