Just returned from 6 days at the Park - April 20-26 with my wife and 2 daughters, 13 and 17. I have been there once before and to Disneyland a couple of times. My suggestions are:
1. Get there 1/2 hr before the gate opens.
2. Have a plan to do the most popular ride first, then get a Fast Pass for all the next rides you want to do. Check the bottom of the Fast Pass ticket for when you can get your next FP and keep at least 1 if not 2 FP's going at all time.
3. You should be able to do your top 3 rides in the first 2 hours and then relax the rest of the day.
4. Don't try to do too much in a day. Enjoy the shows and some of the other "educational" offerings at the parks.
5. All the parks except Hollywood Studios (MGM) require 1.5 - 2 days.
6. Magic Kingdom was REALLY crowded while we were there and was exhausting getting around. Unless you have little kids, try to avoid MK as much as possible. We stayed for the fire works one night, and getting out - taking the boat - to the parking lot took about an hour and was a major bummer. not sure how to avoid this. PS - the fire works were great !
7. We did see a lot of people who had kids out much later than they should and seemed more concerned about seeing Mickey themselves than making sure their kids were having a good time.

We stayed outside the park, since it was less money, had bigger accomodations and we could make some of our own meals. Also we preferred to drive to the park we were going in, since one of my daughters gets car sick, we did not want to risk taking buses.

Matt

If you've ever thought that WDW is only for kids then think again. I spent a week there (6/9-16/07) and had a blast.

A bit of advice: Pack very very light for the trip down because you know you'll bring back lots of stuff. I went down with just the undergarments in my suitcase because I knew I was going to get some t-shirts and shorts while there.

I did the dining experience I've always wanted but couldn't because of the cost. I had the meal plan included in my travel package. I did some tours and rode the rides that others I've gone with before wouldn't do.

So go and have fun. There is so much more to do than you think.

Disney World is awesome, and our whole family had an amazing time there. Just one quick tip for first-time visitors ... skip the Disney Photopass and make sure you take pictures with your own camera.

Not understanding exactly how the PhotoPass service worked, we relied on Disney's Photopass photographers to take a lot of photos for us, especially the character greetings, etc. When our vacation was over, and I logged onto the Disney PhotoPass website, I discovered that the images displayed on the website are way too small and so you can't see any detail at all. They charge $13 for a single print (!), and if you want a CD of all the full-res original JPGs, you're gonna have to shell out at least $125, which to me is outrageous.

So, next time, I'll make sure to capture all those magical moments with my own camera. In many cases, where I wanted to get my whole group in the photo, I know that the Disney PhotoPass photographers would have been willing to take a few photos using my camera.

Just returned from a week in Orlando with an autistic child. We spent 5 days at the Walt Disney World theme parks and would like to share some information.

First, if your autistic child doesn't tolerate loud noise or crowds it might be best to avoid Disney altogether. We tried all the "tips" from others who visited with autistic children, and none seemed to work. The place is quite noisy, from blaring music as you enter the parks, to the sometimes deafening sounds on the attractions. There was even noise while waiting in line for Fantasy Land attractions, which is supposedly the "cute" and "fun" area. Very, very loud.

We tried going to the parks early and still found crowds. Because we couldn't afford to stay on the grounds, we didn't get in as early as those guest staying at the Disney resorts.

There are long lines waiting to get onto the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, to have your bags checked by security before entering the park, and even to enter the park with your ticket, which now also requires fingerprint technology, something difficult to coordinate with an autistic child. Be prepared to wait in lines before even getting into the park, times 3 for monorail, bag check, and ticket validation.

Secondly, most of the disabled parking lots have longer walks to the entrance than where the tram drops you off. Unless you have a wheelchair or a problem walking or a problem riding the tram, I'd opt for parking in the regular lots and getting the tram. It drops you off much closer than where the disabled parking is located. At least that was our experience, unless you arrive an hour prior to the park opening.

Thirdly, although you can request a "Guest Assistance Card" this will only allow you to join the fast pass lines at most attractions, and not the disabled waiting area. This was especially true in Fantasy Land, for Peter Pan's Flight, Winnie the Pooh's Adventure, and Snow White's Scary Adventure. Our child has autism, adhd, and a vision disability and yet we weren't considered "disabled" enough to get into attractions via the disabled entrance for these rides. Not only that, the attendants acted as if we were faking or cheating. They should spend a day, or even an hour, with someone autistic and they might have a change of view. Two of the attendants literally screamed for people in line to move. This was loud enough to make our child jump.

The waiting areas for the disabled aren't always the greatest either. We had to wait in a loud area, with flashing lights for the Spaceship Earth attraction in Epcot. After 20 minutes of that, I was ready for a meltdown, let alone my child. In the Magic Kingdom, we decided to take the Train ride to Frontier Land instead of fighting the crowds and noise of Main Street. This would have worked out fine, except the attendant literally screamed into the speakers "All Aboard!" and then asked everyone to yell "Hee Ha!" when we arrived, loud enough to make my child jump off his seat.

