16 Oct 2008, 1:12 pm
16 Oct 2008, 1:14 pm
16 Oct 2008, 1:26 pm
16 Oct 2008, 1:31 pm
16 Oct 2008, 1:32 pm
16 Oct 2008, 1:34 pm
Thank you! I knew I'd seen something on this here before, but couldn't find anything when I searched?!
I think I went back to pages 5 and 16, respectively, for those. But I'm very stubborn, I don't take "no" for an answer, lol.
It is kind of a shame, I realized, that the topic is needed at all, that we have to be concerned about our kids being able to enjoy this common (and overly well advertised) childhood experience. But, then again, all that planning works out nicely for us parents, too, actually. Which you'll realize when you see an NT child melting down and yours being an angel
Last edited by DW_a_mom on 16 Oct 2008, 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Prof_Pretorius
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Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,520
Location: Hiding in the attic of the Arkham Library
16 Oct 2008, 1:36 pm
16 Oct 2008, 1:38 pm
16 Oct 2008, 1:57 pm
16 Oct 2008, 2:03 pm
You should go! It is actually much more AS friendly start to finish. Well, for my little AS guy, anyway. Very few thrill rides; a lot of kid powered rides. And Lego play areas.
Yay for AS friendly! I'm actually much less worried about Legoland than Disney (or the plane ride), because I figure that my sons' love of Lego will distract them from the other stuff. When they were 4 we took them to a theme park with lots of miniature trains and stuff. Trains were their main interest then, and it was like they couldn't even see the other people or feel the heat of the day, they just rode the trains with great and serious determination until we had to tear them away at the end of the day. They didn't even want to stop to eat!
It was very cute.
So I'm hoping the Lego-joy will insulate them from the challenging stuff at Legoland.
16 Oct 2008, 2:15 pm
17 Oct 2008, 12:35 pm
Golly-bob-howdy, how to begin? (That's a warning, this is long) I have lived in Southern California for 15 years, and I have held passes to both Disney parks for a period of time with each of the bigger ones. My big kids haven't officially been diagnosed with anything yet, though they both are looking ADHD, and I have undiagnosed AS and find the parks fairly overwhelming... but fun. I got to work my way into it with off-season trips and one child to start with. Rule #1 - physical contact. Do not get separated. Looks like you're going to be there around Thanksgiving, and that is a very popular time. Annual passholders like I used to be love to head over in the evenings and on weekends, but at the holidays they will be there in force. There are particular times when the crowds are worst, and I'm going to tell you about them because with preparation, you can weather these well. So don't panic. This will take a while.
In the morning on most days the crowds will look bad at opening time. You can sit back and wait them out... or come just a little after opening time. The gates open and in the crowd goes and the further they get, the more they thin out. So no worries there. Or you could take the monorail in Downtown Disney (which area has an awesome Lego store, but if you're buying at Legoland, beware of this store! You'll double your souvenir shopping. 
) which will drop you near the "new" Nemo ride.
For during the day, I can't promise cool weather. Layers or those pants that zip down into shorts might be your best bet. We've had cool weather mixed with wicked heat waves lately, and that's California off-season for you. It could just as easily be cold and rainy. You might want to wear backpacks for all the gear! They do have lockers, but they are outside the park.
For food options, I dunno what your kids favor, but they have hot dogs, pizza and chicken nuggets which were all it took to keep mine happy.
There will be very long lines, most likely, when you are there. A lot of the more popular ones have fastpass, which allows you to take a ticket with a scheduled ride time, usually an hour or two later, and get in quicker (how quick the fastpass line moves varies.) If you go fastpass, you'll want to stagger the times, of course. I found what worked best is to find out which ride the kids wanted to go on above any others and see that those were the first they got on. The rest is gravy. I don't know their ages so I don't know what to suggest. I'll just give some thoughts:
Peter Pan is a shockingly popular ride. Everybody goes on it and there's no fastpass. Dumbo has a slow line due to the nature of the ride. Most of the older kiddie rides do, with the exception of the carousel. My kids never liked the "dark rides" except for Peter Pan. They were mostly made in the day when a certain amount of creepiness was desirable and adults went on them too. Of course, they still do. The newer Pooh Bear ride is also pretty eerie, lots of blacklight effects.
