GraceLuvsWDW
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
We just returned from 6 day trip. We enjoyed FP+ and magic bands usability. We did get a DAS and used it 1-2 times per day. Crowds were much higher than anticipated and MK was very crowded. My dd12 had a panic attack in MK near Columbia Harbor House on Sat about midday. We found a quiet spot behind CHH but it was near a CM entrance/exit so was less than ideal. I could not get my dd to move from that location however, as she was in full blown panic attack. Several people gawked and stared. (I realize this is natural human instinct and perhaps they just wanted to know what was going on).
The only CM's nearby were young CP CMs (manning the strollers) and they did not offer to help or know what to do (I am guessing-they did not speak to me but might have worried they might make it worse). They just watched us. I tried to stand in front of area where my daughter was to sort of cage her in a safe area, all she really needed was quiet space and time but I was finding it difficult to provide that for her. She was crying and on the ground. I contemplated finding a CM to get me a wheelchair but did not want to leave my dd.
I finally was able to get her to stand (after about 30 minutes) and helped her slowly get to First Aid by Crystal Palace. They were wonderful with my dd. They gave us a dark, cool, quiet area with a bed for her to lie down in. We stayed there for 1 hour.
After that my dd was quite hesitant and afraid to do much so we headed back to the hotel. We only had about 4 hours in parks on Sunday. Which was fine.
I did think the current DAS system has some issues when it comes to shows. Our previous GAC allowed us to sit in back row handicap area. This is always very important for my dd who needs area away from crowd if possible and a place we can escape if needed.
I asked in every show but told we were not able to do that. They told me those seats were only available to mobility impaired people. We were not given any alternative other than general seating. This was quite an issue in a few shows-especially Philharmagic. So I think that needs to be addressed in some way-that kids with Autism can have back row access or next to back row access if possible. In most cases there were several seats available in back row.
I also think the DAS system lacks an ability to communicate with CMs about hidden issues and forces you to verbally explain in a non private manner issues and that can be upsetting to a child having issues.
I think in the future I might have a card on me that explains "my child has high functioning autism and extreme anxiety." If I were able to give that to a CM perhaps they would have helped us more. I'm not sure. In the past I have just shown the GAC and they have responded knowingly, but this could also just be a case of more young CP CM's that are not as knowing and responsive as in the past.
Our hearing protectors were not a lot of help in really loud areas. I don't know how to fix that for next trip-might need to do some research-but a lot of the issue for my dd is visual chaos as well as auditory chaos so I think we might need to strategize a bit. I thought crowds would be so low there wouldn't be many issues but it was far more crowded than I planned.
This was our first trip in 2 years.
The only CM's nearby were young CP CMs (manning the strollers) and they did not offer to help or know what to do (I am guessing-they did not speak to me but might have worried they might make it worse). They just watched us. I tried to stand in front of area where my daughter was to sort of cage her in a safe area, all she really needed was quiet space and time but I was finding it difficult to provide that for her. She was crying and on the ground. I contemplated finding a CM to get me a wheelchair but did not want to leave my dd.
I finally was able to get her to stand (after about 30 minutes) and helped her slowly get to First Aid by Crystal Palace. They were wonderful with my dd. They gave us a dark, cool, quiet area with a bed for her to lie down in. We stayed there for 1 hour.
After that my dd was quite hesitant and afraid to do much so we headed back to the hotel. We only had about 4 hours in parks on Sunday. Which was fine.
I did think the current DAS system has some issues when it comes to shows. Our previous GAC allowed us to sit in back row handicap area. This is always very important for my dd who needs area away from crowd if possible and a place we can escape if needed.
I asked in every show but told we were not able to do that. They told me those seats were only available to mobility impaired people. We were not given any alternative other than general seating. This was quite an issue in a few shows-especially Philharmagic. So I think that needs to be addressed in some way-that kids with Autism can have back row access or next to back row access if possible. In most cases there were several seats available in back row.
I also think the DAS system lacks an ability to communicate with CMs about hidden issues and forces you to verbally explain in a non private manner issues and that can be upsetting to a child having issues.
I think in the future I might have a card on me that explains "my child has high functioning autism and extreme anxiety." If I were able to give that to a CM perhaps they would have helped us more. I'm not sure. In the past I have just shown the GAC and they have responded knowingly, but this could also just be a case of more young CP CM's that are not as knowing and responsive as in the past.
Our hearing protectors were not a lot of help in really loud areas. I don't know how to fix that for next trip-might need to do some research-but a lot of the issue for my dd is visual chaos as well as auditory chaos so I think we might need to strategize a bit. I thought crowds would be so low there wouldn't be many issues but it was far more crowded than I planned.
This was our first trip in 2 years.