Special Diets and DVC?

[daraweb]

Just back from 8 days at WDW. It was our first trip since DD9 was diagnosed with celiac disease. That is her only dietary restriction. We had a blast!!! Other than Liberty Tree Tavern, the food was handled beautifully. It was such a relief for us a family to know that her food was taken care of and she said the food was her favorite part of the whole trip.

Because of our positive experience we are looking closely into becoming DVC members. To know that every year, there is a place we can go that she can eat freely and I can get a vacation from cooking and carrying food everywhere we go...wow!

Anyone here DVC members and did the food situation factor into that decision?

 

[SDSorority]

Just back from 8 days at WDW. It was our first trip since DD9 was diagnosed with celiac disease. That is her only dietary restriction. We had a blast!!! Other than Liberty Tree Tavern, the food was handled beautifully. It was such a relief for us a family to know that her food was taken care of and she said the food was her favorite part of the whole trip.

Because of our positive experience we are looking closely into becoming DVC members. To know that every year, there is a place we can go that she can eat freely and I can get a vacation from cooking and carrying food everywhere we go...wow!

Anyone here DVC members and did the food situation factor into that decision?

Nope, but when you become DVC I'll rent points from you

Speaking of DVC.... this is what we DO now. It's so much easier for us GF'ers to have a kitchenette or kitchen to make some of our food for the trip. Bigger (or full size) fridges, separate sink, microwave and maybe even an oven if we stay 1-2 bedroom. We love renting DVC points- such a great value and the Dis'ers that rent are awesome to work with.

 

[nfceagles]

Disney's food handling of special diets is THE reason we bought into DVC. If it hadn't been for DS's FAs and Disney's special diet offerings we would have taken the family to Disney 1-2x during their childhood.

 

[SueM in MN]

We have been DVC members at OKW since 1993!
We don’t have any special diet needs (other than that youngest DD sometimes is picky or does not feel like eating when we do go out to eat).
We usually stay in a one bedroom unit and love having the full kitchen . If dd did not eat during mealtime, we can easily make something for her.

 

[gritzel4]

My DS14 is an extremely picky eater with autism. Before DVC, we would go to WDW and all that he would eat was popcorn, ice cream and pizza. Having access to a full kitchen, allows me to bring his food and make sure he has a more balanced diet while we are away.

 

[clanmcculloch]

For me, there are 2 different components to your question.

1. Yes we do go to WDW significantly more often because of how amazing they are with handling of special diets.

2. Despite how often we go to WDW, we have not bought into DVC. I've tried running the numbers many times and based on our vacation preferences (preferred resorts, deals we get, DVC need for minimum of a 1br at select resort or 2br at the rest while a single room at a deluxe or 2 value rooms or a value suite or cabin will suit us just fine), it just does not make financial sense for us to purchase DVC. For emotional reasons I'd love to buy but the practical part of my just can't make it make sense financially.

 

[daraweb]

For me, there are 2 different components to your question.

1. Yes we do go to WDW significantly more often because of how amazing they are with handling of special diets.

2. Despite how often we go to WDW, we have not bought into DVC. I've tried running the numbers many times and based on our vacation preferences (preferred resorts, deals we get, DVC need for minimum of a 1br at select resort or 2br at the rest while a single room at a deluxe or 2 value rooms or a value suite or cabin will suit us just fine), it just does not make financial sense for us to purchase DVC. For emotional reasons I'd love to buy but the practical part of my just can't make it make sense financially.

For us there is an emotional pull and also a financial benefit. We are looking at buying resale. I am a teacher and can only travel during spring break. Luckily we have 2 weeks in March which is a little slower than the Easter crowd. It tends to be tricky for us to find discounts during our travel dates (we missed free dining by 2 days). We just stayed in a regular room at WL with 30% but it has been getting harder to get discounts. Emotionally, to know that once a year we have a place to go (that we have basically comitted to going) where DD can eat and I can relax...

 

[HETRICKL]

Yes, our food allergies are a big reason we bought into DVC. Having access to the kitchen is a must for us. We've also enjoyed going to Disneyland, Vero Beach & Hilton Head with DVC.