Disney with a SATB2 Kid

We just went to Disneyworld, and I was SO nervous about going! I had no idea what to do, what the "fast pass" meant, and I knew there was supposed to be some kind of disability pass, but didn't know how to use it. 

Luckily, I have some awesome friends who told me all of the secrets of how to plan an incredible Disney trip for a disabled child! So here is all I learned!


1. Download the Disney World app

It is free, and you will need it to sign up for fast passes later (more on those in a minute). It shows all the current wait times for all the rides, which is SUPER helpful. And you will be able to access photos and showtimes, etc. 

There are options to reserve dining and order food and link your hotel room, but I didn't use any of those. 


2. Fast Passes

Okay. Fast passes. Basically what this is a way for you to skip the lines on 3 rides/ experiences. You can sign up for whichever ones you want- character greeting, Splash Mountain, whatever. 

I recommend looking up the most popular rides/ those with the longest wait times, and signing up for them as early in the day as you can, and preferably close together. 


Because Chelsea is so into princesses, I signed up for the Ariel ride, meeting Cinderella/ Elena, and meeting Tiana/ Rapunzel. Those things were all fairly close together, and I was able to get them all done before noon. 

NOW, once you use those 3 fast passes the day(s) at Disney, you can get back on the app and select one more fast pass at a time. Once you wait until your time slot, and ride the ride, you can go back and choose another. The day of, there will be not as desirable rides/ times left, but still good stuff! We ended up using 6 fast passes- the 3 we signed up for ahead of time, and 3 more that day. 

The fast pass will give you a time, so "Ariel ride at 9:10" will mean that you have from 9:10-10:10 to get to the Ariel ride and get into the fast pass line, which lets you skip the entire standby line! It is nice that they give you an hour to get there, because there will be things you want to stop and watch. 

4. The DAS Pass

Right when we got to Disney (gates open at 8, and rides start at 9), we got Chelsea's disability pass. It was very painless- no in-depth questions or paperwork. They just snapped a picture of Chelsea and put it on her ticket. We just had to remember which one was hers. 

Now, the DAS pass is different from the fast pass. What you do is go up to the ride you want to go on, and the attendant at the front will scan your pass. They will tell you to come back at a time that is the same amount of time as the standby wait line. 

You cannot sign up for multiple rides with the DAS pass. Just one at a time. But if you work the fastpass and the disability pass, you should be on things all day. 

Our Schedule

I can't stress this enough- a mapped out, planned schedule will be a lifesaver!!! The park is big, so we did everything in sections. In the morning (at Magic Kingdom), we hit Fantasyland first. 

We scanned the disability pass to meet Ariel as we arrived, and got right on the 9:10 fastpass time for the Ariel ride. By the time that was over, the wait time was up and we went right in to meet Ariel. 

Once we met her, we scanned the pass for Dumbo and went to Pete's Silly Show because it had almost no wait time. By the time we came out of there, our wait time was up and we got right on Dumbo. 

You get the idea! I alternated using my fast passes with the DAS pass in an area of the park until we rode everything/ met everyone, then we would move on to the next section. 

Baby Swap

We had our 3 kids with us- ages 7, 5, and a baby. Obviously there will be a bunch of rides that don't allow babies. BUT- if you tell the attendant at the front that you want to do a baby swap, then one parent will ride the ride with the kids while the other holds the baby, then the kids can go AGAIN when the parents switch the baby- no line at all! They just stick you right on after swapping off. 

Stroller as a Wheelchair

Chelsea was very fortunate to win a big stroller at the first ever SATB2 conference. And that bad boy counts as a wheelchair! You can tag a stroller for a disabled child as a wheelchair and it was AMAZING! 

There were a couple rides when I took Chelsea up to scan the disability pass to come back later, and they said that if she is in a wheelchair, we could go right then, and just let us through. It was awesome! 

It also rocks at airports- we get the handicapped lane which is WAY shorter and less stressful. 


Photo Passes
At Disney, there are photographers all over the place! They will get pictures of you and your family, then scan your ticket, so that the photos will show up on your app for you to preview. They are expensive! My app said $70/ day or $200 for the whole trip. But if you have the budget for it, they do get some really incredible pictures. 

Companion Restrooms
Okay, I loved/ hated this. They have companion restrooms, which was super helpful for us since I needed to help Chelsea with potty. The Disney restrooms were very efficient, but I wasn't sure that I would be guaranteed a handicapped stall in the women's one. 

Maybe I didn't understand the concept of a companion restroom, because I saw a family of 8 squash in there and all go so that they could skip the bathroom lines. It was my assumption that a companion restroom was for people like a single dad with a young daughter and he doesn't want to take her into the men's room. Or a special needs adult that needs changed. 

If you are a typically developing person and just want to skip the line and aren't disabled/ have special circumstances beyond "I want to use this bathroom because the line is shorter", please don't. It is just as rude as parking in a conveniently placed handicapped parking spot. 


Parking
And speaking of parking- I really liked the handicapped parking at Disney! It was close to the gate (not super close, but WAY closer than the other lots!) so easy to get to the park in the morning and leave at night.

Rest Spot
I heard several people recommend going back to your hotel for a nap mid-day. If your hotel is close, do it! We were in a hotel further away because my son had a tournament there. 

So we went over to the Hall of Presidents, got the nice back row for wheelchairs, and all took a break! Comfortable seats, dimly lit room, and the show was a lengthy one, but not flashy, so the kids were able to rest, I fed the baby, and my husband loved hearing the history of the United States. Win for everyone!

Fireworks
The fireworks/ show at the end of the day is magical. I seriously teared up because it was that great. You need to get in front of the castle super early though (like up to two hours before!). So make sure you go potty, and bring some snacks. We ate our dinner and then went through that day's photos talking about our favorite things. It was a long wait, but by that time, my kids were so tired that they were happy to just sit and have a break. 

Overall Experience
I would absolutely go to Disney again! I feel like we had a much better experience and shorter wait times with Chelsea in our group. SO much fun! We were able to do everything we wanted to AND meet everyone we wanted to in a single day (at just one park).