This website is designed to provide information about vacationing in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort or SeaWorld for those families that may have a family member with a developmental disability.  We have a son with autism.  We moved to Florida in 2007 and have visited Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando or SeaWorld almost every weekend since our move. While our tips and suggestions are focused on helping those with a family member who may have a developmental disability, many of these ideas can apply to anyone that visits. We hope some of the tips and suggestions that we’ve provided help make your time at these parks as enjoyable as possible.

We are not experts in autism, developmental disabilities or behavior management. Nor are we experts at everything that Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort or SeaWorld has to offer.  We are not an official Walt Disney World, Universal or SeaWorld web page. However, we are big fans of each theme park, have season passes to all three parks and go as often as possible.

How to approach this vacation: Be organized, be flexible, and do not sweat the small stuff. Be gracious for the extra effort the theme parks make to have your experience more enjoyable at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando or SeaWorld. Be thankful to the employees (aka cast members or team members) who usually go beyond “standard policy” to help you. Have a plan of action but be willing to change plans to maximize your fun. A vacation to one or more of these amusement parks in Orlando can be very expensive so be prepared and know what to expect in order to make the most of your trip.

When should you vacation in Orlando: The most crowded times at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld are midsummer, Thanksgiving week, the last two weeks of December/First few days of January, and Spring Break generally in March and April. Most major US Holidays are also very crowded. The best time to vacation in Orlando is the off-season. The week after Labor Day until the 2nd week of November is generally a lower crowd level; the crowds are significantly reduced, you can do more activities in a day and the weather is usually not as hot. Our experience has been that the first two weeks of December and the month of January are the best times to visit the Parks. However, you do run the risk of cold weather during these weeks and may experience freezing temperatures at night, but this happens infrequently. See www.touringplans.com for their crowd calendar for specific dates, greater detail and a scientific analysis of the crowd predictions for Walt Disney World parks. See OrlandoInformer.com for their crowd calendar as it pertains to Universal Orlando Resort. (membership to these websites may be required for certain features).

How long should you stay during your vacation? As long as you can! Please don’t think you can visit a different park each day, ride all the rides, and see everything that Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld has to offer in 5 days. It isn’t possible with or without a child that has a disability. Just visiting Walt Disney World, you’ll need at least 2 days in the Magic Kingdom, 2 days in Epcot, 1 long day at Animal Kingdom, and 1 long or 2 days at Hollywood Studios to see the major attractions, shows and parades. To experience Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, you will need at least 2 very long days (and that's not seeing everything). It would be difficult to experience everything in one day at SeaWorld too. Plus, you’ll need to factor in sleeping late and eating. Therefore, a plan of action and a willingness to forgo some attractions or even particular parks is necessary. See www.orlandoinformer.com and www.touringplans.com for their touring plan recommendations. When we vacationed in Orlando before we moved here, we used the plans from www.touringplans.com for the major parks and then adapted our plans according to the guest assistance pass instead of the FastPass system. It worked out great for our son. We had to further adjust our plan when our son wanted to ride Splash Mountain 3 times in a row (remember, you have to be flexible). After living here and because we go so often, we now just ride the rides our son likes the best.