My son was blessed with a dream trip...input?

[sweetbrat]

Hello! I am new to the boards. A friend from another board told me about y'all. I am grateful, as I have learned so much the last couple of days just reading!

My five-year old son, with autism, just won a disney dream trip and they are sending our entire family to Disneyland (both parks in Anaheim). It has been about 10 years since we last visited Disneyland and never with an autistic child.

We are very excited as we could not afford this for our entire family, so our local radio station and Disneyland have blessed us immensely. They are throwing a big party for all the dream recipients of these trips on Thursday night. Any input on what to expect at this party? All they tell us is that it will be a party and they will choose to fulfill some of the recipients' dreams that night. Honestly, I could not ask for anymore from them...I am so blessed they would choose to pay for us to come for a visit. That in itself is such a dream come true!

Also, we are on a very tight budget. While I am VERY GRATEFUL to Disney for this trip, I know we cannot probably afford to eat there (unfortunately). What is the cheapest way to eat when staying at Disneyland Hotel? I was told they have refrigerators in the rooms, but the refrigerators will not keep milk or lunchmeat cold enough to keep it safe to consume.

I am trying to budget our money wisely, hoping to come up with enough money to let our family have the character breakfast with Chip N Dale and Pluto, as those are my autistic son's favorite disney characters.

I have read up on the FastPass and some on the GAC for disabilities. Any other wonderful advice from any of you with experience?

Thank you so much to everybody here for your wonderful input and all the incredible things I have learned from your wisdom!

Blessings to you and yours!

 

[lauraf]

Congrats! I wish I could give you some advice on savings. But I know there are people here who can help you and give you great advice. I know your family will have a great trip, and your the type of families I like to see great things like this happen to. Enjoy your Disney trip

 

[TSWJan78]

You have come to the right place... The budget board will be a great help in savings and keep an eye out for the Disneyland podcast... it was set to be out last week but it has been delayed... You will find a ton of information here so just start digging and ask away!!

 

[lovetoscrap]

Since this mostly deals with Disneyland I am going to move your post over there. There are many great people there than should be able to help you. You also might want to check out or disABILITIES board for more information about children with Autism in the parks and talk to parents that have been there, done that.

disABILITIES: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=365&f=20

 

[dalepool]

Wow Grats, You will have a wonderful time. There is a McDonalds near the Fairfield on harbour. I would bring some snacks from home.

Granola bars. nuts, raisins

Dried fruits -- there are some that come indivisually wrapped or to save money put a few into a zip lock

cup a soups-- croutons

crakcers and spray cheese or regular cheese that is individually wrapped-- string cheese

peanut butter and jelly in the plastic bottles -- you can get bread at one of the minit marts

Alot of the hotels offer continental breakfasts-- cereal, pastries,juice, bagels, coffee, cocoa. There are a few hotels that offer a cooked to order breakfast.

The servings for most of the meals at disney are very large -- two ppl can share.

I might also call the parks they might have a discount for ppl that like you are granted trips for special reasons. Even a discount would sure help.

I hope the characters and all the activity at the character meals will not be to stressing for your son. Please let do a trip report when you get back. Have a wonderful time.

 

[bumbershoot]

Be sure to look at allears.net and dlresortinfo, to check for the most recent menus and prices.

Like a PP said, most meals can be shared, and even the kid's meals (the ones with real food, not uncrustables) are a really good size for an adult who doesn't eat huge meals.

There are grocery stores a short drive away, Albertson's and Von's. They can also deliver groceries, for a fee, if you won't have a car with you.

 

[avalon451]

I was told they have refrigerators in the rooms, but the refrigerators will not keep milk or lunchmeat cold enough to keep it safe to consume.

I was confused about this... why would a small refrigerator not be cold enough to keep meat and milk safe enough to consume? Ours was just as cold as our fridge at home. We kept milk, yogurt etc in ours (at GCH) for 5 days and it was a very safe cold temperature. It wouldn't make sense for manufacturers to come up with small fridges that don't keep stuff cold enough.

Congratulations on winning the trip! What a great opportunity for your family! My neice is autistic, and I can understand some of the challenges facing you, but I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[TheZue]

Also there is a lot of fast food right outside the park. We also had pizza delivered to our room on our last trip and that was great.

