A Year Is Way Too Long To Wait! We Just Keep Booking Trips!

[babyberger]

Tell me soon, I may change our ADR there!

Don't cancel! Our food was delicious and we laughed so hard! We really had a great meal, the issue was with Steven's gluten free food and the chef's attitude with us.

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[babyberger]

Knowing we had a lunch ADR at 50's Prime Time Cafe we started our day at DHS. Our plan was to try to get all the rides in before lunch then head over to Epcot after lunch so the hubbies could try some of the F&W yummies.

The day was going smoothly, with the exception of Sarah's behavior We got in all our rides and headed to lunch, this is where the day turned. Instead of writing it out again, I will just copy and paste the email I sent to special diets and guest relations when we got home.

We have recently returned from another long weekend trip to Walt Disney World. As annual passholders and Florida residents, Walt Disney World is our go to place with our autistic son who also has severe food allergies. Disney has been a magical place that we can go and know that all of his needs can be handled and he can still have an amazing time. We tried to make the most out of the weekend knowing that the GAC program is changing and not sure if we will be able to return after the new program is in place (which makes us very sad).

On a previous trip to Walt Disney World we walked through the 50s Prime Time Café to make sure my autistic son could handle the noise and surroundings, with his approval we made an dining reservation for this past weekend. Doing much research I knew I could ask our server to tone down the act for my son and also that he would be able to have some of the best gluten free food on property. We were so excited for this meal and he had looked at pictures of the gluten free fried chicken and was very excited to try it. I knew from reading the reviews that I had to let the hostess as well as our server know right away that we wanted an order of gluten free fried chicken so that it could be ready with the rest of the meal. Unfortunately, my son never got to try the gluten free fried chicken.

Our reservation was for 12:20pm. We check in at about 12:15pm and spoke with Mary at the hostess stand. She was very nice and called back to the kitchen to let them know we needed an order of gluten free fried chicken and also to request the chef come out and talk to us. While I was waiting for the chef I heard her call back a second time to make sure the first request had been heard. After a few more minutes she asked another host to actually go back to the kitchen and find out where the chef was.

After a bit of a wait we were seated by Allison. I mentioned to her that I had told Mary we wanted an order of gluten free fried chicken and were still waiting for the chef. She had said she had heard the request as well and would also check on where the chef was.

Our waitress, MaryAnn came to the table as sweet as could be and let me know she had also asked the chef to come out and had heard that we had put in an order for gluten free fried chicken. MaryAnn came out to the table several times trying to joke about the chef and keep the kids entertained while she tried to get the chef. I watched her go to the back on more than one occasion with a determined and frustrated look on her face.

A little after 1pm the chef, Eugene, finally came to our table. He seemed bothered to be there and was far from friendly. When I inquired about our order of gluten free fried chicken he said he never got the order. I asked if he could do it now or if it would take too much time. He just said it takes a long time and offered no solutions or other options. I then inquired about the allergy tenders and he said fine he will make those. Again, I was made to feel like I was putting him out and a waste of his time. My son does not have celiacs and just get sick from eating gluten, he has a life threatening allergy to wheat. We choose to eat at Walt Disney World because we feel safe feeding our son. My husband was so put off by the chef he actually was worried that he would not the proper care of my sons food and we would end up in the hospital. I assured him that we are in Disney and even though the chef did not seem to care, I know the standard of which Disney treats food allergies. Now you have to remember this food is for my autistic son, who had set in his mind that he was getting gluten free friend chicken, not allergy tenders. This could have been a war world 3 type meltdown but thankfully he was just disappointed and to our amazement did no meltdown.

