Help with Planning

[LIGrumpyGirl]

Good morning! I think I have come to the right place...

My husband's boss is sick of hearing talk about how wonderful WDW is so now he wants to go! He has asked me to look into a few things for him.

He has a young son (3?4?) who is autistic. He is unsure where to even start planning. Are there any resorts (onsite) or restaurants that are better or worse than others in that respect? What about that pass I have read a little about? Where and how does somebody get that?

Please pass along any info you have! Thanks so much!

 

[LIGrumpyGirl]

BUMP I really need some help!

 

[taximomfor4]

Look in the Disabilities section of this board, there is TONS of info. The card is called a GAC, which stands for Guest Assistance Card. It isn't a pass...there are myths out there that CMs are supposed to just whisk you in with no wait, but this is untrue. In fact, the card says right on it that it is NOT meant to lessen wait times. It can be beneficial for those who need special assistance sometimes. I can try to help a little here. Autism is not the same in every child. So what one autistic child needs help with is not necessarily what would help another Autistic child. One wonderful tidbit parents of kids on the autism spectrum have offered is to definitely try to have the stroller. The kids get a little "safe zone" where nobody is "in their space" or overstimulating them, if that is something that can set them off. What the parents really need to do is decide what sort of things would help their child, and let Guest Services know at the park.

I have heard many times mentioned that the parents probably should only plan short stays at the park each day, just a few hours a day maybe. And to try to keep their childs schedule as close to normal as possible.

As for restaurants, Many of the character meals can be loud...especially the buffets IMO...Crystal Palace, etc. Whispering Canyon Cafe was too much for my dd (not autistic, but has a related condition). We used a lot of fast passes, and sat around the park a LOT! Found a semi-quiet park bench, and sat around snacking and people watching really often.

Beth

 

[SueM in MN]

This site has a lot of hints for traveling with kids with autism.
beth gave a good esplanation of the GAC, I'm just adding some info from my computer's sticky notes:

Just go to Guest Services (with the person with a disability) in any of the parks and talk to the CM there about their problems and needs. The diagnosis is not really that important because people with the same diagnosis can have very different needs. The GAC is not given based on diagnosis at all (for example, there is not a "list" of appropriate diagnosis for a GAC); the GAC is given based on needs.
A few other things
- the GAC is not meant to be a pass that gives immediate access. It is meant to provide appropriate accomidation for the needs of the person it was issued to. It says right on the card that it will not shorten or eliminate waits in line.
- think of the GAC like an insurance card, not necessarily needed or used all the time, but there for when you need it.
- even on the same attraction, the GAC is not handled the same each time. Exactly what happens depends on how busy it is, how many other people with special needs are there at the time and staffing. Some times you may be sent thru the fastpass line; sometimes you might be given a slip and told you can come back at the time written on the slip; sometimes you might be taken right in. It depens on what they call "attraction considerations" (which is basically the things I listed in the second sentence).
- if you need a lot of consistency in what will happen, getting Fastpasses will give the most consistency. You don't have to be present to get a fastpass, you can send one member of your party ahead with all the park passes to get fastpasses. When you report back to the ride at your fastpass return time, your wait will be 15 minutes or less.
- if you have old card from a previous trip, it is usually useful to show to the CMs in Guest Services.

 

[LIGrumpyGirl]

Thank you for your help!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you can get to the parks early (lkie right after opening), you miss a lot of the crowds. Even during the busiest time, like Spring break, it is possible to go on many attractions with little to no wait. DH and I have been to MK in July and gone on all the rides in Fantasyland (except teacups and Dumbo), Haunted Mansion and over to Pirates before 11am without needing to use fastpass or wait for more than 15 minutes forr anything. Most of the rides we walked right on.
He has done the same thing at Spring break with our oldest DD and niece and nephew. So, getting there early really helps. Besides shorter waits, the crowds are much smaller, which helps for anyone with special needs.

Since he has a young child, he should also be aware of the height requirements for some rides. There is a guidebook called "WDW For Kids, By Kids" that might be helpful (even though a 3 or 4 year old won't be reading it). It has more pictures than some of the other books and also has descriptions of the attractions from a kid's perspective (which includes things like how scary, etc).
If they use pictures for communication with their son, you can find a lot on this site (go to www.wdwinfo.com and look for the photo area link). You can also find pictures by going to google.com and doing an "image" search.