Traveling can be hard, and traveling with sensory kiddos can be even harder! From our many trips to Disney we have compiled a few time and sanity-saving hacks that will help you focus on all the fun you can have at Disney, and save a few headaches!
1 Crowd Control – If you want to go during a less crowded time and aren’t planning around kiddo school vacations, here is a great Disneyland Crowd Calendar . The less crowded the park . is, the easier it is to navigate with your sensory kiddo. And never, ever go between Christmas and New Years if you have a kiddo that doesn’t like crowds. We gave it a try to see how bad it really was, and it was BAD. We love Disney, but do not recommend it for ASD/Sensory families from Dec 23 through January 2nd.
2. Accommodations – If affordable for your family, it is very magical to stay on property. While often the easiest way to book, you can often find discounts through Tripadvisor.com, with all the same perks! For more details on various options from least expensive to luxurious, check out our Disney Accommodations page! All Disney properties have accessible rooms, although there are not specific Autism-friendly rooms yet. If you are looking for a property that offers Autism Accessible rooms, check out one of Disney’s Neighbor hotels, the Sheraton Park and ask for the Max Service. This hotel is walking distance to Disney, and offers supplies such as weighted blankets and fidgets, as well as alarms on the room door if you have a kiddo who tends to elope. There is also a trolley that can take you to the park for $5.00
3. Book reservations for restaurants 60 days in advance. Its always nice to have one or two sit-down meals at Disney, especially with a Sensory kiddo. We find that being able to sit-down in air-conditioning full-service restaurant with quality food makes a huge difference – and it also allows us to get away with light meals and snacks (that we brought in the rest of that day!) Disneyland allows you to book reservations 60 days in advance – no sooner. If there is restaurant you want to book, put a note on your calendar 60 days out, jump online on the Disney app and make your reservation! We had always wanted to eat at the Blue Bayou restaurant (all those times going by at Pirates of the Caribbean!) and could never get in – until we followed this trick. You can view the menus online if you have a picky eater to make sure they like something on the menu. All restaurants have Gluten and Casein free options, so just ask for the allergy menu!
4. Check back on reservations you couldn’t get. If you forgot to go online 60 days out and you really want to check out a restaurant, keep checking back the week and up until the day of – people change their minds and will cancel their reservations since there is a fee associated with no-shows.
5. Disney Gift Cards – To save money on food and merch, buy Disney Gift Cards at Target for 5% off using your red card. But the best part for me is having a natural limit of spending for the kids. We usually give each kiddo a $50 gift card, and they can spend it as they wish for pins, souveniers, etc. When it’s gone its gone. This has been transformational ! No more “can I have this, I want that.” I simply remind them they can spend their gift card as they wish, and its amazing how careful they are when its their own money 🙂
We LOVE to pin trade, so this has really helped with the big desire to buy more pins! More on Disney Pin trading with nonverbal kiddos in an upcoming post!
6. Send yourself a box of supplies to the hotel. This has to be one of my favorite all time Disney Travel hacks. Since we only travel with carry-ons, I order out Disney essentials on Amazon and have them sent to the hotel. Free shipping! Here’s what I recommend:
- Snacks! Trail mix, granola bars, fruit leather, you get the picture. Pick some things your finicky kids will love so you can supplement the expensive but fun treats at the Park. This also helps avoid eating three full meals at the parks.
- Waterproof Ponchos – you can find inexpensive waterproof ponchos on Amazon for rides like Splash Mountain and the Rapids at Disney’s California Adventure. You’ll thank me later! They are also availabel at the park, but are a bit more expensive ($10-$15 each) although they are a bit thicker and will last longer.
- Temporary Tattoos – if you are worried about losing your kiddo (it happens) or have a kiddo that tends to elope, these temporary phone number tattoos are fantastic!
- Travel Bands – if you prefer more privacy, the Travel Bands are great – they are fairly innocuous on the outside, but tell the person to look on the inside of the band to get the personal info to contact you in case your child is lost.
- Blister Control – we have found these hydrogel pads to be the best for Blisters! Moleskin pads also work well.
- Sun Protection – We prefer Spray-on Sunscreen, which you can’t take on a plane, so have it shipped straight to you to avoid crazy Park prices!
- Sun After-care – Biofreeze is a wonderful, effective spray-on that takes away the pain of over-sun exposure! Its way too easy to get burned, especially in the summer
- Glow in the Dark Bracelets – Having these is super fun for the kids, and usually helps avoid the huge desire to buy those expensive and blinding flashing light up toys so popular at night in the Parks. Plus, it really makes it easy to find one another after dark
- Autograph books – If you are traveling with little ones or for the first time, most likely your kids will want Character Autographs. The Autograph books in the parks are expensive, so get yours ahead of time and have it waiting in your hotel room as a surprise for half- the cost
To access our recommended list, go to our Amazon Disney List
7. Deliver Groceries to yourself – If you want fresh fruit, yogurt, breakfast and drinks, a great option is to have it delivered to you at your hotel. Here are a few great things to order fresh:
- Fresh fruit
- Yogurt
- Bagel and cream cheese
- Drinks
- Water bottles to bring into the parkHere is a list of delivery Services,all deliver to Resort on property as well as neighboring hotels. Property hotels will accept your order for you and keep it refrigerated until you arrive!
- Disneyland Anaheim: Von’s InstaCart and AmazonFresh
DisneyWorld: Garden Grocer, InstaCart and Amazon Prime Now
8. Pack well. We pack a carry-on small suitcase and a small backpack for each kiddo to carry by themselves. That way its not overwhelming when we have to take over! Check out our post on Packing tips!
Suitcase:
- Clothes for layering
- Light rain coat if needed
- Favorite sweatshirt for cool nights
- extra socks
- two pairs of walking shoes
Backpack:
- Noise-reducing headphones
- hat with a brim
- sunglasses
- Fidgets
- Gum for flight
- activities for flight
- two favorite items
- snack
- visual schedule
- collapsible waterbottle