One of the most popular rides year round is Splash Mountain. But when I took my daughter on it at the age of 7, she was howling in tears and terror when we headed for the big plummet at the end. She asked to go on it, so go figure. You will get wet on this ride. Haunted Mansion is just how it sounds, scary under a certain age but I adore it. But my kids will go in there before they'd go near the Pirates of the Caribbean for some reason. Especially if the Haunted Mansion is done over in the now yearly Nightmare Before Christmas makeover. Most of the scary becomes fairly cute under this paint job.
Tom Sawyer's Island is both good and bad. You have to take a little boat to get there and the kids can run all over and explore. That sums up both the good and the bad in one go. Nice, but watch 'em like a hawk.
Various roller coasters are as fast as expected. The Go coaster in Toon Town has long lines, short ride, and the highest speed in the park. Ages 3+, and they aren't kidding. The rest of Toon Town is walk through and explore, a little crowded in spots. The ride most likely to traumatize my kids for life is there, Roger Rabbit's cartoon spin. It's a dark ride that whirls around, has huge flashing lights and violent "explosions" and that's the ride, pretty much. My kids went on once and begged me never to do that again. Space Mountain is my favorite ride of all. It's a full-fledged roller coaster, no loops, in the dark with floating star and planet effects and rock n roll music, can't remember how loud, all I remember is the sound of wind and laughter (mine). I find it relaxing (in the end) and I can't see how high up I am. There are only flashing lights at the beginning.
The autotopia is a lot of fun but the pedals are quite hard to press down and you aren't supposed to stop so parents have to be ready to help. Older kids can drive alone, but again, it's hard, and you're not supposed to bump other cars. The jungle cruise is nice and the "driver" cracks jokes through the whole thing, the Tiki Room is a little overwhelming and my kids never want to go in (there are fake thunder effects). The Indiana Jones ride is like an Indiana Jones movie. It has the best waiting-in-line area on earth, though, I swear. The Buzz Lightyear ride has flashing lights but it's like a video game, you shoot at targets through the whole thing and turn side to side.
That's all the rides I can think of (got carried away there) but it isn't what I most need to tell you.
There are certain times when people leave. That's where the problems are. You expect crowds at meal times and in lines, but the crowd on leaving Disneyland is the real menace. The biggest exodus is closing time, of course, but after each parade is really when you run into it.
Oh, right quick here... If you want to see a parade from a good spot, incidentally, you need to put someone along the parade route early to hold a spot. If you see crowds gathering along the roped areas, plant someone then and make sure you stay on the same side of the route as they are, it works better. The parade is flashy, but the volume is deafening. Ear plugs might come in handy here, too. Disneyland likes to do everything loud. The seem to think that the bigger the crowd, the deafer the people in it will be. If you don't want to see the parade, prepare to be on the side you want before it starts. Which is bad enough, BUT... read on... big part here.
***So the parade is over and everyone is tired. Unless you're staying longer yourself, you've got a problem. I've been in closing crowd traffic that took at least an hour just to get out the gates and to the tram. Once, the whole area outside the gates was so packed with people that you had to inch along and breathe slowly and calmly. IT WAS HORRIBLE. So, either you leave halfway between parades, or hang around somewhere after the last parade and wait for it to clear. The place keeps their shops open for an hour, I think, after the rides stop, but the shops will be crowded too. All in all, my advice is to leave right before the second parade (this is assuming there are two) if you plan to stay that late. The crowd is worst in the time after any parade or at closing, so there's your keys to avoiding it. This goes for any seasonal event they night have which would draw a crowd, especially one that is late enough that people might be hanging around just to see it before they go. You get the picture. Everyone who was somewhere else will be together. Yikes.***
All this, I suddenly realize, can be summed up as follows: Get your park map, note the rides locations and special events, mark what are the musts for each family member and plan around them. Be prepared to leave well before or after the crowd-drawing evening events. If you have a choice between eating a little early or waiting until after something, eat a little early. Take bathroom breaks regularly (yes, obviously, but I'm talking carpe diem toilet breaks, oh look, here's a bathroom, CHARGE!).
