For autistic children who are into repetition

turtlechick6

supergeek
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
I have a question about the new guest assistant system. I have a 10 year old autistic son that loves to ride a ride over and over and over if he decides that is his favorite ride. We did Universal last year at a non busy time and he was able to walk on Transformers over and over again. We literally had to go from exiting the ride right back on to the ride about 5 times in a row every time we rode it.

Now I can never predict what rides he is going to become taken with. It can change and it can even surprise you. For example he hated Spiderman one trip and the next trip wanted to ride it 10 times in a row.

So my concern is what happens if he decides Seven Dwarfs Mine train or Pandora Flight of Passage is his new favorite ride? He can handle waiting the first time period to get on but once he is off if he loves it, he is going to want to get right back on and I am worried that could potentially cause a meltdown if he is told he has to wait another hour to ride again.

Does anyone have any experience with this? What do they offer for kids with repetitious behaviors?
 
As others have said, there is no mechanism to allow guests to ride an attraction over and over. The best thing you could do would be to book a FP+ and get a DAS return time for the same attraction, this would allow him to ride twice with less of a wait than going through the standby line twice.
 
As others have said, there is no mechanism to allow guests to ride an attraction over and over. The best thing you could do would be to book a FP+ and get a DAS return time for the same attraction, this would allow him to ride twice with less of a wait than going through the standby line twice.


all the fast passes for the long wait rides are already gone on the app. And like I said I never know what ride is going to be "the one" for him with each trip as it varies so much
 
I don't think just autistic people suffer from this desire to repeat rides over and over. I'd love to throw a temper tantrum and NOT get out of the boat during Small World... ;)

What will happen? At the end of the ride, you will be asked to exit the ride vehicle and re-enter the line, for whatever the DAS wait-time is, if you have DAS. If no DAS, you will be asked to either make a FP+ for the ride and get in the FP+ line, or you get in the standby line. I am just taking a guess that if your son freaks out and starts having a full meltdown, if his meltdown affects the CM's abilities to keep the ride moving for the other guests, you will receive extra, non-Pixie Dusted attention to be removed from the ride area. Especially if he hits or physically lashes out at the CM's or tries to flee...

From what I understand, the CM's just cannot allow you to repeat-ride UNLESS the parks are very slow and there are very few people in line. That usually happens during Early Morning Magic (the one you have to pay extra for, NOT the on-site visitor perk) and sometimes close to park closing, depending on weather and the line-up. Also bad weather days, anything that will cause the Parks to be mostly empty. Okay and sometimes if you are on a Make-a-Wish trip.

I really don't think Disney offers any solutions for kids with repetitious behaviors, other than to ask that families practice their best behavior and coping skills so that everyone in the Parks has a magical time.

Maybe have him pick out a special plush or a blanket or a t-shirt, something tactile and tangible at a gift shop? Maybe load up his music selection? Maybe have HIM plan a day of which rides to go on? Maybe set up a BINGO/I Spy game with dry-erase markers and sheet protectors so he can observe the park more and obsess less over the rides?

Frustratingly, life is full of not getting what you want and having to distract yourself from the desire... it is just more challenging to practice self-control when you are overly stimulated. Hope you can find some tactics to keep your son from obsessing ; there is SO MUCH to take in! :)

all the fast passes for the long wait rides are already gone on the app. And like I said I never know what ride is going to be "the one" for him with each trip as it varies so much

And FP+s are never "all gone" - people cancel and switch up their plans ALL THE TIME. just spend some time and check multiple times a day! the perfect timeslot might yet still pop up for your family :) all hope is NOT lost!
 


Then absent a new policy, you'll have to tell him he has to wait again.

that is what I figured. The waits should not be too bad when we are going for most rides-its just those big new ones the Avatar ones and Mine train that might end up being drama if he decides THAT is his favorite ride since he is not going to be able to just walk off and go right back in to the line and get back on again quickly.

I hope he finds another favorite ride with a 20 min wait instead of 2 hours lol
 
For the big ones, I would 1 FP them and two before getting in line for your FP time go and get a return time for his DAS, This way if he does want to repeat it you can, also RD is your friend. If it is a ride that is not that popular ( like the wait is under 20/30 minutes ) you might be able to go up to the CM if he needs to ride again and let the CM know about your sons needs and just see if you can ride again, but the chance of this happing for FOP or 7DMT is slim to none and leaning towards none.

