dinning with an autistic child

[magic kingdom park]

okay so here goes, my child 9 does not eat much of anything, he is autistic, and therefore he is very particular in his foods, he will eat hot dogs plain cut up, he likes ramen noodles, kids kitchen spag. rings and franks, pretzels, cheez-it, popcorn, fruit snacks, apples, bananas, but nothing else, if we try to eat anywhere at disney I am not seeing to much he will eat, I don't mind paying 5.49 for a hot dog, it usually comes with a drink, but 10-15 a plate for a buffet that he will not touch, is there anyway that maybe we could bring him something to eat in at the places where he will not eat what they have?

 

[minkydog]

What you describe is not at all unusual for autistic kids( I know a boy who eats only pop-tarts,spagettios and bagels--he weighs almost 200lbs, too) I would call Dining and tell them the situation,see what they can offer.

Christian is also very particular with food textures. It is very hard to find food of the correct consistency that he will eat(he has a swallowing disorder too). I have no problem waltzing into any restaurant at home or at Disney with my trusty lunch box full of PBJ, fruit cups, fig bars, instant oatmeal, yogurt,jello and nutrigrain bars. Its a little more work to prepare, but no more than packing a diaper bag(which I carry as well).

I figure if they have food he'll eat, I will happily buy from them and save our lunchbox kit for later. If there is nothing he can eat, we're set. I quietly explain to the server the situation and we have never been challenged. Believe me, they would rather see your child eat "contraband" than throw a fit and choke on their food.

 

[wiggles02]

We were in the world in May with our hyperlexic son, who is a picky eater. He eats a lot of fruit, yogurt, but for dinner he will only eat chicken nuggets and french fries. I know that there is a lot of this in the park, so he could have it for either lunch or dinner. but I didn't want him to have it twice. So I packed a small lunch cooler with yogurt, strawberries, and anything else that he will eat. He did ok. We always ate breakfast in our room and we didn't go overboard on table places knowing that he wouldn't eat a lot. We just did a lot of planning ahead.

The one time we did have a character dinner at LTT, I called reservations and explained the situation. She said to speak to the person at the podium and we could see what they could do (the dinner at LTT does not have chicken nuggests and french fries). The person at the podium told us to talk to our server. I was not happy with her attitude. We were willing to go to the Columbia Harbor House and buy them ourselves as long as it was ok that we brought them in. She said she would speak to the chef to see if he could go get them for us. They did indeed bring them, but she made us feel bad and that they really went out of their way for this. This is one of those situations that I don't feel like explaining about my sons disability and am forced to. Anyway, we did have a great meal and he tried a bite of apple from the cobbler with some encouragement from Goofy and I almost cried right then and there! That was big for him.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

My son is 16 and had a stroke. He is at the developmental age of an approx 18 month old. He is very picky about WHERE he eats. Sometimes he has no problem eating in a very crowded loud restaurant, other times he will not eat or just pick at his food. We always brought food in with us to the restaurants in WDW. He loves PB and J and will usually eat it no matter where he is. We always explained to the server the situation and we have never had a problem in all the times we have dined in WDW. A few times we have had success with him at Buffets we have tried him eating from our plates, if he eats we get him plate and then tell the waitress he did eat and they charge us. If he isnt eating they have not charged us. If he is not eating we eat and then feed him once we leave the restaurant. He is usually fine back in the room or just eating take out sitting in the park. On quite afew occasions they have made extra speical provisions for us. Once we were eating at the luau at the Poly. DS was eating great until the show started and there was fire...he was done. I walked back to our room with him and I was only there for a few minutes when the CM at the front desk called and told us to order from room service on the house. When DH came back from the Luau I told him what had happened. It seems he waitress a the luau called the hotel when she heard that we had not finished our meal and had to leave. They did not charge for my meal or DS's meal even though we had eaten some of it. At the castle DS would not eat. The waitress packed up a huge takeout box and sent it with us and would not charge us for it. The same thing at 1900 park Fare. The waiter packed up a box and sent us on our way and would not charge us. The best was the Disney Cruise. They went out of their way to make sure DS had food he liked. The waiter went from restuarant to reataurant to make sure DS had the same meal every night just like he liked it. He loved banana bread so he had the chef make it for every meal. Banana muffins at breakfast, banana bread at lunch and banana cake at dinner everynight. He had it made at one restuarant and left when we were seated to go get it! Now that is Disney Magic!
I would just let the waitress or waiter know when you are seated that your son will not be eating or that you are bringing in food for him. I have never had a problem and I am sure they will not make a fuss. As stated above most are there and really want the children to enjoy the atmosphere. I am sorry you had a bad waitress who made you feel bad. I think that it is not the usual response. Good luck with you son. I hope you have better luck!

