question about character meals/disability issues

[mommyandmore]

I am going next week to DL with my family including my son, age 4 with various disabilities. My son has an absolute phobia of characters with masks/full costumes. But I would like to do a character breakfast for the other family members. Luckily (in this case) my son is legally blind so as long as the characters don't come to the table, he would be fine- does anyone know if they would make special arrangements so the characters don't come to the table but maybe my other kids could go to another table to meet and greet? I aslo think my son woudl be ok with princess only characters (he did fine with them last trip 1 year ago)- is there any character meal that is just prince/princess?
Also, I am debating between bringing my son's specialized (Convaid) stroller which is bigger then his regular stroller. Has anyone had experience with the bigger specialized strollers- are they a lot harder to manuever in the crowds? Does anyone know if they would let us take either stroller in the lines since he doesn't walk? Last time we carried him a lot and sometimes we would ask if he could stay in his stroller- but I was wondering is there is a policy?
Thanks

 

[samkj]

My daughter is also disabled, so I have some experience.

Character meals, the princess dining Ariels Grotto at DCA is probably your best bet. We were there in Nov. and it was all princesses and their assistant. None of the the other characters was there. I think Chip N' Dales at the Storytellers Cafe might be ok too, as those characters don't come around to tables as much. I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem seating you in an out of the way table at any of the meals.

Definitely bring his Convaid stroller. He will be more comforrtable and it won't be a problem steering through the crowds. Also stop at City Hall on your way into the park (on the left hand side after you go through the tunnel) and ask for a Guest assistance pass (GAC) This will enable you to use alternate wheelchair friendly entrances so you don't have to carry him. This doesn't give front of line access (and in some rides, Pirates for example) the GAC entrances is a MUCH, MUCH longer wait) It erally simplfies the logistics of getting your child to the rides. My daughter is now too big (she's 7) to carry through the lines, so this was the only way we were able to enjoy many of the attractions.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Dale-n-Chip]

I think Chip N' Dales at the Storytellers Cafe might be ok too, as those characters don't come around to tables as much.

Our experience at Storytellers was just the opposite--they were at the tables over and over! It may very well be that we were there early and there weren't a lot of families there that morning. . . I can't be sure. All I know is we were visited frequently by Dale, Meeko, Terk, Koda and Kenai at our booth.

I agree with samkj that Ariel's is probably a great bet, though, with only face characters.

We don't have any disability issues in our family, so I can't help you on that front, but I did want to make sure you knew we had a different experience with the forest characters at Storytellers than samkj.

You know, if you haven't already done so, try posting over on the DISabilities board and see if there are others like samkj with experiences to share from DL.

Good luck! Happy planning!

 

[samkj]

Thanks for the correction! We haven't be there in a couple years, so I was going off comments others have posted about the Storytellers.

 

[Snow Brite]

My middle son is also disabled and was very, very leery of the costumed characters. I told the person who seated us, as well as our waiter. And the characters were VERY responsive to cues from me. I had him seated with his back to the room and me facing it, so I would see the character approaching before he would. I would speak to the character across the table in a fun way or make a stop motion and they always would. I would tell them that Ryan was not feeling up to meeting them today, and they would blow him a kiss or something and not approach the table to closely. He did warm up to the face characters at Goofy's...The Mad Hatter and Jasmine I think. And then he was better with the other ones and although he did not talk to them, he would allow them to get closer. The characters are very responsive to cues from the people they are interacting with. They will stay at a table that is enjoying them and playing...and move on when there is little interest.

I think that your kids could stand up with the characters near the table to take pictures and talk to them a little. If you were able to get the right table, where your son could be kinda in a corner, away from traffic and your other children could be on the outside part of the table near the traffic where the characters come, that might work. Your kids could stand at the other end of the table to do the character thing, and your son could stay safely across the table and close to you from the character. If you feed him, he could even be turned so that his back was to where the characters would be. Not sure how much of (what we fondly refer to as a freak out) he would have, or how far he needs to be to feel safe but maybe that would satisfy everyone. Watch the other tables though too, so that your son isnt too close to someone else that wants to be with the characters. If you picked a less busy time, maybe they would be able to seat you in an out of the way area. Just speak up and make sure you get the perfect table for your needs.

Also at Goofy's Kitchen (the one I am the most familiar with) there is a character picture and greeting area outside the restaurant as well. This would give your kids a little chance to at least meet one character.

 

[mommyandmore]

Thanks to everyone for your help. I am going to try the Ariel princess meal and really try to stage it so his back is to the majority of the characters in case he does get scared. If worst comes to worst I can always take him out if I need to.
Has anyone had any luck with kids with this kind of fear/phobia and parades? We thought the characters might be too far away for him to see but no such luck. The really sad part was that they kept coming out of their way to come close to him- they seem to do that for kids with diablitities. The he would start screaming all over again- very traumatic and the parade was so crowded last year there was no way for us to get him away.