I would also start to tell him how the DAS works and that you will go to the ride and get a return time to come back, that you can do other things while waiting, ask him to help pick out some rides to FP and rides to get a DAS return time. ( if he can handle it)

If a storyboard will help him and have something that lays out his day.

If you think he might want to loop a more than two times then one thing you can do is go at RD and do a ride like 7DMT get off and get a DAS return try to stall him some from going right on even saying before we can ride or do anything you must wait 5 times ( or some time). then have a FP for it ride with the FP and then have him hopefully the DAS time will be up.

This most likely will not work for FOP since this ride see a few hour waits sometimes

BUt i think the best you can do is let your child know ahead of time what to expect that he will not be able to loop rides and that he will have to wait just like everyone else, give him option while he waits, does he want a snack, look in a shop, watch a show, see of there is a shorter wait somewhere, pay a game on a phone, EXTRA.
 
Back in 2002, my then 12 year old autistic son only wanted to repeatedly ride Buzz Lightyear. We were unaware of GAC at that time, so never had one. We would just keep checking back for the wait time to get low, and then were able to ride it many times with minimal wait. Unfortunately, there is probably no time of year that this is possible anymore.

Thankfully, my son is high functioning enough that he understood that he couldn't ride repeatedly when there was a long line. He stopped having meltdowns at about 5 or 6 years old. I could not have taken him to Disney prior to that age.

Knowing that it can be a potential problem, I would likely not take him on high demand rides to begin with. That way there is no chance of him getting attached to it.
 
Back in 2002, my then 12 year old autistic son only wanted to repeatedly ride Buzz Lightyear. We were unaware of GAC at that time, so never had one. We would just keep checking back for the wait time to get low, and then were able to ride it many times with minimal wait. Unfortunately, there is probably no time of year that this is possible anymore.

Thankfully, my son is high functioning enough that he understood that he couldn't ride repeatedly when there was a long line. He stopped having meltdowns at about 5 or 6 years old. I could not have taken him to Disney prior to that age.

Knowing that it can be a potential problem, I would likely not take him on high demand rides to begin with. That way there is no chance of him getting attached to it.


I think he will be okay. I am just going to have to let him know before the long wait ones that this one is not one you can just get back on real quick so just know that going in. Hopefully he will be okay. Its going to be different from Universal last year because literally every ride had walk on so he got used to just walking right back on over and over and over.

Wish Disney was still like that!!!
 
I don't think just autistic people suffer from this desire to repeat rides over and over. I'd love to throw a temper tantrum and NOT get out of the boat during Small World... ;)

I'd just like to take a moment to explain that there is a big difference between a temper tantrum and an autistic meltdown. Their brains are wired to do things repetitively and obsessively. Over ruling the brain is not an option. It's not that they want to get their way, so have a tantrum. It's not even necessarily something they enjoy that they get stuck on. This is why it's impossible to predict. They don't even know what objects, rides, pictures, or whatever that their brain will grab hold of and demand they become all encompassed by whatever it is. It's hard on them as well. They don't WANT to obsesses over things, it's like a fight within against their own instincts. They are not just spoiled brats acting out to get their way. They are humans involved in the fight of their lives, against their own brain.

Now that my son is an adult and has given me some insight into what makes him do the things he does, it makes more sense to me. What I always knew is that my son had low self esteem and certainly didn't think he was entitled to have things others couldn't. He's fought a good fight, every day of his life. He is the strongest man I know.
 
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I'd just like to take a moment to explain that there is a big difference between a temper tantrum and an autistic meltdown. Their brains are wired to do things repetitively and obsessively. Over ruling the brain is not an option. It's not that they want to get their way, so have a tantrum. It's not even necessarily something they enjoy that they get stuck on. This is why it's impossible to predict. They don't even know what objects, rides, pictures, or whatever that their brain will grab hold of and demand they become all encompassed by whatever it is. It's hard on them as well. They don't WANT to obsesses over things, it's like a fight within against their own instincts. They are not just spoiled brats acting out to get their way. They are humans involved in the fight of their lives, against their own brain.

Now that my son is an adult and has given me some insight into what makes him do the things he does, it makes more sense to me. What I always knew is that my son had low self esteem and certainly didn't think he was entitled to have things others couldn't. He fought a good fight, every day of his life. He is the strongest man I know.

This was a helpful informative post that educates all of us. It should be required reading for everyone.
 