As for your son, he should LOVE it. We've taken my son three times now; we didn't know he was autistic at the time though. Basically take it easy, follow his lead, and don't have any huge expectations for what you will "accomplish". If you don't see everything and ride the teacups over 30 times, so what? I would also order the Disneyland planning DVD so you can show it to him, and look at youtube so he knows what to expect with the rides and explain over and over and over and over again that he has to sit down, or what ever problem you can forsee him having (yes standing at bad times is my son's issue haha) just talk a lot about it while looking at the videos

Edit: the other thing I did last time that did help a bit was look at situations he'd have troubles with (for example standing in line) and took him out to similar situations in our comunity to get him used to it. I made sure I took him shopping a lot the month leading up to our last trip when he was four. The overall experience is hard to prepare for; but you can disect it a bit and try to figure out what areas might be tough for him and "practice" them locally.

Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[jencav5]

I also have an autistic son. We have been taking him to DLR since he was 6, and now he is 15! It is his favorite place on earth, and in between trips all we hear is "where are we going on June 1?" (or whatever the next date is) Prior to his first trip, we got just about every DL video we could get our hands on and watched them over and over. At the time I had my DS6, DS4 & DD2-they loved watching the tapes! Once we were there, he just took right to it, like he was a different kid almost! He was very communicative and loved the characters! The merry-go-round was his favorite and still is, so we ride it a lot!

I'm not sure what issues your son may have, so if you have any specific questions, please ask. We do use the GAC, which makes things much easier for us. Food is always an issue with my son, as he only eats certain things-McDonalds being one of them! There is one in walking distance on Harbor, as someone else mentioned. There is also one inside DCA. Plus you can get just french fries in DL. As for the refrigerator, I think it will hold milk just fine. We stay at different hotels all the time with these same small fridges and they work great! We usually have milk and cereal for the mornings and other drinks and snacks. We also do a lot of meal sharing as well. Plus, I always bring my own bottled water, which saves on buying drinks. Some of the places in DTD have walk up kitchens attached to their restaurants. This is less expensive than eating in the actual restaurant. Also, there are other restaurants on Harbor in walking distance, but I know the Denny's and the IHOP, in particular, are more expensive than they usually are. For example, a breakfast I usually get at home for $6.99, would be $9.99 there.

 

[nemofanatic]

You can also go to City Hall and get a disability pass due to your son's disability. My kids have MR (mental retardation) and I get this pass especially for my son who cannot stand in line without touching everyone. So, my doctor wrote a script for this pass so we stand in a much shorter line. It's basically going through the wheelchair entrance line.

It's worth it for your sanity.

Have a great time.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

As for the character meals, you can order off the menu at the Chip 'n' Dale Critter Breakfast at the GCH, instead of having to buy the buffet. Not only would this save a couple of dollars per person, but if you have kids who don't eat a lot, you can have them eat off of your plate or split "entrees" and save even more money that way. Also, by doing that your kid will be guaranteed to meet Chip 'n' Dale.

 

[pixiewings71]

Your fridge will be fine for holding food, we use ours at every hotel for milk products and have never had any problems. If it isn't cold enough let them know and ask for a new one.
McDonald's in CA is much higher priced than the one on Harbor, I would just take a break if that's what you want and head on over. It's about a 5 minute walk. Stay away from Captain Kidd's, it's not good, yucky food, we will not eat there again. There is a Denny's and an IHOP across the street too.
Don't be afraid to order Kid's Meals for adults inside the parks, they won't care, or share. We share regularly and haven't had any problems. Some of the restaurants charge a split plate fee but not all of them. Get corndogs on Main Street or in CA at CornDog Castle, they are HUGE and definitely shareable! lol Get chicken strips at StageCoach, they are so good!! Share a plate at Rancho Del Zocalo, great Mexican food and large portions. Take your own snacks and water bottles, you can refill them at Rancho and at the First Aid station in DL.
Most of all enjoy your trip, don't rush it and have fun!! Congrats on winning!!

 

[Rescue Pooh]

Congrats on winning the trip. I know you guys are going to have a Blast. I have'nt been to DL in quite awhile myself, but I'm so looking forward to our trip in Dec.

 

[Rhonna]

You mentioned at the party that they will fulfill some of the recipient's dreams. Maybe if you find yourself speaking to any of the people who are involved, you could ask those questions about where to eat on a budget, mentioning that your family can't afford the disney restaurants. And you might mention you are trying to save up for that one character meal for your son. Perhaps someone will take notice and you might get some assistance with the food issue.

