Dining with a autistic child in epcot

[moonsunsky]

My son has mild autistic tendencies. His are food related. He only eats pizza, chicken strips, grilled cheese and breakfast foods. We are going to Epcot in 2 weeks and I'm having a hard time finding a table derive place for dinner that offers chicken fingers or chicken nuggets other than Chefs de France. Any other suggestions?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

My son has mild autistic tendencies. His are food related. He only eats pizza, chicken strips, grilled cheese and breakfast foods. We are going to Epcot in 2 weeks and I'm having a hard time finding a table derive place for dinner that offers chicken fingers or chicken nuggets other than Chefs de France. Any other suggestions?

I quickly looked through some menus on allears.net. San Angel Inn and Tutto Italia had chicken tenders on their kids menus according to allears. You could also do Via Napoli and get pizza.

I feel for you. My DD is on the spectrum and used to be extremely picky. It made selecting restaurants a challenge. I booked a lot of character meal buffets when she was younger because we could usually find SOMETHING she would eat. She's gotten a lot better now. She's still picky, just not picky to the extreme of only having 4 foods she will eat like she was when she was 4 years old. One of our breakthroughs came at Epcot. We were planning a trip when she was 8. She was helping me pick restaurants and wanted to go to Le Cellier. She announced that she wanted to go to Le Cellier and she would eat a steak there. I was skeptical because she hadn't eaten any beef in about 5 years at that point. But she was adamant, and I love the cheddar cheese soup there so I was willing to give it a try. We went, she ordered the steak on the kids menu (this was back when the kids menu still had a small filet and not the sirloin it now has), she ate it all, and after that would eat steak at home. I still don't understand how that happened after so many years of her acting like beef was poison, but I chalk it up to Disney magic.

 

[Lisa F]

my kiddo is on the spectrum too so I feel you. He is expanding his tastes recently and it helps a lot but I still have to plan around him.

Anyway if you can't find a TS at 2 weeks out that has what you need, the quick service place in Morocco is very delicious, not usually crowded and has chicken fingers on the kid's menu.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Hi there! I'm a 21 year old (yes I said 21) with autism so I can help. As OP said, allears will usually have accurate menus. Here are some ideas:

http://allears.net/dining/menu/san-angel-restaurante/child-lunch-dinner
http://allears.net/dining/menu/la-hacienda-de-san-angel/child-dinner
http://allears.net/dining/menu/restaurant-marrakesh/child-lunch-dinner
http://allears.net/dining/menu/le-cellier/child-lunch-dinner
http://allears.net/dining/menu/via-napoli/child-lunch-dinner

Enjoy your trip! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me

 

[nursejackie]

We have ordered at TS while one of the party runs to Liberty Inn to get burger and fries. If you quietly explain to the waiter/manager there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[gorkt]

I have the exact same issue every time we go. It is frustrating to have to plan ADRs around a spectrum kid, but Disney is pretty accomodating. We have gone to Via Napoli for the pizza, and there are some QS options around world showcase (refreshment port has chicken nuggets), so you could grab him food before dinner and then bring something for him to do (ipad, coloring book) while you eat.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

If you quietly explain to the waiter/manager there shouldn't be a problem.

1) Do not assume this to be true and valid at al locations.
2) If the kitchen at your selected eatery does not have alternatives, the manager can do little.
3) The chef might be able to concoct something for you, but not always.
4) As suggested, maybe you can buy something at a QS and take into the eatery with you.
. . . the eatery cannot warm anything for you due to safety precautions in the kitchen (except things like baby formula)
. . . so, the food might be cold by the time your child is ready to eat
5) The eatery manager WOULD allow you to bring in something from a QS.

NOTE: The only problem might be at a buffet or character meal.
. . . at each buffet, when you are there, you pay full price
. . . there is no price reduction for people who do not eat or eat very little
. . . yes, the manager can make an exception, but they rarely do
. . . so, you might pay full price for the kid and still need items from another eatery

 

[smiths02]

Via Napoli has pizza. My toddlers had chicken fingers at San Angel.

