I've been meaning to write this for quite some time.
We did well in Disney World and it was due to a few things:
1. For every child with autism, you need at least one parent, grandparent, aunt, etc. to help corral or monitor where each child is and what they are doing.
2. Get a letter from your child's doctor stipulating that he or she has autism. As soon as you enter the park, go to guest services and let them know that you need a Guest Pass for your child. This pass allows your child to go into the express/fast pass line or the disability line for nearly all of the rides. The pass allows for five other guests to ride the ride with the person who has the disability. We had two letters and two passes which allowed us to have as many as twelve people enter the express/fast pass line. The child with the disability has to be with the group entering the fast pass lane. Disney cast members
will check for the Guest pass.
At first we didn't think we would need the Guest pass because the boys are pretty good about being patient. We quickly discovered that Peter needed constant stimulation and once we were off a ride he wanted to "do again" so we had to keep him moving.
3. Use some kind of tracking device. I put a mini backpack on each boy that also had a tether or "leash." I hate leashes on kids but I would rather have a lease and my child than have one of them terrified, wandering around the park and with little ability to communicate to others.
We only had one person comment and that was to my father-in-law (thank goodness, I probably would have displayed a less Christian response, I'm afraid). My father-in-law shrugged it off and kept going. The woman, of course, didn't know the boys were autistic and commented to my father-in-law that we could get in trouble with the law and park authorities for "leashing" the boys. Bah! but I would have gotten mad anyway.
4. Pin some kind of identifier to their shirt. Some parents recommend writing their cell phone number and name on the child's arm but Nathan is allergic to Sharpie/ permanent marker (it causes his skin to raise up in welts) so this wasn't an option for us.
5. Make sure you stop to eat and get drinks frequently. We tried to make sure that hunger or thirst didn't cause a meltdown.
6. Nathan was still small enough for one of the large toddler strollers so we alternated renting a double stroller with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law whose daughter is just a little older than Nathan. She and Nathan shared the double stroller but, since they a best friends, they loved it.
Since Nathan is a slow walker (he's still slow from being a late walker) he has a hard time keeping up with a group and tires more easily. The stroller worked out for him.
7. Don't push your child. Remember, Disney World is for them as much as you. Enjoy taking the time to re-ride rides they really liked.
8. We bought one of the unofficial guides to Disney World (I gave my copy away but I'll look for a copy in the bookstore and let you know which one it was). The authors included plans for tackling the park based on a wide variety of scenarios. For example, if you are a couple with young kids, they assume you'll get there at ten the morning. They'll tell you to ride Dumbo first, etc.
This book also gave a rating system for each ride so we knew what would work with each child and what wouldn't. This was great! We immediately knew what rides we had to say "no" to because of loud noises or darkness, etc. There were a couple of things I had to sit out with one of the boys or leave early but overall they rode a lot of the rides.
My only regret was letting my husband take the boys on the Tower of Terror. I recalled that it was scary, my husband didn't remember it being that bad. I stayed behind because I hated it and remembered feeling like I was going to fly out of the seat (the last time I rode it, I weighed 115 pounds and at five feet I don't fit the "average" safety harness). As soon as he and the kids walked off, I went after them to get the boys but I was too late--they had entered the fast pass/disability line and I couldn't get in.
Peter got off the ride and acted as if he had just taken a walk down the sidewalk--absolutely no reaction. Nathan, on the other hand, came off terrified, he cried and cried. Of course, my husband's reaction to the ride with kids was completely different. He realized, too late, that from a kids perspective, the ride could be terrifying. So, next time, no Tower of Terror.
Other than that, Disney World was a blast and the kids had a ball. We are planning to take them again either this summer or next.
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Have you Been to Disney World? What's your favorite Amusement Park experience?
Comments (3)
Thank you so much for this post! We are going to try it this summer. How about travel there? Drive or fly?
Thanks for the post! The book you were talking about is "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" by Bob Sehlinger. I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone traveling to Disney...whether you have a child with a disability or not. Very informative and lets you conquer the parks easily. He puts out a new, updated edition every year. My husband and I used it when we went and it was a major help for us.
We plan on taking our kids to Disney in 2011. Our son with autism will be 8 then and our daughter will be 6. We are hoping that they will be old enough to really take everything in at that point. My biggest concern is eating. My son's list of "acceptable" foods is really short. I'm guessing I will have to carry a backpack with snacks in it for him.
Thanks again for sharing!
I have Aspergers and I work at Disney. I am a skipper on the Jungle Cruise. It is a lot of fun, but I can tell you, it does get a bit overwhelming. I don't like being the person who stands in the middle and merges the fastpass line with the standby line... it is a little too much for me... but I do it when I have to, which thankfully is not often.
I've taken my kids many times. Josh also has AS, and he does ok waiting in line so we've never bothered to get the "red card" as us cast members call it. His favorite ride is the Rockin' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios... and Pirates and Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom... Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom... and Mission Space at EPCOT... see the trend here? He seems to love the fast moving stuff... but absolutely refuses (like me) to even think about getting on Tower of Terror. I don't blame him, the falling sensation is absolutely terrifying.
@Carolina - DEFINITELY bring snacks. Disney does have a good selection of stuff and can even make certain things available if they know you're coming ahead of time. They go out of their way, especially at table service restaurants, to make everything great. My kids wanted ice cream at Boma and they actually went to another restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge to get it for them. If they hadn't told me they had to do that, I never would have known. One of my kids just randomly asked for it, next thing I know, the server is bringing it out. (This was before I worked for Disney, so it had nothing to do with cast member priviledges.) Look into the Dining plan if you're staying at a resort... ASK ASK ASK for any special deals they might not have advertised. You'll be amazed at how much you can save just by asking.
@themommyquack - How far away are you? I have to say, my kids are used to at least one annual trip down (or up now) the East Coast between Florida and Pennsylvania. We have done it every year since Josh was born, so he's used to the long drive. One of the tricks my parents used for the long drive when we were kids was they would go to bed about 8pm and let my siblings and I stay up until we left at about 2am. (We did this starting when I was about 8 or 9, Kelly was 6, Brian was 3.) We would watch movies and play in the living room while Mom and Dad slept. Then they'd get up, put us in the car, and we'd zonk right out and sleep most of the drive. This was back before carseat laws though, we'd put the seat down in the station wagon and make a bed out of the whole back of the car with all the luggage on the roof rack... can't really do that now, but it still works with my kids even strapped in. We'd be in Ocala, FL by about noon... if we do this now from Philly and headed strait to Disney, we're there about 2pm or so. That only leaves about four hours of kids being awake for the drive, maybe a little more or less.