Was it magical? Absolutely! Did we have sensory overload? Definitely, but Oscar loved it!

Going away and planning for a trip like this with a child with special needs is difficult. There will be endless questions going through a parent’s mind. Will they like the food? Will they be able to sleep? Will they cope with the travel and surroundings? My main concern was the sensory overload as Oscar struggles with a lot of things happening at once and likes predictability. And my word, the parades were loud! Oscar took it all in his stride and fully embraced the magic though.

Oscar also does not do queuing! One of the best plus points for accessibility at Disneyland Paris is the free Priority Pass, for those with a recognised condition. It allows up to 4 people to queue for rides in the priority lane which reduces a ride like Thunder Mountain to 5-10 minutes instead of 45 minutes. You can apply online 30 days before you go. You need to upload a photograph and bring documents to verify the condition (we used our Disability Living Allowance documents.) We stayed at Newport Bay hotel and when we checked in we collected the card from the concierge desk. We didn’t have to queue to get into the parks everyday either. That saved a lot of stress.

Visit https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/guest-services/priority-card/ for more information.

We chose buffet style restaurants for all our evening meals which meant that Oscar could have all the pasta and cheese that he wanted (like many children with ASD, Oscar mostly eats bland food with a preference for plain carbohydrates.) As soon as you book the break, download the Disney App and book all your meal time-slots before you go. The Newport Bay hotel and the Marvel hotel both have excellent choices.

In such a stimulating environment, it was essential to have some quiet time away from the parks so Oscar could decompress. Because Newport Bay was only a 15 minute walk from the park we could quickly return to our room and go back into the park when it suited. A definite must see in the evening is the drone show at 10.50pm and the fireworks at 11.00pm. I was worried about the lateness of the fireworks and I knew it was going to be busy so on that day we paced ourselves and gave Oscar breakout space.

Shops are a definite no no for us though. This triggers Oscar’s meltdowns and so myself and my daughter went to the Disney shops instead. There must have been about 100 all selling loads of bright and colourful souvenirs and of course Oscar would have wanted everything.

We thought we had done the whole holiday really well until we got to Lille to get the Eurostar….. Oscar saw a kiosk selling travel adapters in the departure lounge and we had to drag him kicking and screaming to get to the platform. He literally spots anything electrical a mile off.