Cam wasn't here for discovering the cistern, but could one potentially parkour and/or climb and hang on (ew, ew, ew) to the uh, fleshy walls (did I mention, ew) in such a way as to avoid the acid at the bottom until they get to the mushrooms, grab some mushrooms either by dangling or dropping VERY quickly, and scramble back the way they came?
Re: The waiter