We haven't stayed at the WL, but I have an 8 yr old son with autism. He loves Disney, but I do understand the challenges as well. We've learned to always let him have a reasonable amount of his comfort items with him (learned this the hard way!). He is allowed to pack his suitcase (regular size wheeled) however he wishes--this includes comfort toys, costumes he likes to wear in the room, etc. We put his regular clothes in our luggage--it's well worth him having his "stuff" with him. He copes much better with a hotel room this way. Familiar food is important to our son, so we order groceries for the room so he always has the things he likes to eat handy (like string cheese and juice boxes). We always spring for the internet because this is a big stress reliever for him (he's addicted to
youtube!)
We also like to show him pictures well in advance of the room, the hotel, the rides, etc. A written schedule/calendar is also important to him. For our son, knowing in advance what to expect avoids a lot of meltdowns (for example, I've been showing him pics and reminding him daily that the AKL pool is OUTDOOR).
Definitely get a GAC for the parks. I'm not sure about your son, but for mine the ipod has been an amazing tool. He can stand a lot of riding/waiting if he can watch his videos on his ipod.
In your original post you mentioned going with a friend. I know what that can be like.
It's sometimes hard for others to understand and sometimes expect too much. Been there, done that.
If you've thought about in-room childcare, Fairy Godmothers used to care for special needs kids (I'm not even sure if they're around now, but we used them several times in the past and I highly recommend them--we used the same sitter for several years in a row when our son was younger).
I don't think I've answered your question about what's available that he might like at the WL--but I wish you the very best. For us, anyway, it has gotten easier each time.
