DCL-special needs kid

[jtvmi77]

I am certain that somewhere in these boards, an answer likely exists on this, but I guess it can’t hurt to ask for more updated info and experiences.

 

My wife and I have been on many cruises, but not since having our son in 2015.  He has physical and intellectual disabilities, with my main concern being his need to eat puréed food by mouth with supplemental pediasure through a g-tube.  He also sleeps with supplemental O2 at night (not sure how much longer he’s going to need that, though).  

 

Assuming the cruise line can be notified, are we allowed to bring pediasure with us?  And can the dining room purée food (or if not, can we bring our own pouches)?  

 

Portable O2 concentrators are easy enough to deal with, and I’m pretty sure the DCL brochure on disabilities said those were good to go.  

 

He’s nonverbal ASD, and while we are working on it, he still need diapers.  Are swim diapers allowed or would he not be able to use the pool? I do know that he unfortunately won’t be able to use the kids areas/clubs unless this has been solved by then.  We still want him to enjoy a nice trip, though.  He’s actually a pretty mellow and adaptable little dude, but he definitely does stuff his own way.  Would people freak out if he were to watch vids on an iPad at dinner?  We can keep the volume down.  Maybe we could request our own table if that’s an issue?  I know I said he’s mellow, but..for lack of a better term...he’s very busy, and the video keeps his attention.  We take him out to dinner and it’s not usually a problem, but I remember DCL does the traditional dining with shared table mates, so...

 

My wife and I were on the Fantasy maybe six years ago and had a great time.   

 

Thanks for any info info you might have, and I apologize if this is too redundant of a topic.  

Edited March 18, 2019 by jtvmi77

[jtvmi77]

Scratch the question on the swim diapers.  Google answered that for me.  

 

Splash pad is ok; not in the pool.  

Edited March 18, 2019 by jtvmi77

[ArthurUSCG]

I suggest calling and talking with a cast-member to get verification and to go over the medical concerns.

You can bring aboard the pediasure, if it's a liquid, you are suppose to bring is aboard with you and not in the luggage. Given that this is related to dietary restrictions, they might have a way of holding the pediasure, so that you don't have to lug it around the ship before your room is ready.

I suspect the kitchen will have no problems making pureed food for you, seeing as this is a dietary restriction, they will need to go over it with you. Also, on the first dinner, the head waiter will come over and re-verify the dietary restrictions with you. You can request a private table if you want, but there is not much space between the tables.

No one will have an issue if you bring a ipad or phone for videos at dinner. The dinning rooms can get noisy, if he is ok with things on his ears, you could bring a set of isolating headphones. My oldest had sound issues and would wear earmuffs around the ship, especially for the shows and and deck performances.

 

There are open house times for the kids club where you can stay in there with him. That way he can still play and you can get the pictures of him crawling thru Slinky Dog.

[jtvmi77]

Thanks.

 

Disney has a good reputation for being amenable to dietary needs, and I would definitely call before booking.  Your answer is helpful because it gives me hope that he can be accommodated.  

 

I’d certainly like to hear from other parents who may have had similar needs.  I realize his situation is unique, but there are enough of us out there 😀.  

 

We have headphones for him, but he hasn’t gotten used to wearing them.  I’m not sure we tried all that hard, and if we had a trip coming up, we’d be incentivized to do it.  He’s not too, too put off by noise, believe it or not (NICU kid, and I think he got so used to beeps and bells, he doesn’t get bothered by sounds).  I just don’t want to impinge on the enjoyment of others.   

[nolatravelgirl]

I would definitely work on trying to get him to wear earphones before the trip. I am not sure if you are planning on driving or flying but if you start playing a movie on an ipad, even low, on a plane you will get lots of dirty looks as it is a quiet environment. You could also look for other small quiet things he can do at the table like playing with small toys, coloring, etc

[jtvmi77]

2 hours ago, nolatravelgirl said:

I would definitely work on trying to get him to wear earphones before the trip. I am not sure if you are planning on driving or flying but if you start playing a movie on an ipad, even low, on a plane you will get lots of dirty looks as it is a quiet environment. You could also look for other small quiet things he can do at the table like playing with small toys, coloring, etc

 

If it's anything like his glasses, it just takes practice.  I'm sure we would work on it before flying anywhere and he'd be able to use them.  We haven't had him on a plane as of yet. 

 

We'd definitely have to fly to Florida.  I've looked at driving distance cruises (for us, that would be Baltimore or Cape Liberty/Bayonne, so non-DCL).  I've been out of NY before and, in my own experience, have found the seas more prone to chop than out of FL.  I know that can vary.

Edited March 19, 2019 by jtvmi77

[DAllenTCY]

I often see special needs guests and their families (as well as Make A Wish kids, tweens, and teens) board the Disney Wonder here in San Diego.

 

Disney is all inclusive....and you should have no issues whatsoever at any embarkation port.

 

Contact Disney and let them know of your needs and concerns.  

 

Bon voyage!

 

David

Edited March 20, 2019 by DAllenTCY

[JennVT]

Would he be able to eat table foods that you put through a baby food mill? If so Amazon has several portable options that are pretty inexpensive. It might expand your options (and his) for dining on board.

