Trip Report COMPLETED 30th Birthday at the Poly with autistic brothers in tow

Hello everyone again! I'm finally ready to start our trip report for June 20th-June 30th. My pre trip report can be found here.

Just a quick recap my name is Davita and this will be my DH's and my fourth trip to the World. DH is an orchestra teacher who did a mostly Disney concert and we Disney Bounded as Donald and Daisy Duck.

This will be my brother's and my mother's second trip to Disney World but only the first time with us. So this is technically their first trip they do Disney World properly. My brothers are twins who are 22 and on the spectrum. Nathan is much more severe than Matthew, with bipolar disorder and OCD.


Nathan hasn't been on a plane since he was a little boy, pre 9/11, so we were worried about how he'd handle TSA. He doesn't like taking his shoes off in public, or people going though his backpack so you can understand our hesitation.

In preparation about a week before the trip we went over to their house to stage a fake TSA screening. At first, Nathan seemed super happy talking about the trip but once we asked him to take off his shoes and put his backpack through the "x-ray machine" he became very quiet and, I think, nervous. Matthew handled it very well, but spoiler alert, he didn't do so well on the actual day.

Fast forward a week and we met them at the airport bright and early at 5 am for our 7:15 flight. After we checked our bags, all 10 of them, oy, we went up to security. Luckily for us because we are rapid rewards members we automatically qualified for Pre-TSA, so all the work we did with practicing taking our shoes off was for naught. We decided early that I would take Nathan through and DH would help Matthew and my mom. Nathan did great! He seemed slightly agitated about his backpack having to go through the machine, out of his sight. After we went through the metal detectors, we turned around and no DH or family behind us. Apparently, Matthew didn't empty his pockets and they were trying to stuff things in backpacks because Pre-TSA didn't have readily available bins to put stuff in. Then right before Matthew went through he threw the rest of his stuff in the X-ray machine. When he got to the other side with us, we had to wait a while for a TSA agent to get everything out of the machine.

After that trauma was over we sat and had breakfast.

Matthew is on the left and Nathan is on the right. If you can't tell, Nathan's favorite character is Goofy.

We then preboarded the plane and took some selfies.

Something that we didn't know until this trip is that Southwest's policy on pre-boarding based on disability, is that one person per disabled individual can preboard with them. So DH couldn't preboard with us but Matthew saved him a seat.

We flew to Houston first, where we were supposed to just stay on the plane to Orlando but were unexpectedly forced to changed planes. I was worried Nathan wouldn't do so well with that but he was fine with running to the next gate for Orlando. Everything was fine on our flight to Orlando. Then it was time to put on our Magic Bands!!

After picking up the mountains of bags, we went to board the Magical Express.

That's my mom right there, btw. More selfies!

I still hate the new video very much. Nathan and Matthew couldn't have cared less about it and I think Matthew started playing his video games. But we got really lucky and the Polynesian was the very first stop! yay! We arrived, got our leis and checked in to our room which was in Aotearoa. Not the building I chose on online check in, but I was actually really happy with it. We did get our other requests for adjoining rooms and a balcony.

And our view had the monorail going by! That never got old.

Next, presents for everyone! Captain Cook's lunch and Downtown Disney

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 20th, part 2

I forgot to post this picture of Nathan in the room, he absolutely loved it. I think it's his favorite room in any hotel he's been in. He loved the little table that rolls out from under the desk. He parked it next to his bed and would arrange his cars and books on it perfectly.

After we dropped off the luggage we were starving. It was around 4 pm and we hadn't eaten since 5 am. We went to Captain Cook's and I had the Aloha Pork Sandwich,

DH had the Lobster Roll

I don't have pictures of what the twins ate but we think they had cheeseburgers. For dessert my mom had the apple pie

I had the Mickey cupcake which was SO good I couldn't finish it it was so gigantic. I was sad

DH had the S'more's cupcake he said it was good.

And someone had a brownie, I can't remember who

We walked back to our room with this gorgeous view,

And when we got back to our room I had a present waiting for me!

Excuse the mess, you know how it is. My gift is a silver tray with five Minnie rice krispie treats, sparkling cider and a gift that I didn't open until my birthday, so you'll have to wait and see, and Ariel Happy Birthday balloons.

