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]

I made the mistake of asking Ross to give Hope some bread.

Then we proceeded to gorge ourselves…

Julia, how are those shrimp?

When the meats came around, Ross asked the waitress, “Where’s the chicken?” Now I had prepared Ross that they had removed chicken from the menu but I don’t think he believed me. What was he thinking questioning the WDW Magic boards?


Our waitress confirmed that the chicken was indeed removed from the menu – but would he like chicken?


Excuse me?


Believe it or not, she got an order of chicken from another restaurant in the Poly and brought it to him!

After that he kept reminding me, “I told you they would have chicken!”


My ultimate weakness….

They even brought cupcakes for the girls.

We could barely move when we left.

We looked in the gift shop for a bit and then left and went back to FQ. We spent some time swimming and I did some laundry.


As I was throwing in some clothes, I felt someone watching me very closely. I turned to find a couple trying to figure out how to start the washers. Again, this couple did not speak very good English. They had their clothes in 2 of the washers, but they were trying to start them with the wrong payment machine, so the number of the washers was not coming up on the screen as an option. I showed them the other credit card machine and set up the washers for them. They were very appreciative.


Up next: Our pool day & and my great idea…

 

[Figment Forever]

Cute pics, as always.

Your Tiana is the one we met last December, she's adorable.

Thanks so much!! Yes - Tiana was great! She even made a fuss when we said we were staying at FQ.

 

[ginadee]

The pics of Hope hugging the princesses brings a tear to my eye. So heartwarming.

 

[mrdrift]

What a wonderful day. Hope and Julia were able to interact with some characters. I loved the video of Hope and Belle, that was really special and glad the cast member was able to do that for the family. Your experience at Ohanna with the bread between Ross and Hope was really special and then the waitress going to another location to get some chicken for Ross, just shows what Disney employees will do to make your trip really Magical. Following along.

 

[Figment Forever]

The pics of Hope hugging the princesses brings a tear to my eye. So heartwarming.

Thanks so much for reading! When are you going in September? We are hoping to go back then too.

 

[Figment Forever]

What a wonderful day. Hope and Julia were able to interact with some characters. I loved the video of Hope and Belle, that was really special and glad the cast member was able to do that for the family. Your experience at Ohanna with the bread between Ross and Hope was really special and then the waitress going to another location to get some chicken for Ross, just shows what Disney employees will do to make your trip really Magical. Following along.

Thank you! Yes, some Cast Members really go above and beyond to spread some Disney Magic!

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 6 – Saturday, September 20th – Pool Day


It’s always hard to believe when we hit the mid way point of our trip. Although we have half a trip left, half is already over!


So today was our pool day. A day that we could relax, swim, do laundry, visit DD, and do some recuperation before getting back to the craziness of the parks.


Our plan was to sleep in and then do some swimming before going to DD. But when we woke up it was apparent the skies looked questionable so we switched our plan and decided to go to DD first.

We took our time and leisurely walked around FQ.

We wanted to take the boat but alas…

So it was off to the bus.

Away we go...

 

[Figment Forever]

When we got to DD, we decided to have some lunch before we shopped so we went to Wolfgang Puck Express – one of my favorites. Julia doesn’t like pizza here as much as other counter service places but Ross and I think it’s excellent!

While the pizza may not be her favorite, this makes up for it…

We also shared a piece of cheesecake.

Then it was off to shop around…

Hope never asks for anything, but she found a few things that caught her fancy.

I was a Star Wars fanatic as a kid – I can’t image how it would have been to visit here when I was 8!

My dad made me a Darth Vader costume when I was around 10 – so I sent him this picture.

 

[guitaristemily]

watching your guys is so awesome - aking e excited for my trip later this year

 

[Figment Forever]

We continued our shopping adventure.

We made it to the T-Rex store and then back to Lego again.

We walked around more than we had in the past. Even with all the construction walls up, it was enjoyable. Although it was VERY crowded.

 

[Figment Forever]

watching your guys is so awesome - aking e excited for my trip later this year

Thanks for reading! Wishes for a magical journey!

 

[Figment Forever]

The weather seemed to be better so we made our way back to FQ to go swimming.

We were happy to be able to take the boat.

