Pirate Cruise....

[Mel6197]

Hi all

Well we are going back to Disney again this Oct and Dec.. My DD who will be 8 at the time is Autistic.. Now I know all about the GAC (belive me its what keeps us coming back) and the CM's usually go out of there way for her, but I know she would LOVE to do the Pirate Cruise thing.. Now Im 80% sure she would be okay, but there is that 20% chance something could go wrong.. 20% is not what I want to risk, with her on a boat, different beaches etc.. So I was curious what Disney says about a Parent coming along and Paying.. I know there offical word is No parent Tagalongs, But If I were to pay for myself and stay in the background and be there to help her if she needs me, and Being she is Autistic, I wonder if they would make an execption, Any one know?

 

[ducklite]

The way I understand it, they do not make the exception. If the child is not able to manage on their own with minimal staff intervention, they can not participate in this activity.

You will be given a pager, and if there is a problem I'm sure that they will take you to pick up your child, or bring the child back to the GF.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

I wanted to add, I wish that once a week they'd offer a special version of this activity for children who have true disabilities (as opposed to parents who don't feel comfortable letting their kids attend with "strangers") who need to be accompanied by their parent to be able to participate. They could tailor the activity as needed based on the special needs of the children participating that week. They could require a minimum number of children signed up or they cancel it.

Anne

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

Hi all

So I was curious what Disney says about a Parent coming along and Paying.. I know there offical word is No parent Tagalongs, But If I were to pay for myself and stay in the background and be there to help her if she needs me, and Being she is Autistic, I wonder if they would make an execption, Any one know?

My kids this activity this past November, and indeed, there was one parent that "tagged along". I'm not sure what the child's disability was, but the mom DID go on the cruise. I would suggest either you call and make prior arrangements or discuss this when you show up at the dock. I'm pretty certain that exceptions are made, well actually I know they are because I wtinessed it! Hope this helps and I hope your daughter gets to experience it.

 

[welovedis]

I was told that I could tag along with DS if absolutely necessary, but luckily it was not needed. There was a older boy there, probably 9 or so, that DS was paired up with and he did fine.

I know that when I was speaking with someone in Special Requests regarding our original ressie (BWV Concierge, then ended up renting DVC pts), and talked about this cruise, they made the arrangements for me. If I remember correctly I called and made the initial ressie for the cruise, then called SR and they added my info onto the cruise ressie. Hope this helps!

 

[riu girl]

You are allowed to go along. DD7 has similar issues. I e-mailed guest services explaining our situation and about a week later, I received a phone call from the recreation manager at the GF asking about her needs. I explained her needs and he said that I would be allowed to come along.
I was shocked that he actually took the time to call me at home (I did not include my phone # in the e-mail message). I almost cried when I got off the phone (due to the kindness of this cm). It was similar to the GAC, he did not want to know about diagnose, but more about her needs. He told me to explain the situation when I book the cruise and the cm will set it up. Now I just have to figure out how to tell DD7 that I will be coming. She will not want me there if there are no other parents (tooooooo independent).

We will not be in WDW until 12/2006, but the pirate cruise is a must for the kids. I think it will be their Christmas present from me and DH.

Suzy V.

 

[ducklite]

Interesting--thanks for the info! I have a friend who's DS has CP and she was told she couldn't go with him. This was a couple years ago, maybe things have changed?

Very good news!

Anne