Problem Eater (way different than a picky eater!)

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karyn0995

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Hello,
We sail on the Fantasy 2 weeks from today :cool1::cool1: and I am starting to stress. DS, who is 5, is a PROBLEM eater which is much different, and significantly more challenging, than a picky eater. His food choices are limited to about 5 things max and I am really starting to worry about his options. Things he will willingly eat include Kraft Mac n Cheese (HAS to be Kraft and yes he can tell the difference), cereal, waffles, all fruits and veggies, salad, bread and sometimes franks & beans.

On occasion he will eat pizza without sauce, or hot dogs that have NO MARKS or color. If there is anything on the hot dog to make it look "weird" he will swear them off his food list for a few months.

At home I secretly puree and mix food in to his Mac n Cheese to supplement his diet but I know this won't be possible on the cruise. I'm not betting on him eating M&C on the cruise, though, because I'm guessing it won't be Kraft. The last time we visited Disney he refused the Mickey pasta because it doesn't "look right" to him. So my questions are:

How likely is it DCL will allow me to bring packages of the microwaveable Kraft M&C on board and will they prepare it in the kitchen for him?

Will he be allowed to order breakfast items at dinner? Cereal, waffles, pancakes are always good.

Any other advice?
Many thanks!
 
Well, if all else fails, you can always order room service and you can get cereal for him from that.

I loved my cruise but really couldn't handle the food at all. I ordered steak and a baked potato for dinner every single night except for the night that I gave up and didn't order any dinner at all. Mostly I just ate bread for dinner. Perhaps your son will do the same? I can tell you that I survived by eating decent breakfasts and eating bread for lunch (couldn't handle the lunch food either) and dinner.

I like very simple food and the Disney food is way too complex for me. There is a bread basket at every meal on your table and you can get refills on this. Hopefully this will help your son. By the way, you also can get fresh fruit up on the pool deck. Slices of cantelope and things like that--it really was quite lovely.

You can make this work and get through the week and have a wonderful cruise. We loved our cruise. I just made sure I took the stairs instead of the elevator to counteract all that bread, LOL!
 
Fruit and vegetables will always be available. They have cereal boxes at breakfast so maybe collect a few of those and take them to dinner and just ask for milk?
Of course bread will also be available.
You could also feed him a hotdog from the fast food place and fruit from room service before dinner and let him go to the club while you eat if he'd be happier that way.
At least he eats fruit and veg! And salad! You should be fine. Maybe just take a box of cereal in your bag as a 'just incase' alternative.
The main thing is don't worry about it. Relax and enjoy! :goodvibes
 
They will not make Kraft M&C in the kitchen for you (even if you bring your own) but the other options mentioned above should work.

MJ
 


Just throwing this out there to anyone reading who might be put off by the dining room food.....every night on the menu there are plain choices of fish, chicken or steak. If you don't find anything that you like speak to your servers for suggestions. The dining room food is good and not "odd" in anyway. Yes, some dishes may have sauces or sides that some might not enjoy but the menu is pretty straight forward.

MJ
 
I also want to add that the mdr servers will go out of their way to find you what you want. Two examples. We didnt want DS 15 mo to have spaghetti but asked if they had short cut pasta. They went to another dining room to get it since royal palace didn't have it. Also my Sil was pregnant and could only tolerate certain foods. She asked for chicken and a baked potato every night and they were happy to accommodate. Our server kept saying it was his job to make sure we were happy. DCL in my experience will go above and beyond to make sure their passengers are happy. The point is don't write off the mdr since they are more than happy to accommodate your DS's needs.
 
Hello,
We sail on the Fantasy 2 weeks from today :cool1::cool1: and I am starting to stress. DS, who is 5, is a PROBLEM eater which is much different, and significantly more challenging, than a picky eater. His food choices are limited to about 5 things max and I am really starting to worry about his options. Things he will willingly eat include Kraft Mac n Cheese (HAS to be Kraft and yes he can tell the difference), cereal, waffles, all fruits and veggies, salad, bread and sometimes franks & beans.

On occasion he will eat pizza without sauce, or hot dogs that have NO MARKS or color. If there is anything on the hot dog to make it look "weird" he will swear them off his food list for a few months.

At home I secretly puree and mix food in to his Mac n Cheese to supplement his diet but I know this won't be possible on the cruise. I'm not betting on him eating M&C on the cruise, though, because I'm guessing it won't be Kraft. The last time we visited Disney he refused the Mickey pasta because it doesn't "look right" to him. So my questions are:

How likely is it DCL will allow me to bring packages of the microwaveable Kraft M&C on board and will they prepare it in the kitchen for him?

Will he be allowed to order breakfast items at dinner? Cereal, waffles, pancakes are always good.

Any other advice?
Many thanks!

There was a similar thread on a similar subject: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2935259

Have a read thru it since the OP has since sailed and shared their on board experiences in the thread.
 


He'll eat what's available if he's hungry enough. That sounds a bit ridiculous to me; this might be a good time to break him of always needing a short order cook.
 
I too have a picky eater... less now then when we went in 2010. But his list of items have expanded to this: Whaffles, Cereal, Milk, Bread, Meatballs, Chicken Nuggets, Mac N Cheese. I get protein shakes and other meal suppliments that tast like choloclate milk. although everyonce in a while we can get him to take a bite of steak or chicken (but it is just a bite). I always make something to go along with dinner I know he will eat. The only Mac N Cheese my son will set is Kraft Shapes.. So the Mickey Mouse Mac N Cheese was very similar on the ship.

