Tips

[Mommyof2boys1118]

Hi,
I am planning a trip to Disneyland next Christmas. We will be going for at least 6 days. I have 2 kids one will be 4 and a half and the other will almost be 3. My youngest is being tested for Autism or sensory Processing Disorder or both. I am a little worried about our upcoming trip. I know it is a year away but I still have some concernd. One of my concerns is it is a very busy time. I just dont know how he will do. Do you have any tips?
thanks

 

[SueM in MN]

Don't have much time right now, but my biggest hints would be:
1) look in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, specifically posts 3 and 6. You can find that thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature.

2) use a touring plan - recommended ones are touring plans.com and easywdwd.com - or a smart phone app. You don't need to follow them blindly or exactly, but they can help you to find the least busy park and the least busy part of that park. Even during times like Easter and Christmas, that will help a lot.

3) even if your child can walk, consider using a stroller. For kids with autism or sensory issues, it helps to give them a safe haven. You can find out more about this in post 6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. If you don't have a stroller your child fits in, post 2 can help you with where to rent one.

 

[amykathleen2005]

I agree with the stroller. If it has a canopy he can hide away and have his own little space to get away from all the crowds.

 

[SueM in MN]

Meant to add, most of the information in the disABILITIES FAQs question is specific to WDW and I saw you were going to DisneyLand.
The information in post 6 was written about WDW, but getting a Guest Assistance Card is similar at DL.

There is some specific information about WDW in post 3, but some of the hints will work anywhere.
For touring plans, I meant touringplans.com, which has plans for WDW and DL and Ridemax.com, which also has plans for both.

 

[CityGranola]

We go to WDW, so I cannot answer specific things for you, but my ODS has SPD and I was so, so worried about how he would deal and if this trip was really a bad idea. He is sensitive to sounds and smells and too much going on.

DH and I decided we would go and see what happened, both agreeing that if ODS was overwhelmed, we would leave and not care that we spent money and it would be wasted. (ODS was barely 5 and we had a 2 year old as well.)

We took the monorail, which he loved. We walked in and all I wanted was a family pic in front of the castle, ODS was having none of that. NONE. I thought, great, here we go.

As we progressed through the day, I don't know if it was the magic of Disney or what, but it was really magical. Jackson did not have a single meltdown at all - he handled lines with no issue (never happened before), he didn't care about the noises or sounds and lights... it was truly magical.

We did not get a GAC because we really wanted to have as "normal" of a vacation as possible and wanted to see how he did before we asked for the card and we never needed it.

Things I would suggest - stroller, for sure. YDS needed it because he's 2, but ODS needed it because he got tired and we explained to him if he got scared or worried, he could go sit there and know he was safe.

Also, take breaks when you need them. I know everyone wants to squeeze in as much magic as humanly possible, but I found when I tested the limits, ODS got a little crabby and we scaled it back.

DH didn't love Disney (too hot, too crowded, plus YDS puked on him after we got off the Mad Hatter...) But, he did agree that it was magical for ODS. He can't wait to go back because until that point, we had never experienced such "normal" vacations. It was truly awesome. (We are expecting #3 or we were going to go this October, so now, we will put that off a year and go in 2013.)

If you have questions or anything, please let me know.

 

[of2dbeach]

For my 2 kids one with Autism 1 with Sensory overload issues. We use ear plugs for the sensory issue ( DD9) my DS18 likes to cover his ears.They both are very diffrent on how they respond to things.DD9 actually seems worse then my DS18 as far as Sensory goes.They say she isnt on the Spectrum The stroller is a great idea. We used one when DD9 was smaller. She also liked to put a towel over the canopy that way no one saw her and she could calm down easier.I am not sure about Dl but we took DS on the Monorail to the Contemporary Hotel to the game room where he just sat and chilled out while watching old Mickey movies on the huge tv.Maybe you can find something like that there as well. Sometimes just a break from the park is nice.You could also use PECS or Social Storie if you think they would help you out.I can help you with links if needed.You also might want to read the poem "Welcome to Holland" it will put things you are worried about in perspective.I was trained to teach newly DX parents about Autism and how to navigate things. if you ned me I am here
~Tonya ~

 

[Aladora]

We took our six year old DS to DL last August and since he was recently dx as being ASD, we were concerned about how the trip would go.

A few things that we found to be helpful:
Get the GaC, if you don't need it, great but if you do need it, you have it. There is no harm in getting one for the times you need it.

Let your younger child plan where you guys go. This one might be a bit more difficult for you since you have two kids but we let DS hold the map and he would pick which rides he wanted to go on. This meant that we rode Star Tours 6 times in 4 days but he really loved it.

In the Disneyland Hotel, right next to Goofy's Kitchen and Steakhouse 55, there is a small room that plays classic Disney shorts. DS really loved going there and chilling out. (Quite literally since we were there in August and the room was nicely air conditioned! ) It was quiet and there were no other kids there at all.

Go back to your hotel for naps. Even though DS gave up his afternoon nap a few years ago, he was so exhausted that he had a nap after lunch just about every day.

I don't know how tech oriented your DS is but at 3 my little guy loved playing with our iPod and then his Nintendo DS. At 3 he had a Leapster hand held device that he really loved. We got him headphones and the rule here is still that he has to wear the headphones if he wants to play. We brought the DS to Disneyland and brought it out when he was starting to get overwhelmed. Not only did it give him something to do but the headphoens blocked out a lot of the ambient noise that bothers him.

Sunglasses, my son is sensitive to bright lights so I always had two pairs of sunglasses in case we lost one pair...and as it turned out, we almost lost them twice!

When the kids have had enough, leave. If the older boy wants to stay a bit longer, maybe one of the parents can go back to the hotel with the younger one and the other stay with the big kid?

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, good luck!