Disney with ASD/ADHD child

[Rabbitytatttatt]

So have booked Disneyland Paris. Has anyone any experience of going with ADHD/ASD child? Can I get assistance? Thinking about a buggy (I don't have one but could help with getting restless) can I hire? What about queuing? Wondering if it was a bad idea.

have also posted in sen chat.

This should tell you all you need to know...

www.disneylandparis.co.uk/practical-information/guest-with-special-needs/visitor-with-disabilities-or-special-needs/visitors-with-mental-or-cognitive-disabilities.html

We went last year with ds (ASD) and he wouldn't have coped without the pass.

You can hire a buggy too. They are quite big.

Disneyland Paris have assistance cards for people with disabilities. You need to take certain documents of proof with you to city Hall when you arrive. It allows shorter/fast track/priority queuing for most rides plus access to designated areas for parades. It can also be used for meeting characters too I think.

Buggies are available to hire, but I think its quite expensive- around €15 per day plus deposit so might be cheaper to take your own. The park ones are quite large though so good for older kids who tire easily/don't like walking. Take a bicycle type lock though as you have to leave them outside rides/restaurants.

Also its a good idea to make reservations for restaurants as queues are long at busy times. Its free and you can cancel without penalty if you change your mind. If you have special dietary needs then I think these can be catered for by contacting your hotel in advance.

I took my two dds. Dd1 ADHD and dd2 mildly spectrummy with spd. We got a pass for dd2 only as dd1 is older and can tolerate queuing more. It was fab and you can use the pass for the characters and for princess palace etc as well. Was a lovely time ther

In Disney Florida they've changed the access pass so that you no longer get instant access to rides. Is this not the case for Paris?

Hopefully not, as there was a huge problem with people abusing the passes in Florida which probably doesn't apply in Paris

Yes there are buggies to hire. We took ds and when he was around 11 -3 years ago(ASD/ADHD/SLD) and he loved it. He coped better than we expected. We did not get a special queue pass as it was fairly quiet, and the queue at City Hall (next to the main entrance) was huge when we arrived. Ds managed fine - although I sagged a bit trying to keep up with him!! With a smaller one a queue pass would be worthwhile. The staff on the pirate ship (at the back and empty at the time) even called him over and ran it just for us!! I thought the staff were all very good - I suppose at 11 ds disability is more apparent than in a small one. He was not interested in the parade ( it can get very crowded in main street to watch it) but we got an excellent view of them all coming out sitting in the semi circular seating area towards the centre. Sorry cannot remember the name. As others have said the buggies are large! I seem to remember people parking their buggies by the entrance and we had to queue to be checked foe weapons or whatever it is they search for. I took ds diagnosis letter and DLA forms with us. I took a named wrist band for ds with me so don't know if they are available.

We went to Orlando with dd7 ADHD, asp, last summer and it was great. Guest assistance pass was a huge help, bring a letter rom the consultant to say the diagnosis and outline particular issues (crowds, noise and queuing were on ours). We didn't use it all the time but a fair amount and it was great as we were there over 4th July break so absolute peak!

Get an idea in your head if you can of e outline beforehand and grab maps as soon as you get there. Important things are water fountains (bring bottles to fill to make you drink as you wander), toilets, food spots, quiet places for a break and guest assistance locations. Orlando had a place for disabled, incl asd types, to go for rest and quiet if needed. Big help when things seemed to be getting too much to know it was an option, although we managed by just finding quieter spots in the shade or going for food. KNOW to take breaks as it is very easy even for NT people to get overwhelmed. And bring bottles to fill at water fountains for while you are wandering, to keep hydrated (save fizzy drinks for meal breaks, but you can also get tap water free in all restaurants).

Prepare the DCs for possibly not doing everything, long queues or not suitable or not open today. Check beforehand if there are rides they can't do, especially on height, so those are knocked on the head before anyone gets excited about them.

We told dd about it beforehand, as she needs to know the plan. And got her a kids Disneyland book. But she's NOT into princesses or girly things so didn't bring a dress or anything. Although we did end up buying a pin everyday instead.

