Trip Report Honey, I Blew Up The Magic Band (Completed!!)

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my September 2014 trip report. I know I’m starting it a little late – but life has been so crazy and hectic since we have returned, there doesn’t seem like any time to just sit and write.

You can check out my pre-trip report here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/our-almost-totally-free-trip-to-dsney.888659/

I didn’t finish it – so it ends rather abruptly.


You can also read last year’s trip report here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/completed-this-is-autism-when-you-add-a-little-pixie-dust.873100/


Just to remind you who we are:

Me – Mary, aka “mom”. I am a teacher turned homeschool mom, advocate and blogger.

Ross, the daddy, aka “Grumpy”. He is the character who works non-stop all year to make this trip possible for us.

Julia, aka “sissy”, our oldest daughter who is 12. This will be her last trip with us before she turns into a… I hate the word… teenager! She LOVES Disney as much as I do and I pray that she always does.

Hope, aka “the Hopester”, (a nickname she somehow adopted when riding Spaceship Earth last year). She is my youngest daughter, 5 ½, diagnosed with severe Autism and Sensory Integration Disorder

Many people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them we are taking Hope to WDW. But it’s like 10 days of intense therapy for her. It challenges her so much while presenting her with the greatest incentive and rewards. We sacrifice the whole year to make this trip possible and it is so worth it.


Hope’s WDW goals for this trip:

Ride Splash Mountain and like it.
Ride 7 Dwarfs Mine Train.
Ride the Monorail without a meltdown.
Sit in booster seats rather than a highchair.
Tell me what she wants to eat rather than me just deciding for her.
Sit in a theater seat rather than her stroller during a show.

Julia's goal: Skate at Hollywood Studios

My goal: Eat at Columbla Harbour House!

Ross' goal: Eat at the Food & Wine Festival

Will we all meet our goals? You'll have to read to find out!

Everybody ready?

Off we go…

 

[Figment Forever]

And now … a commentary about Memory Maker…


I LOVE Memory Maker! Maybe it’s because I am the family photographer and it is usually the only way I get into the pictures. You can see by my lackluster “selfies” that if I want to be in the family portraits, Memory Maker is the way to go.

However, I wish I checked my account at the end of each day because we did end up with quite a few shots missing. I called and they tried to find them, but to no avail.

The only other thing that is a pain is the way that they are grouped together when you download them. Last year, they were grouped in chronological time order. So when doing a trip report, they were easier to find to insert into the report. This year, they are alphabetical, so, for example, ALL the Buzz Lightyear pictures are together. I finally got frustrated and sorted through them so they could all be in individual folders by their date.

That being said, here are some pictures I forgot to include in day 1. How could I forget the Frozen sisters? I actually had a FP for them on another MK day and also our last day but as Hope and I walked past Princess Fairytale Hall, while Julia and Ross were at the Laugh Floor, she asked to go see the princesses. (Her foot dug into the ground – stopping the stroller as she pointed and said, “princesses”.) No surprise, she must have remembered Fairytale Hall from last year. So even though it was about 10:00PM, I got a return time and waited for Ross and Julia.

Ross was a bit hesitant. The plan was to head back to FQ after they did the Laugh Floor. I love my hubby but he has a stubborn thought process – once you make a plan, stick to it. His favorite saying is: If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. But I told him we could leave right after and it was no big deal.

Of course when we went in, Hope wasn’t that impressed, at least not with Anna. In retrospect, I think she wanted to see Cinderella and Rapunzel. But I had figured since we saw Cinderella at dinnertime – why not see Anna & Elsa. Ross of course reminded me that perhaps I should have stuck with the plan - which is evident in this picture.

However, once we got to Elsa it was a different story. Hope was looking at her hands as though she was waiting for some frozen fractals to come flying out.

Julia also like them. FYI, my Julia was and is NOT a princess girl, but Anna & Elsa found their way into her heart so I’m glad she enjoyed meeting them.

And now, that does conclude Day 1.

 

[Figment Forever]

Sounds like a great start to your trip (minus the IASW blunder by the CM). Having read your previous trip reports, I got a little teary eyed as well to see how much progress Hope has made.

I am looking forward to following along with your adventures in WDW.

Thanks for reading and sharing our journey with us!

 

[Figment Forever]

Great report so far! Hope has grown so much!!!

I know - I can't believe how fast they are both growing up! Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

So excited to follow along! I love Hope's faces at breakfast with the step sisters!!

I LOVED the stepsisters! Thanks for reading along!

 

[Figment Forever]

Yay!!! So happy to see your report, I was looking forward to reading it. Hope has grown so much since last year's report. Can't wait to see what happens next

Thanks for reading! I'm hoping to post Day 2 tomorrow.

 

[FlaggNL]

Count me in Great start! And that was just day 1 I know what it is... it takes a lot of time to sort out the pictures you wanna share with the world Can't wait for the rest!!

 

[Figment Forever]

Count me in Great start! And that was just day 1 I know what it is... it takes a lot of time to sort out the pictures you wanna share with the world Can't wait for the rest!!

