Rides and Developmentally Delayed Children

Mike Bartenhagen

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 2, 2000
My son turned two in January but his cognative level is somewhere around the 9 month to 1 year level. He is mobile but sometimes unsteady. We are going to WDW in October and I am wondering if there are rides that Broc will be able to ride on. He would not understand that he couldn't stand up on certain rides, etc. We have two older daughters and our 6 year old is very responsible (when it comes to her brother) and would ride with him. He wouldn't realize he was "missing out" if he didn't ride on any rides but he loves to swing and I think that he would really like some of the rides.

Mike
 
My son is now 20 and has been going regularly since he was one years old. He is considerably delayed!!! We just got back.

This is not your traditional "amuesement" park. YOU, the adults, can ride everything ! There are no kiddie rides. Your children won't need to ride anything alone ! There will be rides he can't go on simply because of height requirements. If the rest of you do, they do kid swap. One adult rides with older kids, while other remains with him, then swap out (other kids get to do it again). You don't have to wait in line twice.

You will be amazed. You will truly have a wonderful family time because you can all ride together !!! It is one of our (and our son's) favorite places to go.

ps DH is from Nebraska (born in Omaha) and we visit regularly.

Am off to the beach for a week, but if you have any questions about how we handled things with him, just reply :earsgirl:
 
Seconding the advice you already got - WDW has family rides, not the kiddie type that you might be familiar with. There won't be anything that he can ride that you can't. Also, at WDW, you have to be at least 7 to ride by yourself, so they would not let your older child be alone on a ride with him.
Here is a link to the official Disney website page about touring WDW with disabilities. At the top of the page, there are links to information about the rides/attractions at each park.
Another thing that might be helpful is to get a guidebook from the library or a bookstore. There is a guidebook especially for kids that talks about the rides and has pictures.
Just a few things I can think of that he would probably like at Magic Kingdom. I'm leaving off things that are dark, scary, have a height requirement or would probably not be that interesting to children 6 and under:
Fantasyland:
Small World - a gentle boat ride with large dolls dressed as children from around the world. Some kids with sensory sensitivities don't like this ride though because there is a lot of stimulation with all the dolls and the music.
Carrousel - an old fashioned merry go round
Dumbo - ride cars shaped like Dumbo, the flying elephant, go around in a circle flying thru the air.
Winnie the Pooh - you ride in hunny pot cars thru storybook-like settings
Mad Tea Party - if he likes spinning, this is a great ride for that.
Mickey's PhilharMagic - a 3D movie. Don't know if he's like this or not, but it's not scary and your other children would enjoy it

Mickey's Toontown:
There are a lot of things to see and characters to meet in the "houses" of Mickey & Minnie and Donald's boat.

Tomorrowland:
Indy Speedway - Small, gas powered race cars. You need to be 52 inches tall to drive alone, but a smaller child can ride if mom or dad does the driving.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority - this is an elevated tram that drives around Tomorrowland. A nice, gentle train ride.
Buzz Lightyear - this might be overstimulating with a lot of motion going around you, but the ride car goes slow and doesn't do anything scary.

Main Street: The WDW Railroad goes around the park. You sit on bench seats in train cars. You can use it as transportation to go from one part of the park to another, or take a round trip.

Adventureland:
Magic Carpets - similar to Dumbo, but magic carpets instead of Dumbo.
Jungle Cruise - a gentle boat ride on the "rivers of the world"

Frontierland:
Country Bear Jamboree - audioanimatronic bears sing country

Liberty Square:
Goofy's Country Dancing Jamboree - includes singing, dancing and audience interaction.
Liberty Square Riverboat - cruise on a steam powered paddleboat.

You might want to stop at Guest Services in any of the parks to request a Guest Assistance Card (we call it a GAC) that would allow his stroller to be handled as a wheelchair. Strollers are not normally allowed in lines or buildings (other than shops). Getting a GAC would help since you would have to be carrying or holding him in all the lines.
 
Thanks for the replies. That is great to hear that he will be able to go on the rides because I know he will enjoy it. We are hoping by going in October that the lines will not be that long but the kid swap thing sounds like a great idea. If I understand correctly it would also give the kids a chance to ride twice. Is this correct?

Do you know what the name of the guidebook is for kids? I know my kids would love that and it would save me the time of looking up pics on the internet for them every night.

Mike
 
The book is called Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids, by Kids. There might be other books, but Birnbaum's is the official book, so they have the rights to have pictures.
Here's alink to buying the book at Walmart.
Since my kids are adults, I haven't done child swap, but here's the general idea of how it works. Tell the first CM you see (and all the rest you encounter in line) that you want to do a child swap. You all wait in line together; when you get to boarding, one adult stays with the child who is not going on and the other goes on the ride with the other members of your party. When you finish, the two adults swap places and the second adult gets a chance to ride with the rest of your party (yes, your other kids would have a chance to ride a second time).
We have gone in late September. The lines should be short and the weather not too cool. Be prepared for rain every late afternoon though.
 
Thanks Sue. I see that you live in MN. We live in Nebraska and I would guess that the weather in Orlando probably never gets "too cool" :)
 
Mike I live in Michigan and it can get down right cold in Orlando but not in October. One year in December I was so glad I had a winter coat. We have had ice on the van windows in December and January in Orlando.
 

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