Originally Posted By kcastle129 We're taking our mildly autistic son to DL in July (date couldn't be helped!). He may have difficulty waiting and dealing with overwhelming environments. I thought we'd do the Fantasmic seating but am looking for help with other preferred seating ideas. We're trying RideMax & of course FastPasses but any other thoughts? I'm getting conflicting stories from AAA about a tour that includes fireworks seating (like there isn't one). Thanks so much!
Originally Posted By Luzdivina Knowing how much Autistic kids can't stand large crowds(some are, of course, more tolerant than others), it might be better to view the fireworks over by 'Small World' instead of in front of the Castle. You get a great view of the fireworks(but they're much louder), the same music, 1/10 of the crowd, and you can usually get there shortly before the show, instead of hours. Of course, you can't see the cool graphics shown on the castle during the show, but other images are projected on the 'SW' facade. I think your Son will do much better with the lighter crowd. But, you know your Son and how much he can tolerate.......Good luck.
Originally Posted By MickeyMommy We have two boys with autism, one mild, and one not so mild. They are 11 and 8. We have gone to Disneyland at least 25 times in the last few years. Our routine goes like this: Get to the park early, and take advantage of early entry if possible. The crowds are a fraction what they are later in the day. When the park starts getting really crowded around noonish, we head back to the hotel for swimming, lunch, and relaxing. We head back in the early evening, but we usually go to California Adventure in the evening, because it is usually much less crowded than Disneyland. I bring ear plugs for my youngest, that helps with all the noise. We usually get a special assistance pass for him, as he can't really cope with huge lines. We don't use it much, since we ride most attractions in the morning, and he doesn't go on many rides, but having the pass is good to have in case he is on sensory overload and has his heart set on going on something. Having autism doesn't automaticaly qualify a person for a special assistance pass. (My oldest son is very high functioning, and would happily wait for hours for his favorite ride.) But if it is needed, the pass will let you wait in an area near the exit, or use the fast pass line. Since your son is high functioning, my best advice is to take lots of breaks. Our kids love Tom Sawyers Island in Disneyland, and Redwood Challange Trail in California Adventure. Lots of fun to run around and climb on things. There is a ton of fun stuff to do at both parks, just resist the urge to "get your monies worth" and get too exhausted. That will make any kid a handful. We have never done reserved seating for Fantasmic. We need to cut and run sometimes, based on how our youngest is handling things, but I hear it is wonderful. From what I understand, if you are seated for the first showing of Fantasmic, they will often let you keep your seats after the show to view the fireworks. Have a wonderful trip!
Originally Posted By kcastle129 Thank you both for the tips! BTW, Do you know if you can see Tinker Bell flying during the fireworks if you're still seated at the Fantasmic reserved seating area?
Originally Posted By tinkerbell77 If you do the Fantasmic! dessert buffet, you cant see her flying. Only if you stretch and lean you can get a quick glimpse. But they are great fireworks, so it might be an option for your son. The only thing is the space is small on the balcony, not to sure if he has a thing with tight spaces. But I hope not, and I hope that you get to do everyting that his little heart desires.
Originally Posted By momof4boys MickeyMommy- When was the last time you went? I thought they didn't do Special Assistance Pass anymore. I thought they just had the Guest Assistance Pass for guests in wheelchairs. We used to get an SAP for my youngest because of his heart but this last trip we just avoided anything with a line because I thought there was no other choice. I would love it if there were options still for guests with disabilities other than mobility issues.
Originally Posted By disney4life I don't think you can see Tinkerbell flying from the reserved seating area. My youngest son is autistic and is pretty high-functioning. We did the reserved seating for Fantasmic last July and it really didn't work too well for him. Being that late in the evening he was pretty much on overload by the time it started. Half way through I took him out to the Gallery area so he wouldn't disturb everyone else. So for us, on that particular day, it didn't work too well. It just depends on the child.
Originally Posted By DlandJB Just a quick note - the special assistance passes that they used to have are no more. You can only bypass the long lines in a wheelchair (if this has changed recently, please someone post if that isn't always true, but it is what I've been told. So then the best course of action is to get as many rides as you can done first thing.
Originally Posted By kcastle129 Thanks! Glad I asked; hate to spend that much money and not see Tinkerbell fly!
Originally Posted By kcastle129 Does anyone know if you can see Tinkerbell fly from the river seating of Fantasmic?
Originally Posted By MickeyMommy We got a special assistance pass the last time we were there in March 06.
Originally Posted By momof4boys >>>>>We got a special assistance pass the last time we were there in March 06<<<< Really? That is when we were there also. Honestly, I didn't even go ask because we were told they don't do SAP anymore. Luckily, it wasn't much of an issue this trip, because we worked around it and Nathan was doing pretty well health wise. But it might become an issue in the future.
