Tips for WDW w/ ADHD boys?

[DVC Mary]

I would really appreciate any tips that allowed families of children w/ ADHD to enjoy their trip better.

My DH has it too, so my DSs' ( 5 & 8) behavior would set the DH off. There were parts of this last trip I'd rather not repeat. It was too stressful. Severe stressors seemed to be:

- not being able to go on a ride when they wanted b/c of too long a line
- staying w/ the family (safe & sound) not wandering offf or walking 10 feet ahed of us
- being funneled into a gift shop after a ride &b not be allowed to buy somehint everywhere (they had money to spend & depleted those funds by day3 of a 12 day trip).

- figthing with each other in line ( refused to play little inexpensived electronic games & of small puzzle books, etc. )

Any suggestions? Help would be appreciated. My DH said that he'd only do one more trip & then wants to consider selling our dvc points. This had the kids & I crying while we waited for Fantasmic to start.

I love Disney & I don't won't to lose the magic I enjoy there and that my family enjoys most of the time.

Please help!

Things we tried:

We did do naps most day, although DS 8 would just lay there & not nap, but would be tired & cranky in the evening.

early & late hours + fast pass
a/c sit down meal once a day to break from the sun & heat

 

[minkydog]

Well, we have only one kid with ADD, but I have another child with severe mental retardation which makes his attention span extremely short, so i can really sympathize with you. The first thing I would recommend is to shorten your vacations. We learned a long time ago that any vacation longer than 4 days(when they were young) was too much. I know it doesn't seem fair, but that's the truth. By day 5 it gets ugly and they are so out of their routine we all feel like killing each other(it doens't help that DH & I have ADD, too). It does get better as they get older.

Lower your expectations for how much you plan to do in a day. You are doing a lot of things right,and your boys aren't misbehaving because of poor parenting.Be sure they are eating fresh fruit regularly and some of their "normal" food--12 days of restaurant food would make my kids wild. As they get older, their ability to wait should improve, but until then it's going to be hard for them (and exhausting for you.) I wouldnt necissarily sell the DVC, but I would consider that the Disney experience is overwhelming for these kids now.

Best of luck to you. We do the same things you do, and when Mom has had enough we leave the parks. Now my boys are 19 & 10 and we're heading back again at Thanksgiving for 6 days. We'll probably be gnasing our teeth by the end of it, but I don't expect things to come to blows.

 

[meandtheguys2]

May I suggest limited park time? I know it sounds like a HUGE waste of money, but it may allow you to come back! We spend a few hours in the parks, then head back for swimming and chilling. It seems to keep our lives much more stable, and it allows me to get my Disney fix each year! My DH can only take so much of the hustle and bustle of the parks. So we go swim, or go on a bit of a rod trip. We also do better if we escape the magic a bit. Last year we went to the Orlando Science Center and the boys had a ball! It was quiet, and really interesting/fun. It made a nice break in the chaos.

I really wish you the best!

Michelle

 

[missypie]

1. Get to the parks 30 min. before rope drop.
2. Follow a touring plan (UG or TGM).
3. Always have a fast pass going.

This will eliminate the not being able ot go on a ride because the line is too long problem and the fighting in line. You can see everything you want by about 1 pm then get out of the parks as they get crowded.

My DS has Asperger's and ADD, and we find that he reacts A LOT better if we prepare him in advance for stuff. Learn/remember which rides open into gift shops and before you even go on the ride, talk about how you will not be shopping there. Alternative: Get him "into" pressed pennies and get a pressed penny at each shop. (I think most of them have pressed penny machines.)

 

[Stacey2grls]

My DD5 has ADHD. We went in May. For us, I lowered our expectations so none of us would be dissapointed. I pointed out to my daughter everyday what we expected of her, this sometimes works with her. We also tried to what just she wanted to do part of the day, and if she was really good we rewarded her with a small treat. It sounds like you are really doing all the right things, in the end all you can do is that. Good luck with your trip, I'm sure your boys will have a blast.