We took this picture of me holding it. We look so exhausted after traveling all day.

Next Downtown Disney shopping!

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 20th, part 3

After we relaxed a little and unpacked we decided to go to Downtown Disney. Right before we left the room, Matthew had to use the bathroom...and he was in there for quite some time, so he said to go on without him. Honestly Matthew doesn't like shopping very much so some alone time in the room was more his style.

We took the bus to Downtown Disney and what happens next is the reason why I wanted to stay in a monorail resort with Nathan. We got on the bus and it was packed. The bus driver told us he was stopping at the Grand Floridian next and a lot of people were going to get off but in the meantime we would have to stand. Nathan has very poor motor skills in his hands especially and being able to hold on to the rails is very difficult for him. My mom stood in front of him, DH was on his left side, and I was behind him and between the 3 of us we barely kept Nathan upright. He was very scared and stressed but it was a very quick ride and the first seat that opened up we put him in.

First stop for us at Downtown Disney was Marketplace Co-op because I wanted a particular Dooney and Burke bag from there. I dug through the bin they were in to get the perfect one with Ariel in the middle.

We also stopped at World of Disney, Disney Pin Traders, and the Christmas shop. At World of Disney I bought my ears for the trip, pirate Minnie!

And at Pin Traders, DH and I bought these beauties.

It started raining unfortunately and we had to leave. Plus it was a Saturday night and it was very crowded and Nathan was getting very agitated.

When we got back to the room, Nathan and my mom went to bed but DH and I were kinda hungry so we walked to Captain Cook's and on the way I heard the familiar beginning of "Wishes!" starting!

DH and I watched the entire thing then went to eat and we shared a tuna sandwich on a croissant. it was really good. Everything at Captain Cook's this trip was good. Then, after only two hours sleep the previous night from being so excited, we went back to the room and got ready for tomorrow, Hollywood Studios Day!

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 21st. Disney's Hollywood Studios Day

I forgot to write about this earlier but we ordered groceries from Garden Grocer. Nathan is diabetic and won't drink anything but Gatorade G2, and diet soda. I couldn't image him drinking diet soda for 10 days so we ordered him a case of G2, a case of water for DH and I, and some snacks. It worked out really well and I recommend the company.

We woke up bright and early to enjoy our Kona Café breakfast reservations. DH had long been looking forward to trying the Tonga Toast, and I had been looking forward to the Macadamia Nut pancakes...also, the Kona Coffee .

Shruggie!!

Tonga Toast!

DH's very first Tonga Toast and he said it was delicious especially with the strawberry compote. I tasted it and thought it was really good but I only got to taste a little bit, DH wouldn't share very much.

Macadmia nut pancakes were so good! They don't look very big here but they were gigantic and I was stuffed. We also got the French press Kona coffee and it was the best coffee I've ever had in my life. Highly recommended.

We took some pictures before departing to the studios.

Selfies!

Hollywood Studios is our least favorite park right now with so many things closing. Hopefully the plans will be amazing because the park needs it.

We took the bus and this time Nathan got a seat. We arrived and went straight to Tower of Terror we had a Fastpass+. Nathan has been on this ride in California but for some reason he was especially scared the entire time.

Poor guy, he was squeezing my arm really tight.

We sat at the rest area outside the tower for a while in the shade. Today was the hottest day of the trip by far, I think Orlando broke heat records. We are used to pretty hot temperatures because we are from Texas but the humidity makes a huge difference. DH and I drank all 3 of the water bottles we brought by 10 am. Since I'm an RN, I was pushing fluids on everyone. This day my mom didn't bring any G2 and she was barely drinking anything herself. Which was a source of frustration for me when she started complaining how she didn't feel well. I wonder why...

Next, Frozen sing a long and lunch!

