Dining Plan with 10 yr old with Autism

[newdisneyfan]

Hi Folks
We are travelling to WDW for the second time, but now DS is aged 10 he is a Disney Adult on the menus/dining plan. He's set in his ways due to his autism.

We think that there will be some menus where the adult choices will not suit him.

What do you think about us asking the server at the beginning of the meal if we can order from the kids menu, and top up the tip? Does anyone have any similar experiences?

Thanks, everyone.

 

[minnie mum]

Can you not find ADRs at restaurants that have meals that he will eat?

 

[Florimel]

I think it would be a really reasonable thing to ask, but also know they way DDP can be tricky and haven't tried it myself. If you have particular ADRs it might be worth explaining when you book so they have a note with your ressie. Don't know if having a guest assistance card to show might help at the time.

I work with with children with Autism, and in my experience its really common for kids and adults with Autism to have a more restricted range of things they can eat, and can be quite sensitive to certain tastes that don't worry others. Yet it is also great to have the experience of eating in certain restaurants and seeing parents and carers to get to eat things they like too. My DD doesn't have autism, and it quite adventurous with food, but even she's a bit concerned she might miss out some fave foods (chocolate pudding at Yak and Yeti).

 

[AJKMOM]

I have an adult autistic son who has been to Disney almost 20 times. We have never had a problem finding him something to eat but we don't use the dining plan. Still, restaurants will do things like serve spagetti without sauce and cheeseburgers with only ketchup. You might want to go down to the disAbilities forum and also post your question there. The people who watch that forum have always been very helpful.

When we paid out-of-pocket at Akerhus, they let him order the kid ravioli.

 

[worm761]

DS has Asperger's so I totally understand the food issues you are facing. First, what are your ADR's? That might help some. We ate at Coral Reef and DS ordered off the kids menu though was stuck with kids dessert too. He ordered off the adult menu everywhere else but would order things plain, no sauce, or sauce on the side. They were more than happy to accommodate him.

 

[Hopefully]

You can always ask, Disney is known to be very accomodationg.
But there have been several threads lately discussing restaurants that did not allow this. The "rule" is 10 is adult and they do have the right to enforce that.
Perhaps you would be better off this trip not on the DDP and paying OOP. It seems there are less issues if this is the case.

 

[atisikitabasket]

If there is nothing on the adult menu that your son wants then I would just ask if he can get something from the kids menu explain your situation if need be could be they could make a kids meal and adult meal also if they say no then just say you want to pay out of pocket for his kids meal. Our son has autism and is very restricted on what he will eat. Next year he will be considered an adult and our 3 year old will get the dining plan. Chances are she will be using his adult credit and he will use the child credit. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

It is possible that they will work with you.

But if you're paying adult dining plan prices and *getting* kid's meals for him...is the dining plan really worth it?

 

[minniebride]

I work with children with autism as well. My advice to you is, if you are comfortable, note on the reservation that you have a son with autism with restrictive eating patterns and you would like to request his ability to order from the child's menu.

On DDP, there may not be an issue, as you already paid adult prices for the plan in advance. The only exceptions to this might be non-Disney owned restaurants like Yak & Yeti or RFC-they tend to be less flexible with situations like that.

Off DDP, you might find that restaurants will allow you to order from the kids menu but may charge adult prices (and may give an adult portion). Again though, if you are comfortable mentioning the disability, it is very likely that Disney will accommodate your son.

Especially if you ask in advance, I'm guessing Disney will do their best to meet your son's needs.

 

[MariDisney]

Even if you end up having to pay out of pocket for him remember that the kids' meals on most menus are quite reasonable. Just picking some random dinners:
Kona: $8.59
Whispering Canyon: $8.99
Raglan Road: $7-8

Of course for buffets and other all you can eat restaurants you'll have to use the adult credit. But, kids' meals OOP for counter service and a la carte lunches/dinners are one of the best deals you can find at WDW.

 

[MariDisney]

double post

 

[Mikey'swife]

Easist fix, Tell the server you will be using credits for you and DH and paying oop for your child. Order a kids meal which is under $10 and use the extra credit for you and DH. At buffets use his credits and fix his plate for what he wants kids and adults can have anything in any section on a buffet.

I doubt most will question his age for ordering a kids meal but if the do explain your situation or get a disability card and I am sure they will cooperate.

They will give you 2 checks- one for ddp and one oop you can add the tip on both or only one- I sometimes order oop items and I just put my entire meal tip on that recipt so I have one room charge per meal.

 

[Dancind]

DD has Aspergers and on our first WDW trip she stuck to her "white foods". A couple of years later we did our first cruise (just after her 11th birthday). We told her that she should try lots of things from the menu, as it was "free", and she didn't have to finish eating anything she didn't like, and could always get something else.

It was a big breakthrough for her. She tried many new foods and liked a lot of them. She is now a foodie, maybe too much so!

Just an idea, something you might try since the dining plan is "free". Just be prepared to buy a kids meal too.

Something about Disney makes these kids break out of their boxes, I think.

 

[worm761]

DD has Aspergers and on our first WDW trip she stuck to her "white foods". A couple of years later we did our first cruise (just after her 11th birthday). We told her that she should try lots of things from the menu, as it was "free", and she didn't have to finish eating anything she didn't like, and could always get something else.

It was a big breakthrough for her. She tried many new foods and liked a lot of them. She is now a foodie, maybe too much so!

Just an idea, something you might try since the dining plan is "free". Just be prepared to buy a kids meal too.

Something about Disney makes these kids break out of their boxes, I think.

That is exactly what happened with my DS at Disney. We went to Le Cellier for dinner. I told him that he should try a steak (that he was adamant he didn't like) and that if he didn't like his dinner, we would go buy him a counter service meal where ever he wanted. So he tried it, loved it. Now he is better at trying things and knowing that we will purchase a different meal for him if doesn't like what he got. Or even trying a bite of our meal.