Arriving this week and...

[MrsKreamer]

I am nervous about a few things.

When I made my ADRs I had them note that Aiden will probably not eat what is on the kid's menu at TS restaurants. He will only eat a select few things (grilled cheese, hot dog, corn dog, cheese pizza). He has a very sensitive stomach, and has issues with texture and food color.

Well I called the special food request line and that person seemed like I was making an odd request. She even made the "oh we hear about Autism ALL the TIME...". Then she told me I would just have to wait until we get to each restaurant and see what they could do, but if it wasn't something they normally serve we were SOL.

Is this the right information??? What should I do at this point? I almost feel like I am going to have to make him a sandwich in our room before we go eat lunch/dinner anywhere...

 

[clanmcculloch]

When the woman said it needs to be something they normally serve, it makes sense. The restaurant has to have the ingredients on hand in order to make him something. Chefs aren't going to run out to another location to get foods to make. Now if a chef has say bread and cheese then he'll gladly make a grilled cheese sandwich but if he doesn't have bread in a normal loaf (as in he only has buns) then he simply can't make a grilled cheese unless your DS will eat it made with a bun and I know that many autistic kids are very particular about the format of their food meaning that wouldn't work for many.

Look over the menus to get a feel for what kinds of ingredients the chefs will have to work with. If there doesn't seem to be anything that they can work with to make something that he'll eat then don't book the ADR. Chefs will do their best but they really do have to have the ingredients.

If you look at most kids menus, I thought that most have either pizza or grilled cheese, don't they? Will he eat plain pasta? Even if what's showing on the menu is pasta with meat sauce, restaurants will gladly serve it plain or buttered.

 

[MrsKreamer]

It just conflicts with information I already heard. That as long as chefs have notice, they will make sure they have certain ingredients on hand. For instance, I was told that the chefs at HDDR will gladly get my child a cheese pizza from Trail's End, which is next door.

No he doesn't eat plain pasta. No most table service places do not have what I listed. They have chicken (grilled or nuggets), pasta, broccoli, etc.

 

[lanejudy]

It just conflicts with information I already heard. That as long as chefs have notice, they will make sure they have certain ingredients on hand. For instance, I was told that the chefs at HDDR will gladly get my child a cheese pizza from Trail's End, which is next door.

No he doesn't eat plain pasta. No most table service places do not have what I listed. They have chicken (grilled or nuggets), pasta, broccoli, etc.

I believe they try to have ingredients on hand when there is a life-threatening allergy, versus a picky eater. Please don't get me wrong, I understand your challenges with your son's food preferences. But in reality, it is a preference not an allergy. Even those with allergies are reporting that they are not always guaranteed a specific item will be available to them at a specific restaurant.

As for getting a pizza from Trail's End to eat at HDDR, that may well be possible. As you were told, it will be up to the chef at each restaurant to determine what can be accommodated. In my experience, WDW chefs will bend over backwards to find something to suit the needs, however it does vary by location.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[MrsKreamer]

My son is not just a "picky eater"...he has a neurological disorder, that makes most things taste like crap to him.

I don't like it. In fact I swore I would never let my kids be picky eaters. What is the phrase? You make plans and God laughs...

I have decided to not let this freak me out. If we have to, I will treat this like taking him out at home. I will either pack some ready to eat favorites for him, or just make sure he eats a CS meal before our ADR time.

I think I am just most frustrated by get two completely different sets of information regarding this issue. I am frustrated that people without a special needs child don't get it or think "he's just a picky eater...". And I am frustrated that I have a deluxe dining plan that works for 4/5 of our family, yet one of my kids(through no fault of his own) can't get a grilled cheese sandwich.

 

[lanejudy]

I am frustrated that people without a special needs child don't get it or think "he's just a picky eater...".

I do have a special needs child, including a very unusual medically-required diet, and I indicated that I completely your challenges with your son's food. I think your plans to bring some food with you are completely justified and good planning. As we have stated, if the ingredients are available in the kitchen, the chef will make a grilled cheese sandwich. They really do their best to accommodate, however specific foods not on the regular menu cannot be promised until you arrive and speak with the chef.

I truly hope your family has a magical vacation and that your stresses over the meals won't be overshadowing.

 

[ttintagel]

My son is not just a "picky eater"...he has a neurological disorder, that makes most things taste like crap to him.

I don't like it. In fact I swore I would never let my kids be picky eaters. What is the phrase? You make plans and God laughs...

That's what I thought at first, but then I got confused because of your use of "will eat" and "won't eat." When it's put that way (instead of "can/can't eat"), it does tend to sound like it's a matter of choice and preference. Could it be that the dining folks were having the same sort of confusion?

 

[MrsKreamer]

That's what I thought at first, but then I got confused because of your use of "will eat" and "won't eat." When it's put that way (instead of "can/can't eat"), it does tend to sound like it's a matter of choice and preference. Could it be that the dining folks were having the same sort of confusion?

Absolutely. I prefaced it by stating his condition...but the first reply was a snotty "we get tons of that (Autism/food issues) request". I swear I could hear her eyes rolling.

 

[clanmcculloch]

As the parent of an autistic child, I took the response totally differently than you did. I took the "we get lots of that" to mean they understand and are used to it and I read it from the perspective of "wow, that's great that they're so familiar with the issue and they actually get that my child has a disability here rather than what I normally encounter". I think that perhaps your anxiety over this is colouring your perception of the response. I assure you, they DO get lots of special needs requests. She was right about that.

I did take your will/wont eat to mean that the issues associated with his autism (my guess is that it's sensory and obsessive compulsive rather than taste but I digress) will or will not allow him to eat the food and that it's not a choice he's actively making. I got what you were saying. That's also why I mentioned things like they'll make things like grilled cheese on a bun if that's all they've got but that I get that he may not eat that. When my DD was self-restricting due to her autism I made sure that there were things on menus that she would be willing to eat or I didn't book the ADR. I'm not recommending this lightly; this is exactly what I did. I'm not saying that they have to have the things he'll eat straight up on the menu but they should have at least ingredients. I didn't book HDDR for example until my kids were willing to eat foods that they offer.

Again, look over the menus. I'm not just referring to the kids' meals; I mean the menus. Make sure that they have ingredients with which they can actually make an alternate food item. Since you've got the DxDDP you can always just order his food as your appetizer rather than his kids' meal at restaurants that aren't fixed price. At fixed price restaurants like HDDR that's going to be more difficult. It'll really depend on the chef who's working at the time to determine just what they'll be willing/able to do.

Is your son in any kind of feeding therapy with an Occupational Therapist or Speech & Language Pathologist? If his diet is this limitted then he could really benefit from this kind of therapy.

FYI: Even for those of us with laundry lists of food allergies, chefs don't frequently ensure that special ingredients are on hand. That used to be the case as almost a standard procedure but since there are now so many people heading to WDW with so many dietary issues, this has mostly become a thing of the past with this being more of the exception rather than the rule. Yes it does happen but not nearly as often as it doesn't.