 

[Figment Forever]

It was exciting to see Hope enjoy the water a little more this year. She really enjoyed the kiddie pool.

It was quiet at the pool area which was great!

No pictures please!

When we had our fill, we went back to the room and got changed. Then we thought about what we wanted to do next.


Originally, we figured we could go back to DD. But we had really had enough for the day. Ross was happy just hanging around the resort. But I knew MK had EMH that night – it would be opened until midnight. So I suggested that we go and close it down. All we had to do was add an extra day onto our ticket.

Ross of course stood firm – “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!” That wasn’t in our plans, so we should just stick with it being a pool – no park day. But it was so unbearable. Soon, Julia was on my side and we were off to the front desk to add a day to our ticket.

Okay , so we had a 10 day base ticket already. Before we left, I had thought about the idea of going to a park for a while during our pool day, so I called and asked if it could add an 11th day park ticket and how much it would cost. The young lady on the phone said no problem! We could add up to 14 days anytime during our trip & it would cost $10.00 per person / per day. Cool!

When we got to the desk, the CM told us we would have to do it at the park – at guest relations. Okay – Let’s go!

When we got to MK we got in line and when we were called, we got a very different answer. The gentleman said, NO - you can only have up to 10 days and then you have to buy a new 1 day ticket. I was shocked. I repeated what I was told on the phone. He said that a 14 day ticket was only for guests from the UK.

My response: “Really? Are you sure?”

Now this CM was so sweet but I was so certain that I was right, I kept asking, are you sure?

By this time Ross was beyond a nervous wreck. He kept coming over to me and insisting that the CM knew more than me. And… “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!”

I was just about to say okay – never mind when the CM’s supervisor came over and told the man he was wrong! I could have an 11th day added at $10 per person per day. I was excited! Partially because we would get to go into MK for the night and even more because I could prove my husband wrong! HAHA

The CM who was now so embarrassed could not stop apologizing to me. I kept telling him it was no big deal. Ross, on the other hand, was still nervous and thought for sure something would go wrong.

Soon, we were off and into the MK. I held my breath when we scanned our bands, but it worked – no issues. “See dear husband, we changed the plans and it’s all good!” (At least for now...)

 

[Figment Forever]

I have to say this was the best time we had in the MK during our trip. Maybe because nothing was planned and we just went on rides as we wanted to.

We did get a few Fast Passes from the kiosk. Most everything had no availability, but no worries. We didn’t really care.

No autographs please...

There was a rubber ducky on the loose in IASW.

Not too shabby... well, for me.

A late night snack.

Can you say Extra Magic Hours?

We stayed until midnight! It was an amazing time!


Up next: Another change of plans...

 

[Figment Forever]

Oops... forgot our Memory Maker Photos...

 

[mrdrift]

A little quiet time at the pool is a wonderful option to relax with the family. You have now taught a few of us about adding extra tickets to our packages, so now I can say I learned some thing new today. Ending the night at Magic Kingdom is a must for all Disney fans. Following along.

 

[Figment Forever]

A little quiet time at the pool is a wonderful option to relax with the family. You have now taught a few of us about adding extra tickets to our packages, so now I can say I learned some thing new today. Ending the night at Magic Kingdom is a must for all Disney fans. Following along.

Thanks for following along! Yes, one of the best things our family has done is to include a pool day during our trip. But... you better read the rest of my TR before adding any extra park days...

 

[FlaggNL]

Again, love the pictures! Got a glimpse of POFQ I guess and love the chicken story! As I am correct they got you chicken which came from another restaurant?? That's what I call Disney Magic. Great that they do this for the customers

 

[ginadee]

Thanks so much for reading! When are you going in September? We are hoping to go back then too.

I'm hoping to go sept 3-8. It may be a solo trip. Don't know yet.

 

[Figment Forever]

Again, love the pictures! Got a glimpse of POFQ I guess and love the chicken story! As I am correct they got you chicken which came from another restaurant?? That's what I call Disney Magic. Great that they do this for the customers

Disney Magic for sure! I'm pretty sure the waitress said she asked the chef at Kona Cafe to just grill some chicken. She even asked if we wanted more! It was a shock - because my husband was really just teasing her, he wasn't complaining.