The first time we went to Universal Orlando, we enhanced our experience. We stayed in a hotel for two nights and spent time at Universal and Islands of Adventure. We had a full day and a half of activities.
There were some times my son would refuse to go on a ride or an attraction, due to his anxiety and sensory sensitivities. We had to let him guide how the day went. We would do one experience and then take a break and either get a snack, walk around, do meet and greet characters or people watch. We made sure to do something with lower intensity after something exciting with higher intensity.
Even with these strategies, we did push him out of his comfort zone and we did a lot more than we would have if he was in control of the whole experience. By the second day, his capacity to manage was a lot lower than the first day. We decided to just end our experience and go home. We did have a great time, but my son needed time to decompress.
Having ADHD and anxiety, my son experiences the world differently. He is sensitive to sensory input feeling vibrations of sound and everything with more intensity than typical people. Theme parks have a lot going on! There are so many people, sounds, smells, lights, feelings. Even typical people have their limit on how much of this they can handle before they need to be done and have time to decompress or recuperate from this level of sensory.
This past weekend we went back to the parks. It was a holiday weekend (MLK Day), so the parks were even busier than any other weekend. I don’t remember having so many people waiting for 30 minutes just to get into the park! There was no real line; it was a mush of people, and we could barely breathe or move. Even I was overwhelmed and irritated before we got into the park.
My son does have an accommodation card that allows him to leave a line with one adult if he cannot wait too long. Someone still needs to wait in the line and then he could come back when that person reached the front right before the ride. However, this accommodation has not worked well for us. What happens is my son will shut down and refuse to go on the ride before we can even have someone from our party even get in the line.
We can only do the things that my son will be okay with, or we risk a meltdown. This weekend we took two cars so when he decided he was done, my mother-in-law could take him back to her house and my husband and I could still have fun at the park.
Recommendations for Experiencing Theme Parks with Children or People Who Have Sensory Sensitivities
1.) Unless you have a ton of money or don’t mind if your experience gets cut short or not what you were expecting, do not buy a one-day ticket to a theme park. With a yearly pass, we can go many times and get a different experience each time. We have extra support from my mother-in-law and can have her take my son home if he needs to be done for the day before we are ready.
2.) Make sure you have snacks or able to stop for snacks or meals when needed. It can be used as a time to sit and decompress from all the higher sensory moments.
3.) Bring headphones or earplugs. They can take the edge off of the noise sensitives. I like earpeace ear plugs. These take the edge off without blocking out too much sound, so I can still participate in conversation. I also have some sensitivity to sound. I have these ear plugs in the cream color and my son has the navy ones.
4.) If you have extra support (someone who does not mind leaving the park halfway through the day or staying with your child so you can still enjoy an attraction) bring them with you. Having that extra person of support is helpful and takes the pressure off of you.
5.) Have compassion and understanding when you are communicating with your child. Talk to them with patience and a calm, soft voice. They may need some extra patience or connection time with you during or after the experience.
What has worked or not worked for you in regard to enjoying time at a theme park? As always, I am here for you. Send me a message!