We also had lots of things planned out, in case we needed time out, weather was against us or whatever. So I had colouring pencils with free printable Disney pictures in my handbag (always have colours and pictures of some sort, and puzzles), and we brought her DS game as well to play if q,s were very long or to just zone out in quiet restaurant corners at times. And we talked beforehand about expecting q,s and heat and crowds.

And we learned after Big Thunder Mountain to eat AFTER big rides, into before them (felt queasy rather than actually sick). And also to pace the BIG rides with quieter ones and gentler ones. But we still had excitement, like "daddy too scared to go and mummy very scard on tower of terror, but I wasn't at all!" (Not that you could call her not scared when you see the photo of her gripping my arm and screaming! ).

If I can find them and figure out how to link them now (I sorted it all at work last year but MN now blocked there), I will post links to a few websites that were useful. Mostly about Orlando, but lots ASD and Orlando which may be useful in general re Disney. And staff were all really helpful all the time.

Enjoy!

Sorry for the essay....

Thanks Biddy am going to the Paris one, for two days.

Mostly I'm concerned about her getting upset on the rides. Unfortunately am a LP so have no one to help me with her. I know this sounds awful but I'm worried she is going to 'ruin' it for the other two.

Generally we don't use a buggy, but am wondering if it would be easier as she can complain A LOT,

Please get a buggy... they are very big and easy to push.

Although my ds doesn't use one at home, it proved a perfect retreat for him when he was feeling unsettled. He would get in and put a blanket over his head and we would also retreat to quieter area of the park.

Is there anything in particular about the rides that would upset DD? If they are too fast/spinny/dark/scary/noisy? If it would help, I can describe what they are like so you can avoid them or at least warn DD in advance. I might even have a spare park map from my last visit, if it would help with knowing what to expect, I could send it to you :)

I don't know if your other DC are older, but would it be an option for them to go on rides alone? Not sure if you could try a kind of baby swap thing otherwise, but that would mean your other DC being responsible for DD while you took turns riding with the other one, so might not be feasible.

They are 11 and 6 she is in the middle, so not really. Its more things like younger dd being really into princesses - she isn't (hates anything 'girly') so will make life very difficult.

I have explained to her that we will all being doing things that others like i.e. she likes star wars and wants to go on the star wars ride, therefore if youngest wants to meet the princess then we can take turns.

You obvs know what I'm dealing with, its like having a much bigger strongly willed toddler!

I'm trying to set the expectations - I have been before so know what to expect but thank you for your offer - that's so kind.x

We went just before christmas with dd (8 with asd) and ds (6 with adhd/?asd).
It was out of termtime so queues were not too bad and I didnt use any special assistance.
To see the princesses was a 2hour queue even then so you might want to manage expectations on that one.
You can get timed queue jump tickets for free for many of the busier rides.
Planning is really useful I used the dlrp forum to get as many info and tips as possible.
if your child is noise sensitive like my ds noise cancelling headphones are good.
There were far less big/scarey rides than we expected many more of the rides are gentle than somewhere like thorpe park.
Please ask anything else we had an absolutely brilliant time it was great fun.

I totally understand that, my DD loves princesses too but her brother thinks they are stupid. He is quite happy to yell that at the top of his voice, right in front of them too She also loves the really big, fast rollercoasters (luckily she's not tall enough for most of them yet) but DS is absolutely terrified of them. So we have a deal that he will go on DD's choice of ride (I'm a single parent too, so he has to) then straight after he gets to have his choice. Of course his favourites are the spooky, dark, scary type of rides, which you will probably have guessed, is the thing DD is scared of most! (she just hides under my coat all the way round though)

I like to think of it as teaching them an important life lesson about people liking different things/needing to sometimes do things we don't like much etc. and however much they moan and protest, they will one day 'get it'

I forgot to say, I think the disability pass will probably help too, as a pp says the princess pavillion gets long queues, but you should be able to use it to bypass that. DD might have to do something she hates, but at least she won't have to queue hours to do something she hates.
Depending on the time of year you go, sometimes you will need to get a timed ticket for this first though so check that before (its on the parade timetable)