Fast Pass, GAC, times of days for rides.

[darlingfamily]

We are planning our trip for Oct. I know that it will be relatively quiet that time of the year (at least that is what I am hoping! LOL)

Anyway I would LOVE some tips on good times for rides and shows to avoid the more crowded times and longer lines. We have two children with autism. My oldest has severe autism and will more than likely require a GAC. My other child with autism has some sensory issues and fear of close crowds and such but I would like to avoid getting her a GAC too just cause I hate drawing that much attention to us. LOL

ANYWAY..I am thinking that if we can hit some of the rides and shows as the less peak times we might have a better visit. It has been years since we have been. And, we have two more kids as well. LOL Any help, tips, advice on attractions, shows, character meals for times of days, etc. I would be most grateful!

Thanks!

 

[MEM]

I have a child with autism also and we have used a combination of the GAC and "Early Entry" or EMH -- the latter is only for Disney resort guests. You only need one GAC which will cover your party of 6. I would probably not get one for each child, unless your group plans to split up. We were never made to feel guilty by using it, although some CMs were not familiar with it. Other guests think you have a FastPass so I never felt we were drawing attention to ourselves.

We never "abuse" (my term) the privilege of a GAC, only using it for posted waits of over 30 minutes -- we feel our son needs to gradually learn about crowds and being patient. If the GAC did not exist, we would use a combination of EMH and FastPass. We go in August because neither child can be taken out of school for family vacations...it is more crowded than the off-season but more manageable than Peak. If you can go in the off-season, you will find that you may not need the GAC for anything other than the most popular rides, especially if you hit the early entry parks when they open. It also works to hit the park that was early entry the day BEFORE. We found, like many other Special needs parents, that the pool break in the afternoon helps with our son's anxiety and excess energy.

With regard to Character meals, we tried most of them and my kids were not impressed -- by the food or the characters - except for Liberty Tree Tavern where Minnie and Chip and Dale were exceedingly attentive to my son and my daughter. We felt we had to explain our son's shyness and the word autism is better understood than PDD. Next time we will try the Ice Cream Social/character meal at the Garden Grill.

I wrote a trip report on Mouseplanet in August 2001 and another will appear there later this month. You might find them useful.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Be sure to take frequent breaks (this is good advice for any parent with children when at WDW, even more so for ones with autistic kids). As for times of day, the mornings up until about noon, then late afternoon (say 3-5) are less stressful times. A bit of cooling off time back at the hotel, whether it be a nap or a swim, is a good way to take the stress out of the middle of the day, when the crowds are at their largest and worst behaved.

Good luck

 

[SueM in MN]

We can't get to the parks early enough in the morning with DD to take advantage of early opening, but my DH and other child have done it and DH and I managed to go on a whole lot of rides in July (a very busy time) just by being at the park early.

Like MEM mentioned, we try to use our DD's GAC sparingly. Besides the other advice you've received, my hints are:

• Some people whose children have autism or sensory issues find that using a stroller (especially the WDW ones that have firm seats and solid sides) cuts down on stimulation and provides a "safe place" for the child. you can ask for a GAC that allows use of a stroller in line to cut down on sensory stimulation.
• There are "Status Boards" at each park that list current waiting times and Fastpass return times for different attractions. The CMs there can be very helpful. They know what the slow and busy times are for different attractions and can help you plan your day based on what is going on that day.
• There are some attractions that have long lines early in the day that are "walk on" later in the day. Frequently, it's the rides closest to the entrance - people see it and just get in line without thinking, not knowing that if they keep walking a little further, they might find a ride without any wait at all.
• Before picking up a fastpass or using your GAC, look at what the wait is in the standby line. We heard people trying to plan what they would do for an hour while they waitied for their fastpass time to come up on several rides during our last trip (Indiana Jones Stunt Show. It's Tough to Be a Bug and TOT were some of the ones I remember), when the stanby line was basically walking right in. Ask a CM if you are concerned about whether the line is really as short as it looks.
• We like the character buffet at Crystal Palace. It's Winnie the Pooh characters. Because it is a buffet, if anyone in your party will only eat chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese, they can have as many portions of that as they want.
• This website has a lot of helpful information about touring WDW or DL with people who have autism or sensory issues.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Another thing, tho you would think that October would be a low crowd time being mid-semester for most North American schools and colleges, there is actually a school vacation in the UK around Columbus Day; and with the weak US Dollar, more and more of our British friends are finding their way to WDW. Columbus Day week 2003 I would describe a low-to-moderate crowds, with the larger numbers on the Sat & Sun of Columbus Day wkend.

