Tips about Special Needs

We traveled in December and noticed how the food available at the counter service restaurants has gotten healthier - giving more choices to those with Celiac Disease. Sit-down restaurants were wonderfully accommodating, of course! I did find out that one counter service location in each park has gluten-free pizza available. It is not on the menu, you have to ask for it. In Magic Kingdom it was Pinocchio's and at Epcot it is in the American Pavilion. Just ask Guest Services as the location may change. I also found gluten-free brownies and cookies in Wilderness Lodge and some of the counter service restaurants. I still brought an easy breakfast to eat in our hotel room to save time, but once I went out I didn't have to worry! What a pleasant vacation it was for this Celiac mom! - Kaercher Family

I recently returned from Coronado Springs and found that it was not very friendly to limited mobility people. I had a standard wheelchair and had to depend on my family for all transport. Usually I can walk to almost anywhere... not true at Coronado Springs. If you go, rent an ECV or expect to be pushed everywhere or go nowhere. I had to use my car to go anywhere in the resort and the walk from any parking space to the Dig Site was also too long. I was very disappointed. I would call Coronado Springs the most handicapped-unfriendly of the Disney resorts -- Pop Century was better! - Nadine Edelman

My husband has to wear glasses every day of his life. He has a pretty strong prescription and cannot wear contacts on a regular basis, because they really bother his eyes. On a previous trip to Disney, he wore his glasses as usual, but had difficulty getting the 3-D glasses to fit over his prescription lenses. This caused him not to be able to see any 3-D effects in the attractions throughout the park. On our visit in April of this year, he wore daily disposable contacts, which he can do for about a week or so without having a problem. He was able to wear the 3-D glasses and see all of the 3-D effects like the rest of the audience. He really enjoyed these attractions this time. It also seemed to help him if we could sit as close to the middle of the theater as we could get. Since he wore the contacts, he was also able to wear normal sunglasses and did not have to keep switching between his prescription glasses and his prescription sunglasses all day. - Angie Hashemi

Being an eye doctor, I thought I would add some advice concerning the 3-D movies in the Disney parks. If you are monocular (one eyed), then you can't see true 3-D or if you have amblopia (lazy eye), your depth perception will be greatly reduced. We must have binocular vision to take full advantage of 3-D in stereo vision. Therefore, if you have these eye conditions, you might as well go ride Peter Pan while your family enjoys the show! - Scott Keating

As a followup to the information about soy milk availability in Walt Disney World: All four of my children are lactose-intolerant, so I have discovered that most grocery stores carry soy milk in cartons that don't require refrigeration. Some wholesale clubs (BJs, Costco) carry single serving soy milk (like juice boxes), which again do not require refrigeration. We have often brought this with us for our children. - Jeanne Sacks

I noticed in a recent Anita Answer column (http://allears.net/aa/anita.htm ) someone had asked about insulin storage. I have found a wonderful way to travel with my daughter's insulin. It's called a Frio Cooling Wallet. All one does is soak the wallet in cool water for 10 minutes or so, and it stays cold for hours, even days, depending on the temperature outside. There's no need to worry about ice again, and it's very stress-free, which is wonderful for traveling. It also comes with an outer sleeve that keeps everything dry when storing in a bag. They even have headbands and wristbands made of the same material, to help stave off body heat. - Elizabeth Shannon

EDITOR'S NOTE: ALL EARS(R) Editor-in-Chief Deb Wills uses the Frio Cooling Wallet when traveling and has found it quite handy and functional!

Go to Amazon.com and search on FRIO for a listing of products: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002262E4/debsunoffiwaltdi

My 20-month-old son is lactose-intolerant and I wanted to share the places that we went that offered Silk soy milk: Port Orleans (French Quarter and Riverside); Chef Mickey's; 50's Prime Time Cafe. Here is a list of other sit-down restaurants we ate at that didn't have any soy milk options: the Crystal Palace; Biergarten; Mama Melrose's; All Star Cafe; Planet Hollywood. Also, no counter service restaurants we visited had soy milk. I hope this helps anyone with a soy milk kid! - Tammy Rother

Epcot - I just returned from a day at Epcot and wanted to give you a tip about Test Track. When I (5'3", 315 lbs.) asked the Cast Member at the end of the queue if I would fit, he told me that there was a mock car I could sit in. He called another Cast Member who escorted me to a private area. The car wasn't an exact copy of the cars in use, but was close. I found that I did not fit enough to be comfortable. The Cast Member showed me the side exit and I went on about my day. It was handled with care and privacy and I was never made to feel embarrassed. - L.

