It's been several years now since we've been to Disney World and we've added to our brood. All four of our kids have special needs and by the time we go to WDW they will be:
7 y.o. DD--- blind (she does have some object perception in bright light), Low functioning autism, MR,
5 y.o. DS--- HGH deficiency (he's the size of an average 2.5 y.o in height), High functioning autism and a couple of alphabet soup labels that don't pertain to a WDW trip.
3 y.o. DD--- a whole host of heart issues, she'll be about three months removed from a heart surgery when we go; typically she doesn't have a lot of restrictions of activity.
3 y.o. DS---- moderate cerebral palsy; he has braces but in the past couple of weeks has become ambulatory. He does not use a wheelchair at all. He also has cognitive/developmental delays and he is entirely g-tube fed.
We are low-key people with low-key expectations. I don't have notions in my head of doing a million rides or schlepping to more than one park in a day. My biggest concerns at this point are trying to figure out the logistical stuff. In typical day-to-day life I usually carry my now 2 y.o ds on my back, have my 7 y.o. hold my hand wherever we are, and just keep an eye on the other two. For stuff with a ton of exertion and really long walks I'll throw my 2 y.o. with the heart conditions in a stroller.
But, WDW is *a lot* of walking. My 7 y.o. is slow as molasses.....if she is not holding directly onto me she's wandering who-knows-where or she gets turned around because her O&M skills are pretty limited and then she's latching onto whatever person happens to brush by her. When she's holding on me I'm usually providing all the muscle because she'd just rather let me pull her along than actually pay attention to where we're going, lol.
I don't think either my will-be 3 y.o.s can stand that kind of walking. My 2 y.o. with C.P. is just starting to be able to walk now at 2.5, with supports. A lot could change in 7 months but I'm not confident he'd have a ton of stamina, and my other one will be three months removed from heart surgery and really isn't supposed to walking marathons every day anyway.
My will-be 5 y.o. should be fine. I don't anticipate issues with him in terms of walking around.
So, would renting a double/triple stroller be practical for WDW? Are there even places that I could rent one around WDW? Or would one be too bulky and heavy to be worth the bother of lugging one in and out a WDW bus and finding places to park it near rides? Can any one else think of a creative solution to our moving-around-the-parks dilemma? I can always continue to put my three year old (one of them anyway) on my back, but I'm concerned he'll get really heavy after awhile.
My other two dilemmas revolve around rides for my 3 y.o. with heart issues and 5 y.o. with HGH deficiency. Is there are a list of rides that are contraindicated for people with heart conditions? I doubt there will be many in this category that are also suitable for a three year old anyway, but I'd like to double check to make sure we're not bringing her by something she'd be disappointed to find out that she couldn't do at the last minute.
And how firm is WDW about height restrictions on rides? I feel a little badly for my son. He has the maturity and enthusiasm for "bigger" kid rides but he just doesn't have the height. He is little, little, little. Just started wearing 2T clothes, and he's 34 inches tall and 24 pounds. If the policy is firm because the *height* itself is a safety issue, then we'll deal with the disappointment. I have discovered a lot of places have a height restriction when it's really not a height issue, but age restrictions are less reliable because people can always fib on age where they can't on height. I don't know if any one has any experience with this at WDW?
Lastly--- my daughter carries and uses a long white cane. Will she be able to take it on rides with her, or is there a place to safely stow it once she gets on a ride to be picked up once we get off?
I can't imagine we'd need any special accommodations for the actual rides. Both my kids with autism actually do pretty well in crowds, and we're hoping to go at a time of low-crowds any way (January). The only thing I can think of that might be a concern is if the getting on/getting off process is on a moveable walkway where we only have a couple of seconds to try and get everyone on and off. My oldest and my one with C.P. can't go quite that fast....we wouldn't need everything to STOP, but can they slow it down once we get to the front of the line?
TIA. I look forward to all the wonderful BTDT wisdom! We're incredibly excited to be taking the whole crew!
ETA: I forgot my g-tube question, so I posted it under response #5, in case any one has experience on how to get your cases of formula to travel efficiently!