Some the attendants on the rides were mindful of my child's problems, but many just didn't get it. You need to use extreme caution when getting onto and off of rides, for both you and your child. Most won't understand that your child is autistic and what that means. And you won't be able to enlighten them in that situation. Most of the other guests will also be unaware that you're dealing with a child who is autistic. We had folks run into us, push into us, step on our toes, and run over our feet with strollers, and our child wore his helmet most of the time, which is a visual cue of his problems. Didn't matter. Parents who don't have disabled children just don't get it, and most likely never will.
Sad but true.

Fourthly, if your autistic child is like mine, they won't be able to handle the crowds and noise of eating places. We tried to get food and find a place outdoors to eat. This wasn't always an easy task. In Epcot, we tried to get our food at the Land, and then go outdoors. We asked the server to please cut the sandwich in half, since we had to carry it quite a way outside of the building, and then juggle eating it while holding onto a hyperactive autistic child. He said he couldn't cut it in half, and then asked if that made me "unhappy". There also weren't any bags to carry the food in. I was told to get one at the gift shops.

In terms of restrooms, we found that although there are many disabled stalls in the restrooms, many non-disabled people use them. One woman literally pushed in front of us to get to the disabled stall, while 10 empty stalls were next to it. We ended up changing our 11 year old child in a regular stall, with the door open. Not an easy task. The companion restrooms are another great idea, except when insensitive mothers and fathers decide that they want to change their babies their, or when teenager girls decide to change into their swimsuits there instead of in the locker rooms.

We found that we were unable to stay in the parks longer than 3 or 4 hours in the morning, and then spent the afternoons at the water parks, where at least we could relax in the pools.

If your child has trouble handling crowds, noise and waiting, you might want to rethink a vacation to Walt Disney World. Although they claim to have wonderful accomodations for the disabled, they haven't quite gotten it right for the developmentally disabled, like those with autism.

Do you really want to spend hundreds of dollars on tickets for a park you can only stay in for a few hours at most? My child was unable to go back in evenings due to his medication and bedtime schedule. So we couldn't even justify the price of the tickets by saying, hey, we'll go in the morning for a few hours and then return later. Plus, the ordeal to get into and out of park for someone with autism makes it not worth going back and forth.

If you have dreams or visions of your child getting a photo with a character, forget it. The lines for this are way too long, and unless your child can sit through a character meal (mine can't sit for any meal) then it won't happen. We tried all week long, and it just doesn't work.

I think Disney has missed the boat on Autism. Unless they hire people to do some serious training of employees, and make some accomodations, like letting disabled guests into the park early to avoid crowds, or having a special accomodation for disabled guests to eat, and to have photos with characters, they will lose the autism community completely.

If after all I've just written you decide to go anyway, here are some suggestions: avoid going during the summer, during holidays of any kind, and during school or spring break periods. Spend the extra cash to stay at a resort with a monorail to avoid some of the lines and to be able to go back to your room for periods throughout the day. Go to the parks early, and leave before noon. Bring meals with you to avoid lines and find a quiet spot to eat. Park in the regular lots and use the trams to avoid long walks from the disabled lot. Get the "Guest Assistance Card" but be prepared to wait for some attractions in the Fast Pass lanes. Be prepared to not find disabled stalls available for your use in the restrooms. We carried a beach towel with us to use in emergency situtations or to cover the stall while changing our child. Get tickets for the water parks if your child loves the water, and do this in the afternoons instead of the amusement parks. And finally, if you want pictures with characaters, consider going to a characater meal if your child can stand these situations. Most likely , unless you do this, you won't get pictures with characters taken. Parks I'd avoid with an autistic child would be the Hollywood Studios, which has very little for children who are autistic.

Rides to avoid - any roller coasters, including the Dinosaur ride and Mount Everest roller coaster at Animal Kingdom. At Epcot, avoid Test Track & Mission Space. Think seriously about The Universe of Energy, which is long and sometimes loud. At Magic Kingdom, avoid most of Tomorrowland, as well as Thunder Mountain. Use your best judgment. If you know your child is afraid of the dark or loud noises, or flashing lights, ask about these before going on.

Expect meltdowns and be prepared to deal with them. We bought a beach towel, arm guards, a helmet, and gloves. Our biggest mistake was going to the parks one evening, and getting stuck in the crowd preparing for the big nighttime parade - and having major meltdown mode. Our best moment was the fun our child had on certain rides - like Splash Mountain & Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom , and Soarin in Epcot.
But if you think you can spend the whole day at any of the parks, forget it. It just won't happen if you have an autistic child.
We're already looking into our next vacation, which won't be at Disney.