These are more guidelines than actual rules.

Here, we enter a place where I can’t provide you with any specific advice. After all, I don’t know you.

The good news is that you’ve already got a resource who is an expert in you: you.

Like all parts of this guide, if there is something in here that doesn’t help you, you should simply ignore it. The goal is to make the Parks easier to navigate for the neurodivergent brain, not to follow what someone else says we should do. And, as we stressed at the start of the guide, we are all (wildly) different from each other. Which is a good thing. The world would be so much less vibrant without all of our differences.

So… embrace those differences!

Yes, other people may look at us strangely because of what we may need to do in the Parks to help our brains.

But the sad truth of it is: they probably were going to do that anyway, if they were going to do it at all. Though, to be fair, we neurodivergent folks likely think more about other people than other people think about us. It is both our blessing and our curse.

Yes, we will be doing different things than someone who is ‘neurotypical.’ That is the point. We are different! It is ok to do things that are different because we are different. We just need to find a way to do those things in a way that doesn’t interfere with other guests’ enjoyment of the Parks. Do unto others, and all that.

So then. How do we go about knowing ourselves?

We plan.

We always plan, but this time we plan a lot. If you’re anything like me, you plan far more than you need to in order to prepare for every scenario you may come across – impossible as that is.

First things first, we have to think about what your everyday life is like. What are the things you or your loved ones do when you need to calm yourself down after being overstimulated? What are the things you or your loved ones do so that you don’t get to the point of being overstimulated? What makes you more comfortable?

Whatever it is, do that! Would having a detailed plan of the order that you are going to tackle the rides in help? Do that! Would watching videos of the rides and parades online so that they aren’t all entirely new on the day help? Do that! Would downloading episodes of a favorite tv show to your phone to watch while taking a break in the Parks help? Do that! At the end of the day, you are the one who knows you best, so don’t hesitate to find a solution that works for you. Just be sure it is one that doesn’t make the day harder for other people.

I’ve found a few things that help me out.

Just another reminder that tea is the best.

For me, in addition to having far too easy access to pocket candy (more on this in a moment), I bring in a thermos full of tea (Earl Grey, hot) that I’ve made in the hotel earlier that day. That way, I can find a quiet room or a quieter spot to sit, focus on green spaces or other nature (this is possible in the Parks!), and have a cuppa to recharge.

A quick sidenote on green spaces. Research has shown that while getting out into nature is good for all of our mental health, it is especially good for our neurospicy brains. Which… can be hard to do in a place as developed as the Parks. But it is certainly not impossible. For example, there is a bench in the Studio’s Park where I have always, always seen birds come and gather. I sat for 20 minutes once to watch the birds, and my day was made so much better by it. In addition, the edges of the Parks are surrounded by greenery, and a small deviation from our paths may find us near a lot of greenery! Small choices have large impacts, and taking five minutes every hour or so, even if it is just lingering beside a path (out of the way of other guests, of course) for a little longer than we might otherwise do while we are walking from place to place, can help us out immensely.

Incidentally, the bench with the birds in the Studios Park is at the edge of the ‘Production Courtyard’ on the side with the WEB attraction. It is near a tree as well, which is likely why I, and the rest of the wild things, like it.