BetsyAnn
01-03-2006, 05:35 PM
We are planning a trip to Disneyland in the late summer. Last year someone posted that they were able to get a special pass for their child with autism so that they would not have to wait in such long lines. I have been reading conflicting reports that these passes are no longer available for anyone who does not have a mobility disabilty. Has anyone been to Disneyland recently? Any luck getting a special pass?
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mary02
01-03-2006, 08:48 PM
We went to DisneyWorld in July and were able to get Guest Pass that allowed us to bypass the long lines, it worked great.................
BetsyAnn
01-03-2006, 08:51 PM
Mary02, I am so glad you were able to get the special guest pass. I am sure it made your visit much more enjoyable. What I have been reading online is that Disneyworld still issues such passes but Disneyland does not.
geezermom
01-05-2006, 12:45 AM
BetsyAnn, we just got back from Disney World and used a pass/card, but it does not allow you to "skip" lines. Maybe that's where the confusion lies...perhaps you could skip lines in the past at Disney Land. I'd be shocked if they didn't have cards.
Call Guest Services with Disney and they'll give you the low-down. You will need to take a letter from your doctor describing your child's problem.
FYI, when we got to a Disney restaurant the first night, the kids were really hungry and Cole was starting to whine and act a little weird. When we placed our order at the packed restaurant, I just mentioned to the waiter that Cole was a special needs child and that if possible, we'd appreciate some rolls or crackers as soon as possible. Told him that our son gets worse when his blood sugar is down.
In less than 5 minutes, he was back at our table with drinks, cornbread, AND all four of our dinners! He had swiped dinners from other patrons so Cole could have his meal immediately. The waiter said, hey, if your son is hungry and uncomfortable, there's no reason he should have to wait. I refrained from grabbing him by the collar and planting a big kiss on his mouth, but really wanted to. Disney is SOOOOO wonderful to special needs kids. My husband bought our boys Disney stock for Xmas to commemorate our trip!!
Ya'll have a blast!
Call Guest Services with Disney and they'll give you the low-down. You will need to take a letter from your doctor describing your child's problem.
FYI, when we got to a Disney restaurant the first night, the kids were really hungry and Cole was starting to whine and act a little weird. When we placed our order at the packed restaurant, I just mentioned to the waiter that Cole was a special needs child and that if possible, we'd appreciate some rolls or crackers as soon as possible. Told him that our son gets worse when his blood sugar is down.
In less than 5 minutes, he was back at our table with drinks, cornbread, AND all four of our dinners! He had swiped dinners from other patrons so Cole could have his meal immediately. The waiter said, hey, if your son is hungry and uncomfortable, there's no reason he should have to wait. I refrained from grabbing him by the collar and planting a big kiss on his mouth, but really wanted to. Disney is SOOOOO wonderful to special needs kids. My husband bought our boys Disney stock for Xmas to commemorate our trip!!
Ya'll have a blast!
BetsyAnn
01-05-2006, 01:06 AM
Geezermom, I am encouraged that they treated your son so well. Can you explain to me how the pass/card was different from a regular admission.
geezermom
01-05-2006, 11:17 PM
Here's everything I know!
You buy your tickets and come through the gate. There should be a Guest Services office immediately inside the gate...give them the letter from your doctor - needs to be on doc's letterhead. Take your child in there with you, just to be sure.
They will give you a card...they are different colors (I think) according to what type disability your child has. My son's pretty mild, so I don't know if you get a different card when the doc has said "moderately or severely autistic", whatever.
For our card, we were not going to be offered to go to the front of the line, but if we wanted a quiet area to wait, they'd take us there while holding our spot in line. The woman at Guest Services explained what it would do. We only had to resort to using it for that reason once. You will LOVE this...
We stayed at a hotel onsite and therefore got "extra magic" hours one night. After the fireworks, we got in line for Pooh....when we reached the first cast member, he asked to see our extra magic hours wristbands. We didn't know we needed them and had to leave the Pooh line and get in another LONG line for the bands. Needless to say, Cole kept asking "what happened? do you want to see Pooh? what happened? what happened? do you want to see Pooh?" several hundred times! Whining, lying on the ground, your typical stuff.
I picked him up, toted him to the front, and snagged a cast member. I told her we'd been in line for Pooh, got kicked out, and Cole was starting to flip. Asked if there was a fun place where I could wait while husband and littler son waited.
She bent over and asked, "gosh, Cole - did you want to see Pooh?". He said "yes, please" and the next thing we knew, she'd taken us BEHIND the scenes and put us on the very front seat of the car that was about to go into the Pooh thing. We sat down and less than 3 seconds later, we were in the hundred acre wood! The delight on his little face was incredible.
