anyone ever take an autistic child to Discovery Cove

[disneyohbear]

Hey I'm not sure if this is the right board but I thought I would try here for to see if anyone has taken their autistic child to Discovery Cove and if so what their experience was.

We are planning to take my 6 yr old nephew with us to Discovery Cove in June 09. He is on the GFCF diet. We have taken him several times to Disney World with no problems. He loves animals and so we thought we would try Sea World, Discovery Cove with a possibility of Busch Gardens and Aquatica this year. I was reading that Discovery Cove is an all inclusive and they don't allow outside food or drinks in. He doesn't drink any milk of course and no sodas or water so we normally carry juice boxes (motts) with us to Disney.

Does anyone have any experience with Discovery Cove and autism?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Dawn

 

[jmartinez1895]

I have never been there before, but I have heard good things about there customer service for people who need special attention while visiting. I was able to find some informaton that may help you. Go to the discovery cove web sight. Click explore and they when that pages loads you will see FAQ across the top. It has a break down of topics and has information on dietay concerns. I hope this helps and that you have a great trip.

 

[disneyohbear]

Thanks for the reply. The website didn't really address my concern as my nephew is very very picky on the GFCF diet. I called them and they said we could take in whatever we needed. We would have to check it in with them and they weren't sure if they would keep it for us or if we would store it in our locker there. At least I can take in juices and snacks for him. He will eat a hamburger and fries if they do them GFCF for us but snacks and drinks are a complete different story. I'll update this thread after we return in June with our experience.

 

[SandrainNC]

I was just going to say to call them but you already did! Glad everything is going to work out. We have been to Discovery Cove once back in 2004. My son doesn't have autism, but he has Down syndrome (he was almost 4 at that time). I want to go again when the boys are older and can experience more of the park. Have fun!

Sandra

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi,
We went to Discovery Cove with Joshua in 2005.
To be honest our day was spoilt by the weather, it was March and unusually very cold for the time of year, a thunderstorm also didn't help.

The best advice is if you want to swim with the Dolphins in the morning get to the park early, around 8am, if you arrive after 9 you may face queue's and it's unlikely you will get a swim until lunchtime or later.

Make the most of the day, and enjoy breakfast and lunch - that both come with the package.