Walt Disney World with Special Needs

Our family is a big fan of all things Disney.  We especially love visiting Walt Disney World when we get the chance.  Some say we're crazy to visit with four special needs children who have developmental, emotional, and physical disabilities.  We like to prove them wrong.  We promise you can have a magical experience if you're willing to put in the effort to prepare.

A Daily Journal of our First Experience at Walt Disney World

Each time our family takes a trip, I keep a daily journal.  Here you will find all of my Walt Disney World entries from our first trip in October of 2015.  (Our second vacation has been booked for November 2017 and will include eight days in the parks.  Those journal entries will be added as well.)

I have included the good, the bad, and so much more.  Each post includes tips for families with special needs, based on what we learned during the planning stages of our trip and while in the parks.  Posts are aimed at families who have children with:

• Autism
• ADHD
• Anxiety Disorder
• Reactive Attachment Disorder
• PTSD
• Mood Disorder
• Food Allergies
• Other Physical Disabilities*

*Two of our children use adult sized handicap strollers due to issues related to their disabilities.  You can be assured journal entries include details about visiting Walt Disney World in a wheelchair, as the strollers were tagged as such while in the parks.

Busy Bags Ideas for Walt Disney World

It's great to bring along media devices to help little ones and those with special needs as you hurry up and wait for just about everything in the parks.  But if you have a child who's not obsessed with media devices and who has a very short attention span, bringing along iPads and iPhones may not be enough.

It is for this very reason I created Sunshine a set of busy bags for each Walt Disney World park.  All of the activities were kept in Ziploc bags in her backpack.  You'll notice fun snacks and an example of a visual schedule are also included in some posts.

I seriously don't know what we would have done without these busy bags.  They saved us so many times as we waited for shows, rides and meals, And then there were those times when Sunshine didn't like a show or a meal and needed something to do.  Putting these together was so worth the effort!

If you enjoyed or Walt Disney World and Special Needs resources, you may also enjoy the page below.