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 21st, continued

I completely forgot to mention here about the Disability Access System. When we arrived at DHS we stopped at Guest Services first. We've used the DAS at Disneyland where you get return times for rides so Nathan was used to that. It was incredibly easy at Guest Services to sign up. The CM scanned Nathan's magic band, took his picture and scanned all of our magic bands. She told us that this is active for 60 days and if we ever come back they can scan his band and reactivate it. At attractions any of us can get a return time, but Nathan has to be the first magic band to scan when we return to ride, then all of us. The return times appear on the My Disney Experience app so no more books and papers to keep track of, I loved it much better than before. We used this in conjunction with Fastpass+ so we didn't abuse it. I think we used it much less than we did at Disneyland, maybe once a day. Some days we never had to use it at all.

Back to the report! My mom purchased Memory Maker so we stopped a lot to take pictures.

Matthew is a big Power Rangers fan and he had to get a picture with the Pink Ranger at the Planet Hollywood store.

We rode Toy Story somewhere in here and for the first time ever, Matthew beat DH! We were all shocked! And we didn't take any pictures...oops

Next we went to use our Fastpasses for the Frozen sing along. Last year, when DH and I saw this it was at the Premier Theater and the way it was set up Fastpass was very useful since you went into the theater first. Now they moved it to the former American Idol theater and I'm not sure its worth it to use a Fastpass. You are all loaded into the holding area at the same time and are just mixed in with stand by. It seemed like if you got there early you'd have just as good seat as someone who used a Fastpass. Next time I wouldn't use a Fastpass.

The show is really improved at the Hyperion Theater, the screen alone is much clearer, the seats more comfortable and the snow effects are way heavier. It felt like a soap snow blizzard at the finale. Matthew loved it, I'm not sure what Nathan thought. I think he was happy sitting in AC for a while.

Next we ate at ABC Commissary since it's just a couple minutes away from Frozen Sing along. I got the cheeseburger with shrimp

DH got the salmon

And I had to get the Olaf cupcake...and eat his head

Lunch was ok, I think my mom got a salad and the boys got cheeseburgers maybe? I don't remember. Counter service at DHS is pretty boring if someone in your group needs to eat something more traditional theme park such as my brothers. I wish they had something more interesting on the menu as well.

Next we went back to hotel and came back for dinner, fantasmic and fireworks!

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 21st, continued

On our way out I had to stop and take pictures in front of the topiary.

I thought this sand sculpture was so cool.

Bus ride back home was uneventful and Nathan took his much needed nap.

We came back in time for dinner. We had reservations at Sci-Fi and DH and I had never eaten there. We checked in, and very quickly we were taken to our car.

DH had the chicken pasta

I had the steak.

DH said his stomach was hurting. I blamed the counter service salmon. Just sounds gross to me. Our meals here were both ok. The ambience was really cool and the old B movie reel was awesome. It wasn't long enough to not start repeating at the end of the meal though.

My dessert was the house made candy bar. SO good

Nathan and Matthew in particular really liked the restaurant.

The My Disney Experience app said Star Tours was only a 10 minute wait so we went over there. Matthew wanted to stop for this picture first

Star Tours was fun even though I always get a little sick on it. I have to take Dramamine every single time.

After that we walked across the park to use our Fantasmic Fastpass. We had time to ride Rock n' Roller Coaster while my mom queued up for Fantasmic. Nathan isn't the biggest fan of launching roller coasters...

Poor guy, I think this picture is hilarious though.

Next up, Fantasmic and Frozen fireworks

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 21st, continued.

After the ride we met up with my mom who got good seats for the show.

It was so incredibly hot still. We were all melting sitting there waiting for the show. Nathan, however, was super excited and was pointing towards the mountain and saying Mickey Mouse.

Fastpass got us really good seats, we've never seen Fantasmic from the middle like that.

DH's bestie...

After the show we walked back towards Hollywood Boulevard to get a decent spot for the Frozen fireworks. It was close to the show beginning so we didn't get the best spot, we had a tree partially obstructing the show. There's no pictures from this, DH recorded a video instead, but wow, the fireworks there are amazing. Dare I say, they might be better than Wishes. Not holiday Wishes of course. It snowing!!! Or should I say, snoaping?

We bribed Nathan with ice cream if we could stay for the fireworks so we stopped on Sunset Boulevard for some. On our way out of the park we took some truly awful photopass pictures.

It was still pretty hot...can you tell?

