Disneyland with special needs

In our small traveling group, potential areas of concern included dementia, arthritis (included artificial knees), anxiety, diabetes, and fear of losing a wig. In addition, the park can be tiring for much younger people.

I took a lot of that into account while planning the trip. I did not plan on going on any fast rides, and I had considered which ones were harder to get in and out of, or more uncomfortable for the legs. There was no chance we would go on Goofy's Sky School, but there were a lot of rides that I thought would be fine.

I underestimated the knees. Even some rides with a reasonable amount of leg room required too much bending. We discovered this on our second attempted ride, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, when my mother could just not get seated. Maybe the anxiety makes her give up sooner, but it she couldn't do it. She ended up waiting just outside the ride exit while I rode it.

In addition, the first ride we did, Soarin' Over the World, made her dizzy. Getting in and out of the ride was easy, but the ride part itself - which I thought she would love - scared her.

That required an adjustment in plans. Many rides that I thought would be okay (pretty much everything in Fantasyland) had to be scrapped. She had been on most of them back in the '80s, but I had been excited to introduce her to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and that wasn't going to happen.

I ended up prioritizing the ones that I thought she would enjoy the most and where she would have the most leg room. We rode Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Peter Pan, and the Haunted Mansion. We also went into the Enchanted Tiki Room (an attraction, but not a ride), and we rode the Monorail.

There are a few points that I want to make, but I think the first is that we still had a nice time. I like riding rides a lot, but sitting and listening to the music and watching the people is still good. There is a good and happy feeling there, and it was good for her to partake of it, even if the memories are not always there.

There is also a lot of entertainment, with bands and musical acts all around. We only specifically made an effort to catch the show at the Golden Horseshoe Review, but we could have done much more.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/entertainment/

I was constantly reminded that choosing to stay at the Grand Californian had been the right way to go. We were easily able to get back and forth from the park, which meant taking breaks in the middle of the day possible (because it was necessary).

The reason we rode the Monorail was to see if the Downtown Disney stop was closer to the hotel than going through the main entrance. It may have been a little closer, but there were stairs going down from the platform there (the Tomorrowland stop is all ramp), so it was a mixed bag. Trying it was still something to make the experience more interesting.

Wheelchairs are available, and I thought about it a lot, but that was not something my mother wanted, and I had to respect that.

I personally am grateful that the bathrooms have receptacles for sharps, which is helpful.

But the most important thing is to once again be grateful for how helpful the cast members are. When Mom was struggling to get in to the trailer for the Junkyard Jamboree, they tried to assist. I think they might have helped us position the legs in if we had wanted, but I knew she would hate that. Instead, they helped her get to the exit to wait, but immediately followed with a pass for quick readmission if she wanted to try it again. I appreciated that.

Also, in addition to the Main Street Electrical Parade, we also stayed for the World of Color. We had gotten regular reservations and found her place, but I was worried about her standing for that long. I went to find a bench while we waited.

The way the World of Color reservations work is that you get a ticket for a standing area, which you hand over as you enter. If you leave they give you one back (it is probably not the same one, though that doesn't matter) so you can return and get back in.

Our cast member asked and I explained I just wanted to let her sit for a while. I have seen chairs, but they were marked reserved and I don't know how you get them. I still don't know how you get them in advance, but he immediately asked if I would like for her to sit during the show, and he found her a spot to sit.

It just made everything so much easier, and I was so grateful.

Looking back I suspect that if I had asked someone earlier - at the hotel or in the park - how to get a seating place, they would have had answers.

One thing I have become aware of recently is how many different types of disabilities there are. We tend to think of wheelchair access, but someone on the autism spectrum recently had trouble flying: pre-boarding would have been very helpful, but without difficulty walking or small children the airline just couldn't see to give her that grace.

It impresses me seeing how many different issues Disneyland can be good with. It may require some advance planning, but there are many things that can work, and be a great experience.

Preparing for your Disney trip

Going to Disneyland doesn't take a lot of planning for us anymore; we know the territory.

Purchasing the passes in advance has always resulted in getting them in the mail. In the past they have been paper, but this time they were plastic, kind of like a credit card. Because we were staying at a resort hotel, we also got a packet with coupons for Downtown Disney and ground transportation information.

My sisters recently went to Disneyworld, and that was a different experience.

For Disneyworld, it is wristbands, and you register them online. Not only do you register them, you can plan fast passes and meals in advance.

https://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/

I had read this article a while ago, so I was not completely surprised at the options. Reservations are not required, and there is a part of me that likes to leave things open to spontaneity. I mean, how do you even know when you will be between rides? Well, maybe if you were using fast passes, you would.

Granted, my whole strategy is to pick less busy times of year, and then use psychology and opportunism to do the least amount of waiting in line possible. That seems completely incompatible with smart wristband technology.

Not everyone can do it our way. Being childless means you don't have to go during regular vacations. That is not true for everyone. If the only time to go is a busy time of year, that level of planning may be what makes the trip better than long lines punctuated by a few moments of fun. Advance planning could be helpful for a busy Disneyland time as well.

