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]

The video clip of Hope dancing brought tears to my eyes. I am so sorry about your difficult recent months. (Olaf hugs to all of you!) Thanks for not giving up on us WDWMagic-ers who want to enjoy reading about the rest of your vacation.

Thanks for reading and for the kind thoughts - and for the encouragement to keep writing!

 

[Figment Forever]

I'm so sorry to hear of the family loss, my prayers are with you and your family. I was glad to hear the battle for Hope came back positive for the family. Keep you husbands head up I'm sure a job will be found soon. The family day at Hollywood Studious turned out fantastic. I really loved the dancing Hope video made my whole family get very emotional. Following along.

Much appreciated! Ross has a few things in the works - so hopefully he will secure something soon! We are actually happy to be done with his prior company - they were not the best to work for. Thanks for following along!

 

[Figment Forever]

I cannot wait to read more about your trip!! Our ASD kiddo just turned 6 and we will be headed to the World in May. Last time he was there he was 3, and I too plan to have him set some lofty goals....Splash Mountain being one of them!! We have been watching YouTube videos of the rides as he is not so much concerned about the routine but anxious about the uncertainty, and I think it is helping! So happy for Hope's accomplishments during this trip

Hope LOVES to watch YouTube videos of the rides too! I think it does prepare her for certain things. Have an awesome trip in May - I will watch for your TR. Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

So excited you started your trip report! Hope is so adorable and I love reading how much she accomplished so far this trip. Disney Magic! My ASD brother always does amazing things there too. Following along!

Thanks so much for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

Wow, what a wonderful trip. Sounds like you had a fantastic time. Glad to see all of you had such a great experience. Thank you for sharing, looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

Oops - I forget to post the Memory Maker photos with Day 2.

As you can see, Hope was NOT in the mood for Disney photographers. It's so funny because they always ask her name and do their best to entice her to look... but if she's not in the mood - it's not going to happen!

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 3: Wednesday September 17th - EPCOT


Normally we are not a family that goes to the rope drops or arrives before opening time. But today we had an 8:45 AM breakfast ADR for the princesses in Norway, so being late was not an option.

We left our room and headed to the bus stop.

Our room was literally steps to the bus stop - so cool!

The bus system at FQ ran pretty well - the only bus that we seemed to need to wait a little longer for was Magic Kingdom.

I have to say it was so nice to enter through the line for breakfast reservations and it was even better to get to walk through EPCOT with practically no one around!

We actually took our time walking through. Usually Ross would take a detour to run and get a Fast Pass for Soarin, but there was no need to do that so we all just enjoyed the leisurely walk.

We were so excited to be in EPCOT during the start of the Food and Wine Festival! This was a first for us, usually we visit earlier in September and it begins a few days after we leave. Julia wanted to eat from the South Korea booth and Ross wanted to eat around the entire World Showcase.

We even came across a rainbow!

But wait... Doesn't rain usually come with rainbows?

 

[Figment Forever]

We made it to our destination – Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.

We had to wait a few minutes before we could check in so Julia went to check out the Frozen display inside the building and Hope and I checked out the souvenir carts with all the princess stuff while Ross waited on the line. As soon as we checked in at the podium, it started to pour! We huddled together under one of the umbrellas until they called our name.


It wasn’t too long before they called us and we went on line to meet Belle.

Amazing how Hope finds a good smile when she’s standing next to royalty.


I heard that they no longer do the photo package with this dining experience anymore. I guess I understand with Memory Maker – but it was a nice bonus to dining here.


We got settled and then got some fruit and muffins. We also ordered some Mickey waffles which took forever to come out. I think we asked the waitress 3 times before she remembered to bring them. I was curious to see if Hope would have the same reaction to Mickey waffles as she did Olaf cupcakes. The answer was – YES. She did not want anyone to eat the Mickey waffles!

Luckily, her attention to the waffles was interrupted by the royal ladies making their rounds.

Somewhere during breakfast Ross decided he wanted a princess to sign a banana. Yeah, I know, my husband is strange. I am happy to report all the princesses politely told him no – except Cinderella, who almost signed it.

Sorry honey, I don’t think Verizon gets service on produce.

He also tried to get Snow White to sign the check.

Breakfast was yummy – but anything but relaxing. I like this dining experience for obviously, the princesses. One of my goals for Hope for next year is for her to be able to take part in the princess parade.

 

[Sudcaro- Sudcaro]

Your husband is funny
I love the pictures! And I love your daughter's Mulan Tshirt. Honestly.

 

[Figment Forever]

With our bellies full, we headed back over to Future World. I was happy that it had stopped raining.

We stopped for a picture.

We had a Fast Past time for Test Track – but it was down, so they added a Fast Pass to our schedule. We went to Spaceship Earth, Nemo & Figment. We used Hope’s return card for Soarin. I was happy to see she loved it this year! I would say it was one of her favorites!


