Special Needs, Special Diets...No Problem (hopefully)!

babyberger

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Living in Florida means Disney has always been a weekend trip for us, but not this time! We are actually taking a mini Disney vacation February 6-10. We have been to Disney so many times, and were just there in September, October, and December. But this trip adds a new twist; DS was recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy (as well as tree nut). Thankfully Disney is one of the most gluten free (GF) friendly places and we didn't have to change our plans much. Normally, I wouldn't do a trip report for one or two nights, but since we are going for a bit longer and have a couple “circumstances” I thought I would try my hand at my first trip report.

Who we are:
For this trip it will be me(38), DH(41), DS(9) and DD(7). We will be leaving DS(20) behind as he has classes and as he puts it, has grown out of Disney :eek: What makes our vacations a little different is that DS has Asperger’s Syndrome. So our trip is all about preventing meltdowns while having a great time. After many miserable trips we learned about the Guest Assistance Card (GAC) and that changed our lives and made Disney magical once again pixiedust: We have also learned that just about every CM is sensitive to our requests/needs once we explain that DS is on the Autism Spectrum.

This is us in September at Captain's Grille (not the best picture, but our only family picture in the past 3 trips)


Where we are staying:
Because all of our previous weekend trips kept changing (to the point that I joined the beloved Resort Changer’s thread :love:) we actually got to try out all the resorts we thought may be a possibility for this trip. So this trip has gone from being booked at WL, to YC, and eventually CR. In September and October, DS kept asking to stay at CR, so we finally caved and booked it for our December trip. I have to say, it was probably the best decision we made. Although DH and I still love the atmosphere of YC, we quickly appreciated the conveniences of the CR and let the kids pick between YC and CR for this trip, they both jumped up and down :yay: screaming “CONTEMPORARY”. The rooms are larger than YC, and the guaranteed day bed means that DS ad DD don’t have to sleep in the same bed (or with DH or I). We also really appreciated no long winding hallways (which can be the case at YC and WL) after a long day in the parks. In December we had a Bay Lake view, but splurged for CL, so we got to enjoy the Magic Kingdom view from the lounge. We booked a Bay Lake view again for February, but when I saw the TPV rooms open up under the AP discount, they were only $35 more a night than what we were paying for BLV, so we jumped on it and made the change! I will miss my morning coffee enjoying the serenity of Bay Lake, but the kids are just so excited about the view of the Magic Kingdom!

What we are eating:
After the wheat allergy diagnosis we decided to cancel our ADR’s at Via Napoli and Fulton’s, leaving us with the following meals (updated to where we actually ate):

Columbia Harbor House
The Wave Dinner
Sci-Fi Diner lunch
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch
Pizzafari
The Wave Breakfast
Coral Reef Lunch
Contempo Cafe Dinner
The Wave breakfast (again)

The rest of our meals will most likely be QS although we may add in a breakfast or two at The Wave, and I am armed with the GF list from the Special Diets team. I have extensively researched which are the best GF meals and think I am ready! We are also really excited to go to Babycakes NYC and try their GF goodies! Not to mention I don't have to cook for five days :rolleyes1

The Planning:
I do plan our days using TouringPlans.com and EasyWDW. We do not follow a touring plan per se, but rather use the crowd predictors to pick our parks for each day. We let the kids pick the order of the rides and know that we may need to stop for a break at any given time or change plans quickly. We have become experts in vacation flexibility over the years. We know what rides/shows DS can’t do, which restaurants he can’t eat in, and how to judge lines to see if we are getting in them or skipping them (even with the GAC in hand).

Side Notes:
We have an appointment with DS’ gastroenterologist on Monday and are hoping to hear that he no longer needs a couple of his stomach medications which have to be perfectly timed between meals. This would mean no carrying meds with us and DS being able to eat/snack whenever he wants! I know it sounds insignificant and silly, but I always feel so badly saying, “no, you can’t eat now” and having to make trips back and forth to First Aid to keep our meds stored during the day.

We will be bringing schoolwork with us as DS and DD will be missing three days of school. We were able to get one writing assignment early and will have that done before we go, but the other stuff will be coming with us. So at some point during our days we will be carving out some time for schoolwork :teacher:

Our plan is to be on the road Wednesday morning by 6am, check into CR by 9am or so, and hopefully in the MK by 10am :dance3:

My goal is to update daily especially with pictures and review of the GF food offerings.

Now just to count down to departure :hourglass
 
Yay Melissa! So excited for your live report!