 

[taximomfor4]

May I suggest limited park time? I know it sounds like a HUGE waste of money, but it may allow you to come back! We spend a few hours in the parks, then head back for swimming and chilling. It seems to keep our lives much more stable, and it allows me to get my Disney fix each year! My DH can only take so much of the hustle and bustle of the parks. So we go swim, or go on a bit of a rod trip. We also do better if we escape the magic a bit. Last year we went to the Orlando Science Center and the boys had a ball! It was quiet, and really interesting/fun. It made a nice break in the chaos.

I really wish you the best!

Michelle

I COMPLETELY second this!! I took my oldest dd to WDW for her 8th bday. It was TERRIBLE by about 11am. Picture a healthy (?) 8-yr old girl on the ground by the haunted mansion kicking, thrashing, and wide-open-mouthed SCREAMING. Every day. We were only there for 4 days, but never made it past 11am in the parks. And we only went back ONCE for the evening (on our last evening there). Seemed like a HUGE waste of $, and many times I called DH in tears. Long story why, but I had taken out a loan for this trip. Anyway, I took her for eval after the trip, and she was dx as ADHD. We ended up riding hardly any rides, just sat around, walked around, people watched, browsed, ate counter service. I guess she absorbed ambiance. Thats about it...but she loved our trip and we did get tons of pool time in. This was July 2001.

Now, our family trip to wdw over easter this year she is now 11 and probably could have done more. But with 3 younger kids along, we just stayed in the parks till after lunch and only went back ONCE (in a 7-day trip). Rode VERY few rides...sat around, absorbed ambiance, ate counter service, watched less-popular shows. Still seemed like a waste of ticket money? NOPE because the kids LOVED WDW!

I am only recounting these stories to let you know my experiences. You know your kids, and what they can handle. Maybe, lol. I think you can have a great vacation if you re-think expectations. Pooltime might be the highlight!! Especially since you are DVC members! If you get a couple hours a day in the parks, then play at the resorts the rest of the day, maybe everyone will do much better??

I hope you guys go and have a better time this time around! I really do!

 

[riu girl]

DD and DH are both ADHD (and I stress the H). We were in WDW 12/04 and it was great.
Tips:
1. We stayed 5 nights but only did 2 park days. The other days we went at a snails pace and enjoyed the resort, checking out other resorts, DTD, napping, watching tv, etc. It was great.

2. Make sure everyone eats as healthy as possible. Poor eating /sleeping habits can really be hard on ADHD people.

3. Have some sort of a touring plan, but understand that the plan may have to be ignored, and be ok with that.

4. Instead of long park days, try short park days. We are planning on going for a week next trip and are planning 6 half days and then back to the resort for pool/tv time. We don't have cable or a satellite at home so kids don't watch tv at home. The ability to watch WDW cable is truly a treat for them.

5. Try to hit the parks early so it is not crowded for the first couple of hours.

6. Have you considered renting a WDW stroller? DK's were 4 and 7 last trip and the stroller was a huge hit. It gave them their own space to play/read, blow bubbles , cuddle up with a blanket and stuffed animal, eat, drink etc. Without it, we would have not lasted long in the parks.

7. Leave DH at the resort one or two days. Just joking. But seriously with DD and DH together, the hyperactivity goes WAY UP since they seem to set each other off or something. This trip, DH will not be with us at WDW and believe me, I will be fine with this!!!!

8. About being put into gift shops after rides, what about giving the kids so much of their $ to spend each day and when its gone, its GONE!!!

9 About wandering off, warn them that if they do this they will have to wear a velcro bracelet that is attached to you and them. No empty threats, put the bracelet on them if they don't listen. I had the bracelets with us but in the parks didn't use them due to the popularity of the WDW stroller. I did in World of DIsney though only because of crowds (a few days before xmas it was like sardines in there)

10. What about applying tattos in lines. Most kids love this and with a ton of tattoos (and wet rag or baby wipes), this might amuse them for a LONG time.

