maburke
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2002
- Messages
- 2,206
I read the entire MNSSHP thread; I thought we were ready. My two boys have autism, the older one severe & nonverbal, but the challenge in these situations is the younger one (DS9), who can talk, but is easily overstimulated, and not always predictable about it. He had been talking about MNSSHP for a month, and I got reports from school the whole week before we left that he was not able to concentrate on schoolwork because of it. So he was excited, but I guess that's not always good.
We got to the park about 4:30, after taking it easy (I thought) during the day, but I think being out at the pool might have been too much sun. We rushed to dinner at the Plaza for 4:40, and changed into costumes while we waited for our table. (I had thought our ressies were 4:50, so we didn't have time to get the stroller or GAC before dinner.) DS9 wouldn't eat much (makes me crazy that so few places have chicken nuggets; I work on his eating habits at home, I promise, but grilled chicken just won't do when he's under stress), and kept talking about going on the Buzz ride. So DH left with him to do that while I waited 20 minutes for our check. DD5 was dressed as Ariel, so I asked at the Plaza check-in whether Ariel was in her Grotto for the party. One CM wasn't sure, but another seemed certain that she would be there all night.
We then caught up with the other two and tried to do a few rides, but DS9 was starting to get antsy. He said the music (playing in all the speakers) was too loud. By now it was nearly 7. We headed toward Ariel's Grotto, where we found that Ariel was gone and would NOT be out for the party. The dance party was starting with Donald and Daisy, but they were not doing autographs, which is what my DD5 wanted, so we decided to go to the front of the park and get the GAC and the stroller (which we'd heard here would be free), and which DS9 was clearly going to need. We were disappointed to find that strollers were NOT free. ($31 for a double that I hadn't intended to spend!) Then we went to get our GAC at city hall.
*** Allow me to state here (for my friends that followed a link from other boards) that a GAC is a card that shows accommodations that my sons need for their disabilities. Ours states that we need an alternative waiting area, if available, because my son will melt down in lines of even 10 or 15 minutes. So, for example, we went to Peter Pan, which had about a 10 minute wait, and were allowed to wait in what I think was the Fast Pass entrance (which was not being used), and just wait there until some friends we were riding with came up through the regular line. Then we just joined them. Same wait time, but without the moving crowd of people to set him off, and to be just as upset by him. More details can be found at the DISabilities FAQ. ***
Well, the wait for the GAC was worse than any other line that night. It was a perfect illustration of why he needs an alternative wait area (there was none at city hall, and the rule is that the person needing the card must be with you). I got to the desk, and he was crying and screaming and flopping to the floor with such force that I was afraid I would dislocate his shoulder by holding his hand. (You know, the way a 3 or 4 year old does, except this kid is 9.) But if I didn't hold onto him tightly, he'd do a runner to who knows where.
After I got the GAC, my husband suggested that he just take him back to the hotel. I suggested that we just try to find someplace quiet and calm him down. The only place I could think of was the first aid station/nursing mothers room, so that's where we went. The CMs there were WONDERFUL. They let us stay for an hour, found us earplugs (which he tried, but wouldn't stay in), and just generally were supportive.
At 8:30, he finally agreed to try ONE trick-or-treat station, and then we would go back to the hotel. So I thought we would try Mad Hatter, since that would be a walkway with several stations. That worked out pretty well, once we crossed Main Street just ahead of the parade! He sat in the stroller and wouldn't hold up the bucket; he asked me to get the candy for him. He was then willing to go on a few rides, like Small World and Peter Pan, and, as he is terrified of fireworks (we knew that), DH kept him on Winnie the Pooh during Hallowishes. Fortunately, no-one was waiting during the fireworks, so the CMs just let him go around twice until it was over. However, if anyone else wants advice on this, I would say that the fireworks are shooting off from all around the castle, including, it seems, from right above Winnie the Pooh, so that was not an ideal place to be. (Pirates might have been the best place.) But since we were there at the time, we just had to get him inside anywhere we could. We continued slowly through Fantasyland and Liberty Square, where my DH took DS12 on HM while I walked the other two through some Trick or Treat stations and along the parade from a bit of a distance ("No parade! No parade!"). We did Aladdin, and he seemed to like that, though throughout the whole evening he frequently said, "Let's get going! Let's get going!" and "Can we go back to the hotel room now?" We managed to just take one thing at a time, saying things like, "Okay, we'll do Aladdin's Carpets, and then we'll see how you feel."
We met a few characters, but could not do any of the ones with lines. My DD5 had brought along her Jane costume, so she changed into that and one of the highlights of the evening was meeting the real Jane. She kept counting how many people were dressed as Minnie (including me), but she was the only Jane we saw. Also the only other one the real Jane saw, and she had a wonderful interaction with her, saying that she looked even prettier than herself. It's little things like this that make me so grateful -- poor DD's experiences are so limited sometimes by her older brothers. Just sharing the double stroller with DS9 was very hard. We also met Tarzan, but he was a bit too good at the acting and not too great with being sensitive to a shy girl -- DD kept hugging Terk and wouldn't really go near Tarzan!
So, we managed to stay nearly the whole time, but missed out on a lot of things that I would have liked to do, like the special photos. (We only got a Photopass at our last stop to see Jesse & Bullseye -- guess I'll be getting a refund of that $100 I pre-paid!) But I have learned our lesson -- stick to early mornings, low-crowd times, and never do these high-stakes events where we pay a lot for just one visit. It can just too easily go really, really, wrong.