By the way, I am surprised the trip covered the hotel, park tickets (and I am assuming airfare?) but left out the food? Could you ask someone about that?

Hope you all have an enjoyable time.

 

[nunzia]

I was confused about this... why would a small refrigerator not be cold enough to keep meat and milk safe enough to consume? Ours was just as cold as our fridge at home. We kept milk, yogurt etc in ours (at GCH) for 5 days and it was a very safe cold temperature. It wouldn't make sense for manufacturers to come up with small fridges that don't keep stuff cold enough.

Congratulations on winning the trip! What a great opportunity for your family! My neice is autistic, and I can understand some of the challenges facing you, but I hope you have a wonderful time!

We also have had no problems keeping things cold in these refrigerators. We also like to do cheese sticks for quick snacks in the parks. They do okay unopened for several hours and are a great pick me up. As well as all the other great suggestions. I have small 8 ounce water bottles, so bring one in and refill at water fountains. The price for bottled water is insane.
As others have mentioned, the children's meals are pretty reasonable, and are a decent quality and big enough for most adults.
Have a wonderful time!
We are going in 2 weeks with my grandson who has Asperger's, (plus 4 other GK) so hope it all works out well. Would love to read a trip report when you return!

 

[abby]

You said you were staying at the DLH, one thing to do is ask them to bring a coffee pot to your room, which they will do without charge, you don't have to make coffee, you can use it to heat water and make instant soup, oatmeal or other items where you need hot water.

 

[tortugaverde]

We were big fans of the IHOP across the street, our kids ate free Mc Donalds is near by as well, as others have mentioned. We also ordered pizza to our room, Dominos has the 2 for Tuesday deal (if you are there on a Tuesday night!), you get two pizzas for the price of one. It was enough to feed my family of 4, along with prepackaged applesauce from the grocery store! I also made muffins and cookies at home and brought them with us for snacks/treats.

Congrats on the trip! I have been hearing announcements on our local radio station about that contest, is it nation wide... or do you live near me?!

Enjoy your trip! What an exciting thing to happen to your family !!

 

[scooter15]

I have an autistic son as well and he does not do well in lines but then again he's only 4. He usually does well without his brothers though. We have not personally every used he GAC because we are locals and go when the park is not so crowded. The only time we have asked for an accommodation was for Soarin over California. He had never been on it and didnt' have the other kids with us. The CM on the ride let us in and he loved the ride.

If you have concerns about the room, such as the fridge or anything else, call the hotel. The fridge should be good enough for what you need. Are you going to have a car? I suggest going to the grocery to get snacks and water. Like everyone has said, the kid's meals are a good size. The Pizza Port at DLR is our favorite. We usually share an adult meal between an adult and child. Do you have a AAA card? You can save 10% at Goofy's Kitchen at DLH and the Plaza Inn at Disneyland.

 

[sweetbrat]

Thank you for so much wonderful advice!!!

To answer a couple of questions...

(1) I know about 100 different radio stations and TV stations across the US got to run this contest and choose one nomination, they also got about 8-10 sets of 3-day park hopper passes to give out, but only one grand prize each. Our dream come true was granted by a radio staion out of San Francisco/Oakland...I guess I could just say the Bay area. Out of those 100 nominations, Disneyland is going to pick a certain amount to make their dreams come true that they listed on the nomination sheet. I did not know what to ask for. The things I want for my son are things Disney cannot grant and the main thing they can grant...they did already just by sending my entire family to disneyland.

(2) Yes, they included airfare for 8, ground transport to and from the hotel, 2 Disneyland Hotel rooms for the stay, 8 three-day park hopper passes, and 8 tickets to this special party. No food is included, but I don't dare complain!

(3) Disneyland's planning office is the one who warned me that the fridge will not keep milk good. That the fridges only keep things cool, not cold.

(4) Fortunately, my two oldest sons (young adults) still live in So Cal, so they will just drive over to the park. I am going to go to Albertsons and stock up our rooms with simple things for snacks and quick meals. I understand we can take bottled water and plastic bottled cokes, sprite, etc into the park with us so we don't have to buy drinks.

Does anyone know if they have a microwave on premises we can use to heat up food at Disneyland Hotel?

I would love any and all input...it is all greatly treasured by me. Thank you again and blessings to you!

 

[4Ollies]

Congratulations on your upcoming trip. It sounds like you are getting good advice from the people who have been to DL. I hope you all have a great time!