After we used our 3 scheduled Fast Pass times, I tried to begin to figure out how to reserve another time. I found it almost impossible. The line for the Kiosk was out of control – every time we passed by. I also found the APP to be acting up. I don’t know if it was my phone or the APP but it would never allow me to do anything and crashed at least once a day. I had to delete it and re-download it about 4 times during our stay. Of course each time, I was so scared it would erase all our information. The cast members assured me that would not happen.


I was bothered because I felt like it was something I was doing wrong. But it just became too stressful trying to figure out how to change times or waiting to add another attraction. So sadly, we just gave up on Fast Pass + after today. If it was an attraction Hope wanted to do, we used her disability card and if was for us – we just stood in the standby.


Both Julia & Hope wanted to do The Great Piggy Bank Adventure so we went over to Innovations.

We also took advantage of the Chase Disney Card photo opportunity.

Then we did something our family never really did – we decided to walk around World Showcase. Julia wanted to go to Japan and since it was sort of half way around – it made sense. I know Ross wanted to check out the menus for the Food and Wine Festival that would start on our next day in Epcot – so that was his incentive.


Before we embarked on our World journey, we stopped for a cold drink.

We are not soda drinkers so this is odd for us. But it’s just fun to try all the different drinks.

 

[Figment Forever]

Your husband is funny
I love the pictures! And I love your daughter's Mulan Tshirt. Honestly.

Yes - my husband cracks himself up. Julia is at the age where he embarrasses her - so that just encourages him even more! The Mulan shirt was from the Disney Store - I found it right before we left. I bought her Mulan & Pocahontas. I was excited because those are her 2 favorites! Thanks for reading!

 

[LauraRose]

You have an adorable family!

 

[mrdrift]

Your husband is very funny, I really like the part of trying to get Snow White to sign the check. All of the pictures of the family are really cute. Your girls really belong standing along side of all the princesses because they both are so adorable. Following along.

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 3 - Epcot continued...

Julia loved shopping around Japan.

She bought one of the pearls.

The show they do when opening them is very cute. The girl was impressed when Julia knew how to count back from 3 in Japanese without being prompted.

After some shopping and of course and ice…

We continued to walk. Hope decided it was time to recharge.

 

[Figment Forever]

Ross checked out some snacks...

We stopped for a picture or 2.

Then we came across something I had never seen before. As we were walking, a drawbridge was up. I didn’t even realize it was there! They were preparing the barges for Illuminations – and moving everything into place. We stopped and watched for a bit. (I mean - we really didn't have a choice.) It was pretty cool.

Once we made it back to Future World, we stopped for another picture. Once again, Hope wasn't the least bit interested.

We walked over to the Universe of Energy.

Julia loves this ride & Ross loves that he can nap for about a half hour. Julia also wanted to do the Sum of All Thrills so we decided to split up until our 6:00 diner reservations at Garden Grill. Hope & I headed to Nemo and then Figment. I’m not sure why I don’t have pictures; it may have been raining or Hope may have been keeping me too busy.

 

[Figment Forever]

By 6:00PM we made our way to the Garden Grill. Ross texted me that they were running late so Hope and I sat down and started dinner without them. I really like this restaurant. I enjoy the food selection, our service has always been fantastic and the characters never seem to rush through.


Chip & Dale always yell at me because I always confuse them!

By the time Mickey arrived, so did Julia & Ross.

After dinner, we went on Soarin and Living With the Land. Then we went over to Test Track. Julia & I rode and we got a rider switch for Ross. Julia likes the newer version and creating the car. Her design came in 1st place for 2 of the “tests”. She liked that a lot!

Ross and Julia rode Mission Space – I refused. Memories of last year still haunted me! Hope had a great time at the tunnel area at the end while we waited.


We walked over to World Showcase so Julia could get another ice from Japan and we watched Illuminations. Then we all rode Figment and Spaceship Earth once more before heading back to FQ. It was extra Magic hours and it was close to 11:00 by the time we got to the buses.

 

[Figment Forever]

Back home, mousekeeping left us a welcome home message which I thought was really cute!

Ross went to the food court and got his favorite bedtime snack!

No laundry or swimming tonight – just sleep.


Up next: Animal Kingdom

 

[Figment Forever]

You have an adorable family!

Thanks so much - you are sweet! Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

Your husband is very funny, I really like the part of trying to get Snow White to sign the check. All of the pictures of the family are really cute. Your girls really belong standing along side of all the princesses because they both are so adorable. Following along.

I was impressed with Snow White. First my husband asked her to sign the banana and she asked him if it was a poison banana. Then when he asked her to sign the check - she said she wouldn't know how to explain it to the prince!

Thanks so much for following along!

 

[disneypearl]

What a fun trip you all had! I'm enjoying following along.