Pre-Trip Our Almost Totally "FREE" Trip To Dsney

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for taking some time to check out my pre-trip report!

This is the second trip-report I have done. If you want to check out my first one you can find it here:

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

Our almost Totally FREE trip to Disney will take place from September 15th to the 25th. We are staying at POFQ – same resort as last year. It’s small and cozy (for Disney) and worked very well with us. So as much as I wanted to try Riverside and Julia wanted AOA, Ross offered the advice of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” So POFQ it is.

Let me start by introducing my cast of characters:

Me – Mary, aka “mom”. I am a teacher turned homeschool mom, advocate and blogger. I LOVE Disney and would love to be on the Disney Parks Moms Panel one day! (Made it to round 2 last year.)

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. I consider our time in Disney as her intense therapy as she always seems to do something incredible when we are there.

Okay so I know you are all wondering… how is this trip almost “Totally FREE”? Well, first of all, we do have the FREE dining plan. However, on top of that, this year we are…

Diaper FREE! YAHOO!! Which also means – diaper bag FREE!

TSA Special screening process FREE! Hope can also tolerate drinking beverages other than her “special” combination of juices which means we don’t need to take liquid on the plane with us!

High Chair FREE – Hope is making progress using a booster seat – which seems to be easier when going to a sit down restaurant. I know that seems weird to think of a five year old in a highchair– but Hope has such low muscle tone that supporting herself in a regular seat for a long period of time - even and hour or so for dinner is tough for her.

I also have a husband who is now “beard” FREE.

Well, almost beard free – he has a small amount of facial hair. But Ross’ new job required him to lose the Duck Dynasty look. He is quite sad because he is sure he will not be picked to be “that guy” without it.

It also means he will not be able to keep his yearly Halloween costume tradition:

Now, moving on to Stress FREE? No – not a chance.

Stroller FREE ? No – not for a long while yet. But that’s okay. It means I don’t have to carry a back pack in the parks.

And so, for all of you who would like to follow our journey – Thanks and welcome aboard!!!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Looking forward to this!

 

[BWK05]

Just finished reading your last TR and it was great and looking forward to the upcoming report! We have been coming to WDW every year since 2007 when my daughter was 7, she is now 14 and my son is 9 and they both insist every year that we go to Hoop De Doo Review. While I may role my eyes at some of the corny jokes it is worth every penny when I see those two laughing so hard every year. It's one of the highlights of our trip and would easily consider giving up a couple hours at AK to do the show.

 

[Disney Toitle]

So excited for you! Have a great trip! Hoping to see a TR too!

 

[BaltimoreBaloo]

Hi Mary, I followed along with your last TR. I'm excited to read this one! It's great to hear how "FREE" you are this year! Ross looks good without that beard! He looks so much younger, holy cow! Now if I could only get my father to cut his!

 

[Figment Forever]

Looking forward to the rest of your report! I will be in the parks on the 20th and the 25th--with a Disney cruise on the days in between. I'll probably be in MK in the 25th, will say hi if I spot you!! Although it would have been easier to spot you if Ross was still sporting the beard! LOL. But I have to agree, he looks great without it.

Please say hi if you see us! We will be the family who looks very sad since we will be leaving that day.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

We've never really ultra-planned our previous trips but with the feeling that I'm missing out on things I decided to be rather more organised this year...and was promptly initially annoyed to find the opening hours had significantly changed after I'd planned everything! However my annoyance quickly disappeared when I realised most were extended by a couple hours on several nights! I wouldn't be happy if my MK hours were cut tho!

I've never done the golf or Hoop dee do review so can't comment on how good they are, but Id probably be more inclined to do AK in a bit more detail over Hoop dee doo review but that's only because I'm a big animal fan & like the trails & safari. Being an ice skater too I'd definitely be excited about skating at DHS if I could! Everything you've got planned so far sounds fab tho

Thanks for the input! We are still debating but leaning towards staying longer in AK. Still trying to figure out how the ice skating works at HS. The term, "limited availability" has me nervous.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

What if Julia and Dad go to Hoop De Doo for a special Daddy Daughter night and you and Hope could have a leisure night at AK. You could grab a quick service at Pizzafari or Flame Tree to keep your costs down. Then you wouldn't have to loose any other ADR's. Win Win. Julia gets her dinner and you get to experience AK at night!! Sorry....this is the obnoxious micro planner in me.

Thanks for the input - that's a really good idea. But I should have mentioned that Ross doesn't want to see the show. lol Maybe we will just reverse it around and Julia & I will go.... Hmmmm more thinking to do....

Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

So excited for you! Have a great trip! Hoping to see a TR too!

Thank you!

Julia is already thinking of a "working title" for our TR. lol Hopefully, it will be done before next year!!