Thanks so much! Yes- it may be time consuming, but it allows me to experience it again!

It's exciting to see you have a new trip countdown going!! Yeah!

 

[smk]

Loving the report!! Today, after counting the days until I make our next reservation, I have been down. I feel like I want to get in the car and escape to WDW! Instead, I got on the computer and escaped into your report, thanks!!

 

[LizC]

So happy you have another TR, I loved your last one! I have a child on the spectrum also (3 yo), and we notice Disney seems to bring out the best in her as well. It is a shame the DAS card is inconsistent, I can so relate to how your family reacted to the IASW incident. But, I'm glad to see you all aren't letting it ruin your trip.

Looking forward to the rest of the report!

 

[Figaro928]

So happy you finally got to Columbia Harbour House!!! it has been on my bucket list as well.


Really love reading your reports

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks so much! Yes- it may be time consuming, but it allows me to experience it again!

It's exciting to see you have a new trip countdown going!! Yeah!

Ohw yeah! We are going again! Can't believe we do it so fast after this year trip. We have to choose between 2 weeks summer vacation or one week at WDW in October. So it is an easy one

 

[mrdrift]

What an awesome first day at Magic Kingdom. The Harbor house lobster roll is on my to do list and I can't wait to try it. Looks like everyone is having a fantastic time and really enjoying the rides. So happy to hear that Hope is having a great time. Following along.

 

[Tuvalu]

You've left us hanging! More please....

 

[Kathyjacks78]

What a great trip report! We also have a son on the spectrum and he has sensory integration issues As well. Now he's a teen but he was 7 during our last trip to Disney. When he was younger keeping a routine was our saving grace!

 

[Kosmo1986]

Great trip report I hope to see more soon!

 

[DisneySurprisePA]

Can't wait to read more! Thanks for the memory maker info. You have a beautiful family!

 

[dukeaboy]

Great report so far....we plan on going this September...same week as you...how were the crowds?

 

[Figment Forever]

So my husband has announced that I should be thrown out of this forum for taking so long to finish!


In all honesty, it has been a hectic time


Good news – We won our legal battle with our school district and Hope’s services have been fully restored until next September.


Bad news – After a long and courageous battle with cancer, my mother-in-law passed away earlier this month. And of course right before she passed away, my husband lost his job. So the last few months have been very stressful.


But life goes on. My mother-in-law is in a better place, my husband is on his way to finding a better opportunity and Hope is doing great! So I think it’s time for me to re-live some Disney Magic.


Thank you all for being so patient with me!

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 2: September 16th – Disney’s Frozen Studios


Up until this year, The Studios was our least favorite park. I think we would have gone as far to say it was a half day park if not needing to wait for Fantasmic!. However, for the past 3 years, our Studios day has always been met with a lot of drama and torrential downpours. So, for the first time in forever, we were all excited to spend some serious time there. While we are not Frozen fanatics, we really liked the movie so that was exciting to us too.


We started the morning in a relaxing way. After being up for almost 24 hours, we woke up without an alarm. Still, by 9:00AM we shut the door behind us and walked to the food court to have some breakfast. I was happy that the food court was pretty empty. Julia and Ross went to get our food while Hope and I found a table where Hope saw…

Duffy! Hope discovered Duffy on our last trip – so she was happy to see him again.


I was surprised that we were all recovered from our lack of sleep. Even Ross, who is NOT a morning person, was ready to go!

I think we all split 2 of the bounty meals. Since we had an early lunch ADR – we didn’t want to fill up too much. This was the first time that Ross realized I was on a mission to take some food photos – which of course did not thrill him. He thought I was crazy. But hey – I sort of am crazy.


Soon, we were on our way to the bus stop and Hollywood Studios!

 

[Figment Forever]

Usually, we make a mad dash to get a fast pass for TSMM. But obviously with Past Pass + there was no need. So we headed for Disney Jr. Live On Stage and Voyage of The Little Mermaid. I had fast passes for Disney Jr. followed by Little Mermaid, but we missed the first time, so we switched it up and went to see Ariel first. Ross was nervous because Hope wanted to see Mickey – remember that routine thing. But I told him it made no sense to wait over an hour just to see it first. I think it was more difficult for my husband to deal with situations like this – but it went fine.

After Ariel, it was time for Mickey and the gang. This has to be one of Hope’s favorites! I still had flashbacks from last year when it was raining so hard – Disney Jr. was the ONLY attraction where we wouldn’t get soaked, so I think we watched it 6 times in a row!

After, we headed to TSMM. Wait – what is going on here? Are those blue skies?

Is it possible that we are in Hollywood Studios and the sun is shining? Perhaps the spirit of Olaf is forcing the sunshine even with us in the park! Whatever it was, we were taking it all in!


We really enjoyed TSMM. I think it’s the first time we rode it while we were completely dry. Hope seemed to have a lot of fun with it. I think she had a better idea of the characters this year – so that helped. Plus she tolerated the 3D glasses more so that alone probably made the experience much better for her.