Universal Orlando with autistic adult

[AJKMOM]

Any recent experiences with taking an autistic person to Universal? WE usually are OK with limited GAC and Fast Passes at Disney, but DS would like to see mostly Islands of Adventure, or both parks if the first day goes well.

Is it worth it to buy their VIP pass, or do they have something that will help with lines? We are going at the beginning of March.

Is Mousesavers the best place to get Universal tickets? Haven't been there since 2005. Thanks.

 

[ireland_nicole]

I took my DD lat Christmas and my DS this summer. With DD we stayed onsite for one night which gave us express privileges for 2 days plus early entry and made it really easy to go back and take a nap when needed. The only issue we had was with the boat back an forth to the hotel and DDs wheelchair - it looks more like a stroller on steroids I guess because of the big sunshade we have to use and the fact that the 4 wheels are small and some of the captains at first wouldn't put the ramp out for us because of that- just a minor glitch though. The express was great because DD ended up really living flight of the hippogrif and we rode it over and over more than 20 times and the TMs said it was no problem, just one of the onsite perks- no limit to how many times you use it per ride

With DS I got their version of a GAC whic allowed us to use the express line if the standby queue was shorter than 15-20 min. If longer, they would write a return time on the card which was equal to the standby time and then we could return to the express line. This worked for DS because He was able to grasp the concept and the few times we needed it I was able to distract him while we waited with food- you can't use the other pass for rides while you are waiting though. If you can't stay onsite, it worked just not as fluidly and it definitely helps to go during the week instead o the weekend- much less crowded



With DD