Disney Crusie and Autism

[DisneyBride08]

Hi

Whilst we are waiting to see if free DDP is going to be released my plans are changing like the wind.

I have always wanted to do a Disney cruise but I have been put off as my son has autism and he isn't toilet trained. I remember reading that he wouldn't be able to use the pools and that they didn't offer support in the kids clubs.

This week we have had some massive changes. He has started to move forward with toilet training. Not massively but it has given me a little hope so I looked into cruises. I have since discovered that there is a splash zone on the ships which my son could use if he wasn't out of swimming nappies. I also figured that swimming nappies are OK on the island.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of taking a child on one of the cruises with autism?

Will he be aloud to go in to the kids club as I have seen mixed reports on this over the past few days?

I'm also wondering if it will all be too much for him and if I would be pushing him too much by adding in a cruise. We will be going in August for 18 nights, flights permitting. He will be 7 and we will also have a 3 year old.

[Bats]

So, he definitely cannot use the pools in swim nappies. Only the Fantasy and Magic have a good and large splash zone that older children could play in (Fantasy is bigger).
The Dream and Wonder have a small splashzone but this is not open to older children (regardless of any individual need like autism).

In the clubs, the official line is that it's for toilet trained children only, but exceptions have been made for those with special needs, but these cannot be guaranteed.
You may need to go to the Club every now and again and change his nappy, but this is not a big deal (in my opinion). They will message you on the Wave phones (available in the room) if there is a problem with him .. he may be upset etc.
You'll need to be aware that the club spaces can be loud, but on the first day (and for an hour every day thereafter), they will have Open House which is when you can go in too to play with him. Adults are not permitted in at any time outside of Open House.

Have a read of this blog, it may give you some reassurance .. Love That Max

Finally, DCL are great at accommodating people with all kinds of special needs, but only you know if it's a right fit for you and your family.

[DisneyBride08]

Thank you for your reply, sorry for my late reply. 2016 has brought bouts of illness with it which has been interesting

We have decided to visit Florida in the October/November now. I was worried about the time off of school my son sons school have been great. They think the life experience will be a great thing for him. I now just need to work our how to fit a cruse into the trip as we have less nights now.

I had a few things concerning me, the heat in August (no longer a problem) the beds. My son wouldn't be trusted on the pull down but I worked out last night some rooms also have Murphy beds in them so I just need to somehow work out the cabins that have this. Both children in the lower beds would make it easier to sleep at night. And lastly getting there? Hoping this is easy without a car and isn't too long and not to much for my son. At the moment we know we can go to Florida for 15 nights if my husband can take more time off this can be extended. A few things to work out

[disneymadhouse]

If you are staying on site you can book the dcl bus but it's $35 per person each way. Also the dcl buses don't tend to pick up from the resorts until late morning. We don't drive when we are in Florida so I booked a town car from the resort to port canaveral and back again after the cruise. I used Florida magical tours and couldn't fault them.

[DisneyBride08]

Thank you. I'm just tying to work out how to fit it into our dates and get the most out of free dining, it's giving me a headache lol

[DIBBadmin]

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