roller coaster lover w/autism

[kimba]

My 7yr old DS loves barnstormer, thunder mountain, and Test Track(ultimate favorite). When we went when he was 5 he was not tall enough for the AK coaster (had a huge meltdown), didn't do Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and now we are aware of Expedition Everest. Since my husband and I and his sisters are not big on the coasters we would like to avoid going on all of these. we definitely want to do a few though. We know we will do Splash mountain this time. Which coasters do your autistic kids enjoy the most? I know that might be all of them for some of you but if you had to pick...which ones should we make sure he gets to experience? Thanks.

 

[spiceycat]

AK coaster is EE....

maybe you mean the Studios one - R&RC? I avoid this one.... 65 mph in 30 seconds is a bit too fast for me...

if you are going to do Space mountain (28 mph) - I would just do all the mountain at the MK - big thunder (35 mph) and Splash (45mph - the drop) - plus if he is still little enough barnstormer...

you mentioned Test Track but didn't mention Mission:space - how do he feel about it? (although Mission:Space is not a coaster - not sure what it is)

 

[XYSRUS]

My 8 yo ASD kid loved Mission Space...I swear we rode it 11 times. And after the 10th time I was a bit dizzy. Anyway, he goes on all the thrill rides...RnR, ToT, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, everything. But our whole family loves coasters (grew up at Cedar Point). My autistic kid loves to spin and jump.

 

[SueM in MN]

When we went when he was 5 he was not tall enough for the AK coaster (had a huge meltdown)

AK didn't have a real coaster until EE (Expedition Everest), so I'm not sure what you mean.
The sort of coaster-like things they had before EE were:

Kali River Rapids - it does spin, but the spinning is random. You also will get wet. Maybe a little wet, maybe totally soaked (to the underwear). So, whether he would enjoy it or not probably depends on how he feels about getting wet and how he is able to deal with the "uncertainty" of what will happen. There is also a point where people on a bridge can squirt you. My nephew who has ADD didn't like other people squirting him, but he sure liked squirting people.

Dinosaur - a very dark and bumpy ride. You ride in a "truck" that is on a rail, but the truck also has simulator capabilities. Because of the simulator, the truck speeds up and slows down, seems like it is going up and down hills, makes sudden stops and changes of direction. There are also sudden appearances of dinos in front or to the side of you.

The last one is Primeval Whirl - which is kind of a combination of the teacups with a roller coaster. The spinning is random and seems to depend (at least partly) on the distribution of weight in the car.

 

[Sweedee]

my 12yods has HFA. He loved EVERY roller coaster. I wasn't sure what to expect because he is terrified of heights! He even went on ToT. When he was 8, he wouldn't even look at the roller coasters at Six Flags. I don't know if not being able to see the tracks helped him mentally, but he did them all....RnR and ToT he did 2x each.

 

[Tissa]

My autistic son wouldn't ride anything, even getting on the busses upset him especially since they didn't have seatbelts. I'm hoping he'll try something this trip

 

[kimba]

The coaster I referred to at AK 2 years ago was the Primeval Whirl. He really wanted to do it although my husband dreaded it. Turned out he was not quite tall enough. He remembers though.....
SpiceyCat...thanks for the mph for those rides. I love that. How fast does EE go?
We have never done ToT because my daughter HATES elevators. We may have to take DS alone if it is worth him experiencing it.
I have heard Mission Space can make you ill. I heard Dinosaur is pretty intense.

 

[spiceycat]

if he can do test track - I would think he can do Mission:Space.

some people have problems with it and Dinosaur - both are dark enclosed spaces (especially Space) - if they have problems with that don't ride these things.

I would think he would love the take off for Mission:Space....

oh if you go or he goes in afraid of this ride you will be sick.... It is not as bad as advertised...but it is surpose to be kinda of scarey....

make sure he knows before that it is not REAL..... if he thinks it is real (and Disney does their best to get you to belief it is real) - he might panic - this is not a good ride to panic on.... so when everything in the ride gets out of control he knows it is just fantasy and it shouldn't bother him....

same with Dinosaur...

be sure to explain that it is not real.....in whatever way works for you and him.

 

[spiceycat]

SpiceyCat...thanks for the mph for those rides. I love that. How fast does EE go?

don't know - on one of the TV shows they were looking at how fast the MK rides were....science.

it was only after I heard that Space Mountain was only 28mph would I dare to ride the thing.....