"Josh Ratings" - how they work on the site

     Our son Joshua is a beautiful boy with autism, on the moderate to severe end of the spectrum.  He is almost completely non-verbal, but can express his enjoyment of a ride (or his aversion to it) in many non-verbal ways.  He is starting to use words more frequently to express his needs, which is thrilling for us as parents.  However, sometimes he cannot express his feelings verbally about his experience on a ride at Walt Disney World, so we have observed him carefully, and have crafted a three level system of rating rides and attractions at Disney parks.
 
     We have given each ride a "Josh Rating" of either a "thumb up", thumb sideways", or a "thumb down", providing you with a view of how much our son enjoys a particular ride at Walt Disney World.  This is by no means an indicator of how your child with enjoy a particular ride, but we hope it gives you some indications of rides to avoid, as well as rides to enjoy during your trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. 
 
     Here are the definitions:

• Thumb Up - "Let's do that one again!"
• Thumb Sideways - "I can take or leave this ride - it's OK"
• Thumb Down - "I don't want to do that ride ever again"

 
     "Thumb up" rides are ones we generally have to ride first, and have to ride at least twice in a row.  "Thumb sideways" rides are ones we can leave for later in the trip, and/or ones that Josh only wants to ride a single time.  "Thumb down" rides are ones we have either elected not to take him on (due to the scare factor), or ones for which Josh has verbally or non-verbally expressed a dislike.  This can be expressed by crying, hiding, or giving us the "no" sign.
 
     We hope you find these ratings helpful as you plan out which attractions you want to try out during your trip to Walt Disney World or other Disney parks.  We would love to get your feedback and comments on how your child rated each ride, to help us balance ratings if needed.