 

[AJKMOM]

In ten trips to WDW with autistic DS, now 17, we ate at sit-down restaurants maybe twice. it is just easier not to try a sit down dinner with a picky kid. Use the money for something else. Just my 2 cents!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Our son Joshua aged 9 is severely autistic, cannot speak or feed himself with cutlery. I've fed him a few times at home with hash browns, scrambled egg, toast and he ate the lot. So we have decided to push him a little and booked a character breakfast.

Last year we had breakfast at Pondarosa and he ate the food no problem. My DH gets Joshua his food first, then goes for his own, while I feed Joshua, then at least one of us has had something to eat. Also, we take him food into the restaurant too, just in case he won't eat the food, it just makes it easier for all of us.
We don't know how he will react when he sees the characters but if their is a problem then one of us will take him out for a walk while the other eats then we will switch.

This is Julie not johnny

 

[Schmeck]

I think they'd let you bring in food, no problem, but be prepared to be charged an 'entertainment fee' if you are at a table service restaurant that has a show/characters.

 

[SueM in MN]

We have found the servers are usually understanding about a person with special needs in your party. We usually eat at Crystal Palace each trip and have found that the server usually notices that youngest DD eats very little and eats mostly from the children's menu. The server has quite a bit of latitude and usually only charges us the child's price for DD.
They may charge the entertainment fee for people who are not eating at any of the restaurants that have entertainment, like character meals.

 

[magic kingdom park]

thanks so much for all the responses, last year we did eat at crystal palace, they went next door to caseys and got us a hot dog but charged us the childs buffet price, do you think I should have went next door got it and brought it in myself?

 

[Diehl2229]

I have two Autistic children son 9 and daughter 12. My son is high functioning but my daughter is a little more severe. My son will eat maybe a couple of things on the menu at certain dining area's but he wants his Kid cusine meals so we had to by a compact freezer for the trip. My daughter on the other hand will only eat plain spagetti and ruffles chips no other brands will work. I was told that disney will do what ever is neccessary to help you with your childs diet But I don't think they would mind if you brought something in if you explain to them your childs needs. When will you be going on your WDW Vacation

 

[taximomfor4]

thanks so much for all the responses, last year we did eat at crystal palace, they went next door to caseys and got us a hot dog but charged us the childs buffet price, do you think I should have went next door got it and brought it in myself?

That is what they do at 'Ohana, as well. My dd wanted none of the 'Ohana food so they offered the Kona kids meal choices to her. She picked, they went and got it, and charged her the 'Ohana kids price. I thought that was quite fair, as we booked 'Ohana knowing their kids' prices, they did go that extra step to feed dd. I have read on here that some families in our situation might have only been charged the Kona price, but that didn't happen for us. We booked it again this trip.

Have a great time!!
Beth

 

[SueM in MN]

thanks so much for all the responses, last year we did eat at crystal palace, they went next door to caseys and got us a hot dog but charged us the childs buffet price, do you think I should have went next door got it and brought it in myself?

I think that it's probably better to just let them provide it and pay the buffet price.
The pluses of doing that would be:
- you don't have to worry about getting the hot dog yourself. If your name is called to come in while someone is still getting the hot dog, your whole party will have to wait until the 'hot dog' person returns. And, you don't have to worry about keeping the hot dog hot.
- you might not save any money; they could charge an entertainment fee (the price you pay to bring in the hot dog plus the entertainment fee would probably be as high as the child's buffet price).
- the child's buffet includes all the drinks too. I'm not sure what they would do about drinks if you bring in the hot dog.

 

[magic kingdom park]

I have two Autistic children son 9 and daughter 12. My son is high functioning but my daughter is a little more severe. My son will eat maybe a couple of things on the menu at certain dining area's but he wants his Kid cusine meals so we had to by a compact freezer for the trip. My daughter on the other hand will only eat plain spagetti and ruffles chips no other brands will work. I was told that disney will do what ever is neccessary to help you with your childs diet But I don't think they would mind if you brought something in if you explain to them your childs needs. When will you be going on your WDW Vacation

We are going 10/28-11/4

 

[magic kingdom park]

wonder if they are microwaves in the park where I could heat some food

 

[taximomfor4]

I thought the baby care centers have microwaves. Anyone know for sure?

 

[SueM in MN]

I thought the baby care centers have microwaves. Anyone know for sure?

According to this article, they do.