Traveling to Disney with a special needs child, help please!

[poohnpigletCA]

Hello all. Let me stat with a little background we are a family pf 4 living in Northern California. We have AP's to Disneyland and make several trips there a year. Hubby has decided that when our AP's expire in October he would like us to plan a trip to Disney. Let my freak out begin. I will try and break this down into my areas of concern.

Oh one more thing we have 2 DD ages 7 & 4. Youngest DD has special needs she is ASD with PDD/NOS she also has hypotonia (sp) that is poor muscle tone this basically means that she fatigues really easily.

We have Disneyland down to a science and the thought of traveling somewhere new and so big has me concerned.

Time of Year:
Avoiding crowds and heat is a big concern for us. We typically go to Disneyland in October-February.

Hotel:
We will be staying on property. I originally told hubby I wanted to stay as close as possible as D will be needing naps, breaks. He looked at me all confused and said "Close to what? Each hotel is close to a park but not to all parks." There is resorts on the monorail, bus line, boats. I am so confused?? Any input would be great.

GAC:
Something that we use at Disneyland that has helped tremendously. At Disneyland we just show our old GAC and they give us a new one. However, after reading this board I understand that it might not be that simple at Disney. Does the GAC work for shows, or parades at Disney?
Again any input would be great.

Dinning:
After doing some reading on this board I have seen it mentioned many times that you will need to do PS at the busier resteraunts and that it is recomened to do it at 120 days in advance. In order to do this you would need to know what park you will be in on each day and in what area of the park you will be in. How do you do this?

Flying:
The kids have never flown. Any tips on minimizing the stress.

Thank you for any tips!

 

[Beautybelle43]

Hello,

Let me start off by saying that I am a teacher (special ed, young children w/ASD), not a parent. I also love WDW and have made my good share of trips there, so I feel I can at least get you started.

First of all, you've made a great choice bringing your kids to WDW!! Yes, it's much bigger than Disneyland, but I'll tell you that every parent I've ever worked with who has brought their child w/ASD (my student) to WDW has told me that it was an amazing experience for their child!! In so many ways-fun, therapeutic, educational,....the stories they've told me about their childrens' burst in communication & social opportunities during their trips are amazing! As a teacher, I use their memories of their WDW trips to help trigger language and social conversation & even the memories become naturally reinforcing for language!

On the flipside, these parents have also stated their share of tough times there-with it being way too stimulating at times, sensory overload, etc...

Overall (& I'm sure you know this from your many trips to DLR), preparation is the key to success! Every child will respond to different preparation tools & techniques to manage behaviors, so go with what you know. I have a student who just came back from their first trip. Mom decided they weren't going to bother bringing his behavior modification tools that they use at home because he was "on vacation"....well, she learned her lesson & said that things would have gone alot better had they brought these tools! You should consult with your child's teacher and/or therapists about how best to prepare for your trip, things you might bring or strategies to use to help alleviate any anxiety, manage behaviors, elicit language, facilitate social situations during your trip.

These people will likely also help you by practicing and preparing your child for their trip during their therapy sessions. I've done this many times for my own students.

To help answer your questions:

Time of year:
-I find January to have the lowest crowds. I would try to choose going to Magic Kingdom on a weekday to further reduce the crowd level. Now that I think about it, you might want to do all parks during weekdays. Weekends can be pretty crowded whenever you go. The weather is great during this time of year. Definately not too hot at all.

Hotel:
This depends on which park(s) you plan to attend the most.

-I work with a parent who mostly does MK, and they enjoy the GF resort. They tell me it's very comfortable, seems more relaxed, & the monorail is very convenient travel.

-The resorts located along the BW area are great if you mostly go to Epcot or DHS. BC & YC are extremely close to Epcot (walking-great if you have strollers or wheelchairs). I believe that the Swan/Dolphin are closest to DHS, but don't quote me on that!

-AKL is a very comfortable & relaxed resort! Decor & atmosphere is very soothing! It is also a real thrill to see the animals right from your hotel room! The downfall is this resort is much further away from the other parks (up to 18 minutes bus ride to MK), so this might not be a good choice if your children have trouble waiting or riding on buses.

In general, Deluxe resorts are most centrally located to at least one of the parks.

*I think the many knowledgeable parents on here would be of better service to you with the other questions. Oh-just one thing to add...

Flying:
-Every parent I've worked with who has taken their child to WDW has told me that their lifesaver during flying time was this: PORTABLE DVD PLAYER!!

I wish you and your family a very magical journey to WDW!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to both DisnBoards and disABILITES!

You will find some similarities between the two Resorts, especially with relation to the GAC.

You will find that two of the parks, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are fully mainstreamed for all attractions. One, Epcot is very close to full mainstream, and MK has a lot more mainstreamed than DL has.

If you can afford it, I would suggest one of the monorail resorts (Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian) as they are easiest from Magic Kingdom which may be what the youngest are interested in.

You will find a lot of attractions at MK similar to (but not the same as) ones in DL. I guarantee you will get lost in MK; I get lost in DL every time I go there because some of the attractions are not where you expect them.

Also, the monorails here are transportation, not attractions. And Dinsye has one of the largest municpal bus systems in the country.

Generally early to mid November is good becuase Hurricane Season tends to be over and it is not crowded. Also most of January is also good, but sometimes the weather during January can get cold.

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. Or, if you want an easier route, click on the link in my signature.

There is an extremely wide selection of dining available. If you go to the very top of the page are two lines of quick links. About the middle of the second line is one for Dining; you can see a list of all places to eat and their menus.

Other forums here you might find very useful are Theme Park Attractions and Strategies, Disney Resorts, and Disney Restaurants. Note that dining reservations for almost all restaurants may be made as many as 180 days from the reservation date. If you are staying at a Disney Resort 180 days prior to your arrival you can make dining reservations for your entire stay, but not more than ten days worth.

And remember, WDW is approximately the size of The City of San FRancisco.