Our family, my 19-year old step-daughter with Down
Syndrome, my ‘normal’ (as if) 12-year
old daughter, my husband and I went to Universal Studios Adventure Island in
Orlando Florida for a vacation.
Universal Studios was amazingly versatile and we all had fun in spite of
the major differences between the four of us. The story of our day at the bottom of this post.
Recommendations for
Down Syndrome success at Universal Studios:
·
Get everyone involved in planning, look at the
website together, go over brochures together, talk about what you want to do
and make sure everyone gets a turn to choose the activity.
·
Bring ear plugs if your loved one with Down Syndrome child is sensitive to
loud noises.
·
Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Our Anne says ‘no’ to everything except food,
crossword puzzles and listening to her ipod.
When we get her to participate in activities she almost always has fun
and we have fun with her that’s an important part of being together.
·
Make sure everyone gets to do a little of what
they want to do. Don’t plan everyone
else’s day at the park around your loved one with Down syndrome.
Do things as a family but don’t limit others activities because the person with Down syndrome doesn’t want to participate.
Split up take turns going on the big rides and someone skipping the big
rides to find fun that your loved one with Down syndrome can enjoy.
Resentment is not good for anyone or the family.
CCritiques of Universal in our own words:
Anne (19-year old with Down syndrome) says: Busy and had fun.
Favorite: Popeye’s
river raft.
Liked least: Harry
Potter.
Kellena (12-year old girl): Loads of
lines, loads of people but it was exhilarating just being there.
Favorite: Harry
Potter
Least Favorite: Dr.
Seuss area.
Dad Cristo: Despicable,
just kidding. The construction of
towers, castles, store fronts, streets was impressive feat of engineering. The crowd control however was ill-conceived
and poorly thought out, nothing like Disney.
The park lacked information, the lines were constructed ad hoc. (No he doesn't sound like an engineer.)
Favorite: Parking was
nice everything else was just a blur.
Least favorite:
Crowded conditions.
Mom Karen: Great time, I'm amazed this park could be fun for each of us with such varied ideas of fun and differences in opinion.
Favorite: We all had fun, really liked meal at Mythos Restaurant-blackened Mahi Mahi with plantains.
Least favorite: Crowds and lines.
Our day at Universal Adventure Islands:
The day started out rocky.
Anne, our daughter with Down syndrome decided she didn’t want to go to
Universal Studios. She laid in bed and
moaned, complaining of a stomach ache.
We went downstairs and got waffles, eggs, bacon and donuts from the
breakfast bar in the hotel and set-up a breakfast buffet in the room. Anne came around real quick.
During breakfast we showed Anne the brochure for Universal
Studios and talked about how much fun it would be to visit. Anne’s face lighted up and she was ready to
go. We had discussed Universal Studios
for the 3 hours it took to drive to Orlando and told Anne it was like Disney
World. We assumed she knew what we were
talking about but we should have shown her the website and photos, doh!!
So off we went to Universal Studios, we we’re all caught up
in the spirit of the day, my 12-year old Kellena, a great Harry Potter fan was
wildly happy. When we arrived at the park we found out that we
needed a ticket to get into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so while we
waited for our turn in the Wizarding World we went to Posieden. Posieden was okay, Anne loved it. The Poisedon ‘ride’ was a walk through a theatrical
venue with lights, water and fire. Anne
kept her ears covered the entire time but she loved it.
Our next stop was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we
began in the wizarding world with the ‘Harry Potter Forbidden Journey’
ride. There was an 80-minute wait to get
into the ride. There was a stone fence
that ran along side the ride and Kellena kept climbing on the fence to sit
down. Anne saw Kellena climb up to sit
down, Anne wanted to do the same.
Anne wasn’t as agile as Kellena and it was difficult to
resist giving her a boost but she climbed up for a short sit each time Kellena
did. It was fun to watch the two of them
and Anne was very proud of herself each time she was able to find a seat. When they ran out of wall they sat on the
handrails, again Anne was very proud it was fun for us all.
When we finally got into the Harry Potter ride, I realized
it may not be a good ride for Anne.
Anne, like many other kids with Down’s Syndrome has difficulty with
vestibular movement and hates things that spin and move quickly that she does
not control (roller coasters are not her thing.) We saw signs saying the ride could cause
motion sickness and thought about turning back but Anne wanted to participate
in Harry Potter.
The Harry Potter ride had ‘flying benches’ which flew thanks
to a flying spell by Hermione Granger. The benches moved around a bit, and there were
special effects on screens, which made you feel like you were flying. Anne screamed and said she wanted off but
didn’t have any problems with motion sickness.
Later she said the ride was stupid.
My husband and I decided to be more careful about what rides we went on,
which was difficult because Kellena loves rides.
Our family ended up parting ways for a bit to allow Kellena
to go on some of the more wild rides that Anne wouldn’t enjoy. We met up again in ‘Toon Lagoon’, Anne said
she didn’t want to do anything and wanted to leave. We took her over to look at the ‘Popeye
Rafting Ride’ and again Anne lit up, she wanted to go on that ride. Anne loved the Popeye ride and laughed and
squealed.
Any other stories or venues that parents or loved ones of people with Down syndrome find particularly good or bad? Any other experiences anyone would like to share? Please post a comment, inquiring minds would love to know.:-)
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