When we came out, I went to retrieve hubby and kid #2. The Disney woman was waiting for us and said since my husband had already gotten the bands, she put him and Jack on the Pooh ride, too. Yep, he and our 2yr old were ushered right in like Cole and I were.
Now, don't expect this kind of treatment, but don't be surprised if you end up all teared-up, at least once, because of the way they act toward your son. I have NEVER felt like he was so accepted and appreciated than when we were there.
One last tip about waiting in line. Go to the library NOW and check out a book called "The Unofficial Guide to Disney Land". It has itineraries for specific times of the year and the type of visit you want to make...like, there's a "Dumbo-or-Die in a Day" for people with small kids who are determined to see every single kiddie attraction there is in a single day.
In summer, when lines are horrific, you can trim up to 4 hours in wait-time in lines if you follow their suggestions. For us, the minute we walked in, we hightailed it to Dumbo, then did Pooh, Peter Pan.....etc. Those are the rides with the longest waits once you get past 11 in the morning.
There's also a section in the book about "Special People"...that's how I learned all about the card. It also said that if you are celebrating a birthday, tell the front desk clerk AND the Guest Services people. Our son got delivered a balloon bouquet with an autographed photo of Goofy. You also get a "birthday button" to wear all day so all the cast members wished him happy birthday throughout the day. He got invited to "drive" the Jungle Cruise boat, which of course, he did with glee. The captain then had the entire boat sing Happy Birthday to Cole. Uh, did I mention I LOVE DISNEY??
Anyway, Disney trips can be daunting, so do your planning now. Get that book!
Cheers,
-Geezermom
You buy your tickets and come through the gate. There should be a Guest Services office immediately inside the gate...give them the letter from your doctor - needs to be on doc's letterhead. Take your child in there with you, just to be sure.
They will give you a card...they are different colors (I think) according to what type disability your child has. My son's pretty mild, so I don't know if you get a different card when the doc has said "moderately or severely autistic", whatever.
For our card, we were not going to be offered to go to the front of the line, but if we wanted a quiet area to wait, they'd take us there while holding our spot in line. The woman at Guest Services explained what it would do. We only had to resort to using it for that reason once. You will LOVE this...
We stayed at a hotel onsite and therefore got "extra magic" hours one night. After the fireworks, we got in line for Pooh....when we reached the first cast member, he asked to see our extra magic hours wristbands. We didn't know we needed them and had to leave the Pooh line and get in another LONG line for the bands. Needless to say, Cole kept asking "what happened? do you want to see Pooh? what happened? what happened? do you want to see Pooh?" several hundred times! Whining, lying on the ground, your typical stuff.
I picked him up, toted him to the front, and snagged a cast member. I told her we'd been in line for Pooh, got kicked out, and Cole was starting to flip. Asked if there was a fun place where I could wait while husband and littler son waited.
She bent over and asked, "gosh, Cole - did you want to see Pooh?". He said "yes, please" and the next thing we knew, she'd taken us BEHIND the scenes and put us on the very front seat of the car that was about to go into the Pooh thing. We sat down and less than 3 seconds later, we were in the hundred acre wood! The delight on his little face was incredible.
When we came out, I went to retrieve hubby and kid #2. The Disney woman was waiting for us and said since my husband had already gotten the bands, she put him and Jack on the Pooh ride, too. Yep, he and our 2yr old were ushered right in like Cole and I were.
Now, don't expect this kind of treatment, but don't be surprised if you end up all teared-up, at least once, because of the way they act toward your son. I have NEVER felt like he was so accepted and appreciated than when we were there.
One last tip about waiting in line. Go to the library NOW and check out a book called "The Unofficial Guide to Disney Land". It has itineraries for specific times of the year and the type of visit you want to make...like, there's a "Dumbo-or-Die in a Day" for people with small kids who are determined to see every single kiddie attraction there is in a single day.
In summer, when lines are horrific, you can trim up to 4 hours in wait-time in lines if you follow their suggestions. For us, the minute we walked in, we hightailed it to Dumbo, then did Pooh, Peter Pan.....etc. Those are the rides with the longest waits once you get past 11 in the morning.
There's also a section in the book about "Special People"...that's how I learned all about the card. It also said that if you are celebrating a birthday, tell the front desk clerk AND the Guest Services people. Our son got delivered a balloon bouquet with an autographed photo of Goofy. You also get a "birthday button" to wear all day so all the cast members wished him happy birthday throughout the day. He got invited to "drive" the Jungle Cruise boat, which of course, he did with glee. The captain then had the entire boat sing Happy Birthday to Cole. Uh, did I mention I LOVE DISNEY??
Anyway, Disney trips can be daunting, so do your planning now. Get that book!
Cheers,
-Geezermom
BetsyAnn
01-06-2006, 12:26 AM
That is very cool. Thanks for sharing your experience.