7 y.o. DD--- blind (she does have some object perception in bright light), Low functioning autism, MR,
5 y.o. DS--- HGH deficiency (he's the size of an average 2.5 y.o in height), High functioning autism and a couple of alphabet soup labels that don't pertain to a WDW trip.
3 y.o. DD--- a whole host of heart issues, she'll be about three months removed from a heart surgery when we go; typically she doesn't have a lot of restrictions of activity.
3 y.o. DS---- moderate cerebral palsy; he has braces but in the past couple of weeks has become ambulatory. He does not use a wheelchair at all. He also has cognitive/developmental delays and he is entirely g-tube fed.
We are low-key people with low-key expectations. I don't have notions in my head of doing a million rides or schlepping to more than one park in a day. My biggest concerns at this point are trying to figure out the logistical stuff. In typical day-to-day life I usually carry my now 2 y.o ds on my back, have my 7 y.o. hold my hand wherever we are, and just keep an eye on the other two. For stuff with a ton of exertion and really long walks I'll throw my 2 y.o. with the heart conditions in a stroller.
But, WDW is *a lot* of walking. My 7 y.o. is slow as molasses.....if she is not holding directly onto me she's wandering who-knows-where or she gets turned around because her O&M skills are pretty limited and then she's latching onto whatever person happens to brush by her. When she's holding on me I'm usually providing all the muscle because she'd just rather let me pull her along than actually pay attention to where we're going, lol.
I don't think either my will-be 3 y.o.s can stand that kind of walking. My 2 y.o. with C.P. is just starting to be able to walk now at 2.5, with supports. A lot could change in 7 months but I'm not confident he'd have a ton of stamina, and my other one will be three months removed from heart surgery and really isn't supposed to walking marathons every day anyway.
My will-be 5 y.o. should be fine. I don't anticipate issues with him in terms of walking around.
So, would renting a double/triple stroller be practical for WDW? Are there even places that I could rent one around WDW? Or would one be too bulky and heavy to be worth the bother of lugging one in and out a WDW bus and finding places to park it near rides? Can any one else think of a creative solution to our moving-around-the-parks dilemma? I can always continue to put my three year old (one of them anyway) on my back, but I'm concerned he'll get really heavy after awhile.
My other two dilemmas revolve around rides for my 3 y.o. with heart issues and 5 y.o. with HGH deficiency. Is there are a list of rides that are contraindicated for people with heart conditions? I doubt there will be many in this category that are also suitable for a three year old anyway, but I'd like to double check to make sure we're not bringing her by something she'd be disappointed to find out that she couldn't do at the last minute.
And how firm is WDW about height restrictions on rides? I feel a little badly for my son. He has the maturity and enthusiasm for "bigger" kid rides but he just doesn't have the height. He is little, little, little. Just started wearing 2T clothes, and he's 34 inches tall and 24 pounds. If the policy is firm because the *height* itself is a safety issue, then we'll deal with the disappointment. I have discovered a lot of places have a height restriction when it's really not a height issue, but age restrictions are less reliable because people can always fib on age where they can't on height. I don't know if any one has any experience with this at WDW?
Lastly--- my daughter carries and uses a long white cane. Will she be able to take it on rides with her, or is there a place to safely stow it once she gets on a ride to be picked up once we get off?
I can't imagine we'd need any special accommodations for the actual rides. Both my kids with autism actually do pretty well in crowds, and we're hoping to go at a time of low-crowds any way (January). The only thing I can think of that might be a concern is if the getting on/getting off process is on a moveable walkway where we only have a couple of seconds to try and get everyone on and off. My oldest and my one with C.P. can't go quite that fast....we wouldn't need everything to STOP, but can they slow it down once we get to the front of the line?
TIA. I look forward to all the wonderful BTDT wisdom! We're incredibly excited to be taking the whole crew!
ETA: I forgot my g-tube question, so I posted it under response #5, in case any one has experience on how to get your cases of formula to travel efficiently!
Oh sorry, maybe we do not want to scare him that much. 
I suggest you get the 2 double strollers. It will make life a whole lot easier and everybody should enjoy themselves more. I think you also need to get at least 2 GAC cards. If you and your DH ever split up to take in different rides with different kids, then you could do that with different GAC's. 