While I am confident that when I take my crack at Disneyworld that I will do it better, it can be intimidating too. With so much there - and not wanting to miss things - how do you do it?

Here is something helpful; no matter how much I love Disneyland, there are people who are way more fanatical about it. This can be useful.

Let's say I was looking for discounts, I might head over to Mouse Savers first, and subscribe to their newsletter: https://www.mousesavers.com/

They have their own links, but don't worry, there are more. For example, if I wanted to check out restaurants, I might go to http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/. I'm not even sure if that's the one I have used in the past, because there are others.

That's not to take away from the park web sites. Sorting restaurants by location, like https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/#/sort=location/ is helpful, but those are general descriptions and prices. The sites done by fans may have pictures of the menu items, and reviews. It can be handy.

It is easy to miss things. You probably will miss things. The origin of the food map is that my sisters were going and they had heard about a macaroni and cheese dog, and a Matterhorn macaroon, and they did not know where they were. In the process of using the Disney site to find it, well, I guess I wanted to draw some, but also - even knowing that things can change - I really know where to find stuff now.

If browsing randomly shows you one dish that looks good, and you see certain rides are near it, and plan that there will be a meal there, after those rides, it's as valid a planning method as any.

And if you have to ask questions, the cast members are really nice.

Corporate Downsides

There were two less great incidents on our trip. Neither were huge deals, but there were some common threads.

Remember two weeks ago when I said the only competition for the Minnie's Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Supreme cookies are the Colossal Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop in California Adventure? My sisters had requested that we bring them some, along with some Boudin sourdough bread from the Pacific Wharf Café right across.

One of the exciting things about staying at one of the resort hotels would be that I could have our purchases sent to the room. I confidently requested this service and was told that they (the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop) were not Disney, so they could not do that. She also could not accept the Disney gift card that I had been going to use to pay.

It felt like she was a little curt about it. That may have been my shock at receiving the two negatives in a row - so unusual for Disney. I interacted with two other people in the shop, and they were both friendly and warm as expected, but this took me back.

(I didn't really buy any other souvenirs until the last day in the hotel, so I never got to try.)

My sisters had one other request: Sprinkles cupcakes was doing a January Care Bear promotion, and although it was supposed to end a few days before we would be there, they wanted me to check.
There is a Sprinkles in Downtown Disney.

http://sprinkles.com/cupcakes/flavors/calendar-january/care-bears

I was pretty sure that there would be no hope of still finding Care Bear cupcakes, but I still agreed to look. I thought it would be really cool to try a cupcake ATM, which Sprinkles is known for:

http://sprinkles.com/cupcake-atm

One thing you may not know about me is that I have never been to a place that specializes in cupcakes without being disappointed. People may rave about them, like at Saint Cupcake. They often have ingenious and impressive layouts, like Kara's Cupcakes in San Francisco. (It looked like a jewelry store. So gorgeous.) I know cupcakes can be good, because I have had good cupcakes in other circumstances, but somehow the places that specialize in cupcakes seem to focus more on appearance, and the taste is kind of blah.

So far, I am four for four.

Don't get me wrong - the cupcakes were not horrible, but they weren't great, and it is weird to me that a shop that does nothing but cupcakes shouldn't have terrific cupcakes. Also, I bought them in the store, because I saw no ATM at this location. I would have had to go in anyway to ask about the Care Bears, but you guessed it, no Care Bears.

But, not for the reason you expected. The issue was not the date, but because this particular Sprinkles is located in Downtown Disney, they couldn't do the Care Bear promotion at all -- competing registered trademarks, I guess.

So somehow the place outside the park was too Disney, but the place inside the park was not Disney enough.

All in all, if these are the worst things that happened to us on this trip (and they were), we're doing okay.

I would say that I am taking recommendations for good cupcake shops, but the truth is I won't believe you anymore. Too jaded.

Main Street Electrical Parade

Although I had been to Disneyland three times when I was a kid, and have had a few trips in adulthood, this was my first time viewing the Main Street Electrical Parade.

Some of that is timing, and some of it is having a family that does not have a lot of patience for parades, though I tend to enjoy them, at least at Disneyland.

Since we were going to be there at a time in which it was possible to view the limited revival of the parade, we had to do that.

And the amazing thing about that is how familiar the parade was anyway, despite never having seen it. There's the turtle!

I guess we saw enough commercials for it, or Disney specials, or something; somehow we knew what was in it. Part of Disney's brilliance is balancing familiar and novel.

Because of that history, it was exciting to be there. It isn't necessarily the best parade, being a little bit garish (and antiquated) compared to some of the others.

It was really hard to get photos. Moving things in the dark is not my specialty anyway, but there are so many little lights that you may not get a clear view of anything - it is all outlines.

Then again, I am also the person who feels like the World of Color is a real missed opportunity too, so maybe I am not the best judge of.. THERE'S ELLIOT!

And I guess the slice of Americana at the end was kind of a surprise, though it couldn't be that big a surprise - we were on Main Street.

Once is probably enough, but I am glad for that once.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/entertainment/disneyland/electrical-parade/