By Jim Aloise

March/April 2006
Volume 24, Number 2

   Those of us who have a child with special needs have many challenges to face – health issues, physical, emotional, social and behavioral challenges, to name a few.  But there are some real benefits to having a child with Down syndrome – the people you meet that you never would have met, the experiences you have that you would not have had, and while I hate to generalize, I don’t think you can find a child that is more openly and unconditionally loving than a child with Down syndrome – that is, when she isn’t running away from you in a busy restaurant. 

   Another “benefit” our family recently discovered is the special treatment that some of the major amusement parks provide to families of people with special needs.  We recently made a trip to Orlando during peak season – a decision that may lead many of you to question our sanity. Now for many of us, standing in line for an hour or more is far from appealing, but for our family, it is a non-starter.  If we were to wait in line for even half that long, Sarah (age six) would undoubtedly take us through our own wild ride of running away, sitting on the ground, laying on the ground, trying to imitate behaviors such as pushing, climbing on railings or other structures, saying she has to go to the bathroom, pleading that she wants to go home, etc. 

   But we heard that the parks were much more accommodating to people with all sorts of disabilities, not just those in a wheelchair, so we inquired.  We found that, indeed, we would be given certain accommodations that varied by park.  The accommodations included things like unlimited access to the “fast” lane at no additional charge, where the park usually charges extra and only lets you go once per attraction.  Or in the parks where you needed to “register” your ticket for a one-time use in the fast lane at some future time, perhaps hours later, we were granted immediate and unlimited access. There were also some rides where we entered through the exit rather than even the fast entrance.  At one show, instead of having us rush to the next room to get in line to meet the characters in person, they kept us (and some others) behind after the live show was over.  The characters then re-joined us for a private greeting and photo pose.  It was great. 

   The parks also had different policies in terms of whether they would give you a one-time pass that lasted for your entire stay, or have you stop back at guest services each day to get a new pass.  While the specifics varied, the general idea was fantastic.  We were able to enjoy so much more of the parks than we would have otherwise and, in all honesty, it probably meant the difference between going and not going at all.  During some of the more light-hearted moments of the visit, Sarah’s older sister (Justine) and the less refined of her parents (me), after journeying past a two-hour queue to walk on a ride, would lean over to Sarah and quietly tell her, “I love you even more today than usual!”