Originally Posted By MickeyMommy I think they will only give one if you answer yes to the question " will waiting in a long line cause him to be a danger to himself or others?" That sounds pretty drastic, but he will start flailing around because he can't understand why we are just standing there. Not dangerous to other people - just me. But he could easily bolt off to try to get past the line, but I keep a pretty iron grip on him. In most situations, he is getting better at understanding the rules, but sometimes he just can't understand. We rarely use the pass, instead we go early in the morning to beat the crowds, but it is good to have so he can enjoy an attraction he suddenly wants to try. He will watch something for quite a while, then get his nerve up to ride it. Many times he will change his mind right before we board the ride. Thats o.k., we just keep trying.
Originally Posted By momof4boys Oh, I didn't even know they asked questions. Like I said, we didn't even look into it because I thought it was "Not in a wheelchair, no kind of pass." It is nice to know there are some kind of exceptions.
Originally Posted By Tinkerbell819 We have two boys with Autsim, too, and love going to DL! My older son has become so hard to travel with that we no longer bring him, unfortunately. (I keep hoping one day he'll improve and can get back, though!) Anyway, my son that travels to DL is what I would consider more on the "mild" side, too. We start out at City Hall and tell the CM about him and they issue us a Guest Assistance Pass for the duration of our trip. I always bring a Doctor's note, too, but most of the time they don't want to see it. We (mostly) only use it at rides that have Fstpass service and I always ask politely when I got up to the CM collecting them if I am "allowed" to use the GAP in place of FP. They have always said yes. I hate to use the pass where I feel like people are staring at me and thinking I am butting in line and my kid doesn't look like anything is wrong with him! I have tried to convince myself that it is okay, I know I would do anything to have him not be Autistic and be able to wait in line like everyone else, but I still feel guilty if I see a little kid waiting while we go ahead! Fastpass, fortunately, removes these awkward situations! The only rides I have had to use the GAP on are Peter Pan's Flight and the Matterhorn. (Mark loves those rides and absolutely cannot wait in the lines...it's much too embarrasssing! lol Most of the other rides that don't have FP have times that you can easily get on and off with shorter waiting periods. (for instance POC almost always has walk on times at the end of the night.) As far as Fantasmic goes and the fireworks, I haven't figured out a good plan for that yet. The crowds are so intense and he wanders off so easily, we all have walkie talkies and split up looking for him, he has one, too to call us on, if he doesn't leave it somewhere! The best view we've had of Fantasmic was on the hill by POC and the Gallery, but there are trees in the way. It's away from the crowd, though and he can pace back and forth. (He's not interested like we are, he'd rather be eating!) We have watched the fireworks on Main St. and by Small World. Small World was much easier, b/c it was more open, Main St. can be scary b/c of the crowd and I worry about him wandering again. (One good thing is that the crowd is so large that he really can't get far! There's nowhere to go!lol) I think this post is long enough! Sorry! Have a great time!
Originally Posted By magicbeinghad2 my son older son 11, is also autistic and my younger son 7 is borderline, we spend several days at both parks. We make sure to remember to feed and hydrate them on a loose schedule ( we talk about where we might eat, before we go in the park) and spend hours on Tom Sawyers Island and the area in Ca. adventure by the hotel, I always forget the name. At first this was a little nerve racking cause I couldn't always see them, but now that they are older it's great. As soon as Disneyland gets busy we head over to Ca. Adventure. I always laugh when I read the people's comments who are so disgruntled with Ca. Adventure, because it has been one of the reasons we go back, because of less people and the long walks where I can see my boys in front of me, it is a nice place for us! My husband and I take turns in these areas while the other is off on rides or looking around. Disney is a nice place for us to go because it is predictable and we all know what to expect. We usually go in the Fall or at Christmas as none of us tolerate crowds and lines well. We stay at Candy Cane Inn mostly, We have been to all the Disneyland resorts and Candy Cane Inn is the most predictable and it's a nice walk for who needs to stretch and talk and a nice ride for the other that would rather cuddle and ride the shuttle. We always bring a stroller for extra clothes, If there is somewhere to get wet- my boys will be wet)jackets, poncho's, protien bars and water. We try to talk about what we each might want to do during the day and assertain how important it to each person: we always start at Star Tours. We also explain how Mommy will wait while they ride it 3 times then it is time to do another ride. Mommy gets really car sick on Star tours. Some of the transitions are getting to be second nature. have fun, breathe, and don't worry about what others think, for every 2 or 3 or 27 that doesn't get it- there is one of us that is right there with you.
