Dining and autism

[Amazynglydisney]

I have a 2 yr old and a 5 yr old. My 2 yr old will be 3 when we go back to Disney and my 5 yr old is autistic. Is there anyone with any kind of experience with character dining and autism. Are there any restaurants you think I should steer clear from or are there any restaurants you had a great experience at? Just trying to get an idea of where to take them when we go back in February. We had a great experience at rainforest cafe and will be going back!

 

[lanejudy]

I'm going to say that all depends on your child and how he/she reacts with characters. Some kids with autism totally shy away from the characters at both meet & greets as well as meals, others do well at meals but not meet & greets, and still others do ok with outdoor meet & greets but not inside at meals. If your child with autism was fine at RainForest, I'm guessing he/she will probably be ok with any character dining. You can place him/her at the table in such as position as to not be surprised by the characters, not too close to the characters, etc. if that helps.

We usually do 1 or 2 character meals, usually picking characters DD is most "into" and that also fit the schedule. We don't park-hop or running to distant resorts just for a meal; if it's close or fits into the plans for the day, that's where we eat. Most of our meals are QS, though, for flexibility.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[HopperFan]

It would be helpful to know what kind of things he does not tolerate well.

My DS does not like loud noise and folks crowding in to his space. So Chef Mickey's with all the noise and chaos is not a good place for him, but Garden Grill where it is quieter, slower paced and we are served at our table is enjoyable. The characters at those two locations are complete opposites, CM they come in fast and stay a short moment where as Garden Grill they spend lots of time and sometimes come twice.

I would think about what he won't enjoy or do well with, and select restaurants you feel work so you all have a good experience.

 

[redberyl]

Not a character meal, but the dinosaur restaurant in dd is extremely loud, even kids without sensory issues might be bothered by it

 

[lanejudy]

Not a character meal, but the dinosaur restaurant in dd is extremely loud, even kids without sensory issues might be bothered by it

Agree! We'll never make that mistake again!
DD does fine at the RainForest Cafe so we thought T-Rex would be ok. None of us enjoyed it there. Again, others report their kids love it, so it just depends on the kid.

 

[Amazynglydisney]

He has sensory processing disorder and can tolerate loud noises just not too loud. And last February we used a FP to meet Mickey and they were both scared of him. Our DD just turned two then and our DS was 4. They will be 3 and 5. Very good to know about T-rex we were planning a visit because they love dinosaurs but will make different plans now.

 

[aaarcher86]

He has sensory processing disorder and can tolerate loud noises just not too loud. And last February we used a FP to meet Mickey and they were both scared of him. Our DD just turned two then and our DS was 4. They will be 3 and 5. Very good to know about T-rex we were planning a visit because they love dinosaurs but will make different plans now.

If they were fine with Rainforest they'll likely be fine with T. rex. It's the same thing is Rainforest, just dinosaurs instead of jungle animals.

 

[redberyl]

If they were fine with Rainforest they'll likely be fine with T. rex. It's the same thing is Rainforest, just dinosaurs instead of jungle animals.

I thought the noise level at t Rex was much worse than rainforest. Both are noisy but at t Rex we had to shout to beheard. It's been close to two years since we've been, maybe they've dialed it down?

 

[ErinTwinmom]

My autistic twins loved character dining, the were four last trip. For us the bigger issue was did they serve anything the girls would eat.

 

[Mrsjvb]

If they were fine with Rainforest they'll likely be fine with T. rex. It's the same thing is Rainforest, just dinosaurs instead of jungle animals.

not even remotely. T rex was WAY louder both in ambient noise in between the shows and the show itself. It's just WAY more frenetic all the way around( food was better than Rainforest however) also, even with reservations we waited almost an hour to be seated as they give priority to the (Landry?) card holders who can walk up and be seated immediately even w/out reservations.

 

[HopperFan]

Agree with others, T-Rex is probably the loudest restaurant we have ever eaten in. Even between meteor showers, the noise level is so loud that it is hard to converse without talking very loud. I think part is because it is a cavernous room and large capacity. We have eaten there 4-5 times during less crowded hours and it's still very loud.

Rainforest has lower ceilings and so much decor that it helps to absorb the noise. We also love the very attentive service we get, DS getting his drink refills without me waving down someone like I do at T-Rex, and not unusual to have a manager come by table to check on us. I have even requested a table by the fish tank when just two of us, very relaxing for DS, and they have fulfilled the request.

