Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

Mandles

blue_monkey wrote: »

Mandles, do you remember me from the other thread?? Ryan is the exact opposite and is crawling the walls to get out more. He loves the Rollercoasters.

Have a look at Mears Transportation website, you can put details in and get a rough quote. There are not usually any buses that service the villa communities.

Hello Blue monkey, Yes, of course i remember you, you were mega helpful to me right at the beginning of all this diagnosis business etc (Thank you soo much):). I think your little boy is the same age as mine isnt he? nearly 7 ? Mine is very hyperactive too , this holiday is a real gamble, with all the characters, and a lot of rides as he does not like the unexpected! Buzz lightyear ride will go well as you get a laser gun, and blizzard beach is brilliant. Islands of adventure has loads of star wars , so know that will be a massive hit! (think i am more excited than the kids!)

Do the disney theme parks do like ours where you can go ahead of the queue if you take your autism diagnosis letter to customer services? Otherwise i can see us going home very early after he has freaked out a few times as he does not wait very well.

Also i am going with British Airways , anyone know if they have the amenity bags like virgin or anything like the rucksacks that virgin do for kids? ..... already terrified of how my son will be on the flight.

(when you going blue monkey?)

Polmop

Princess30 wrote: »

Hi, has anyone stayed at Floridays on ID? Do you know if it's good for getting to parks without a car and close to resturants, etc.

Thanks in advance

We are going in June to the Floridays, it seems to have transfers to all the parks and is on an i trolley stop to get around to restaurants.
Cant wait

Sheila1204

blue_monkey wrote: »

If you are looking for car hire this company might interest some of you. They are dropping our car off at our hotel but they also do a meet and greet at the airport so no queues at check in desk, they take you to your accomodation and the car is waiting - then on the way back return you to the airport as well. Worth keeping an eye on.

Has been recommended by several posters on here as well.

I am looking at car hire and unfortunately "caronthedrive" have no availability on the dates that I require (30 March 2012 - 14 April 2012) Can anyone recommed any other companies that offer the same service. Thanks

blue_monkey_2

Mandles wrote: »

Hello Blue monkey, Yes, of course i remember you, you were mega helpful to me right at the beginning of all this diagnosis business etc (Thank you soo much):). I think your little boy is the same age as mine isnt he? nearly 7 ? Mine is very hyperactive too , this holiday is a real gamble, with all the characters, and a lot of rides as he does not like the unexpected! Buzz lightyear ride will go well as you get a laser gun, and blizzard beach is brilliant. Islands of adventure has loads of star wars , so know that will be a massive hit! (think i am more excited than the kids!)

Do the disney theme parks do like ours where you can go ahead of the queue if you take your autism diagnosis letter to customer services? Otherwise i can see us going home very early after he has freaked out a few times as he does not wait very well.

Also i am going with British Airways , anyone know if they have the amenity bags like virgin or anything like the rucksacks that virgin do for kids? ..... already terrified of how my son will be on the flight.

(when you going blue monkey?)

Hi Mandles, that makes things easier Ryan is nearly 8 now and this will be his 4th trip.

The flight we have issues with because he will not remove his belt and he is scared of the toilet, because he does not move around he is usually sick as well - but never mind. I am getting wise, spare clothes, distractions etc... it's just a small part of the holiday after all. I do not think it helps with the tiredness. That being said, both the kids fell into getting up at 7am the next day which was brilliant. I was a tad ticked off at missing my early opening HPW though, LOL.

Some tips first. Take your DS ear defenders, the fireworks can be very noisy for them (both of yours really, be prepared, always better to have then not to) they help with flight noise and ear popping too on take off. They also help with some of the loud noises, Dinosaur is VERY loud and freaked both of mine out.

If you can, get a Maclaren Elite Major for him, it is brilliant as Ryan spends most of his time in there instead of running off and hiding (not funny when there is a show going on the dark!!!!!!!) or running away when a character comes to near. The characters can see that it is a wheelchair buggy and usually keep a wide berth too - everything helps. And he does not do run away because he has the safety of the buggy to go back to.

Download park maps and watch as many POV rides as you can on youtube - especially the rides he wants to go on, that is helpful with no nasty surprises then.

Hollywood Studios has Star Wars, Island of Adventure has Harry Potter.

Back to your questions though. Yes, all the parks offer a Guest Assistance Card, I take his Blue Badge and his diagnosis letter, Disney have never asked for it but I take it anyway - they will write a card for the duration of your stay. Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens wanted the letter. If you do have an Elite Major you can get it tagged to be used as a wheelchair and it can be used as such in the shows. We just find this the safest option. The GAC works just like it does here really but on the busier rides you will be given a time to come back to the ride so you can go off and do something else.

We have never flown BA to be honest, always VA and they give us special assistance so we are first on and the plane is quiet. They also sit us in a quiet area of the plane.

