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Of course, you're welcome to browse through the trip planning guides on MousePlanet in case you decide to do things yourself. :)

I'd suggest you start at MousePlanet's WDW Trip Planning Guide.  If, after you'd surfed through those pages, there are questions you don't have answers to, let me know and I'll be happy to help as best I can.

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There are two MousePlanet pages that you may want to check out. First, Sue Holland recently provided this report on Pleasure Island.  Also, in MousePlanet's WDW Trip Planning Guide, the following page gives a list of shops, clubs, and restaurants on the Island.  Unfortunately, if you're into country music you're a few months late. The Wildhorse Saloon closed and was reopened as "Motion" a top 40s venue, a few months ago.

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That having been said I have begun to grow on your site and now turn to it for most of my information, which is actually a sad commentary if you think about it, I and a few others are planning a trip to WDW in late March and I would like to know how crowds generally are, if the Carousel of Progress closure is a permanent thing and if Fantasmic! is ever coming back at WDW.

Thanks for your feedback.

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Anyway, on to your trip planning questions on WDW...

1. Late March crowd levels are generally pretty light. You may find that some spring breakers are about, but for the most part spring break is in February and earlier in March. Easter week crowds will hit hard the very last week in the Month though. Easter is on the 31st, and many schools in the South give their students that week off while up North the week prior to Easter is a common vacation time -- so the two weeks straddling Easter itself are often much busier.
2. As far as I know, the Carousel of Progress closure is as permanent as it can be. The park has been wanting to close the attraction for quite some time just because the cost of maintenance is so high. It is a very old mechanism, after all, and bearings and gears only last so long.
3. Fantasmic! is currently running at the Studios. It hasn't been closed to the best of my knowledge. (Although it may run less frequently when crowd levels are down.) Of course, as you know, the Disneyland version of the show is not currently running. There is no word on whether or not that is a permanent situation. The jury is still out.

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I took my autistic son to WDW the last week of August until Labor Day (I am still working on that trip report I promised you). The parents need a letter from their children's' neurologist or other health care provider containing the diagnosis and need for special considerations.

Take the letter to guest relations (we used MK) and they will issue a guest assistance pass in the child's name, including number of people in the party (parents, siblings, etc) and length of stay. This pass is to be shown at all attractions with either a Fast Pass queue or handicap entrance.

Essentially it serves as a Fast Pass, good at that very moment. We didn't abuse the Pass, never using it more than once a day for the same ride. Also, if the posted wait time was 10 minutes or less, we waited in line. The Pass is good for everyone in the party, but only if the special child is there, naturally. We had virtually no problem with the Pass and plan to write to Mr. Eisner to thank him for his generosity and sensitivity. (I say, "virtually", because one CM made a face when we showed him the pass, looking at his watch, looking at the posted wait time (30 minutes) as if he thought we should wait in line like everyone else. He was the only one -- everyone else was very gracious.)

It depends on the level of autism these children possess whether room location makes a difference. We had a centrally located room at Port Orleans Resort French Quarter but it was more for my convenience than my son's. A resort with a great pool is important -- the larger the pool, the better. However, the lifeguards are NOT experienced with the autistic.

My son was fine in the restaurants but afraid of the characters at the character dinners. The characters are DEFINITELY experienced with special needs children and were very gentle and protective of my son. He did not scream or anything, but was very shy. He was fine on the busses, even to the point that we knew it was time to leave the park for a break when he asked "to go to the bus now".

All in all, this is a great place to take an autistic child and he made break-throughs in his development during and after the trip. We hope to go again this February, if the airfare and resort rates drop low enough. We will also be driving our camper down in the summer to stay at Fort Wilderness.

Hope this helps!!

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I did check at the Hollywood and Sunset kiosk to double-check on status before I went down Sunset to get in line for Rock n Roller. Also a note to Michael about Tropical Palms - there are no phones in the "villas" (park model trailers) - so take cell phone!

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Isn't this problem related to the fact, that off-site guests only can make PS only on the same day and in person. On the other hand, Disney Resort guests can make PS at theme park restaurants up to 3 days ahead and by phone.

I'm not sure if I remember this correctly.

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Actually, the rules for making priority seating for offsite visitors has been greatly relaxed in recent years. It used to be that only on-site guests had the privilege of calling ahead... now anyone can do so (they do ask where you're staying, but it doesn't matter if your answer is "offsite").

In any case, priority seating for the Fantasmic! Dining Experience can be made up to seven days in advance, although it does have to be done in person (at Guest Relations at one of the parks or at the restaurant itself).

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Let me know how it goes!

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My youngest is now 16, and he is still home schooled and looks forward to his "lessons at Disney.'

We are all planning our BIG shebang for Christmas , and we will be staying at the Campground again. (we take advantage of a discount that offers a monthly rate at the Fort wilderness Campground). We will be met at Christmas time by friends & family members from all over and are vacationing there at the same time we will be . My Mom and Dad are meeting us down there as well as my sister, her hubby and their two children. We are even taking our family dog, McGyver, who's picture of him reading a Disney cookbook, was hung in a Disney Kitchen for a few years ! We usually stay in a Pet Loop (1600 -1800), and of course we always take advantage of the Kennels at MK , Animal Kingdom, Epcot, the Studios, and Fort Wilderness also. I wonder if McGyver has a favorite ??!!

I'll be visiting your site , to keep that good old Disney Magic from fading in-between vacations, from now on.

My husband and I are Travel Agents in New York and I am a Disney Specialist and I've learned to rely on daily input from people vacation experiences, because what we thought was standard at Disney one day, is always changed the next day. That's why after ALL my 300 plus times through those Magic Kingdom turnstiles, no two visits were ever alike.

Christmas in Disney is the most Magical thing I've ever experienced. Adults see things through the eyes of a child, and it is wonderful. Gingerbread, pine, Christmas songs , even the Disney snow on Main Street all add wonder to this truly magical event . I can't wait to get down there!

Um... I have to go pop a Disney Park Songs CD in the player real quick.

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Click here to see some awesome WDW pieces that have run on MousePlanet recently!

Click here to check out the rest of Brian's Archive, including all of the previously published "Notes From the World" pieces!

I've always gotten email about the WDW Trip Planning Guide, but since we added the feedback form to the site several months ago, the number of questions has increased dramatically!  I do my best to answer each and every question personally, but I've noticed that a lot of the questions are asked again and again.  The question that one person asks might very well be the question that someone else is wondering about.  Thus this page!

So...I'll post reader email and feedback every once in a while, because the question someone else asks might be the same one you're thinking about yourself!