[spykid113]

I would reach out to DCL directly... The Special Services team handles all of those policies and working with families with special requests/medical needs. They would probably be able to answer any other questions in regards to mobility/physical disabilities and any other assistance your family would need.

 

A friend of mine cruised many years ago following abdominal/cancer surgery and could only eat pureed food. The Special Services team was able to work with her family to make sure packages were in compliance for customs and that the dining team was aware. From what she recalls, the Special Services team was able to get everything taken care of.

 

 

[Wheeling TravelingMom]

Disney won't have any issues accommodating the pediasure or pouches. As you googled the swim diapers will not be allowed and no diapers in the kids clubs but you CAN go on open days and stay with him. Those times will be in the daily planner (app). It's 2-3 times a cruise. 

 

One thing I would advise, get to all the shows earlier than you would expect (we go at least 45 mins prior). Sadly the few wheelchair viewing areas always seem to have someone in a scooter blocking them. The cast is great about trying to help special needs families enjoy everything so if you get somewhere and its blocked talk to them and they can sometimes provide an alternative. 

 

You will have your own table for dining unless you request a group table. The tables are really close together though (inches). There is so much entertainment at dinner to keep his attention...especially in Animators Palette. Perhaps call and request a rotational dining that has Animators for the most nights (AXYAXYA- didn't catch what ship you are on). But an iPad on low won't bother anyone. It is so loud in the restaurants. 

Edited April 11, 2019 by Wheeling TravelingMom

[kerry1379]

Your son has many things in common with my son. My son too has a g-button that is his primary source of nutrition and is on a liquid formula for that (his is Boost Kid's Essentials-essentially the same thing as Pediasure).  Yes, we have always been able to bring his formula on board but I do have to carry it on board. You cannot leave it with the porter in case it leaks.

 

My son also can really only eat pureed foods-he doesn't chew-but he also doesn't like to eat by mouth at all so even pureed foods are a battle for us.  On our last cruise, our head waiter was phenomenal!  I had originally told my waiter that there wasn't really anything on the menu that my son would likely eat, so please don't worry about it. But then he saw me feeding my son oatmeal (one of the few things he will eat) at Cabanas the next morning at breakfast.  He came over and sat with me and went over all of the dinner menus to see if he could find something my son could eat with us at dinner.  We settled on trying some of the soups.  As it turns out, my son found a new favorite food-their butternut squash soup! Once the head waiter found out that my son liked it-we had  a bowl waiting for him every night. Disney really does bend over backwards to try and accommodate where they are able.  It is why we keep going back!  :)

 

And like previous posters have said-though the kids club during their regular hours isn't an option if they are in diapers (my son is too), we went to as many open houses as they had (which is a lot!) because my son loves it there so much! 

 

 

 

 

[MarLieb]

Here is the special needs page from the DCL website.  If you scroll down, you will find the phone number and e-mail address for the special needs team.  I would contact them with all of this info plus any requests you have (pureed food, private table, etc.). My son has multiple developmental disabilities and, when he was younger, he would not have eaten if we were seated with other families.  We have always requested private tables on DCL, due to his needs, and the private table has always been granted.

[Wheeling TravelingMom]

I don't believe Disney even does mixed tables anymore--maybe if you request them? The last couple cruises I have only seen individual family tables. I don't even bother to request it anymore as its now a given. 

[Shmoo here]

10 minutes ago, Wheeling TravelingMom said:

I don't believe Disney even does mixed tables anymore--maybe if you request them? The last couple cruises I have only seen individual family tables. I don't even bother to request it anymore as its now a given. 

It's not a given.  Only time we've requested specific seating was when we had our reservation linked with a couple we'd met on our first DCL cruise, and then we asked for a 6 top, in order to have others at our table.  2 cruises we were a large enough party (5 & 6) to get our own table.  

 

All other cruises, we've been seated with people we didn't know.

 

I think what's happening is more people are asking to be seated at their own table (not shared).

Edited April 23, 2019 by Shmoo here

[Wheeling TravelingMom]

14 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

It's not a given.  Only time we've requested specific seating was when we had our reservation linked with a couple we'd met on our first DCL cruise, and then we asked for a 6 top, in order to have others at our table.  2 cruises we were a large enough party (5 & 6) to get our own table.  

 

All other cruises, we've been seated with people we didn't know.

 

I think what's happening is more people are asking to be seated at their own table (not shared).

Interesting. We haven't asked since our first DCL but maybe its noted in our preferences somewhere. I don't know. In Nov on the Magic I specifically noted that there were no big tables except for families that were obviously together. The dining rooms were full of 4 tops. Probably everyone requesting I guess. 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Wheeling TravelingMom

[Shmoo here]

8 minutes ago, Wheeling TravelingMom said:

Interesting. We haven't asked since our first DCL but maybe its noted in our preferences somewhere. I don't know. In Nov on the Magic I specifically noted that there were no big tables except for families that were obviously together. The dining rooms were full of 4 tops. Probably everyone requesting I guess. 

Who's seated at a 4 top could be misleading.  A couple of our most recent DCL cruises we (hubby & I) were seated at a 4 top with either another couple, or, in one case, a mother and adult daughter.  After a day or two, we might have been confused as a "family".