A brief comment on Disney's California Adventure... A Bug's Land is very cute but very young. There are a few rides that might be of interest but the best thing for kids with a lot of energy is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. It's a whopping big playground/obstacle course. There are slides for various ages and some things that only bigger kids can do. It's only as loud as the other children and feels surprisingly woodsy considering it's in Anaheim. AND it's accessible by land with only one regular entrance (I assume there's an emergency one, is what I mean). Go early or anytime they just need to let off steam. The park's water ride is another soaker, but you can watch the whole thing, practically, from various points around the mountain. And of course, they don't miss he chance to hawk raincoats to prospective riders. Beware of the midway. If you chance to get hooked by the games, your best bet to win each kid a prize is the fishing game. I think every catch wins, and they can do it themselves. I don't know the rides as well here because I've only been there with small children.
And ALL SHOWS at both parks are LOUD, following the Disney standard.
I've been to Legoland, but only once. I best remember the cute little tracks, one for small kids and one for bigger. Here, they drive themselves and the cars are easy to work. The preschool track is ADORABLE. I could plotz when I think of my little son trundling around it in his car.
Sorry I ran so long, but I know how that place can be. I could probably write a book about the difficulties and fun of going there. And there really is a magic about their Christmas season (the halls should be decked by the time you go). I still wish I had a disc of the tinkling main street Christmas music. They really know how to create an atmosphere.
And if you happen to have a very small child or baby, there is a baby care center at the end of main street with a nursing area, changing tables, high chairs and baby food at need and tiny potties. There is also one in California Adventure.
A last word of warning... anything they offer to do that you can do yourself, they will rook you for the privilege. This is especially seen in photography. I'm so glad digital cameras are giving them competition.
Good luck.
17 Oct 2008, 2:22 pm
Wow! So helpful!
I hadn't even thought about line ups when leaving! 
And that would be the worst if they were really worn out and needed to go quickly. Thanks for the advice.
We booked this trip thinking that it would be in the off season...completely forgetting about American Thanksgiving. 
Oh well, too late now.
Their top things to see will be anything Indiana Jones or Star Wars related. We are definitely skipping the submarine and probably most of the scarier roller coaster type rides. We also have zero interest in the parades and will add the Tiki room and Roger Rabbit one to our list of things to skip. I think they would also like the jungle cruise, but we will take ear defenders for all the noise and hope to get the special guest passes to help with some of the crowds/noise while waiting.
I have a feeling that 3 days is just too much for us. If we only go for 2 days, would you recommend skipping California Adventure and just staying in the Disney park?
17 Oct 2008, 4:46 pm
17 Oct 2008, 5:00 pm
17 Oct 2008, 6:39 pm
Hi,
We went to Disneyland this summer with my 7-year old aspie + daughter + assorted family. It was perfect-- and since I hate the Cult of the Mouse, this is hard for me to admit. My son is very into riding roller coasters so it was a lot of fun. We could have done another day if we'd had time.
*** First, Sea World ***
We went to Seaworld first. It was fun, but had a lot of hurry-up-and-wait. The lines were difficult, but my son held together because we could interesperse with with trips to the shark tube. Waiting for the dolphin/whale shows to start was probably the hardest part. Not a well organized park, so if your kids aren't into sea life, an easy skip. They do have a nice climbing-and-running playground, though.
But it did provide nice contrast for Disney. I must say, Disney is incredibly well structured towards increasing fun and minimizing hassle compared to any park or fair I've ever been to. They have keeping people satisfied down to a science. Trust in the paws of the Mouse.
We did just 1 day at Seaworld and 1 day at Disneyland. Both were great, we could have gone longer. The biggest problem wasn't my son and I, it was the rest of the family not wanting to go at our hyper pace 
*** Disability Passes-- get one! ***
First, disability passes-- when you arrive, go to the City Hall and say you have an Aspie and they'll give you a special pass that generally lets you jump to a special head-of-the-line waiting area (for any disability). You don't need a doctor's note, they take you on faith. The clerk warned us that the wait for some rides in the special area can be longer than the usual line. You show your pass to whichever staffer is near the line and they point you to the jump-ahead.
