Buffets or Quiet Sit Down Places

[have2getaway]

Our son has high functioning autism and he struggles with having to wait and also (sometime) large crowds and noise. Should we plan for buffets or try to find some quiet sit-down places to eat. We thought about Kona & Concourse and I have also considered CP, Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Fare. Any thoughts?

 

[GretchGraham]

Well, my daughter with autism also does not like to wait, nor does she like very loud noises. The crowds haven't seemed to bother her yet. The only restaurants we have done with her that you list above are Chef Mickeys and CP. Please note that both can be really loud (and so can Concourse as it is right next to Chef Mickeys). However, the noise level hasn't bothered her at either place, I think because she is so excited to see the characters.

We have found with her, it is easier to eat at a buffet because of her wait issues. The few times we have tried the sit-down places with her, we brought her portable DVD player and had her watch movies while we ate and begged her to eat. This would keep her occupied for almost enough time for us to have an appetizer and to wolf down most of our dinner. Most of the servers were kind enough to pack our desserts to go. Or maybe they were just desperate for us to go.

We found that she likes Sci-Fi because of the movie clips, but I noticed on your other thread that your son does not like the dark. That may not be a good choice for him because it is fairly dark in there.

Honestly, because we are on vacation and we have to eat, we do the best we can. We eat a lot of counter service because it is quick, but we try the table service with the knowledge that one of us may be walking around outside most of the time with her. As you well know, that's just how it goes sometimes. But really, it is Disney World and as I have said before, my child is usually not the only one having a melt down. Several of the "typical" children are crying from fatigue, over-stimulation, etc. Try not to worry about this too much.

 

[have2getaway]

Thanks Gretchen! I am hoping he will like the character meals. We also have done what you mentioned with a portable dvd player. Sometimes we get funny looks, but I really could care less. We have also had success with a walkman with music that he enjoys so I will make sure to have that on-hand as well. Did you enjoy Concourse? We ate at Le Cellier on our honeymoon and loved it, but I wasn't sure we should bring our son there. I also thought about Kona.

You are so right that we will probably not be the only one with a child having a meltdown. Our son is an only child so that it sometimes easy for us to forget. My husband and I are very familiar with taking turns while eating our meals. I aksed him today if he would like to meet the real Mickey and Minnie and he said as long as they don't say "yeah". That response is making me rethink Chef Mickey's. Is there singing there?

Well, thanks for the support!!

Jennifer

 

[GretchGraham]

In response to your question about the singing, yes there is music. The music plays, and the characters parade around the restaurant waving a napkin in the air. They have the children parade around with them. My daughter wouldn't parade with everyone else, but she enjoyed watching everyone else.

She did not like Concourse. You still get all of the loudness from Chef Mickeys, but with none of the characters.

We did not take her with us to Le Cellier, but that may be a decent option for you. It is really quiet in there and we did not wait a long time for a table. However, the tables are close together, and the dinner takes a while. But that might be one of those places where it is worth it to eat in shifts if necessary.

I haven't tried Kona, but it is on our list for this year.

I know you are still looking at resorts and whether or not to cook/eat out, but have you considered a cabin at Fort Wilderness? They come equiped with a kitchen and are less expensive than the other DVC resorts. Or at least it used to be less expensive.

I certainly don't want to deter you in any way, but meals really are our most difficult area and I know we would have had a problem if I wasn't able to feed my daughter at least some of her meals in the room. Not only did we have the dinner/lunch restaurant issues I expected, but because she was so overstimulated in the parks, she wouldn't eat anything at all in the parks, including the items I brought in with me. She would make up for lost time when we returned to the room in the afternoons. It would have been much more difficult for us if we hadn't had the microwave/refrigerator option available to us.

 

[MarieS]

We did both Chef Mickey and CP and they can get very loud. At CP the charcters will have a parade and that can add to the noise level. My youngest kinda shut down with all the noise. Have you considered Liberty Tree Tavern? We did this for an early dinner and it worked great. I asked for a table near a wall so it would be easier to keep the wheelchairs out of the way. It was served family style and the characters came to the tables. I thought it was much quieter here.

At MGM we ate a Mama Melrose and had the first lunch seating. This also seemed like a quieeter restaurant.We liked doing the first lunch or the early dinner and found those times seemed smoother with less wait/crowds.

Also, if you're not sure how your son will do with the characters, make sure he's not sitting with his back to the room or they could inadvertendly startle him coming up behind. This happened to my oldest and he started to cry. The character immediately gave him some space. After that I would say things like, Alexander I see Tigger coming. I found that if I said things out loud it helped him and would cue the character to go slow.

 

[bopper]

Have you considered the Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant? It is counter service, but I always get a not-crowded, spaced-out (no pun intended) feeling from that restaurant.

 

[have2getaway]

We may look into either DVC or renting a cabin. It's just that we alredy have the free dining booked, but if we won't enjoy eating out anyway, who cares. I may also simply try earlier dinner hours since this seems to be a quieter time. How early should I go?

If we do eat out, how is the food about LTT? We have considered this one, but I didn't think we would like the food. I guess we will try for Kona or Le Cellier. Should I skip Chef Mickey's? I've heard O'hana is quiet too and family style. Any thoughts on that one?

