If you have read our About Us page, you will know that our daughter Little Banshee has Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. Like others with this condition, she has autism, intellectual development delays, low muscle tone, and impaired fine motor skills. The upshot of all this is that she experiences life much differently than the rest of us. It is an understatement to say that this makes choosing vacation destinations very challenging. We have to select activities in which she can participate, but also things that appeal to three others who also have their own preferences.
Normal sightseeing vacations are pretty much lost on Little Banshee. She gets pretty much nothing out of listening to a tour guide tick off info about some locally famous landmark. Active vacations are out too. She doesn’t have the physical ability rock climb, zip line, bike, or hike long distances. Beach vacations are a no go. She’ll just eat the sand! Even most theme parks are wasted on her. Most theme parks divide their rides into two categories: thrill rides where she has to sit on the sidelines, or kiddie rides which are geared towards normal children who are half her size. And, if I am being completely honest, kiddie rides aren’t really that exciting for the rest of us.
However, Walt Disney World is different.
The entire philosophy of Disney Parks is that families can have, in Walt’s words, a place “where the parents and the children can have fun together”. The key word in that quote is together. That means not dividing the park into an adult thrill ride area and a kiddie area. That means having rides that both appear to the kids as well as the kid in the adults among us. While there are rides at WDW that aren’t necessarily kid-friendly, there is a significant proportion of rides that everyone can enjoy together. While I have not visited every theme park in the world, based upon the small subset of parks that I have gone to, this philosophy seems to be unique to Disney. Even Disney’s crosstown rival, Universal Orlando, leans more towards thrill rides than family rides.
What this all means is that Walt Disney World is perfect for our family!
Let’s take a look at the various rides in each park and categorize them based upon whether Little Banshee can ride it or not. Note that I haven’t included attractions that are primarily shows or character meets. Obviously, shows are something she has no problems with, assuming she is in the mood to sit through them.
One other note. Just because it is a “no” for Little Banshee doesn’t mean that it is a “no” for the rest of us. For those rides that she cannot go on, we make liberal use of Rider Switch.
Magic Kingdom
Yes (11 Rides)
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Haunted Mansion
- It’s a Small World
- Jungle Cruise
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
Yes But… (6 Rides)
- Astro Orbiter: She can probably ride this, in theory, but it is not a ride in which we have much interest. It is a typical state fair midway ride.
- Barnstormer: Another one we haven’t tried yet. I’d have to take another look to see if she could handle the drops.
- Tomorrowland Speedway: We used to do this together when she was younger and smaller; they have a separate wheelchair entrance where you can access the loading area without having to go up and down stairs. However, as she has gotten bigger, it has gotten harder for the two of us to sit in those tiny cars together.
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover: While she has no problem with the ride itself, the ride line is not wheelchair accessible, so she has to be ambulatory. We will usually ride it when the line isn’t too long.
- Walt Disney World Railroad: Honestly, I am not sure how this would work with the wheelchair. Can we take it with us? Do we have to leave it at the stop? If we have to leave it at the stop, that means that we would have to take the round trip to get back to it. Would they let you stay on for one entire loop? Too many questions…
- Walt Disney’s Carrousel of Progress: While she can do it, the length of the show sometimes is an impediment if she gets anxious.
No (7 Rides)
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: We tried it once but she got motion sickness on it.
- Peter Pan’s Flight: She was denied boarding because there is a requirement to climb down a six foot ladder if the ride needs to be evacuated. If it wasn’t for that, she would have no problem riding it.
- Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel: She can’t really sit on the horse, but she can sit on the bench. However, the spinning is something that she doesn’t care for (truth be told, neither do I!)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Space Mountain
- Swiss Family Treehouse: While she can do stairs with assistance, our fear is that it could be a bit much for her. If she decides she is too tired, we might be stuck on it for hours!
- Tron Lightcycle Run
As you can see, the majority of rides at Magic Kingdom are Little Banshee approved, which is awesome!
Epcot
Yes (8 rides)
- Frozen Ever After
- Gran Fiesta Tour
- Journey Into Imagination with Figment
- Living with the Land
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- The Seas with Nemo and Friends
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Spaceship Earth
Yes But… (1 ride)
- Test Track: This is probably at the upper limit of thrills for her. The issue here is that the car is very jerky at times, so you really have to help her to brace herself. She does like the finale where you speed along the track in the open air.
No (2 rides)
- Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind: Even I have trouble with this ride. Rode it once, but that’s it for me!
- Mission Space
As you can see, this is another park that is mostly a yes for us! And none of these are what you might consider to be kiddie rides. They appeal to our entire family!
Animal Kingdom
Yes (3 rides)
- Kilimanjaro Safaries
- Na’vi River Journey
- Wildlife Express Train
Yes But… (2 rides)
- It’s Tough to be a Bug: She wouldn’t have much issue with this ride, but Little Buster has a fear of insects, so we usually skip this one.
- Kali River Rapids: While there is nothing preventing her from doing the ride, getting soaked is not very pleasant for her (or for us, truth be told)
No (3 rides)
- Avatar Flight of Passage: This is a no-go because she wouldn’t be able to brace herself in the ride system, and she wouldn’t have someone to really supervisor her since each rider gets their own vehicle.
- DINOSAUR: Honestly, we have never tried this one with her, but I would think that this would be similar to Test Track with all of the jostling. However, without the high speed finale, even if she can do this ride, I don’t think she would get much enjoyment out of it.
- Expedition Everest
On the surface, this doesn’t seem like such a great park for Little Banshee, especially compared to MK and EP. She can only ride 5 rides. However, this doesn’t include all of the great shows, the walking trails, the animal exhibits, and just the general beauty of the park.
Hollywood Studios
Yes
- Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Muppet*vision 3D
- Star Tours: Last time we rode it, Little Banshee was the rebel spy!!!
- Toy Story Mania
Yes But…
- Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run: We have to adapt a little for this one. Usually we have her sit in one of the Engineering spots along with one of us where we can supervise her. We also ask the Cast Member if they can put her station on autopilot mode. This allows the computer to run the station without guest input. This is necessary since she won’t be able to work the station herself.
No
- Alien Swirling Saucers: Spinning rides are not a favorite of our family, Little Banshee included.
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: We are a little nervous about both the shuttle scene (hard enough to brace ourselves let alone her wheelchair) and the one sudden drop.
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Of all the parks, this one is probably the weakest for Little Banshee in terms of her enjoyment. It doesn’t have the same quantity of non-ride attractions as AK for her to do. But she does like the Ronto Wraps, so there’s that!
Wrap Up
As you can see, there is plenty for our Little Banshee to ride at Walt Disney World. While she cannot participate in all of the rides, there are enough rides that we can do as a family where nobody has to compromise. Kudos to Disney for providing such a wide array of family rides that everybody can enjoy together.
We’d love to hear what your favorite family inclusive rides are, whether they are at WDW or somewhere else. Please leave us a comment to let us know!
AD: We hope you enjoyed this post. If you are coming to Central Florida and need a place to stay, please consider the Encore Magic Villa. It sleeps up to 12 and features a game room, theater room, themed bedrooms, and private pool… located only a short drive from the Magic!