 

[jvsims]

My picky son also has autism. There's not a buffet on property I would avoid... at minimum, there's always fruits,bread & a simple chicken, plus usually there's a separate kid buffet with nuggets, etc. We are going to Biergarten this year. I do not remember what he ate there before, but he can always find something at any Disney buffet

 

[Lisa F]

My picky son also has autism. There's not a buffet on property I would avoid... at minimum, there's always fruits,bread & a simple chicken, plus usually there's a separate kid buffet with nuggets, etc. We are going to Biergarten this year. I do not remember what he ate there before, but he can always find something at any Disney buffet

we are going to biergarten too and this is one of the ones that do not have a lot of "kid food" but they do have schnitzel, which is a breaded pork cutlet which is fine for my kiddo and my kiddo is actually NOT picky about mac and cheese, he likes all kinds including creamy and baked... theirs is more baked and custardy. they do have plain roasted chicken, and pretzel rolls... spatzle might be something he'd try too. But as long as I can get some plain protein and some kind of carby side, he is good

 

[bamaliving]

This doesn't relate to your question, but just wanted to make sure you knew Disney has a lot of great resources for guests with autism. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/cognitive-disabilities-services/

 

[nursejackie]

1) Do not assume this to be true and valid at al locations.
2) If the kitchen at your selected eatery does not have alternatives, the manager can do little.
3) The chef might be able to concoct something for you, but not always.
4) As suggested, maybe you can buy something at a QS and take into the eatery with you.
. . . the eatery cannot warm anything for you due to safety precautions in the kitchen (except things like baby formula)
. . . so, the food might be cold by the time your child is ready to eat
5) The eatery manager WOULD allow you to bring in something from a QS.

NOTE: The only problem might be at a buffet or character meal.
. . . at each buffet, when you are there, you pay full price
. . . there is no price reduction for people who do not eat or eat very little
. . . yes, the manager can make an exception, but they rarely do
. . . so, you might pay full price for the kid and still need items from another eatery

We haven't come across a problem in 6 years of doing this, and in different parks, which is why I suggested it.

 

[wdw4rfam]

My picky son also has autism. There's not a buffet on property I would avoid... at minimum, there's always fruits,bread & a simple chicken, plus usually there's a separate kid buffet with nuggets, etc. We are going to Biergarten this year. I do not remember what he ate there before, but he can always find something at any Disney buffet

That is the one place neither kid ate 1 single item. Luckily we had free dining and just bought them food when we left. There was NOTHING they would eat. I agree that every other buffet they can always find something.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Via Napoli has pizza. My toddlers had chicken fingers at San Angel.

Were they normal breaded chicken fingers? I've always wanted to eat there, but didn't see anything they'd eat.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Garden Grill had chicken tenders for our son.....I'm not sure that they were on the menu.....but it was an option for us last time (2014). I go over the menus in advance and if I think a restaurant won't have anything our son will eat, I put a baggie in our jacket with 2 slices of bread....and a Jif-to-go. I've never had a restaurant say anything about it. One thing about Via Napoli pizza...our son didn't care for it....it's just different enough that he requested a PBJ next time we go. It seems like it was the sauce.....if I recall it wasn't a traditional pizza sauce....more like crushed tomatoes. Thankfully, now he accepts spaghetti...so we will order him that next time. Hang in there. We've been dealing with food issues, chewing issues for years. For us, it did get better. Not sure if you are interested or not, but I did find a couple books on the issue that were some help to us. (Just Take A Bite, Food Chaining).

 

[TheRustyScupper]

We haven't come across a problem in 6 years of doing this, and in different parks, which is why I suggested it.

1) I would say that MOST people do not have a problem.
2) WDW is very good at working things out.
3) But, there are those eateries which cannot accommodate.
4) One must be prepared for such a condition and have a "Plan B".

 

[smiths02]

Were they normal breaded chicken fingers? I've always wanted to eat there, but didn't see anything they'd eat.

I *think* they were more battered and fried then breaded, but they were normal. We did have them served with rice and green beans (my kids like that), but I think there were other options.
I don't know if they still have a lunch menu, but we went at lunch and based on recommendations, my older son and DH had the steak tacos. I had tostadas de tinga and shrimp cocktail. I really enjoyed everything. I'm more of a Tex Mex kind of Mexican food person, but we were able to make lunch work.