SW1K Redux

[askmike1]

Another example that proves Disney World truely is the most magical place on earth. Disney pixie dust at it's best. Great story.

-Michael

 

[mikeb_86]

Im looking foward to the Pics!!!

 

[Captain Chaos]

This is what Disney is all about, making magic for their guests. I am glad they went out of their way for Ben.

 

[Disney_Belle]

awww that is such a sweet thing! Things like this are what disney is all about. Walt must be so proud! And I personally want to say a BIG thank you to all of the CM's who make things like this happen. Without them where would we be? Congrats Ben!

 

[ballewclan]

Disney is truely magical!! Im happy for you!!

 

[mkepcotmgmak]

i would like to ask you a question about Ben.

well, first let me say that all of your stories are very nice to read, and thank you for sharing them with us... now back to my question.

i have a nephew who is autistic. he is 8 years old, and barely speaks. his family brought him to wdw when i was a cm last year, and i was personally very nervous about them bringing him. i was told by other families in that situation, that a child with autism may absolutely LOVE the experience, or go in the total opposite direction. Justin (nephew) was a little, for the lack of a better term, anxious/nervous at first, because there was way too much for him to take in at one time... UNTIL... he heard and saw the train and the monorail. if he could have had it his way, he would have ridden the monorail and the train around the MK for the entire week, without ever getting off.

when Ben enjoys his trips to wdw, does he venture onto other rides, or is snow white pretty much it for him? if he has ridden other rides, how well did he react to trying something new.

another question is, was there something about the snow white ride (before he had ever been on it) that he was fascinated with and saw on the ride? justin LOVES trains, especially Thomas the Train... so... it really made sense that he wanted to be on the train the entire time, but they really wanted him to try other things, but didn't know how to approach doing it, and keeping him comfortable.

i will say this about the magic of disney, they took justin to toontown to meet mickey, and when the big cheese realized justin had special needs, they closed the room off for a while, and let justin take his time getting to know mickey... and justin fell in love!!!

anytime justin sees ANYTHING to do with disney, all you will hear are four things...
Uncle Josh (he associates me with working at his favorite place), Monorail, Steam Engine (what he calls the train) and Mickey Mouse...

any advice on how to make justin's trip more enjoyable is greatly appreciated. they are going back in july, and they are going for him, so if he wants to ride the train a million times, they will, but they want him to enjoy other things as well. thanks again for any advice, and all of your great stories!

 

[Lokheed]

When Ben enjoys his trips to wdw, does he venture onto other rides, or is snow white pretty much it for him? if he has ridden other rides, how well did he react to trying something new.

Left entirely to his own devices, Ben would do nothing but go round and round on Snow White's Scary Adventures for hours on end. On one visit early on when we moved here I learned through direct personal experience that it is possible to ride SWSA six times in under eighteen minutes. Shortly after that we instituted a rule: he gets to go on SWSA three times in a row, and then he has to do someting else. At first it was a real battle, and I feel badly for more than a few random passing strangers who were randomly kicked by him because he was upset about not getting his way. Over time enforcing that rule has really paid off. After his three laps, when prompted he will very happily go ride Pooh or Dumbo, or go see Mickey's Philharmagic. More often than not he will go on Peter Pan's Flight, and we can usually get him over to Tomorrowland to go on TTA and Buzz Lightyear. He has been on Small World twice since it reopened, which is quite an acheivement because of a phobia he has about water-based attractions (long story). In the past month we have also been successful finally getting him over to the other side of the park. He has taken the train a few times, and at least walked through Frontierland, Adventureland, and Liberty Square. I would like to try to get him back on Pirates (the last time he did that ride was probably two years ago), but I think we still have a bit of work to do there. Overall, though, he is progressing very well. So the short version is, we use SWSA as the carrot to get him out into the park.

Was there something about the snow white ride (before he had ever been on it) that he was fascinated with and saw on the ride?

SWSA was the very first ride he went on, so that is part of it. The larger part is that he has always loved watching Disney videos, and Snow White is one of his favorites. In particular when he is watching videos he will fixate on a particular piece of dialog or an interesting sound, and he will play that same five or ten second clip over and over again. What SWSA has going for it, moreso than any other attraction in the park, is that the entire ride is made up of audio clips lifted directly from the movie. Most of those audio clips are ones he had fixated on long ago. So going on SWSA is like getting an intense three minute burst of all of his favorite sounds, and he is most definitely an audio-driven person. As I have told a few cast members, SWSA is basically Benjamin crack.

Any advice on how to make justin's trip more enjoyable is greatly appreciated. they are going back in july, and they are going for him, so if he wants to ride the train a million times, they will, but they want him to enjoy other things as well. thanks again for any advice, and all of your great stories!

