Just a big bunch of thanks!

Of all the places to eat we liked the following:
Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom (Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeoyre are there.
Wilderness Lodge Cafe @ Wilderness Lodge(Great huge portions and a LOT of fun)
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort...huge buffet and Mickey characters are there!
I liked Sci Fi Cafe at MGM cause you actually sit a drive-in setting, though food was mediocre.
Hope that helps some!

I'm from germany and we make some days of our honeymoon 2005 in Disney World. With Pooh too. he's my favourite and we have a planning Video and lots of books too. Especially Birnbaums Disney Planner 2005. It's very good with many coupons. I think you will love it!

Hi Ali, We're headed to WDW Dec. 9-14th so we'll keep an eye out for you! My son is almost 4 1/2 and I have a 21 month old also. My older son has some mild sensory issues and loved Disney last year (he was 3 1/2). Two problem areas were the fireworks and the train whistle of the steam locomotive in the Magic Kingdom. He's more prepared this year, but just 2 things you want to be on the lookout for. Disney can be a sensory overload but there are plenty of quiet moments too and I'm sure you'll plan accordingly. My son also loves the monorail because it's so quiet and moves at a consistent speed. Make sure you plan to take a ride, even if it's just in a big circle for the experience! Enjoy your first Vacation at WDW--- you'll never forget it! Audrey

Ali-
A big WOOHOO for you and the family! Our family absolutely loves Disneyworld! We are members of the Disney vacation club (a timeshare) and we've gone to WDW at least once a year for the last 10 years. We went twice this year! We love, love, LOVE it! One thing that we did this year was try the Disney Dining Plan. Assuming you are staying on property, this option can be added to your package. As someone said before, the food prices are pretty outrageous, so this may be an option. I believe cost will depend on the package you have. Since we are members, it was handled differently for us. If I remember correctly I read that they can also accommodate those with special dietary needs. My husband and I witnessed the chef come out and discuss menu options with more than one family at more than one restaurant. We went to restaurants that we had never been to before. The California Grill was probably our favorite. It was a little too SHE-SHE POO-POO for our 12 year old but my husband loved everything from the sushi, to the desert. We also had awesome seats for the fireworks. I figured out the cost of the plan vs. the actual cost of the food and our savings was in the hundreds of dollars. Well that's my two cents. Hope Simon enjoys the characters and the attractions. If he likes Buzz be sure to hit Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom for Buzz's Space Ranger spin and Fantasyland for the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Adventureland has Aladdin's magic carpet ride and Goofy's Barnstormer is a roller coaster in Mickey's Toon Town Fair that's perfect for little guys! Have fun, take lots of pics and get a photo pass every chance you get. They are great for family photos and character shots. At the end of your stay you can purchase a CD with all your pics rather than buy individual photos. I think I paid about $100 for it, but I have the release for the photos and can have as many made as I want. Just a thought. Take Care and Congrats to Chris on his win. Wish I could be in your classes, really enjoyed being in your album track in Atlanta.

Disney has a pass equivalent to the Fast Pass for children with disabilities (autism included) that allows the entire family to the front of the line. You might want to check it out.

You guys will love it. Two word though, COFFEE for you & Chris and naps for Simon!! I would walk down to our hotel coffee place every morning and get a huge cup. It gave me enough energy to make it through the day. Plus, every afternoon we would take the kids (2 & 4/12) back to the room for the little rest. This helped a lot.
It is the greatest thing to go with your child. You get to see Disney World through their eyes. It is magical.
We also made a point to not get mad at the girls the whole trip, some days were harder than others. It worked though. You will see parents yelling at their kids, kids crying their eyes out and all you think is, "you saved & planned for this vacation and this is what your child will remember."
Have a wonderful time.
Sara M

Hi Ali,
One of "The Cousins" from Cku Atlanta here. Disney is one of our favorite spots to go and we will be there over New Years Eve. We have been over 20 times but I got the Passporter book last time and I think it has some of the best Disney advice I have ever read. Also at www.disboards.com you can see all kinds of Disney info. My other piece of advice is get to teh parks early when they are less crowded and then you can leave to enjoy your resort in the afternoon. Be sure and get a Disney Mr. Potato Head! Have fun!