Epcot - I just returned from a day at Epcot and wanted to give you a tip about Test Track. When I (5'3", 315 lbs.) asked the Cast Member at the end of the queue if I would fit, he told me that there was a mock car I could sit in. He called another Cast Member who escorted me to a private area. The car wasn't an exact copy of the cars in use, but was close. I found that I did not fit enough to be comfortable. The Cast Member showed me the side exit and I went on about my day. It was handled with care and privacy and I was never made to feel embarrassed. - L.

Our son has autism and is now 17. We have been to WDW five times over an 11-year span (most recently in November 2005). I highly recommend character meals -- especially for lunch, as it allows a little bit of winding down from overstimulation. We especially enjoyed the Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner as the characters quickly tuned into our son and gave him extra attention -- it is also an exceptionally quiet place. The Garden Grill in Epcot is also great, as you quickly leave the hustle behind and are totally alone in the booth. These are family-style meals and do not provide the variety of the buffets at places like the Crystal Palace. We also thought that Hollywood & Vine for the Fantasmic special entrance was worthwhile (this is a buffet). Another tip: while you may want to avoid the stares from others, you might consider wearing a Cure Autism Now or similar t-shirt. - Mike Roberts

I just returned from WDW where I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge with my mom who has trouble walking. We were returning from the California Grill by taxi and she was in a lot of pain by the time we got to the lobby, so I sat her in a chair right inside the lobby doors. I asked at the front desk if there was a wheelchair I could borrow to take my mom back to the room. Moments later the Cast Member returned with a wheelchair -- all I had to do was sign in a few places on a form since I had a credit card down on my room. They took my name and room number and the wheelchair had a number on it that they recorded. They asked me my departure date and asked that I return the chair before I leave the resort on that day. I thought maybe your readers would like to know that at least this resort has a limited number of wheelchairs available for rental during your stay. I was leaving the next morning and was not charged anything. - Erin Reich

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please note, you can not check into the resort and expect a free wheelchair for your stay. The loaner chairs are for unexpected situations as described above. If you need a wheelchair, push or electric, during your stay, AllEars recommends

http://www.buenavistascooters.com/

If you are renting a power wheelchair, remember to put sunblock on the back of your hands. I put it everywhere else, but didn't think of there, and ended up with the back of my hands sunburned! - E. Dennis

My son has sensory issues and doesn't deal well with loud music and noises. I bought kid-size ear plugs and put them in before every ride and show. They cut down on the loudness, but he still didn't lose any of the effect. It was the first time my son was able to enjoy loud shows without covering his ears and crying. They became his "magic bravery plugs." - Anne Truger

As we were visiting the parks, my mother-in-law developed a problem with her knee and needed the use of a wheelchair. My father-in-law began renting them as we went to each park -- necessary, but expensive. We decided to check at the front desk at Port Orleans Riverside where we were staying and found that they have complimentary wheelchairs that you can bring to each park. This was very convenient and saved us a lot of money. - Mark Coffman

EDITOR'S NOTE: The resort wheelchairs are available in very limited quantities, and are loaned on a first come-first served basis. Not all resorts permit you to take their wheelchairs off the resort grounds, so be sure to inquire.

Walt Disney World and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) kids: We have found that keeping our daughter on a regular schedule helps her at home and on vacation. We try to keep regular food and bedtimes. We also try to be in tune with her and not wait for the meltdown to happen. We keep an eye on wait times for rides and always use FastPass. My daughter can wait and actually does amazingly well at WDW, but we know that waiting too long will not work. We have had to leave a line when it was obvious we needed to get away. We also like to plan downtime in the middle of the day for swimming or just resting in the room to regroup. Also, it helps to know which battles to fight and which ones to just let go -- Sandi