I think he will be okay. I am just going to have to let him know before the long wait ones that this one is not one you can just get back on real quick so just know that going in. Hopefully he will be okay. Its going to be different from Universal last year because literally every ride had walk on so he got used to just walking right back on over and over and over.

Wish Disney was still like that!!!

The Disney app gives you a pretty accurate idea of wait times. You can always watch them and see if they are up, down, or otherwise to repeat. You may be able to talk to him about going 2 times (FP+DAS back to back). GS gave us a return time for our choice when we got the DAS so we selected Mine Train. We could have gone directly there (it was about 10 minutes before park opening) and probably could have done standby then DAS back to back.

The easiest thing may be to just avoid some of the rides that will be difficult to do repeatedly. Pandora rides and Mine Train would probably be the ones that couldn't even come close to repeating.

We have the exact opposite with my son. He rides once. Exactly once. My other son would gladly do a couple of rides more than once (he rode Everest 3 times - his first time riding it and he LOVED it!) but my ASD son threatens a meltdown with even the suggestion, and was yelling at his brother for wanting to go again. In fact, we had our first ever second trip in one year (usually we alternate years - we just happened to get an amazing deal that allowed us to go back). The only way he would ride anything was if he went with the opposite parent as he did the last time we went. You really never know what their brain is going to process as "needed."
 
I'd just like to take a moment to explain that there is a big difference between a temper tantrum and an autistic meltdown. Their brains are wired to do things repetitively and obsessively. Over ruling the brain is not an option. It's not that they want to get their way, so have a tantrum. It's not even necessarily something they enjoy that they get stuck on. This is why it's impossible to predict. They don't even know what objects, rides, pictures, or whatever that their brain will grab hold of and demand they become all encompassed by whatever it is. It's hard on them as well. They don't WANT to obsesses over things, it's like a fight within against their own instincts. They are not just spoiled brats acting out to get their way. They are humans involved in the fight of their lives, against their own brain.

Now that my son is an adult and has given me some insight into what makes him do the things he does, it makes more sense to me. What I always knew is that my son had low self esteem and certainly didn't think he was entitled to have things others couldn't. He fought a good fight, every day of his life. He is the strongest man I know.

THANK YOU!!!
 
I have a question about the new guest assistant system. I have a 10 year old autistic son that loves to ride a ride over and over and over if he decides that is his favorite ride. We did Universal last year at a non busy time and he was able to walk on Transformers over and over again. We literally had to go from exiting the ride right back on to the ride about 5 times in a row every time we rode it.

Now I can never predict what rides he is going to become taken with. It can change and it can even surprise you. For example he hated Spiderman one trip and the next trip wanted to ride it 10 times in a row.

So my concern is what happens if he decides Seven Dwarfs Mine train or Pandora Flight of Passage is his new favorite ride? He can handle waiting the first time period to get on but once he is off if he loves it, he is going to want to get right back on and I am worried that could potentially cause a meltdown if he is told he has to wait another hour to ride again.

Does anyone have any experience with this? What do they offer for kids with repetitious behaviors?
You need to focus on helping him cope with not getting to have the repetition. I know it isn't easy (my son is autistic), but it can be done, and is part of helping him learn to function in the world.
 
I'd just like to take a moment to explain that there is a big difference between a temper tantrum and an autistic meltdown. Their brains are wired to do things repetitively and obsessively. Over ruling the brain is not an option. It's not that they want to get their way, so have a tantrum. It's not even necessarily something they enjoy that they get stuck on. This is why it's impossible to predict. They don't even know what objects, rides, pictures, or whatever that their brain will grab hold of and demand they become all encompassed by whatever it is. It's hard on them as well. They don't WANT to obsesses over things, it's like a fight within against their own instincts. They are not just spoiled brats acting out to get their way. They are humans involved in the fight of their lives, against their own brain.

Now that my son is an adult and has given me some insight into what makes him do the things he does, it makes more sense to me. What I always knew is that my son had low self esteem and certainly didn't think he was entitled to have things others couldn't. He fought a good fight, every day of his life. He is the strongest man I know.


Preach!! ::yes::
 
I'd just like to take a moment to explain that there is a big difference between a temper tantrum and an autistic meltdown. Their brains are wired to do things repetitively and obsessively. Over ruling the brain is not an option. It's not that they want to get their way, so have a tantrum. It's not even necessarily something they enjoy that they get stuck on. This is why it's impossible to predict. They don't even know what objects, rides, pictures, or whatever that their brain will grab hold of and demand they become all encompassed by whatever it is. It's hard on them as well. They don't WANT to obsesses over things, it's like a fight within against their own instincts. They are not just spoiled brats acting out to get their way. They are humans involved in the fight of their lives, against their own brain.