My best suggestion is to use the train as positive reinforcement as much as possible. There are the three stops, so maybe the rule is that he has to get off at each stop and do one thing. Stopping in ToonTown should be easy, he just has to go visit Mickey. Stopping at Main Street, maybe he has to go visit the Exposition Hall. I have found that it is a really excellent place because it is almost always deserted back in the theater area, so it's a nice calm place (with air conditioning!) to kind of relax for a while. The photo setups and the timeline mural have plenty of details to look at, and the three shorts that run in a loop are all fun. The stop at Frontierland might be a little harder, but maybe he would enjoy a visit to Tom Sawyer island. The key is to continually reassure him that he is being very brave trying something new, and that afterward he will get to ride the train again.

Another tool we have used is photo albums. We carry a couple of different photo books we have made with pictures of SWSA (thanks Beth!) as well as other things around the park. When he is overwhelmed, or having to wait in a line, he can look at the pictures and it makes him happy.

We also keep a portable CD player with the kind of headphones that completely cover the ears. Again, it helps him shut out all of the noise when he is getting overwhelmed and lets him focus on some music that he likes. Particularly when walking through his less favorite parts of the park, having the music really keeps him calmer and willing to explore a little bit.

Be sure to get a Guest Assistance Pass for the entire party when you get to the park. It will get him in through the FastPass entrances, or through whatever alternate entrance is available. Waiting in the long lines can be extremely frustrating for these children, and not in a whiny impatient brat way but in a very intense and phobic way. The GAP will help to minimize the waits as much as possible so that you can get to the rewards as quickly as possible and reinforce his good behavior.

Off the top of my head that's all I can think of, I hope it helps. It's funny, you would think that WDW would be stimulation overload for kids like Ben; the truth is that the environment is so stylized and predictible that all of the stimulation becomes somehow safe. Best of luck, and if there is anyting else I can do to help please do not hesitate to ask.

 

[mkepcotmgmak]

thank you so much, i'm printing this and giving to their family!

I totally think they should rename two attractions now...

SWSA = Ben's Crack

WDW Train Station = Justin's Crack

 

[Laura]

Be sure to get a Guest Assistance Pass for the entire party when you get to the park. It will get him in through the FastPass entrances, or through whatever alternate entrance is available. Waiting in the long lines can be extremely frustrating for these children, and not in a whiny impatient brat way but in a very intense and phobic way. The GAP will help to minimize the waits as much as possible so that you can get to the rewards as quickly as possible and reinforce his good behavior.

Ahhh I see now. I have been wondering how you were able to wait in such a long line over and over again. So glad you get to bypass most of it.

Yet another fantastic story about the special things Disney does for deserving people. I love reading your stories!

 

[diddy_mouse]

i gotta say, this is one of my favorite stories i've read on these boards.

after watching that video of Ben's 1,000th ride it was truly magical to see a boy so mesmerized with that attraction. also, getting to ride it with Snow White herself! that must have been a dream come true. the CMs rock out loud to make it a special experience for him...kudos to them!!

just wanted to say congrats to him and here's to the 2,000th!! :sohappy:

 

[DisneyFreak529]

That is soo sweet. I'm gona cry, that was soo nice of them!!

 

[thimblekisses]

justin LOVES trains, especially Thomas the Train... so... it really made sense that he wanted to be on the train the entire time

My cousin who is autistic, Joseph, has been obsessed with trains since he was about two. I mean OBSESSED. He's turning 14 next week. Interesting that Joseph and Justin have a similar love. As he has gotten older, though, Joseph's fixations have expanded to include skeletons, Finding Nemo, and of course trains.

 

[Lokheed]

Ok, the photo gallery is now online. You can see it here. My personal favorite of the bunch is this one:

http://www.jamesaxler.com/galleries/SW1K_Redux/images/IMG005.jpg

 

[diddy_mouse]

awwww...that picture is so adorable! he looked so happy getting crowned! :king:

 

[egionet]

Great pictures Ron!!! Ben looked like he had so much fun. I wish I knew who the CM is, but I have no clue. I'm glad Ben got to have another great/fun day with Snow White and Dopey!

 

[matt88mph]

Best Wishes to Ben!

Here's to 1,500 (It gives me a chance to celebrate before 2,000)!

 

[Lokheed]

I wish I knew who the CM is, but I have no clue.

Her name is Lutisha Gonzales. She only started in Fantasyland a few months ago, well after you left, but she took a shine to Ben right off the bat. Then again, how could anyone not take a shine to him? :king:

 

[Dayma]

Its these kind of stories that make you forget about the multiple other threads I use to read about bad CM's. Thanks!

 

[jsfra209]

Beautiful post, thank you for sharing it with all of us!

I can't beleive Ben rode 1036 times :dazzle: ..