So the point of my background with my son.

On the Cruise he ate more in those 5 days then he would in a month. The Head Server made sure my son had the things he liked at dinner. like meatballs without noodles, whaffles etc, but even once in awhile we were able to get him to try a new food.. Liking it, but refusing it the next time. He examines all of his food to this day he is almost 4 and if anything looks funny he puts his fork down. So I think you will be surprized on how Disney can accomidate even the most Pickest of eaters...
 
Vegetables at dinner will be pretty simple to order for him. We are vegetarian, but do not eat tofu...and I do not eat mushrooms. DCL's vegetarians options revolve around these two items. The dining staff had no problem fixing plates of vegetables for me (I just chose an entree minus the meat on the menu). Worked out well!
 
He'll eat what's available if he's hungry enough. That sounds a bit ridiculous to me; this might be a good time to break him of always needing a short order cook.

Not always true. My DS has sensory processing disorder and will not eat certain things and a family vacation is not the time to make anyone miserable. Thankfully, my DS liked the Mac n cheese so he had that for 14 nights, while not ideal he did eat and we all were happy.
 
Thanks so much for that link! Extremely helpful.

And to anyone who is wondering no I am not a short order cook and no he will not "eat what's available if he's hungry enough." I wish it were that easy trust me!! At one point in time I thought the same way...surely he will eat at some point. We learned the hard way that it's just not going to work that way (which is why he and other kids like him are referred to as PROBLEM eaters not picky ones).

We've battled this for years and as it turns out, this is a very real medical challenge for our son. He has an oral sensory disorder which may get better with time or it may get worse. From the thread that jilljill provided we're not the only family who is facing this.

If anyone else has helpful advice or encouragement please let me know.

Thanks!
 
Thanks so much for that link! Extremely helpful.

And to anyone who is wondering no I am not a short order cook and no he will not "eat what's available if he's hungry enough." I wish it were that easy trust me!! At one point in time I thought the same way...surely he will eat at some point. We learned the hard way that it's just not going to work that way (which is why he and other kids like him are referred to as PROBLEM eaters not picky ones).

We've battled this for years and as it turns out, this is a very real medical challenge for our son. He has an oral sensory disorder which may get better with time or it may get worse. From the thread that jilljill provided we're not the only family who is facing this.

If anyone else has helpful advice or encouragement please let me know.

Thanks!

You expressed that very well.
 
Not always true. My DS has sensory processing disorder and will not eat certain things and a family vacation is not the time to make anyone miserable. Thankfully, my DS liked the Mac n cheese so he had that for 14 nights, while not ideal he did eat and we all were happy.

I am so happy to hear your DS enjoyed the Mac n Cheese. I am hoping mine does as well. If I may ask, was the M&C shaped like Mickey or "normal" pasta? Most kids would enjoy the Mickey pasta but not DS.

Thanks for your message!
 
Thought I would share that my son has challenging food allergies as well as having a high functioning autism diagnosis. So food time is always challenging. In part we decided on a Disney cruise because they are so very accomodating. We could pre- order his food the day before and it was cooked to order - most nights he had special pasta with a tomato sauce and protien / veg. They would make him anything from steak and fries to corn and red pepper cut up. They have an amazing recipe for waffles and pancakes that meet all the allergies. Very, very helpful. Chef would even make a special dessert for our son each night. We used room service to get certain snack items and kept some cereal in our room for spare snacks.

I'm sure they will be able to help you! Good luck....
 
We were just on the Wonder and the macaroni and cheese was shaped normally and was listed as "Minnie's Macaroni and Cheese". We only encountered Mickey shaped pasta once and I think that was with the the meatballs.
 
The cruise is the perfect chance to get the kids to try new foods. There are so many options and they can try as many different plates as they want. If you give the kid a choice of a few things and let them pick it might help. If they miss a meal they will be fine, they are not going to starve themselves, and as someone said earlier when they are hungry enough they will eat what you give them.

Use this opportunity to let them try new things and experiment. When else can you order whatever you want and if it isn't to your liking try something else without having to pay for each item?
 
karyn0995 said:
Thanks so much for that link! Extremely helpful.

And to anyone who is wondering no I am not a short order cook and no he will not "eat what's available if he's hungry enough." I wish it were that easy trust me!! At one point in time I thought the same way...surely he will eat at some point. We learned the hard way that it's just not going to work that way (which is why he and other kids like him are referred to as PROBLEM eaters not picky ones).

We've battled this for years and as it turns out, this is a very real medical challenge for our son. He has an oral sensory disorder which may get better with time or it may get worse. From the thread that jilljill provided we're not the only family who is facing this.

If anyone else has helpful advice or encouragement please let me know.

Thanks!

Completely understandable! My DS has many special needs, and I think a lot of people see these things as being spoiled, or equating it to struggles their kids have had... But you are right, it is very different! Glad it sounds like he will have some options on your trip!
 
My youngest is a problem eater as well. One of the things he will eat is ramen noodles, so when cruising I will pack some for emergency in case there is nothing he will eat at the meal. They have always been good about preparing it for him. Maybe they could do the same with Mac and cheese? Worst case scenario, you just pack it back up and bring it home again.
 
Okay, just reading my previous post and I am thinking it might come across the wrong way. I am not trying to imply your child is "spoiled" with food. I was trying to say that this might be a good opportunity to try other foods and maybe they will find something else that works for them.

Have to say that the staff is very helpful and if you give them the heads up at the first meal they will do whatever they can to help you.
 
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