Planning a Disney World vacation can require quite a bit of planning and can also be overwhelming. Disney World covers 43 square miles and contains 4 main theme parks, 2 water parks, more than 25 resorts, 4 golf courses, 2 mini-golf courses, a shopping and dining district, a boardwalk, and more!
As parents of children with Down syndrome, autism, or sensory issues, there are many other considerations and planning required on top of everything else that every family must plan for.
We have come across many great websites and blogs that help with planning Disney World vacations. However, the amount of information out there for families and individuals with special needs is limited. This is where we hope to help.
Our Walt Disney World planning guide will focus primarily on topics relevant to parents of children with special needs, particularly with autism, Down syndrome, and sensory processing disorders. With so much to consider in your planning, we know we can’t cover it all. But we will do our best to cover some of the most important topics and common concerns. And while our guide is primarily focused on children, many of our topics can be applied to individuals of all ages.
As a new website and blog, the content in our Disney World planning guide will grow and evolve. We welcome feedback and suggestions for topics you would like to see covered in this planning guide.
Topics Covered In This Article (click the links to jump ahead to the section):
- Do You Really Need to Plan For Your Disney World Vacation?
- Where To Start in Planning Your Disney World Vacation?
- Top Four Tips for Getting Your Child Ready for Disney World
Do You Really Need to Plan For Your Disney World Vacation?
While it’s very well possible to have an amazing time at Walt Disney World with no advance planning, it is also very likely you will realize how many things you did not anticipate, missed, or unable to do once you are there. This is especially true for those of us who have family members with special needs.
As mentioned earlier, Disney World is huge! With so many things to do and consider, it will be very easy to overlook important details and key tricks to get the most out of your Disney World Vacation. For example, did you know that character meals can be very difficult to reserve? If you don’t stay at a Disney resort, you can’t make your reservation until 60 days prior to the day you’d like to have your character meal. If you stay at a Disney resort, you can start making reservations for your character meals 60 days prior to your first day there. For the most popular character meals (and any Disney restaurant, for that matter), you will want to jump on their website at 7:00am eastern time on the first day you can make reservations. If not, best case scenario is that you won’t get a time slot that you prefer. Worst case scenario is that you won’t be able to get a reservation at all.
This is only one example of the many things that you need to consider in your planning.
If planning a Disney World vacation is overwhelming for you, consider using a Disney Travel Agent. Most Disney Travel Agents do not charge you a penny and make money off of the commission they receive from Disney for the vacations they book. There are even Disney Travel Agents with expertise in planning vacations for families with children with special needs.
For our children with special needs, you will also want to look into and understand Disney’s Disability Access Service, better known as DAS. This is an amazing free service offered by Disney for guests who “have difficulty tolerating extended waits in a conventional queue environment due to disability.”
Where To Start in Planning Your Disney World Vacation?
The first question to consider when planning your trip is how much do you know about Disney World. If you have never been to Disney World or do not remember much from your past experiences, we recommend that you start with learning a little about Walt Disney World. Do not take this first step to learn everything there is to know about Disney World. The goal at this point is to learn just enough to understand what you need to consider for your child with special needs.
Some questions to consider at this point include, but not limited to:
- Is my child ready for Disney World?
- What kind of special accommodations might my child need to make this vacation possible?
- Will my child be able to tolerate the many sensory stimuli?
Overall, you will want to go through the same considerations as any other activity that you plan for your child, but on a grander scale.
Having answered these considerations will help with the other planning that everyone must go through, including budgeting, length of stay, hotel accommodations, parks and activities, dining, and more.
Top Four Tips for Getting Your Child Ready for Disney World
Many parents love to surprise their children with their Disney World vacation. Some parents even surprise their children the morning of! As parents of children with special needs, this might not be an option for a variety of reasons.
One of the most important considerations is whether your child will benefit from mentally preparing for the trip. For example, will they need help acclimating to the sights and sounds you will find at Disney World? Many aspects of Disney World are about captivating and stimulating our senses. Even typical people will find themselves physically and mentally exhausted after a day at Disney World. We all can be overstimulated by the sights and sounds at the parks.
Disney’s website provides a lot of very helpful resources for guests with disabilities. Three of the best tips provided on their website for guests with autism or cognitive disabilities are:
1) Watch Videos
2) Plan a Visual Schedule
3) Practice Waiting in Line
Lastly, in addition to these tips recommended by Disney, we also would like to add practicing being in large crowds.
There is quite a bit to these four tips. Be sure to check out our detailed guide – Top 4 Tips Disney World Planning Tips for Children With Special Needs.
Helpful Resources on Disney’s Website
Disney has some incredibly helpful information for guests with disabilities. Following are some links to some of the information we have found most helpful.