We shopped for a little on Hollywood Boulevard and when we were paying we didn't notice Nathan disappearing. We ran out of the store and found him almost at the Mickey readers leaving! It was kinda scary, Nathan had had it for the night.

Since we waited for the crowds to dissipate after the fireworks we had a nice empty bus ride home.
I want to see this every night when I come home

Teach me how to Shruggie

Next, Epcot day!!

 

[FlaggNL]

Great start of the TR! Wonderfull pics and love the Star Wars tee And off course following along!

 

[BigHero4]

Love all the smiles from your brothers (and the whole group)!!

 

[12in12]

I love your Minnie ears! Great start to your TR and I am looking forward to reading the rest.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Following along! Sounds like a great trip so far. Kona breakfast sounds like something I need to try!

 

[LisaBelle]

Your photos are making me crave Kona. Kona breakfast is soooo delicious! I tried it for the first time last summer. I had the Tonga Toast and my DH had the macadamia nut pancakes. We loved both of them. I highly recommend Kona to everyone.

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 22nd

Sorry I stopped updating. I have a little time right not, let's see how far I can get.

Before I start I just wanted to mention here how much trouble we had with Nathan at the Mickey readers in almost every park. Well, not with Nathan, he did fine but with the Magic Band. One of us would have to hold up his magic band and get him to open his hand, and place his finger on the reader. I'm not sure why but we were always having problems with it. Twice they had to reset the Magic Band and take his picture. The second time this happened the CM recommended we use one of our fingers instead. My mom put her fingerprint on his band and we never had any problems with it after that. So if you are traveling with someone who needs extra help at the readers, I'd recommend you use someone else's fingerprint.

So now let's get on with the trip report! Today is Epcot day! DH's favorite park by far, he was super excited. Woke up bright and early and walked to Captain Cook's and saw this beautiful view.

Can never ever get over that!
DH and I shared a breakfast sandwich on a croissant and a pop tart. We ate so many of those breakfast sandwiches this trip and I didn't take one picture of them! They were pretty good for Disney counter service breakfast, but last trips Mickey waffles with bananas foster at Wilderness Lodge was better, IMHO.

After we were all ready we decided to take the short walk to the TTC to get on the Epcot monorail. We walked over there and....the monorail was down. This happened a lot this trip, it was frustrating. However, they said we could wait 15 minutes when they'd open the Epcot monorail at 9:30, or take a bus. After what happened last time with the full buses with Nathan we decided to wait.

When we got to Epcot and through bag check we stopped to take a couple pictures.

We went straight to Test Track. Matthew loved designing the car! Nathan didn't care, lol. When Nathan saw the boarding area I'm sure he recognized it as being exactly like Radiator Springs Racers and became excited for the ride.

Smiles!
After this we walked across the park and rode Soarin' with our Fastpasses. We were walking up to the Fastpass entrance and there was a large group of people standing pretty far back and we walked past them to scan our Magic Bands. Then my mom starts tapping at my shoulder and I turn around and the entire group is screaming at us that we cut in front of them, then they said just go! to us. I found that incredibly rude. They weren't anywhere near the entrance and were literally just standing there. DH and I just looked at them and went inside.

Nathan looks so excited, no? lol
The entire family loves Soarin from California so it was a great flight as always. Then it was lunchtime! We had issues with Nathan eating enough for breakfast this entire trip so we ate lunch as soon as the restaurants opened. Today was an old favorite of DH's and mine, Sunshine Seasons. I got the pork chop with strawberry shortcake

SO good! I want some now!
DH got the mongolian beef I think? I can't remember, he said it was very good.

With creme brulee

Matthew got a sandwich and inhaled it. My mom got the veggie flatbread I think and Nathan got the orange chicken. Everyone loved it such a good place to eat.
Next, Spaceship Earth and dinner with princesses!!

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 22, continued

Next it was time for our Spaceship Earth fastpasses. At some point we stopped for one of our many, many trips to MouseGears. It was a nice air conditioned reprieve and I started spotting things that I wanted.

Spaceship Earth was a madhouse when we got there! The wait said 30 minutes for stand by but it was crazy. So happy I had Fastpasses.