11. What about singing in line? I know that this sounds kind of odd, but what kid can think about fighting/arguing with their sibling while singing. It is hard to feel a lot of ADHD symtoms while singing. We did a ton of this (I'm sure other families thought we were odd, we are but thats another story, we just have TOO much fun whereever we go) and other families seemed to think it was hilarious/kept their kids busy watching us/joined in. Please dont flame me for the singing. I know it was odd but we weren't overly loud due to possible noise intolerance others may have. I made sure of this.

12. buying a ton of tiny bubble bottles from the dollar store (sometimes the tiny ones are 6 for $1) and having the kids hand them out to surrounding kids in the line ups (with the permission of their parents). Then they can all have a bubble party until the end of the queue. We did lots of odd things in lines (singing, handing out bubbles, DKs didn't use them since they handed them all out but had fun catching them, applying tattoos to other peoples children with their permission of course). We received a lot of "thank yous, "thank goodness you are in this line with us", "your family is truly magical" etc etc. It was great and the kids loved involving others.

I hope that you have a great trip and don't sell your DVC. That would be so sad. And with ADHD, the symptoms often improve with maturity so hopefully as your kids get older, the WDW vacations will only get better!!
Suzy V.

 

[Schmeck]

Please be careful about bubbles - some can sting the eyes when they pop, which is no fun at all! In crowded lines a lot of people do not appreciate getting bubbles on them. My daughter is also allergic to some bubble formulas. Causes a nasty rash/burn on her skin.

 

[SueM in MN]

There are some good suggestions on this site for autism, ADD and people with special needs. The webmaster (it's a woman, so I guess she's the webmistress??) of the site has not updated it for a while, but it still has a lot of good info.
I would agree that the amount of time you are on your trip is probably a major stressor - being away from home for 12 days on vacation is stressful for people without special needs.
You've gotten some really good advice (especially the get there early part). I found the following a touring plan to be stressful myself, but for people with ADHD, it would give a lot of structure and a feeling like they are doing something and can cross it off the list as they get to it.

If you are going for 12 days, I'd suggest buying AP. That way, even if you only go into the park for an hour, there is no "we've used one of our precious days and we have to get our money's worth" feeling. Buying APs was one of the things that helped us relax the most in WDW.

MK is an especially stimulating park. There is music, motion, colr and activity all over. Even if it's not busy, it feels busy there because it's more compact than the other parks. We find MK especailly is best in small doses.
If you need to take a break from the parks, get out and do something else - ride the monorail from MK to Epcot and back or take the monorail to one of the MK resorts or the Epcot boat to the Boardwalk. Anything to change the scenery and get somewhere less frantic.

 

[alcoromom]

Dh is adhd,ds(11) is adhd and ds(9) is add.We have done the parks several years with few problems.1)We shop on the second last day except if we are in world showcase at epcot.The kids can look at things in the shops quickly and put it on their list.(We started this because we were waiting for our adjustment for our income tax to show up in our bank account that was souviner$$$ and didn'y get it until the end of our trip we spent less and it was so much easier)2)We always take an afternoon break to swim sleep and go back in the evening.3)we use tour guide mike to minimize wait times and always park hop.4)we have our must sees and that is all we guarantee the kids.5)We do one sit down meal/day.6) Since dh is a big kid he tends to entertain in line.We still have fights from the kids etc but they are hot tired etc,that we take as a cue we need to leave,eat ,get drinks.Relax and let the kids know well in advance expectations etc.The worse thing we did was tell the kids about Disney on the way(2 hours away) to the airport. They did that the whole way

 

[disneykid1961]

Lots a great suggestions for you, but I'll also put in my .2 cents worth. My DS (7) has aspergers and ADHD, but one thing that relaxes him is looking at maps. He loved getting the maps to all parks and becoming familiar with the different "lands". He was "in charge" of getting from one place to another. Because he focused on the directions, he was less susceptible to feeling out of control of the situation. Also, now that we're home, he refers to the maps often and talks about his favorite rides, lands, etc. His piggy bank is now the WDW savings bank for 3 years from now when his little sister is 48" and can ride everything.

