Hi
First let me say that I have enjoyed this forum for us ADD-ers and really appreciate the tone of helpfulness instead of the usual tone of condescendance I usually see on forums like this. Thank you keep up the good work.

This December, I am bringing my family to the Mecca of Childhood, Disney World in Florida and am looking for some advice. First, a little about me and my family. I am a 35 yr old male diagnosed a couple of years ago with ADHD. I have a 10 yr old son who is diagnosed with ADD and a 9 yr old son diagnosed with ADHD too. My 13 yr old daughter has been tested and is borderline ADHD, they said it was open to interpretation but haven't pushed for a second opinion. I am not medicated because of the way the meds made me feel and some of the side effects they give me. Both my sons are on concerta and it seems to be doing well. We don't medicate them while they aren't in school under doctor's advise. My wife and I are still debating wether or not to medicate them in Florida, but that isn't the point of this post. We will come to the right decision on that when the time comes.

The reason I am typing this is that we are going to Disney World and I am looking for advise to make the trip go easier (besides medicating the kids). We have already decided to keep the itinerary as loose as possible so there is no feeling that we have to rush and meet deadlines. We have started the typical behavior training of staying together and decreasing the whining and such.

Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

You are very brave ! My husband and I are not sure if we have the courage to do Disney or not.

Do you already have a place to stay while you are there? If not, I would recommend staying in a condo or some place with a kitchen and some open space so that you can have some down time as well as alone time if any family members require that. Although my husband and I just have one daughter who is 6 I had to laugh at a comment she made on our summer vacation - one afternoon she said " I just need some alone time for a little bit". she just wanted to play quietly by herself.

While I don't have any specific Disney advice I can imagine that it could be overwhelming and if you haven't already done so I would get online as well as read books so that each person has a chance to see what they really want to do while you are there. If there are two adults do you ever divide up and so that each kid gets some one on one time with the other parent?
Since I have two siblings I always enjoyed the very few opportunities I had as a kid to spend one on one time with one of my parents. I would make a list of some of the activities on your "must do" list while you are there and be flexible about what you are able to do and what you might not be able to fit in.

Remember the most important thing about vacations is just to get away and have some relaxed family time! I speak from experience when I say don't try to do it all - just have fun!

Hope this helps!

Jennifer

Hi! I am from Orlando and I have a few tips that may help:
1- Disney has something called the Fastpass: when you get to an atraction, there is a little machine, you insert your admision ticket there and it gives you "an appointment", so you go and do something else and at that time you can come in in a separate line and skip the line. You will still have to make a line, but it is way shorter than the regular one. It can save you 1hr of painful waiting. You can only have one fast pass at a time, so as soon as you get out of that atraction, go to the next fastpass and get your next appointment. Not everything has a fastpass, so you need to plan acordingly
2- You need to be in a show sometimes 30 min. before it begins. What I do, is I save the eating time for that. I go early, sit down, feed my kid and by the time we are done the show is just about to begin. My son has food allergies so they allow me to bring my own food, but you can always buy and bring.
3- Sit in the back rows, so if they get impatient you can always go out.
4- Most atractions are outdoors, so it WILL be hot, really hot. A fan that sprays water is very helpful.
5- Buy bottles of water, drop half of it and put them in the freezer the night before, in the morning fill it with the rest of the water and take them with you. I use a little cooler that looks like a purse just for this, got it at walmart. They do sell water but sometimes it's just not cold enough and when the kids get hot everything gets worse.
6- Most of meds wear out at night. BE prepared. Theme parks sometimes run from 9 to 9 so you may need and extra bit of med for the evening hours. If your kids are not on any meds or you plan to switch, do it at least 1 week before the trip because body needs adjustment.
7- Protein, protein protein. Happy tummy makes a happier kid. If they're not hungry, Disney sells Ice Cream everywhere.
8- Don't plan on shopping here, it is crazy many tourists, my son still cannot handle go shopping for more than 30 minutes. If it is a must, go tho the Belz Outlet mall. Next to it there is a mall called Festival bay, and inside there is a place called Monkey JOes. For less than $10 per kid, you get unlimited jumping and playing time in an inflatable arena, burn some energy there.
9- Jennifer is right: stay on a suite (hotel with basic kitchen)to make breakfast and dinner more relaxing and dont try to do it all. Disney has a lot of walking and sightseen that can be relaxing.
10- Ooops, saved the best for last: Bring a paper from you doctor with the medical diagnosis. I do hate labels, but in Florida ADHD/ADD is considered a disability. Now, I have NOT tried this at Disney but I did it at Universal and Seaworld: You go to guest services, tell them that you have a kid with disabilities and he/she cannot wait in line for 1 hr and they will give you a bracelet or other kind of pass and you can skip the line alltogether in most of the atractions. They will do this for the whole party, even non add siblings and parents. I got my son's diagnose recently, so I am still experimenting with it but it is worth trying. They also have the obligation to keep safe any medication you bring with you in climate controlled room.