I'm still not used to having to wait at all for this ride. Very sad. Also, Spaceship Earth was not happy today it stopped every couple of minutes. A little torturous. I was worried the boys and my mom would hate it. Matthew liked it but my mom and Nathan seemed annoyed. We would try again later in the trip.

Then I saw a lonely Photopass photographer...we can't have that!

Then he saw my birthday button and we did this magic shot!

Loved this!

Nathan was tired after this so we went back. Today was also a scorcher. I'm not used to Florida being THAT hot. I enjoyed sitting in our rooms for a little too.

When we came back we had reservations at Akershus!! Matthew was also super excited for his first character meal this trip he bought an autograph and everything. After we checked in we waited a pretty long time outside. The host kept bringing us all ice water.

DH had to take this picture of Maelstrom...RIP

Then we checked in and met Belle!

I liked this Belle much more than the previous one. She asked me if DH ate his food like the Beast getting it everywhere, and I said he does! It was hilarious. When it was the boys turn however, they were both completely smitten. Nathan has always loved Pocahontas, she was his favorite Disney character. But after this...

I've never seen Nathan like that! he was giggling and smiling at her. We asked him later if he loved Pocahontas more or Belle and he'd answer BELLE. Shocker.

We had a lovely table by the window. Last year we were in a hallway so this was better.

Now some food pictures.

This is Nathan's chicken dish, and he ate all of it. That's a huge compliment.

DH got the traditional meatballs, he loved them from last year and had to repeat.

This is my salmon. SO GOOD. Last year when we came I was pretty sick so I still cannot remember what I ordered. I liked this a lot.

I don't have a picture of the dessert platter, but we received 2 for the table.
Next, all the Princesses!!

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

We met Mulan, Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White. No Sleeping Beauty this year, but that's ok we aren't the biggest fans of that movie.

Matthew never gets tired of the Princess attention.

Nathan only got up to meet Cinderella but the picture is pretty bad, lol. When it's time to eat that's all he cares about.

We then walked around the Norway pavilion.

We also stopped at China before looking for a spot for Illuminations. We ended up right in front of Germany with practically nobody around us. It was a great view, and Nathan could move around a little and not bother people around us.

I love the fireball part

Oooo.
I always love Illuminations. It makes me cry every time. Then we started the long, long walk to the front of the park. We stopped at MouseGears to shop a little because I wanted the crowds to dissipate a little so Nathan didn't have to stand on the monorail. When we got to the monorail it was nice and empty.

Next up, we get rained out of Animal Kingdom! Surprise, surprise.

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

Great start of the TR! Wonderfull pics and love the Star Wars tee And off course following along!

Thanks so much! DH got it at the Disney Store.

Love all the smiles from your brothers (and the whole group)!!

Thank you so much for reading! It's not always easy to get smiles out of Nathan, Disney magic!

I love your Minnie ears! Great start to your TR and I am looking forward to reading the rest.

Thank you for reading and for following along! Every trip I get a new pair of Minnie ears to remember what trip it was.

Following along! Sounds like a great trip so far. Kona breakfast sounds like something I need to try!

Kona is amazing!! We waited way too long to try it.

Your photos are making me crave Kona. Kona breakfast is soooo delicious! I tried it for the first time last summer. I had the Tonga Toast and my DH had the macadamia nut pancakes. We loved both of them. I highly recommend Kona to everyone.

I think it's funny that you and your DH ate the opposite of my DH and I. We have great taste.

 

[worldfanatic]

Love your report.
I also always spend a ridiculous amount of time in MouseGears.

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

June 23rd. Animal Kingdom Day!

Woke up bright and early-ish and had our traditional Captain Cook's breakfast deliciousness. And we were off to the bus stop.

Sleepy twins.
Bus ride selfies

Since we were the first bus stop we got a seat. People at the Grand Floridian however seemed like they mostly stand. I think that's ridiculous, you are paying the most for a standard room on property and you have to stand on the bus....oh well

I like the ride to AK, it's very relaxing. When we pulled in we saw the GIANT Avatar show building. It was so massive, I can't wait to see Pandora now.

Yay!!

I love the Tree of Life, and how you come around the corner and it's revealed, very nice.