We went in May '05, and took him out of school for three days so crowds were minimal so waiting in line was not an issue. He did complain of the noise in Mickey's Philharmagic and fireworks, so next visit I will bring earplugs just in case. Eating in a sit-down restaurant just doesn't work for us this trip...so we had a character breakfast buffet at Donalds which everyone loved, and just noshed throughout the day at the parks. We did take afternoon breaks so kids could swim and then we ate before hitting the parks again in the evening. We also got him an Epcot Passport (on Ebay) and he had it stamped at every country. That also gave him something to focus on. I hope these add to your growing list of great ideas to help make the trip fun for all. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[LindaDVC]

Another thought is rotate the disney world vacation with the beach trips.

My son (severe ADHD) always preferred Hilton Head to WDW. Now he loved disney but the lines, structure, etc was not "fun" for him. At HH he swam, fished, crabbed, rode bike , etc all on his schedule and was in heaven!

He is now 17 and for graduation next year I suggested bringing some friends to WDW. He said he would prefer to take them to HH !
I said whatever you want as a graduation trip is okay by us!
So I will be calling DVC soon!

Linda

 

[JenJen]

I have a daughter with ADHD and sensory issues and a son with aspergers and to keep them busy while in lines we bring there PSP's or small hand held games. It destracts them while waiting. I agree about shorter days!!!!!
JenJen

 

[wilma-bride]

Lots a great suggestions for you, but I'll also put in my .2 cents worth. My DS (7) has aspergers and ADHD, but one thing that relaxes him is looking at maps. He loved getting the maps to all parks and becoming familiar with the different "lands". He was "in charge" of getting from one place to another. Because he focused on the directions, he was less susceptible to feeling out of control of the situation. Also, now that we're home, he refers to the maps often and talks about his favorite rides, lands, etc. His piggy bank is now the WDW savings bank for 3 years from now when his little sister is 48" and can ride everything.QUOTE]

I totally agree with the map thing. I am taking my DDs (12 & 13) to WDW next year. Eldest DD has ADHD (since age 6) and LOVES reading maps. Because of our location, we have often spent long periods of time in the car travelling and she follows our route on the map and tells me which road I need to be on. I have no doubt that when we go next year, she will be in charge of the maps and that will help her to feel in control (which is one of the main problems she has, feeling out of control).

Just wanted to add, I have seen a marked improvement in her behaviour over the last few years so I hope she will have improved again by next year. We are prepared to do things to suit the girls, though, including leaving the parks if things get too bad.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I have a daughter with ADHD and sensory issues and a son with aspergers and to keep them busy while in lines we bring there PSP's or small hand held games. It destracts them while waiting. I agree about shorter days!!!!!
JenJen

Wow- like ditto almost the same here! (daughter ADHD/ODD/SID and son ADHD/ODD possibly Bi-polar like his father.. not aspergers) And I did the same with gameboy advances. Boy do they work wonders...

 

[justus3]

Our 9 year old DS is ADHD. We let him plan more of our trip, by using the Disney site to log in his favorites, that way he is more prepared for what is to happen at each park. When we get to the parks he uses his map to plot the way to his attraction. This keeps him focused. We try to go at his pace, keeps everyone happy. We make sure he has his "own map", very important.

 

[DVC Mary]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. We really need to make some of the many changes you suggested. I hope age is a key. My 8 yr old DS is better and better at handling things. My 5 yr old DS is way more emotional and quite challenging. We may need to split up more often to do one on one time.

Thanks for a great thread of ideas!