Disney Cruise w/ ASD kiddo & GF kiddo

[mum24grlz]

We live in Central Florida and have taken my 5 1/2 yo DD who is dx PDD-NOS - high functioning autism - to WDW on a regular basis, up to 1x/mo. She's does better and better each and every time.

I'm interested in taking her on a Disney cruise but not sure what to expect. How are they on handling kids w/ autism? Only gonna do a 3 day cruise since I have NO idea what to expect in relation to her handling something like this.

My other DD is wheat free - basically GF since we don't do oats, barley, etc anyways. We've done GF w/ her at WDW and had a great experience. Will we be able to meet her dietary restrictions for a 3 day cruise - breakfast, lunch & dinner???

 

[LisaBi]

I have a son who has Down's. He is 13. Different from Autisim but some common needs. They let him be in the 8-12 kids club (even though he was 13) and did great with him. We liked the security of the fact that he couldn't leave on his own - we set it up so he had to be checked in and out. However, he liked Ocean Quest better. It is for 10 to 14 year olds and is completely come-and-go-as-you please. That was a problem - there was no way he could be wondering around the ship on his own. They were great! We set it up so that he would tell the counselors when he wanted to leave, and they would page us on the kids club pager. They did keep an extra eye on him. He threatened him that if he EVER left without telling a counselor, he couldn't go back. It worked.

So, all that to say - the kid's clubs counselors are great at working with special needs. They can't commit to one-on-one attention, but will bend over backwards to work with you.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We were not able to leave DS in the Kids CLubs as he has diapers but the cruise was GREAT!!! The waiters were fantastic at getting DS special foods that he loved and making sure he didnt have ice in his glass and no knife at his place and other little details like that. It is so nice that the wait staff moves around with you they really got to know DS and his likes and dislikes and were wonderful with him. We requested early dining and we had requested to NOT eat with anyone else at our table. We didnt feel it was fair to another family who may not feel comfortable with DS. We made the right choice as other families were close enough to use to talk to but still at their own tables. We got to kow the family next to us quite well and they were wonderful but I am glad they were at their own talbe when DS spilled a pitcher of Applejuice when he got excited in Animator's Palette when the colors appeared. Also, make sure you let them know if fire, loud noises, colors are an issue. The waitor was great at letting us know about some of these things so they didnt become and issue. The housekeeping staff left little gifts for DS (chcocolate boat, towel animals etc) On Castaway Cay they had a speical wheelchair waiting for him. The Cruise was wonderful!!!! I would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Our experience in the kids club was not so good. The ratio was too large for DS 5. It is about 35 kids to 1. He could not handle it. He is dev delayed from a stroke in utero. Our typical neice and nephew hated it saying it was chaos.

 

[Selket]

My younger son has peanut/TN allergies and I've been reading posts about DCL cruises with those issues (and allergies in general). I've read several references to DCL being about to accomodate celiac passengers with GF items. You might do a search (if the darn thing is working!) on that for the cruise boards.

I'm still a bit puzzled as to how they prepare in advance (or do they?) for allergic guests. There is a medical form to be filled out and sent in so perhaps that is what gives them the heads up. Others have reported their waiters and chefs knew about their allergies/dietary requirements at the first meal.

 

[Selket]

I was actually googling info on cruises and diabetes (type 1) and found info on an upcoming RCI cruise for familes who have a child (or more) with autism: http://www.alumnicruises.org/Autism/Autism 2007 July/aj7_homepage.htm I know nothing about it other than the link! I know for several years the Children with Diabetes folks did a family cruise every year and arranged special events and extra care for the kids with type 1 diabetes. Didn't get to go unfortunately!

This looks cool - I've mostly read good things about RCI and kids and their kids clubs. However it isn't Disney!