Obligatory photopass pictures

I wore my Donald Duck shirt today because we were going to Tusker House for dinner and I wanted him to love me.

Our first Fastpass was for Kilimanjaro Safari's. Fastpass is kinda far from the stand by queue now, it's a little strange. But now time for animal pictures

I love hippos hiding under the water

It's blurry but I love that DH caught the moment the baby elephant was drinking water

Rhino!

A herd of sable antelope. The dark one is the alpha.

Next, Everest and Festival of the Lion King

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

Forgot to include this sleeping kitty picture from the Safari

Everest was our next Fastpass so we started walking across the park. We ran into another lonely Photopass photographer and DH and I couldn't resist. The boys and my mom sat this one out

That magic shot is kinda weird to me...

When we got to Asia, I had to reenact this picture from our last trip. Last time I was soaked and in a poncho but it's otherwise the same

DH wanted to do it too

Everest time! My mom elected to sit this one out so the four of us rode

I'm not sure what Nathan thought, DH said he was laughing so I guess he liked it. Matthew loved it. DH and I were happy we weren't getting pelted by rain this time.

Time to walk back across the park to see Festival of the Lion King. I didn't plan this part very well. One of Nathan's favorite movies is Lion King so we were excited to see what he thought of it.

It was great as usual. The elephant float was missing, it was kinda weird. Nathan was just quietly watching it, no laughing or singing. My mom said he loved it but who knows.

After this we went to eat lunch. Our absolute favorite place, Flame Tree Barbecue, was closed still. :-(
DH and I had no idea what to eat at AK, we always eat there. We decided to try Pizzafari because....it was close? The boys like pizza? We've never been there before and it was ok. It wasn't nearly as bad as either of us thought it would be. And I got a birthday cupcake! Cupcakes always win me over.

We didn't take any pictures of the food. Oops.

After this it was time for our Kali River Rapids Fastpass. It was super hot this day so we were looking forward to it. We put our stuff in the lockers and entered the Fastpass line. Btw, why is the Fastpass queue so long? It's ridiculous.

Anyway, we rode in a raft with another family and when the big drop happened the raft turned and at that moment I knew we were gonna get it. Matthew, DH, and I got a tsumani down our backs. It felt really nice but it was a little extreme. When we were walking back to the front of the park my shorts were so wet, I could feel water dripping down my legs. I wasn't hot anymore so that's a plus. DH had to wring out his socks because he forgot to take them off before the ride.

We were all wet and uncomfortable so we went back for our break.

Next, Tusker House dinner and the deluge.

 

[SeaweedCupcake]

We got back to the resort and everyone wanted to nap except me. The past couple days that I would nap I would wake up feeling much worse. I just wanted to rest.

At this point we hadn't been inside Magic Kingdom yet and it's my absolute favorite park. I wanted to ride the monorail around the resort loop just for fun, but nobody wanted to do that with me. So I took my refillable mug and went by myself. I've never done anything like this before and it was so much fun having a little solo excursion.

First I filled my mug and then went to the monorail platform where I was the only person there.

Isn't it pretty?
My ride is here

DH text me at this point asking me where I was, but he still didn't want to join me.

SO pretty! But those clouds look ominous...

Magic Kingdom! I was tempted just to get off the monorail and go inside.

When I was done with that, it was still early and I didn't want to go into the room because I knew I would fall asleep. First I did some pin shopping, then walked downstairs to Pineapple Lanai and had what would end up being my only Dole Whip of the trip.

I had to eat it fast it was melting super quick. Then I decided to go into the lobby and sit on one of the benches and call my dad. Very relaxing. Then it was time to start heading back so I took some selfies to document my progress back to the building.

When everyone was finally awake, we started walking towards the bus stop when the rain started. We went into Boutiki and got ponchos and umbrellas. Then we walked the super wet sidewalk to the bus stop.

It was still raining at Animal Kingdom when we arrived. It made the walk up to Tusker House uncomfortable. They also moved the check in area so DH and I had a hard time finding it.

When it was time to take our check in picture the rain had stopped enough for it. yay!

Next, Donald Duck's shenanigans.