A family trip to the Orlando and Kissimmee area would be remiss without a visit to the area’s local theme parks and attractions. Traveling with special needs adds another dimension to a family’s theme park adventures. If you have a child with autism, you’re not quite sure what to expect from them and sometimes all the research and prep in the world inevitably goes to the dogs. However, one of the first things you should do when you arrive at places like Disney World and LegoLand is report to guest services. Let them know your child’s individual need and they’ll give you a valuable piece of paper – the Guest Assistance Card. Disney World’s pass looks like this:
It’s good for up to 5 family members, including the guest with special needs. Although the pass doesn’t eliminate your wait time at rides, it will help to shorten it significantly. This comes in handy during peak seasons like Spring Break, when the average wait time for rides runs about 90 minutes. For shows, attendants will escort you through a separate entrance and listen to your seating needs (i.e. the front, close to the exit).
LegoLand will give you a pass like the one below when you report to Guest Relations after you enter the park:
The child/person needing assistance and one other person will be provided immediate access to rides. If the whole family wants to ride together, you will be assigned a time to get on the ride together. You go to the Exit for the ride (all except The Dragon) and the attendant at the attraction will mark the back of your pass – it’s kind of like an appointment. When it’s time to get on, you report back to the Exit and they let you on the ride. The back of the pass looks like this:
Some attendants adhere to the rule, some don’t worry about it and let you on pretty immediately. Either way, I think the system works well. Of course, I prefer immediate access (who doesn’t?) – I always feel like I’m racing against the clock when we’re having good moments and I want to capitalize on that precious time. Yet, even with having to come back at a scheduled time, rides are so close at LegoLand that you can walk to the next attraction/activity or grab a snack. Before you know it, your appointment has arrived.
I’m very grateful to LegoLand and Disney World for being so accommodating and helping in a big way to make our visit pleasant. We didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes for any one ride during our visit to Disney. At LegoLand, all except once or twice, we enjoyed immediate access. Our day moved along very smoothly with only 1 brief melt down. Hooray! Families dealing with special needs, whether physical or developmental, appreciate any help they can get.
Hi,
You’ve put together a fantastic post here. Orlando is one of the world’s top holiday destinations and it should be accessible to everyone. This guide will really help others out – thank you for sharing your experiences.
Best wishes, Alex.
Thank you. Yes, as we found out this past week during Spring Break, Orlando IS one of the world’s top destinations. I’m happy to see more and more accessibility for people with special needs. Thanks for stopping by.
That’s awesome…I didn’t know that they did that!
I can’t tell you how awesome that is. I was getting worried that they wouldn’t have anything like that. This posting helps me so much! :0)
Oh, so happy that you were able to find the information. Next time you go to a theme park, the access pass will come in handy.
Now everyone can enjoy with much convenience the best spots in Orlando. I’m sure kids, especially with special needs, will enjoy their trip to these parks.
So glad you posted this information. We have a child with autism and frequently visit Disney. The guest assistance card helps out a great deal. Tou can use ot with character meet andgreets, but not with Mickey. Ask the cast member at the attractions and they will be able to let you know if it can be used at the attraction. Remember to pick up the guest assistance map of the Disney park when you get the card. It shows which attractions have special access.
Annette, thank you for sharing those additional tips. I was thinking when we were there that I’d love to have more detailed information about what elements are in some of the rides. For example, Stitch’s Great Escape in Tomorrow Land wasn’t all that appropriate for my 4 year old. It was dark for way too long and although he didn’t freak out, 2 more seconds and he would’ve been there. Maybe there’s a guide that I’m not aware of but I’d love if anyone knows about one, would share that info here.