Now that my son is an adult and has given me some insight into what makes him do the things he does, it makes more sense to me. What I always knew is that my son had low self esteem and certainly didn't think he was entitled to have things others couldn't. He fought a good fight, every day of his life. He is the strongest man I know.

Oh I know the difference ;) Thankfully, just like with DAS, I don't have to pull out credentials and family medical files to "prove" my opinion and life experiences that I choose to share. :)

The mind can still overcome those compulsions with lots of support and help from loved ones. It does take a lot more time than neuro-typical people (how I HATE that word) but hey look at how many functional, successful young adults with a few extra challenges are on these boards, plus their parents? Lots! and you know there are many more not on the DIS :)

If he is capable of being told, "I am just going to have to let him know before the long wait ones that this one is not one you can just get back on real quick" as you say, then you just will need to practice some distraction and coping skills. :) And form a plan for the family if he gets overwhelmed :)

Maybe let him pick out a super special treat food AFTER the rides that you feel might be a temptation. Like, "Splash Mtn was great but let's go get that Mickey Bar!" Something to keep him "moving forward" rather than looking back, as it were.

Have a great trip!
 
I have a question about the new guest assistant system. I have a 10 year old autistic son that loves to ride a ride over and over and over if he decides that is his favorite ride. We did Universal last year at a non busy time and he was able to walk on Transformers over and over again. We literally had to go from exiting the ride right back on to the ride about 5 times in a row every time we rode it.

Now I can never predict what rides he is going to become taken with. It can change and it can even surprise you. For example he hated Spiderman one trip and the next trip wanted to ride it 10 times in a row.

So my concern is what happens if he decides Seven Dwarfs Mine train or Pandora Flight of Passage is his new favorite ride? He can handle waiting the first time period to get on but once he is off if he loves it, he is going to want to get right back on and I am worried that could potentially cause a meltdown if he is told he has to wait another hour to ride again.

Does anyone have any experience with this? What do they offer for kids with repetitious behaviors?

They offer nothing for repetitious behaviors. You can plan ahead and book FP+ and try the DAS to see if that helps. If you are going with a large group and people don't mind not riding certain things, book the FP+ at staggered times and share the magic bands. But if you don't know in advance, then there's pretty much nothing you can do. WDW is a very busy place - most people only get once chance to ride an attraction while they are there, and sometimes some people don't get to ride at all, as the FP+ are booked, and the waits are too long.

that is what I figured. The waits should not be too bad when we are going for most rides-its just those big new ones the Avatar ones and Mine train that might end up being drama if he decides THAT is his favorite ride since he is not going to be able to just walk off and go right back in to the line and get back on again quickly.

I hope he finds another favorite ride with a 20 min wait instead of 2 hours lol

I hope so too - waits for FoP can be over three hours long at times.

I'd just like to take a moment to explain that there is a big difference between a temper tantrum and an autistic meltdown. Their brains are wired to do things repetitively and obsessively. Over ruling the brain is not an option. It's not that they want to get their way, so have a tantrum. It's not even necessarily something they enjoy that they get stuck on. This is why it's impossible to predict. They don't even know what objects, rides, pictures, or whatever that their brain will grab hold of and demand they become all encompassed by whatever it is. It's hard on them as well. They don't WANT to obsesses over things, it's like a fight within against their own instincts. They are not just spoiled brats acting out to get their way. They are humans involved in the fight of their lives, against their own brain.

Now that my son is an adult and has given me some insight into what makes him do the things he does, it makes more sense to me. What I always knew is that my son had low self esteem and certainly didn't think he was entitled to have things others couldn't. He fought a good fight, every day of his life. He is the strongest man I know.

Many 'temper tantrums' are also based on a form of emotional upheaval - I've never known one person who felt good about having a temper tantrum. The person having the tantrum may not even know what the root of the issue is. I'm not talking about the child who has been taught that being demanding, kicking and screaming gets them to have their way (that's an entirely different behavioral issue, based on poor parenting) but the true emotional breakdown of losing one's inner calm and having no way to pull it back in. So while you may say there is a big difference, I disagree. There's emotional release, lack of emotional control, and a sense of distress in both.
 

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