I really cannot stress how much difference the buggy has made to our holidays though - we do not use it at home, just on holidays. Ryan was being picked on a lot at school because of his disabilities so I do not use the buggy here - god help us if the little !!!!!! saw him in his buggy in town...... But it means we get to spend all day out and it has been good for all of us. See if you can borrow one if you can (if you are local and not there at the same time, drop me a PM and ask). If you need to ask anything else please do - it's the best place on earth. Manic but amazing. And there is so much to do for them too.

We are flying on Easter Sunday and staying for 2 weeks. We do not really do the character thing so that saves us some time in the parks. Hope that helps.

Mandles

Thanks, very much for all that advise and help. Already thought about ear defenders as he used them before on a short flight and they do help give a bit of time out and peace for him. Also so glad about advice about the buggy. I was thinking about it as it would be another "time out" thing that he may need and may stop him running off all the time (passport control means nothing to him, he is straight through there like a shot from a gun!!) .Re. buggy, I just think it must look like that sketch with David Walliums and George Dawes where he is in a wheelchair and runs off doing all these funny things while the carer is not looking Probably will be what it will be like with me but i think you are right and he will need it. I also picked up an "i am not naughty, i have autism" big badge from ebay for the airport and that was brilliant. He always gets searched as he always beeps through the detectors and staff at the airport were fantastic as noticed it straight away and did it so nicely so as not to distress him. Also found people a lot more understanding and nicer and he had no idea what it said on the badge but liked it.

You really are a disney pro then. I went once many years ago but now, with DS it is going to be a completely different ball game this year. I wish they did big trunkis as that was brilliant at the airport but maybe he will find the buggy as fun as he is too big for the trunki now.

So where is the cheapest for the hopper tickets for disney (also islands of adventure)? Saw someone said travel republic ??
And i spotted the kids eat free ticket that looks brilliant.. I am in a villa so are there any good food offers anywhere for adults that you would use as eating out in and around disney cost us a bomb and that was years ago!
Done most of the parks before but what are the top things you would recommend to do(especially with boys like ours?)

NBirdy

Could anyone please tell me if a child aged 3yrs 9 months AND weighing over 40lbs still needs a 'proper' car seat (i.e. with a harness) in Florida? The car seat laws seem quite vague to me In this country we used a high back booster from whenthey got to 40lbs, so we don't have the proper seat anymore

tori.k

NBirdy wrote: »

Could anyone please tell me if a child aged 3yrs 9 months AND weighing over 40lbs still needs a 'proper' car seat (i.e. with a harness) in Florida? The car seat laws seem quite vague to me In this country we used a high back booster from whenthey got to 40lbs, so we don't have the proper seat anymore

Florida law requires children under 5 years of age to be properly restrained no matter where they are seated in the vehicle. Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier (child safety seat) or in a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. For children ages 4 - 5, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used. If a safety belt does not fit the child correctly, a booster set should be used to correctly position the lap and shoulder belts once they outgrow forward facing child safety seats (generally at about 40 pounds and 4 years old). Children from approximately 40-80 pounds and under 4'9" in height should ride in a booster seat.
Infants must ride rear-facing until they are at least one year old and weigh 20 pounds or more. Rear-facing, the infant should be semi-upright at an angle or no more than 45 degrees. A forward-facing older child should ride sitting upright.
Never place a child in a child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with a passenger air bag. Always use the back seat.
Violation of the child restraint law carries a fine of $60 and 3 points on the driving record.

charleion

Good morning,

I have some prices and wondered if they were about right???

I have looked at 2 weeks from 15th April, first week in Disney'sCoronadaSprings Resort with DDP (the mid range one), 14 days Disney tickets. The following week in either Radisson hotel, Fairfields or something similar with breakfast. Then Discovery Cove Ultimate Adventure Package plus Universal 3 Park Bonus. Flying from Manchester and it comes in at around £5500.00, how does that sound???

NBirdy

tori.k wrote: »

Florida law requires children under 5 years of age to be properly restrained no matter where they are seated in the vehicle. Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier (child safety seat) or in a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. For children ages 4 - 5, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used. If a safety belt does not fit the child correctly, a booster set should be used to correctly position the lap and shoulder belts once they outgrow forward facing child safety seats (generally at about 40 pounds and 4 years old). Children from approximately 40-80 pounds and under 4'9" in height should ride in a booster seat.
Infants must ride rear-facing until they are at least one year old and weigh 20 pounds or more. Rear-facing, the infant should be semi-upright at an angle or no more than 45 degrees. A forward-facing older child should ride sitting upright.
Never place a child in a child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with a passenger air bag. Always use the back seat.
Violation of the child restraint law carries a fine of $60 and 3 points on the driving record.

Super, thank you. In that case we'll just take a high back booster with us

tori.k

Im bored waiting for a parcel to arrive so gave a quick dummy run of your dates
VA flights £491 =£1964.
Coronada springs mid DDP + 14 day tickets(Disney) £1737.
Discovery cove ultimate £ 204 (A) £134 (c) =£676 (seaworld)
Universal 3park £109 (A) £99 (C) = £416 (Florida escapes)
Fairfields (7nts) £406 - Radisson (7nts) £493

Total £5199. (fairfields) £5286 (Radisson)
I didn't look at cashback site's so may save another few ££ there,