 

[Figment Forever]

Hi Mary, I followed along with your last TR. I'm excited to read this one! It's great to hear how "FREE" you are this year! Ross looks good without that beard! He looks so much younger, holy cow! Now if I could only get my father to cut his!

Thanks for reading!

I know - I do like him better without the beard, but he misses it so much! It really did become part of his personality! lol

 

[Figment Forever]

Hej great that you are returning to the world! Hope there will be a TR afterwards! Loved your previous report! In the meantime enjoy your pre-feelings as much as we do! The plans sounds great! And you are there a month prior to our trip!

I love the "pre-feelings"! Your trip is getting closer too- have fun! Hope to see a TR when you get back. Enjoyed your last one!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

Looking forward to this!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[Figment Forever]

Just finished reading your last TR and it was great and looking forward to the upcoming report! We have been coming to WDW every year since 2007 when my daughter was 7, she is now 14 and my son is 9 and they both insist every year that we go to Hoop De Doo Review. While I may role my eyes at some of the corny jokes it is worth every penny when I see those two laughing so hard every year. It's one of the highlights of our trip and would easily consider giving up a couple hours at AK to do the show.

Thanks for sharing! I know we would we would all end up loving HDD. Still deciding... So many choices... So little time... lol

 

[Zipadeelady]

Thanks for the input - that's a really good idea. But I should have mentioned that Ross doesn't want to see the show. lol Maybe we will just reverse it around and Julia & I will go.... Hmmmm more thinking to do....

Thanks for reading!

When I'm planning I tend to worry to much and then when we're there it all works out so what ever you chose will be great I'm sure.

 

[Figment Forever]

Can it be?

Usually the time creeps up soooo slowly - but not this year! I can't believe it!

Julia and I headed up to NY State Fair with 4H a couple of weeks ago and there we discovered...

PONCHOS!

We have never used ponchos in WDW - no matter how hard the rain hit us. But Syracuse, NY rain is much cooler than Florida rain. So we gave them a try and found out... we like ponchos. So into our backpack went 4 ponchos. Ross seemed a little disappointed with our revelation, (he hates them), but hey, he doesn't have to wear one.

When we returned home from State Fair, these were waiting for us...

I was nervous that Hope would not want to wear hers - sensory issues. So I figured we better give it a "test" run. No worries - she LOVED it. Even though I could tell it bothered her somewhat, it was obvious she KNEW what that band meant and she was more than willing to wear it proudly.

Unfortunately, we got some bad news this week. A dear friend of the family passed away, "grandma Flo", and we just found out her memorial service will be on the 21st when we are away. I am so sad that we will not be there for it - she was a very special lady. But I know she would say "Are you crazy - go make sure those girls have an amazing trip!".

In other news, our school district took away all of Hope's services because we refused to place her in a self contained Kindergarten classroom. We are now dealing with lawyers - that don't come cheap. It is weighing heavy on my heart and I am praying that I can let it go (no pun intended) for our trip. In our hearts, we know we are making the best decision for her. And since we planned to homeschool her anyway, we just need to be creative in finding ways to provide needed therapy.

Okay enough of the sappy sad stuff - it's 6 days to Disney!!!! And I still haven't settled on final plans.

In happier news, we just found out that Julia's best friends and their family will be in Orlando when we are there and they are going to try to meet up with us in MK or Epcot! Julia is beyond excited.

And now, the autograph book dilemma begins...

 

[FlaggNL]

I love the "pre-feelings"! Your trip is getting closer too- have fun! Hope to see a TR when you get back. Enjoyed your last one! Thanks for reading!

No thanks at all! We love to read and look to other TR's! Just helps to pump up the pre-feelings! For us it really comes close now. We almost can see...just a month left! For now we keep it up to next month and that sounds great as well! And you can be sure there will be TR rigth after we are back in the Netherlands!

 

[kasey1988]

We will be checking into pofq on the 21st! I just finished reading your trip report from last year and we were there the same time then to! I hope you and your family have a fantastic trip!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Not long now! Sorry for your loss and the issue with Hope. Have a great family vacation!

 

[lilclerk]

Well, almost beard free – he has a small amount of facial hair. But Ross’ new job required him to lose the Duck Dynasty look. He is quite sad because he is sure he will not be picked to be “that guy” without it.

AHH haha!! I'm late to this report, but my guy has a similar beard and was always picked as That Guy too, so funny.

I hope you guys have an awesome trip! We'll be there for the tail end of it

 

[Brwneyedgirl72]

Hope you had a wonderful trip - looking forward to reading your trip report

 

[Disney Toitle]

So excited for you! Make sure you try out the Mine Train! It's awesome! It's not a very thrilling ride, per say, but the music and the sparkly gems.............