We immediately asked MaryAnn to get a manager because there is no reason for us as guests to feel like we were putting the chef out, let alone after asking for 45 minutes for an order of gluten free friend chicken be told basically no. The manager, Nina, found her way to our table after a bit of a wait, and as my husband stewed, I have honestly not seen him this upset in a very long time. Nina, was very apologetic and very sincere. She said she would go to the kitchen to see what she could do, but I knew after all that time there was no way we were getting the gluten free fried chicken. Our food was delivered shortly after Nina spoke with us and of course my son had the allergy tenders (that he can get all over Walt Disney World). Nina did come back to our table and apologize once again and let us know that our bill would be taken care of. As generous as this was, and it truly was since we were a party of eight, I really would have rather paid the bill and my son have received the gluten free fried chicken. My son barely ate his meal, as he was so disappointed. My husbands day was ruined as he stayed angry all day. And we couldnt get out of minds just how uncaring and bothered Eugene was. Never have I encountered such an uncaring chef at Walt Disney World. As a chef at Disney, he should have had a smile on his face and tried to make us happy in some way (even if he had to fake it). If he does not want to interact with guests, then he should not be employed be the Disney company.

My son left there saying he will never eat there again, which is sad because I think had he had the meal he was expecting he would have thoroughly enjoyed it and 50s Prime Time would go on our short list of places we can eat with him. If it wasnt for the kindness of Mary, Allison, MaryAnn, and Nina, we would have gotten up and left there before ever eating, and honestly I would have been putting up negative reviews everywhere.

It is situations like this and the changes to the Guest Assistance program that make me wonder if Disney is losing their interest in accommodating those with special needs and special diets.

Unfortunately, David was really in rare form after this and it took a lot to calm him down. I kept saying, Steven is okay, and they tried to make it right, so you need to try to put it aside for now. But we made it our way over to Epcot and enjoyed ourselves again. After hitting all the rides the kids wanted to go on we ventured into the WS. It was CROWDED! The lines for the F&W kiosks were long, but I have to say most of them moved quickly. The hubbies got to enjoy some of our favorite picks from Friday and of course we all enjoyed another round of Fiesta Margaritas and Eiffel Sour Cosmo slushies

We ended up picking up dinner from Flippers just ate in the room as it was getting late. The kids had wanted to go to the pool but by the time we finished dinner it was already after 8:30 and the kids still needed showers so we called it a night.

 

[pas130]

Melissa, I am SO SO sorry this happened to you guys I cried reading this, I know how Brian would get..so I can imagine you trying to keep it together dealing with it all I am glad you were comped, but it FAR from makes up for the disappointment.

 

[babyberger]

I wanted to touch on the changes that have happened to the Guest Assistance Card (GAC) recently as it affects our Disney tips MAJORLY!

As I have mentioned before we had stopped coming to Walt Disney World as Steven got older and the wait times, the heat, the noises, the people and every other stimuli got to be overwhelming for him. Our trips were not magical or happy at all We had taken a few cruises and had been using the assistance of a company called Autism on the Seas. Which got me thinking that there might be some sort of assistance for us at Walt Disney World, and there was, the GAC With the card we were able to access either the fast pass line or an alternate entrance where Steven could be away from large crowds of people and not so overwhelmed. There are definitely still meltdowns and some lines even the fast pass lines that Steven can not handle, but overall the GAC made Walt Disney World magical once again.

Well our magic and pixie dust came to end on October 9, 2013. The GAC was discontinued and a new program, the Disability Access Service (DAS), was started. I had been reading about the change before it happened and knew it sounded similar to the system that is used at Universal Studios, which he have used and honestly for Steven, it did not work. I was definitely angry, frustrated, confused, and every other emotion when I learned of the change. We were even skeptical about renewing our Annual Passes. I had to stop reading the speculations because I just kept getting more upset. We knew we had two trips (after renewing our passes) that we had coming up before the change to the DAS, so we made sure we thoroughly enjoyed those trips and made good use of our GAC!

Then our world did in fact shatter on October 9th. I spent days on the internet watching videos of people using the DAS, reading every experience at Guest Relations and attractions that I could. I was consumed with the new program and trying to figure if I can even make it work for us. With the system as it stands right now, Steven is going to have a hard time. Now you have to take the DAS card that you receive at Guest Relations to each attraction and get a return time, and you can only have one return time listed on the card at one time. The return times are based on the current stand by wait times posted. From what I have seen and read, the return time will be the wait time less 10 minutes to account for travel, etc. So if Space Mountain has a 60 minute wait time, we will receive a return time 50 minutes from when we first went to the attraction. Now what do we do for 50 minutes with a child on the spectrum and a child with ADHD?????