And, as it happens, they give good advice. For "Pirates of the Caribbean", for example, the line staffer pointed that the wait for the 'special' area was longer then the main line, so we stuck with the main line. For the submarine ride and the Materhorn, though, we basically had a 0 wait in line. Oddly enough, the pass worked best for 'teen' rides but not for kiddie rides (like cups and saucers) or family rides (like Pirates of the Carribean). For the kiddie rides (teacups, Alice in Wonderland coaster) the main line was short enough not to bother. So the ticket helped a few times, but it's neither a abusive gimme nor a cure-all.
Having that pass meant we could do the Matterhorn (twice) while they were deciding whether to stay for dinner or not... it let us duck into the submarine while they were slowly walking back to the gate. Basically, it let us keep up a fully engaged pace. I do suggest go as soon as they open and hit the popular stuff asap. We did Space Mountain first and zoooooomed through the (ordinary no-special-pass) line, which would have been unbearably long later in he day.
That said, lines do tend to move fast enough to keep my son and I active (neither of us do well with just standing in place).
*** Sensory ***
Space Mountain was overwhelming (lots of light and sound), my son was upset the whole ride. Afterward he declared it his favorite. Go figure. He closed his eyes for the Matterhorn (twice) because they're a Yeti with glowing eyes in the middle but, again, he wanted to do it twice. The family-type rides and kiddie rides were no problem, it's just the fast light-show-and-noise coasters that pushed his limits-- he enjoyed them afterwards but actually riding was difficult to watch him do.
I recommend you try the train that rides around all of Disneyland-- most people use it just to ride from sector to sector, but we found it a neat low-key "let's calm down" attraction on it own. They have little diorama-type stuff in the middle so it's not just a sit-and-wait thing, but very engaging and a good low-key cool-down. Also, "Pirates of the Caribbean" was a winner for everyone.
Against my better judgement, we tried the spook house (I forget the name)-- big mistake, it has a _big_ scare at the start and, though the rest is tame, both my kids were too traumatized to enjoy it. So, trust your instincts.
*** Get a Hotel in Walking Distance ***
My next recommendation-- get a hotel in walking distance to the park. We did the Candycane Inn, there's a Best Western that's even closer, all are good. Did we use it? Just briefly, for a little downtime, but it was really nice having a place (and a pool) to relax for an hour or two during the hot part of the day.
A nearby hotel is especially good for setting up a rendevous with those family members who can't keep up with your pace. Harsh as it sounds, ditching the slower family members was the best way for me and my 2 kids to have fun and remain engaged. So if you're not into shopping and parades and static stuff and just want to hit rides, make sure you split your group accordingly and use the hotel as a rendezvous.
*** Problems-- the rest of the family! ***
As my hotel comments may indicate, the group was not always on the same page. The family insistance on seeing the evening Parade for example. My son loved the parade itself, but the 40 minute 'stake out an area and wait' was (not surprisingly) difficult, we only did it because the other family members wanted it. So the hassle/endurance versus payoff has to be measured for each event.
Basically, if your children have the "if engaged, they hyperfocus", the typical line waits (20 minutes) aren't a problem because the lines are uusally moving, they can see the ride while waiting, and the rides are fun. It's high stimulus but also high reward. If the kids get meltdown, take a hotel break.
*** Wrap up ***
We just did Disneyland, not the adjascent California Adventure park... if it were more than one day, we'd get a combo pass. You can buy discount passes in advance if you're going for more than 1 day, for 1 day they're the same rate as onsite. In one day we did most of Disneyland. I think day 2 might have just been my son wanting to repeat Day 1, but every kid is different. For 2 days, I would have gotten a combo pass for both parks and did one 1 day, the other the next, with maybe an extra day to wing it.
If you're not ADHD/hyperactive, recruit a disfunctional relative to take your kids at fast pace Humor aside, really, as long as we were moving it was great. It was very exhausting, but worth it. 1 day was fun yet tiring. A 2nd day would have been do-able. I think 3 days would have killed me. My son would have been fine for a week there, it really was my energy limits as a parent that limit us.
Good luck!
Sandy, mouse-convert