Love that pick of you guys at Captains Grill!
 


Sounds like a wonderful family trip! :banana:
 
:wave2: Melissa!! I'm here! :goodvibes

Love the family picture! :cool1:

Hope the doctor appt goes well today and you get good news about not needing the stomach meds. :thumbsup2

Only 2 more days!! :woohoo:
 


Hello to our gorgeous Melissa and her lovely family. :banana: (And to all of these bodacious RCers, of course. :dance3: ) I'm along for the ride! popcorn::

Hope the doc's appointment goes well. :hug:

I really enjoyed The Wave. Have you eaten there before?
 
:wave::grouphug:


I'm securing a front row/center seat for this great show just in case you get a newly rehabbed CR room and somehow forget to post a photo to the CR thread, then I can snatch it from here, right?:bitelip:


Where's the first ADR?:hyper:




Oh, MissPackingCube, I think bodacious is befitting::yes::
 
Monday evening update:
Well, we got the news we were hoping for today at the the dr. DS no longer needs to take the most of the inconvenient medications :yay: Life just got so much easier!!! We will not need to make trips back and fourth to First Aid, nor do we have to schedule every meal and snack.

I did take some time last night to move around our ADR's a bit. We are actually going to try for an early lunch at BoG on Wednesday, but if the lines are too long we will go to CHH. Then we have The Wave on Wednesday night which I think will be a great wind down to the day after being up so early. My plan is to then head over to DTD to Babycakes to pick up some goodies for Thursday's breakfast.

KOOK you are always welcome to anything I post!

Miss no, we have never eaten at The Wave, it was just too convenient to pass up this time around. I am looking forward to a nice sit down meal ::yes::

Melissa
 
Monday evening update:
Well, we got the news we were hoping for today at the the dr. DS no longer needs to the take most of the inconvenient medications :yay: Life just got so much easier!!! We will not need to make trips back and fourth to First Aid, nor do we have to schedule every meal and snack.

I did take a some time last night to move around our ADR's a bit. We are actually going to try for an early lunch at BoG on Wednesday, but if the lines are too long we will go to CHH. Then we have The Wave on Wednesday night which I think will be a great wind down to the day after being up so early. My plan is to then head over to DTD to Babycakes to pick up some goodies for Thursday's breakfast.

KOOK you are always welcome to anything I post!

Miss no, we have never eaten at The Wave, it was just too convenient to pass up this time around. I am looking forward to a nice sit down meal ::yes::

Melissa
:thumbsup2
Great news about DS - life is going to get a little bit easier:goodvibes. Can you still stop by First Aid for a cookie or medicinally infused Dole Whip maybe:confused3

Your Day One lunch sounds much like our plan. Many seem to actually prefer BoG for lunch over dinner and with no ADR needed, I think it's a great way to try it out. Can't wait to read what you think of it.

Guess who may not be able to stay away from the CR:rolleyes1. I really thought I could hold on to FWC, but it's not looking good right now. You know how strong the CR allure is:teleport::boat::beach::faint:
 
Here is a tidbit I bet most people don't know...the nurses in First Aid rotate parks. In October we had the same nurse in AK, DHS and MK (obviously different days), she laughed when she saw us walk in and said we were following her.

I actually cant say enough great things about the First Aid nurses. They have always been good to us with storing meds, but when we were at Disney in December I woke up on our second day with an awful cold. I thought I could push through the day but I was hurting. I was on my way out of MK to go back to CR to grab some meds but decided to stop at First Aid, and the nurse was wonderful, she stocked me up with decongestants, ibuprofen, and cough drops :thumbsup2
 
Melissa, again, great news about DS and the medicals!! Did you let DS pour the medicine down the drain? :goodvibes

And I agree about the nurses at the First Aid Stations!! :thumbsup2 And too funny about getting the same nurse 3X! :rotfl2:

:Guess who may not be able to stay away from the CR:rolleyes1. I really thought I could hold on to FWC, but it's not looking good right now. You know how strong the CR allure is:teleport::boat::beach::faint:

Oh Noooo... thought this one might stick :) What does DD and DH think?? Must be difficult to resist after all the time spent on the new thread! :thumbsup2

Melissa, great pix you posted!! :)

I did take some time last night to move around our ADR's a bit. We are actually going to try for an early lunch at BoG on Wednesday, but if the lines are too long we will go to CHH. Then we have The Wave on Wednesday night which I think will be a great wind down to the day after being up so early. My plan is to then head over to DTD to Babycakes to pick up some goodies for Thursday's breakfast.