We'll have to try the Tomorrowland Terrace. Thaks for the tip!!

 

[MN Dis Fans]

Our DS11 with Asperger's had a meltdown at CP last year. We're trying Liberty Tree Tavern this time. We're also trying Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Mornings seem to go more smoothly.

 

[MarieS]

We may look into either DVC or renting a cabin. It's just that we alredy have the free dining booked, but if we won't enjoy eating out anyway, who cares. I may also simply try earlier dinner hours since this seems to be a quieter time. How early should I go?

If we do eat out, how is the food about LTT? We have considered this one, but I didn't think we would like the food. I guess we will try for Kona or Le Cellier. Should I skip Chef Mickey's? I've heard O'hana is quiet too and family style. Any thoughts on that one?

We'll have to try the Tomorrowland Terrace. Thaks for the tip!!

________________________________________________________-

We had lunch ADRs for 11:30 and dinner at 5. We liked the food at LTT. Dinner was family style. Started with salad and a delicious strawberry vinagrette dressing and rolls. Then they brought ham, turkey and flank steak (we loved the steak), mashed potatoes, mac and cheese,green beans. Dessert was apple cobbler. One of my sons is tube fed and my youngest is limited in what he can have. For him I always brought things( like applesauce cups, pudding, yogurt) to supplement what he could eat at the charater meals.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

We had our first trip to WDW this past May and our HFA DD(5) also does not do well at TS restaurants. She loved CP for dinner(although she only ate about 5 bites of specially made pasta and a bowl of ice cream) as she was inthralled with the Pooh characters. The biggest drawback (other then her lack of actually eating) was that it took a long time for the characters to get to our table and she had a few small fits but b/c the whole place is so loud, noone really noticed. I would suggest getting reservations nearer to the start of dinner adrs like...5 or 5:30. (ours were 6:30) so the characters are starting at your side of the restaurant.

We also did CRT for breakfast which actully went well (although again...she didn't really eat anything) b/c she could play with her magic wand and twinkly star and the princesses were all at our table within 20 minutes of sitting down.

We did Concourse one night and it was a disaster. She could see Chef Mickey's (kept asking to go on the Chef Mickey ride..she can read but we have never actually been inside it so she thought it was a ride because of the singing and clapping and characters) and had a meltdown thru most of the dinner. My hubby and I had to wolf down our crappy food (we had grissly steaks that were ill-prepared) and my DD(7) and I took our dessert to-go.

The best meals we had were in our room at the CR. I had groceries delivered from gardengrocer.com and made sandwiches for the girls along with chips, yogurt, cookies, and milk, etc. and DH and I either ordered room service or he went down to the Food and Fun center for to-go food. It was so relaxing to eat in our rooms and the girls could run around, watch TV, and play w/o any meltdowns or worrying about disturbing other diners. We also did the same for breakfast as my kids prefer poptarts and milk which is alot cheaper than a buffet they won't touch. Lunch was always counter service in the parks. We are going again next April and staying at the Poly. We figure it will be a whole new food adventure (different room service and CS food) and we only plan to do maybe 2 buffets with the kids. Next April, we are planning on getting an in-room sitter for 1 or 2 nights so DH and I can have a nice TS meal together. We will also do gardengrocer.com again as it was a lifesaver with HFA DD(5) and our DD(7) also liked her pb&j sandwiches...her favorite

To sum up, i would recommend buffets, counter service, and eating in your room for your sanity and enjoyment (not to mention your pocketbook). Good luck

 

[have2getaway]

To sum up, i would recommend buffets, counter service, and eating in your room for your sanity and enjoyment (not to mention your pocketbook). Good luck

Thanks Amanda--very good advice. It is easy to get carried away, especially with the free dining. Then, you remember: "Oh, no--my child has hfa, what was I thinking!!! It sounds like you deal with similar issues so I found your post very helpful!!

 

[BlindTyldak]

I'm surprised that no one has suggested Garden Grille yet! it's definitely worth considering for a character meal where crowds and noise are a factor. The restaurant is very quiet, and as it is in a moving ring, all of the booths face outward in tiered levels and are WONDERFUL for children who do best in quiet and non-distracting restaurants. it also features some of the more popular characters (Mickey, Chip, Dale, and Pluto/Goofy) so it is a great place to get some of the "big ones" out of the way with one on one interaction and no lines.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We have booked our first CB for this August with Joshua who also is Autistic and doesn't have much patience for restaurants.

After seeking advice on the UK forums we have booked for Cape May at Beach Club, as the characters there are good, we are going when hopefully it will not be very busy and there is a more relaxed atmosphere.
I am not sure about going somewhere where it may be too noisy and as we are staying at the Boardwalk it is convenient for us too.

 

[have2getaway]

Thanks for the tip about the Garden Grille. I think I will cancel our reservation for Chef Mickey's and try this one.

JohnnySharp2: Best of luck to you on your trip with your son. Please let me know how you make out. When are you going? We also planned to try Cape May based on the feedback we received about it being less quiet than some of the other character meals.