 

[aaarcher86]

I thought the noise level at t Rex was much worse than rainforest. Both are noisy but at t Rex we had to shout to beheard. It's been close to two years since we've been, maybe they've dialed it down?

Maybe. We usually eat at both and have never felt like here was a difference in the noise level.

 

[kohlby]

We felt T-Rex was much louder. However, I have a child scared of thunder and another one scared of fish so Rainforest had its own challenges. We travel with noise reducing headphones now and find it makes it MUCH easier.

 

[connie254]

All of the character meals I've taken my son to have been buffet or family style. The buffets help with picky eaters. Go with the characters he likes. When he was younger, my son never had an issue with non-face characters like Mickey, Pooh, etc. In fact he loved them. He had no interaction with face characters. So he loved picture taking with Easter bunny and couldn't tolerate Santa. He has gotten so much better after he met Mary Poppins-the smile in that picture was almost as big as his face. Before he talked well, he would jump in place if he got excited-now imagine he is meeting Tigger-bouncy bouncy fun.
Sounds never bothered him.
If you really want pictures with the characters, can always try another person as a buffer. So it would be (child)(Parent)(character). When I took my son by myself, if he didn't want to be near a character, I never pushed it. Waving hi from a distance sometimes was it.

 

[dja14]

My kids enjoyed Chef Mickeys, but it was noisy. We ate later (10ish?) and they were with their cousins (so plenty of safe space) At the time my boys found plenty to eat they enjoyed but our daughter (who was 3) at 1/2 of a doughnut and a piece of bacon. Still worth it to see characters w/o line. Our oldest still comments on the noise and the echos. I took earplugs, which is usually enough for us, but they still covered their ears sometimes.

Our daughter enjoyed the princess breakfast at Akershus when she was 5. She still only ate a roll, bacon and one strawberry but it was pretty quiet. They treated her like the princess she was dressed as and I felt it was worth the cost as well.

I think the nice thing about the meals if your child is afraid of characters, they can see them from a distance, wave, etc. Other kids are around, hugging characters, etc as an example.

 

[unwritten01]

Was there over Thanksgiving and had another wonderful trip! As others have said, it depends on the kid. Mine is into movies for instance so Hollywood Studios is a must, but he doesn't tend to want them around when he eats so we meet characters out and about. Roll with it

Best is still the story from the day that picture was made. Daughter wanted to see Merida - the line was shut right when he was at front for break. Son who was talking (of course) to everybody melted. I told them no worries we will be back to try again. They said Merida had already asked to see him and we all went back for a meet and greet. He shot her bow..ok he held the bow and the arrow dropped to the ground... they sat..she asked could she marry him..he said he was only 8 years old and had to go..and we left.. of course being hospitable as they all deserved.

 

[Baklava]

I think I'm dropping t-rex. My kid loves dinosaurs but neither she or her big brother cope well with excessive noise. Short of having her wear noise cancelling headphones for the whole meal, I don't know that it will work.

If you're unsure about characters, try starting with someplace with some "face" characters in the mix. 1900 Park Fare or a princess meal... something where it's a little less overwhelming.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Agree! We'll never make that mistake again!
DD does fine at the RainForest Cafe so we thought T-Rex would be ok. None of us enjoyed it there. Again, others report their kids love it, so it just depends on the kid.

My nephew is on the spectrum and although he is bothered by loud noises, he did fine at T-Rex because we asked for a table in a quieter area away from the "show" rooms. We ended up in a dark corner which was perfect. The two older children could see the show and move closer if needed, but the youngest was very happy in his corner with daddy.

 

[North of Mouse]

Will not go back to T-Rex. The noise level 'is' excessive (but not more than Rainforest IMO), but it's the strobe lighting that makes me feel woozy and ill - not sure why, but won't be back.

 

[mshanson3121]

We traveled with DS 8, who has SPD and DD 5, with ASD (Aspergers). The only character dinner we did was CRT, which they both loved and did surprisingly well at (considering it's length). We also went to Hoop Dee Doo Revue, which they thoroughly loved. They loved all the character meet and greets, DD was shy and wouldn't make eye contact and laughed a bit silly (which is what she does when she's nervous/overwhelmed in social situations), but she enjoyed it all the same. The other Disney restaurants we ate in were lunch at Peco Bills, Pinocchio Village Haus and the bakery in France. They were fine in all of those.

For my son, he found the overall general noise level of WDW overwhelming, which made him a bit anxious in general, and we used ear plugs for him every day, as well as noise canceling headphones OVER the ear plugs for the fireworks etc...