We didn't get a chance to try BOG for lunch; will be interested in hearing all about it... and also about the Wave....:goodvibes
 
Hello to our gorgeous Melissa and her lovely family. :banana: (And to all of these bodacious RCers, of course. :dance3: ) I'm along for the ride! popcorn::
;)

MissPackingCube[/B], I think bodacious is befitting::yes::
:rotfl:

Monday evening update:
Well, we got the news we were hoping for today at the the dr. DS no longer needs to take the most of the inconvenient medications :yay: Life just got so much easier!!! We will not need to make trips back and fourth to First Aid, nor do we have to schedule every meal and snack.

I did take some time last night to move around our ADR's a bit. We are actually going to try for an early lunch at BoG on Wednesday, but if the lines are too long we will go to CHH. Then we have The Wave on Wednesday night which I think will be a great wind down to the day after being up so early. My plan is to then head over to DTD to Babycakes to pick up some goodies for Thursday's breakfast.
WOOT!!WOOT!!!!:banana::banana::banana:

Guess who may not be able to stay away from the CR:rolleyes1. I really thought I could hold on to FWC, but it's not looking good right now. You know how strong the CR allure is:teleport::boat::beach::faint:
Shocking....NOT!! :hug: Love ya Kook~Mama sooooooooooooooo.............did ya hop the blue flag??? Or just take the SeaRaycer (It's blue flag right??)

Here is a tidbit I bet most people don't know...the nurses in First Aid rotate parks. In October we had the same nurse in AK, DHS and MK (obviously different days), she laughed when she saw us walk in and said we were following her.

I actually cant say enough great things about the First Aid nurses. They have always been good to us with storing meds, but when we were at Disney in December I woke up on our second day with an awful cold. I thought I could push through the day but I was hurting. I was on my way out of MK to go back to CR to grab some meds but decided to stop at First Aid, and the nurse was wonderful, she stocked me up with decongestants, ibuprofen, and cough drops :thumbsup2
I NEED THAT JOB!!! :cloud9: I almost applied for the job at DL...thought the commute might be a bit much :laughing:
 
Here is a tidbit I bet most people don't know...the nurses in First Aid rotate parks. In October we had the same nurse in AK, DHS and MK (obviously different days), she laughed when she saw us walk in and said we were following her.

I actually cant say enough great things about the First Aid nurses. They have always been good to us with storing meds, but when we were at Disney in December I woke up on our second day with an awful cold. I thought I could push through the day but I was hurting. I was on my way out of MK to go back to CR to grab some meds but decided to stop at First Aid, and the nurse was wonderful, she stocked me up with decongestants, ibuprofen, and cough drops :thumbsup2
That's actually great to know. How many times have I walked past it and not thought anything of it. It's comforting knowing there's help there if you need it:thumbsup2

KOOK - just in case you forgot the view of Bay Lake from CR and BLT....

:goodvibes
And of course what is in those woods way off in the distance? FWC:laughing:

[


Oh Noooo... thought this one might stick :) What does DD and DH think?? Must be difficult to resist after all the time spent on the new thread! :thumbsup2



We didn't get a chance to try BOG for lunch; will be interested in hearing all about it... and also about the Wave....:goodvibes

LOVE The Wave's breakfast buffet - I could happily stay there all morning! Service is great, it's never really crowded and the selection is perfect.

Dr. RC, do you think the new thread has subliminally influenced me? Do I need to create a FWC thread to overcome this? I thought this would stick, too and it just might. It's not going to help though that Melissa will be at the CR tomorrow!

;)

Shocking....NOT!! :hug: Love ya Kook~Mama sooooooooooooooo.............did ya hop the blue flag??? Or just take the SeaRaycer (It's blue flag right??)

I NEED THAT JOB!!! :cloud9: I almost applied for the job at DL...thought the commute might be a bit much :laughing:
I remember that time I wanted you to apply to be a nurse at WDW and then you could see Melissa and Deena and I could move down there, too and pretend I have Dole Whip headaches all the time so I could go to First Aid to see you.
 
Joining as well. I look forward to hearing how the planning and trip go.
 
Is the car all packed and ready to roll down i4? Can't wait for your update and possible rehabbed room 411:hyper:

Safe travels!!
 
6am on the nose and we are backing out of the garage!!! We are on our way!!!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards
 

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