And remember that Disney is not everyting. Seaworld is awsome, Universal is fun and they all have water parks where they may have also a lot of fun with less stress. Get info, maps and activity lists on the internet.

Hope this helps, any question let me know.

Have fun!!

Those are wonderful suggestions CarmenC!!;)

Hubby and I took our son to Orlando when he was 5 yrs. It was not bad at all.

*we made sure to get a map ahead of time (night before) of the park; he would look and look at that map. Being very visual that helped him have a mental plan

*Universal was of great interest to him (Nickelodeon, Shrek, etc.) so we spent most of our time there. We did 2 whole days there (1 day at Islands of Adventure and 1 at regular Universal) We upgraded our tickets-we had no waiting.

*Then we went back on a 3rd day and did whatever he wanted One More Time. That worked wonderful! No rushing, we took our time and he was able to take it all in.

*We did 3 parks in 7 days; we figured we would go back at a later time and do the other parks.

Have a great trip! You will have a blast...sounds like you have a great understanding of what might be.

We've been to WDW many times with our 11 yo adhd ds. I'm proud to say that his first trip was the very FIRST time I ever heard him tell me he was tired. ;)

That said, we talked a lot about waiting in line, all the walking, not buying everything, eating different foods (ie. eat the chicken strips bc the burger place is on the other side of the park), and not complaining about whatever (the heat, the crowds etc).

Surprisingly he did great, it was us, the parents who got a bit testy. I always take tootsie-pops with me and some other small snacks. When anyone gets a little cranky, a sugar hit always helps. We have many pics with kids with suckers in their mouths.

Be prepared to be bombarded with merchandise. At the end of every attraction there is a store. We gave our kids spending money at the beginning of the trip and they had to decide how to use it. Once it was gone, that was it.

My best advice is to plan, plan, plan. www.disboards.com (http://www.disboards.com) is a great resource and they have a separate board for disabilities, lots of adhd parents there.

Enjoy your trip.

awsome you be in my state and city haha

thank you for the advice

I don't know about ADHD, but a friend of mine went to Disney in July and her 3 year old is PDD and was diagnosed Autism Spectrum with sensory issues (something to that effect) and she was able to get a pass for him because he would not be able to wait in line for long. she had to bring a note from her dr. and they were able to go more quickly in line for rides.

I have done Disney with an ADD child. Are you staying at a WDW resort? I stayed at the Animal Lodge, there was a tv with old disney toons on and every child was zombified in front of that thing. Made it easy for 1 parent to sit with them while 1 checked in or talked to conceirge.

Sticking to home routine is godsend their. Even the most angelic child becomes a pure brat in this place, b/c parents ignore their usual routine, so if your child has a tantrum, just remember, they blend there. Unpack, put things where they belong, it goes a long way.

Do make some timelines, that will make life easier. Such as bedtime is golden, the wind down time that you take at home is carved in stone. If you plan on dining at the resturants, you must make reservations! I went in January and some nights we ended up dinning at 9 pm or later. So expect December to be the same.
Feel free to PM if you have questions on how to make Disney easier. I am kinda bias though b/c staying at a resort made it sooooooooooo easy in my eyes.

I have done Disney with an ADD child. Are you staying at a WDW resort? I stayed at the Animal Lodge, there was a tv with old disney toons on and every child was zombified in front of that thing. Made it easy for 1 parent to sit with them while 1 checked in or talked to conceirge.

Sticking to home routine is godsend their. Even the most angelic child becomes a pure brat in this place, b/c parents ignore their usual routine, so if your child has a tantrum, just remember, they blend there. Unpack, put things where they belong, it goes a long way.

Do make some timelines, that will make life easier. Such as bedtime is golden, the wind down time that you take at home is carved in stone. If you plan on dining at the resturants, you must make reservations! I went in January and some nights we ended up dinning at 9 pm or later. So expect December to be the same.
Feel free to PM if you have questions on how to make Disney easier. I am kinda bias though b/c staying at a resort made it sooooooooooo easy in my eyes.Yes, we will be staying at a Disney Resort right on the property. We figured that was the easiest for everyone.

Thanks again.