Yes, this week I am thankful for a little yellow wristband that we got at Hersheypark.
Although we have been to the amusement park many times and even had season passes a few years, we had never taken advantage of the disability guest pass—until this Tuesday, that is.
When you request a pass, you get two things: a yellow Tyvek wristband worn by the disabled person and a small card used to obtain boarding times for the more popular rides. For those rides, the person manning the entrance to the line will write down a time on your card, and you can come back anytime after that to get on right away. For all other rides, you go directly to the exit and show them the wristband to gain admittance to the ride.
I had been hesitant about using this service, partly because I was worried about what people would think of us and partly because I didn’t want to teach Michael that he should expect preferential treatment because he has autism. Now that he is older and taller, however, he is primarily interested in rides that have much longer waiting times than he can tolerate.
We had a psychiatric appointment on Tuesday before heading over to the park, and the nurse practitioner encouraged me to go ahead and get the pass. He has plenty of opportunities to learn to wait, she told me, plus he really shouldn’t be standing around in the heat and humidity with the medication he is on.
And so we did.
The staff at the park couldn’t have been nicer to us. At one point, we went back for a second ride on one of the roller coasters. I let Michael ride by himself because I was too hot and didn’t feel like riding it again. They not only helped make sure his belt was tight enough, but one of the young men even offered me a cup of cold water while I waited. So thoughtful!
I didn’t notice if any of the other guests were upset by us being let onto rides without waiting in the regular lines. I only heard one person ask about it, and the staff person just said it was because he had a wristband. I did have one man ask me if there was a fast pass option he had missed, but he seemed understanding when I explained about the disability pass.
Although I realize not everyone would agree with my decision to use the pass or think it is fair to others, I do plan to continue getting the wristband for Michael when we take him to the park. I have never had a more enjoyable time with him—we walked around and went on rides for over four hours without a single complaint or outburst, which has to be a record for him!
In a world where “special needs” usually means behavior plans and IEP goals and lots of therapy appointments, I am grateful for a place where it simply means Michael gets to feel like he is special.
This month, Thankful Thursday is being hosted by Spiritually Unequal Marriage.
I'm a mom with Asperger's raising an amazing son with autism, which means I'm basically the case manager/advocate/cheerleader/chauffeur. The rest of the time, you can usually find me with my nose in a book!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad you had a special day with your son!
Have a blessed day today.
Amen, Trish!
Such a great post. It’s so good that you could have an enjoyable time and that Michael could too. I love that your therapist put it into good perspective for you. Just the “permission” you both needed, I’m guessing
Happy Summer!
Glad you had such an enjoyable day. That is great the park offers such a pass for guests.
God bless you.
I LOVE your last sentence. That says it all.