We just returned from Disneyland - My little guy age 4.5, ASD, had a blast! Noah was scared of extremely loud noises - unfortunately, the rides seemed really noisy. If that's an issue for Simon, you could get him used to earplugs ahead of time. Also, as others have said, they do offer a GUEST ASSISTANCE pass if your kiddo has trouble waiting in lines. I went to the guest relations desk with Noah and explained that Noah, with ASD, had trouble waiting in lines for long, that he'd start pushing people, and presented a doctor's note. They gave it to me right away with no problems. When you're at the ride, you just hand to the cast member at the front of the lines and they'll direct you where to go. It was awesome, not having to wait in the super-long lines that is so rough for my son, and made for a wonderful experience. We could even use it for the character greeting areas, and I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by how nicely they treated Noah. They talked to him by name, and asked him which color car he'd like. If you don't need it at first, you can always change your mind and get it later. And I have also heard that they are accommodating for GF/CF diets. Other parents on an autism listserv may know more. I know you'll have a fantastic time!
p.s. we must have spent $50 or more on bottled water while we were there - UGH!....we found out later that you can ask some of the larger eating places in the park for a large cup of ice and they'll direct you to a water fountain. :)

We just returned from WDW and had a great time. Two thoughts: 1. use the Photopass service ALOT! In addition to taking your photo as a family (novelty, huh?, a Mom would be in the picture), they will take the same picture with YOUR camera. What I didn't know was you can purchase all your digital images for $99. We only had them take about 10, so not really worth it, but if you take advantage of it and have them take every single photo they can, it can really be a great deal. Also, 2. Don't try and do too much. WDW can be very very overwhelming if you push too hard and try and see everything. We skipped every single nighttime event (parade/fireworks) b/c our 5 and 4 year olds hate loud noises...we ended our days around 5, took a rest and a swim and took it easy at night. You'll have a great time...can't wait to see the photos show up in some of your layouts! See you at Get Croppin' in Feb! Carol P.S. The most (and best IMHO) characters are at MGM!!

My son was about Simon's age when we spent a week at DisneyWorld. My best advice for your is to rent a stroller. I know, he probably hasn't used one in a long time, but those little legs get tired trying to walk the park all day. I also found that if we knew we were going to have to wait in line for a while, that was the time to have something to eat. Waiting doesn't seem so long if you're eating!

The disboards are very helpful ! (disboards.com) I got alot of info there. I also had the book Birnbaum's Official Guide to Disney and that had alot of info in it. I also reccomend the photo pass. They scan your card everytime you get your picture taken at all the parks and send it to an online account. At the end of your trip or even when you get home you can order pics or buy the cd with all the pictures for $99. (I bought the cd and the pictures are excellent quality and high resolution. You can have up to 300 pictures on one cd for that price) Its nice cause you can get pics with the whole family included. They do photopass for most of your character pictures and they are set up all over the parks. (like the castle, tree of life etc) Have fun!

Simon will have a wonderful time! WDW can be a fabulous place for kids with autism if they are allowed to enjoy it their own way.
A few tips from someone who's "been there, done that" with our 3yo autistic daughter because we live near the parks:
Go to Guest Services at the first park you visit and get a "Guest Assistance Pass". This will allow you special boarding priviledges, allowing you to skip lines and crowded boarding areas that might cause Simon problems at most rides. The Disney website says that you need a doctor's letter to get this. I've always carried Bridget's evaluation from the psychologist who diagnosed her autism but have never needed to produce it to get the pass.
Second, even when you are in situations where you aren't using the pass, like character greetings, TELL the cast members you are dealing with about Simons diagnosis. Disney does a great job educating their cast members about dealing with kids like him and they will adjust accordingly. For instance, during our last visit we met Pooh and Tigger in Epcot at the UK. When we were first in line I told the cast member running the line about Bridget. He discreetly whispered to the characters before we approached while the previous kids were leaving. They didn't bat an eyelid when Bridget started crawling on the floor around them (we think she was reacting to Tigger being a cat and doing her cat impression) and just went with it. They gave us a few extra moments and the result was a lovely photo and a little girl who wanted to watch nothing but her Tigger Movie DVD for the next ten days.
Disney can be an especially magical place for special kids...hope you all have a magical trip!