Navigating Sesame Place When You Have a Kid with Autism

In twelve days, we'll be driving down to Sesame Place for Opening Day! And we cannot be more excited. Especially The Boy! 

What I love about Sesame Place is that there is so much for us do - however, it's not too overwhelming to navigate.

We've been at Sesame Place a few times already and I wanted to share some things that have made our experience easier.

Prepare!
Visit the Sesame Place home page or the Sesame Place YouTube Channel with your child and show them the park. A cool thing about the Sesame Place home page is that you can choose your own character background.

Save time and avoid long lines by ordering tickets in advance - http://bit.ly/fHZKEL

**Make sure when you go your child has a name tag with his/her name, your name and cell phone number. Because you just never know.  Even though The Boy knows his name, our names and our home number - he may not tell a stranger in case he gets lost. (Write-On Tats are a cool option, check it out HERE.) 

Have a Plan. Create a Schedule.
While on the Sesame Place homepage, be sure to explore the Dry Rides, Wet Rides and the Park Shows and Parade. Figure out a what rides and attractions your child will want to see and create a game plan on how to best navigate the park. Visual schedules are great for kids with autism - create one specifically for Sesame Place that they can keep in their pocket.

Down the App or print out a Map of the Park.

Getting around the park is super easy with the iPhone App - especially if it's your first time. Some key features of the iPhone App include:

• True GPS navigation that provides a highlighted path to your destination
• Interactive park map with search that allows you to find the nearest restroom, dining location, ATM and more. 
• Displays next show times for each of the park’s character shows.

But if you don't have an iPhone - no worries! Download Park Map here. (Make you  sure you know exactly where the restrooms are. Nothing worse than wandering around looking for a bathroom when your kid has to go.) 

Plan to arrive at the Park when they open.

Sesame Place opens at 10 am. Arriving when the park first opens, makes navigating the park so much easier and less stressful. You can easily explore all the dry rides easily within a couple of hours before the park gets too crowded. You can spend the rest of the day, wandering around and going on rides a second or third time, get a good spot for the Parade or catch a show.  

Visit Welcome Center upon arrival, register for the Ride Accessibility Program and get a wristband.

Sesame Place makes every effort to accommodate guests with special needs. Wristbands will be provided at the Welcome Center for all disabled guests who enroll in our RAP program. The wristbands allow for the disabled guest and their party to be noticeable to our employees, allowing for immediate assistance on and off of attractions. The majority of rides and attractions at Sesame Place have special accessible entrances. Special accessible entrances may be used by our disabled guests and up to three other guests (except where noted).  For more information - http://bit.ly/ZiDBOK 

Whenever we visit Sesame Place, we register for the Ride Accessibility Program. We use the wristband at our discretion. Depending on the length of the line, we make Norrin wait. A family day of fun also provides teachable moments for waiting, taking turns and patience. 

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Don't forget to make your reservations for Sesame Place concerts this season. You can make your reservations now click HERE. Hurray they go fast!

And for MORE information and tips, check out Sesame Place "T is for Tips" page http://bit.ly/quGub3 

You can also keep up with Sesame Place via Pinterest, Twitter & Facebook.

Disclaimer: This is not a compensated post. I have been selected as a Sesame Place Blog Ambassador for the 2013 season. All opinions are my own.