 

[darlingfamily]

We are tentatively set for the week of Oct 3rd. The week before Columbus Day. Do you think it would stil be a popular week? I want to go in Sept. But for some reason my DH has Oct. in mind. I think he wants to see the Fall decorations and that is why he is thinking that month.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[leenie29]

My son has Asperger Syndrome and we used a GAC for him when we went MLK week 2004. The GAC doesn't allow you to cut to the head of the line, but we used the FastPass entrance instead and waited with everyone else using the FastPass. It cut the wait time down considerably to under 10 minutes (the max he can wait without problems). The CM at guest services told us at the time that we didn't need to use any FastPasses, but to use the Fastpass entrances instead. We didn't have any problems and the CM really made our son feel special in a positive way.

Leenie

 

[Selket]

We used a GAC in August for our youngest son (stroller as wheelchair due to his mobility issues but not autism). We found that using FP and some careful planning that we minimized lines quite a bit and didn't need the GAC so much for waiting in lines (but it was wonderful when we needed it). I think there are many good guides out there for minimizing your waiting times - like the Unofficial Guide and Tour Guide Mike. We used TGM (http://www.tourguidemike.com) and his tips were great (we weren't able to keep closely to a schedule so I found his plans the most flexible - I always felt like I had an idea of where to go when but not marched around the park like soldiers!). Going to an eride night is also very nice because of the minimal lines (assuming there are some while you are there). The 3rd week of August last year there were 2 eride nights starting early (7 and 8 p.m.) which was *perfect* for us with 2 young kids. Worth going in August just for that! LOL!

We had no problems with either CM's or other guests by using our GAC. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[lentesta]

Hi darlingfamily,

I wrote the computer software the Unofficial Guide uses for its touring plans. And I helped write the Unofficial Guide's section on touring with special needs kids, including the GAC info. Let me know if there's anything we can do to help.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[darlingfamily]

Oh this is just FABULOUS! Thank you so much EVERYONE! I am getting more and more excited about this trip and I really think it is going to be a great experience for the whole family.

Now, if I could only figure out how to get one of those count down thingies....Those are cool! LOL

 

[Suzflee]

Darlingfamily,

I just did the countdown myself. Do a "search" on countdown and you'll see a thread from a moderator about how to do it. Very easy!!! And way cool!

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's a place where you can find tips on the countdown thingies: the Technical Support board. They also have a board to test it out to make sure it works right.

We used a GAC in August for our youngest son (stroller as wheelchair due to his mobility issues but not autism). We found that using FP and some careful planning that we minimized lines quite a bit and didn't need the GAC so much for waiting in lines (but it was wonderful when we needed it).

We've been traveling to WDW at least once a year for the past 16 years with our 2 daughters (youngest DD is multiply disabled). We've found the same thing you have. Even though the last 6 years (at least) we've gone over Spring break, we have not needed to use a GAC that often. It's wonderful "insurance", but if you keep your eyes open and go with the flow, you can find a lot of opportunities for going on rides with little wait. The touring plans can give you ideas of how to structure your day to hit things when they are not so busy. I also don't like to be "marched around the park like soldiers" and we can't really stick to a real scheduled plan anyway, so we have never closely followed a touring plan.