Disney's answer for waiting for the return time is to: find a ride with a short wait time, not always possible; see a show, which Steven does NOT do; go into a store, yeah right, Steven HATES stores and shopping; grab a snack, much easier said than done your child has severe food allergies; or just find a quiet place to wait using their suggestions in the new Guide for Cognitive Disabilities. None of these besides possibly finding another ride that he can handle the wait time and stand by queue is a feasible option for us.

Thankfully our stay at Pop Century last month made us eligible for Magic Bands and therefore Fast Pass + selections. However, you are only allowed to select 3 FP+ selections per day, and they all have to be in the same park. But it is still a start and I have already made our selections for our December trip. I am hoping between those FP+ selections and using the DAS we can make the new system work. I know Steven will not have as good of a time as he did while we had a GAC, but hopefully he will still enjoy himself and Disney will remain a magical place.

I am keeping an open mind and watching closely for any changes that may come from the backlash Disney is receiving for these changes. Steven knows the program has changed but he also knows that mom is on it and will try her hardest to make sure he still has a great time! I have read that currently paper Fast Passes can still be pulled (when available) using your annual passes or park tickets as well as Keys to the World (KTTW), including old ones So I sit here with my annual passes as well as 2 sets of KTTW hoping to be able to pull paper Fast Passes for rides as well as use our FP+ selections in conjunction with the DAS card. Definitely more work and planning for me, but there isn't anything I wouldn't do for my children!

 

[pas130]

The changes sound like Fast pass...maybe it's just me...with our kiddos, we wait..we don't ride...it's why DH adores Universal those express passes are golden. DH and HRH spend a lot of time just snacking or walking because she will meltdown if she has to wait, and many rides are too much for her senses. And you just never know... I hope the new system works out better than it sounds Melissa!

 

[babyberger]

I guess I haven't updated in a while We leave Thursday mid-day doe our favorite magical place again

Our resort has changed several times but out of the graciousness of a wonderful person, we will be staying at the Marriott Grande Vista in a 2BR villa.

Our plans are to meet up Thursday afternoon with a wonderful RC family, the Pas clan at the Poly for a bit, then head over to Epcot for a quick dinner and some rides

 

[Grumpy Grandma]

I want pictures please of your Dis meets!

 

[babyberger]

I want pictures please of your Dis meets!

Absolutely!!! I am so sad you will not be with us

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[Grumpy Grandma]

Absolutely!!! I am so sad you will not be with us

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Just a great reason for another RC meet!

 

[pas130]

Just a great reason for another RC meet!

Agreed, I missed Melissa this time around

 

[Grumpy Grandma]

Agreed, I missed Melissa this time around

Janet was busy on the phone with the BB CMs this morning so we'll see what happens!

 

[babyberger]

Janet was busy on the phone with the BB CMs this morning so we'll see what happens!

Let me know what dates she booked and I'll try to be there we need to concentrate on getting all out RC'ers healthy and able to travel!

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[javamom]

I'm in!

 

[javamom]

Also, thanks for posting about the GF options. We have some mild gluten sensitivity going on in our family, so it's good to know where some options may be should we need them.

 

[babyberger]

Home and unpacked (for now), will update during the week on our experience with the new DAS.

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[babyberger]

I'm in!

Also, thanks for posting about the GF options. We have some mild gluten sensitivity going on in our family, so it's good to know where some options may be should we need them.

Welcome!! I'll be posting about more GF meals this week as well

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[pas130]

Home and unpacked (for now), will update during the week on our experience with the new DAS.

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[babyberger]

Review is delayed a bit, Sarah brought home a wonderful souvenir from Disney....the flu Oh the lovely Disney germs.

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[jennyjinx3]

Review is delayed a bit, Sarah brought home a wonderful souvenir from Disney....the flu Oh the lovely Disney germs.

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UGH so sorry. We are sick too.

 

[babyberger]

UGH so sorry. We are sick too.

Oh Jen, I hope you all feel better soon!!!

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