We had to try, and I had re-enforcements in my Mom and my Aunt.
We had her iPad and back up battery packs. Snacks. Drinks. We rented a large stroller to provide her with a safe space to tuck up into.
She's 5 feet tall and 98 pounds.
We made it about 3 hours.
It was entirely too loud. In general, she does well in public places: grocery stores, shopping malls, parks. As long as she has a cart and her iPad, we can get through just about any place. But the crowds were too much and the live entertainment was too chaotic. She howled and held her head and made her bird sounds. Houwah Houwah. She tried to run off, looking for a quiet place. She's about as tall and as strong as any of us, which makes wrangling her when she's upset pretty difficult. So we went back to the resort to do her favorite thing in the world: swimming.
I don't regret taking her or the money spent on the incredibly expensive ticket. See, she's been excluded from vacations and trips because her grandparents ( her dad's parents) didn't (couldn't?) handle her. My other children have been on trips that she's been left out of.
I was determined not to go on this vacation without her.
If I'm being honest, my typical boy didn't really care for Universal Studios either.
Here's some pictures of them being perfectly happy in the resort pool.
required poolside vacation photo
I'm so glad you made this opportunity for her. It's hard for us to go on these types of adventures because I need extra support and so does my eldest. Loud, busy places are a special form of torture even though both Kid 1 and I LOVE roller coasters and all the options of amusement parks. Cedar Point had some great options for us--you can go in before or after hours when it's quieter, and we can "save" a place in line to avoid standing in the queue and being too overstimulated to participate by the time we get to the front. We brought our service dog and managed 5 hours one day and 2 more the next. Most successful vacation to date, especially because we stayed on site and had a significant drive/Part 2 of that trip.
@aaliyahholt, you might like @teneiced's blog. :)
Crowds at Universal studios can definitely be overwhelming!
The live entertainment shows outside were spectacularly loud. We weren't sure what would bother her and what she would ignore. Maybe we will try again in a few years. Thanks for your comment!
I'm so glad you went! I'm not at all on the spectrum & the crowds at places like these are hard for me to handle too.
Great photos! Tell Joselyn I'm no fan of crowds and loud noises, either. :P