If I can answer questions for anyone, just ask.
We got to the park about 4:30, after taking it easy (I thought) during the day, but I think being out at the pool might have been too much sun. We rushed to dinner at the Plaza for 4:40, and changed into costumes while we waited for our table. (I had thought our ressies were 4:50, so we didn't have time to get the stroller or GAC before dinner.) DS9 wouldn't eat much (makes me crazy that so few places have chicken nuggets; I work on his eating habits at home, I promise, but grilled chicken just won't do when he's under stress), and kept talking about going on the Buzz ride. So DH left with him to do that while I waited 20 minutes for our check. DD5 was dressed as Ariel, so I asked at the Plaza check-in whether Ariel was in her Grotto for the party. One CM wasn't sure, but another seemed certain that she would be there all night.
We then caught up with the other two and tried to do a few rides, but DS9 was starting to get antsy. He said the music (playing in all the speakers) was too loud. By now it was nearly 7. We headed toward Ariel's Grotto, where we found that Ariel was gone and would NOT be out for the party. The dance party was starting with Donald and Daisy, but they were not doing autographs, which is what my DD5 wanted, so we decided to go to the front of the park and get the GAC and the stroller (which we'd heard here would be free), and which DS9 was clearly going to need. We were disappointed to find that strollers were NOT free. ($31 for a double that I hadn't intended to spend!) Then we went to get our GAC at city hall.
*** Allow me to state here (for my friends that followed a link from other boards) that a GAC is a card that shows accommodations that my sons need for their disabilities. Ours states that we need an alternative waiting area, if available, because my son will melt down in lines of even 10 or 15 minutes. So, for example, we went to Peter Pan, which had about a 10 minute wait, and were allowed to wait in what I think was the Fast Pass entrance (which was not being used), and just wait there until some friends we were riding with came up through the regular line. Then we just joined them. Same wait time, but without the moving crowd of people to set him off, and to be just as upset by him. More details can be found at the DISabilities FAQ. ***
Well, the wait for the GAC was worse than any other line that night. It was a perfect illustration of why he needs an alternative wait area (there was none at city hall, and the rule is that the person needing the card must be with you). I got to the desk, and he was crying and screaming and flopping to the floor with such force that I was afraid I would dislocate his shoulder by holding his hand. (You know, the way a 3 or 4 year old does, except this kid is 9.) But if I didn't hold onto him tightly, he'd do a runner to who knows where.
After I got the GAC, my husband suggested that he just take him back to the hotel. I suggested that we just try to find someplace quiet and calm him down. The only place I could think of was the first aid station/nursing mothers room, so that's where we went. The CMs there were WONDERFUL. They let us stay for an hour, found us earplugs (which he tried, but wouldn't stay in), and just generally were supportive.
At 8:30, he finally agreed to try ONE trick-or-treat station, and then we would go back to the hotel. So I thought we would try Mad Hatter, since that would be a walkway with several stations. That worked out pretty well, once we crossed Main Street just ahead of the parade! He sat in the stroller and wouldn't hold up the bucket; he asked me to get the candy for him. He was then willing to go on a few rides, like Small World and Peter Pan, and, as he is terrified of fireworks (we knew that), DH kept him on Winnie the Pooh during Hallowishes. Fortunately, no-one was waiting during the fireworks, so the CMs just let him go around twice until it was over. However, if anyone else wants advice on this, I would say that the fireworks are shooting off from all around the castle, including, it seems, from right above Winnie the Pooh, so that was not an ideal place to be. (Pirates might have been the best place.) But since we were there at the time, we just had to get him inside anywhere we could. We continued slowly through Fantasyland and Liberty Square, where my DH took DS12 on HM while I walked the other two through some Trick or Treat stations and along the parade from a bit of a distance ("No parade! No parade!"). We did Aladdin, and he seemed to like that, though throughout the whole evening he frequently said, "Let's get going! Let's get going!" and "Can we go back to the hotel room now?" We managed to just take one thing at a time, saying things like, "Okay, we'll do Aladdin's Carpets, and then we'll see how you feel."
We met a few characters, but could not do any of the ones with lines. My DD5 had brought along her Jane costume, so she changed into that and one of the highlights of the evening was meeting the real Jane. She kept counting how many people were dressed as Minnie (including me), but she was the only Jane we saw. Also the only other one the real Jane saw, and she had a wonderful interaction with her, saying that she looked even prettier than herself. It's little things like this that make me so grateful -- poor DD's experiences are so limited sometimes by her older brothers. Just sharing the double stroller with DS9 was very hard. We also met Tarzan, but he was a bit too good at the acting and not too great with being sensitive to a shy girl -- DD kept hugging Terk and wouldn't really go near Tarzan!
So, we managed to stay nearly the whole time, but missed out on a lot of things that I would have liked to do, like the special photos. (We only got a Photopass at our last stop to see Jesse & Bullseye -- guess I'll be getting a refund of that $100 I pre-paid!) But I have learned our lesson -- stick to early mornings, low-crowd times, and never do these high-stakes events where we pay a lot for just one visit. It can just too easily go really, really, wrong.
If I can answer questions for anyone, just ask.
! LOL!
