Pre-Trip The one where planning started in 2011

I hope I'm not breaking an unwritten rule of posting a pre-trip planning log. I will try to make it entertaining since pre-trip planning started in the year 2011.

Our trip to WDW is on November 27. Will stay until December 1st. Why so short? Kiddo who has special needs who can't be out of his comfort zone more than 5 days.

The year is 2011, oldest kiddo is 4, the youngest is 2. I was thinking that when oldest kiddo graduated from Kinder I could take him to WDW. But because of Autism, ADHD and a Speech Delay, this had to be planned to PERFECTION. So, we started with going to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. 1 1/2 days of rides with limited meltdowns. Disney--we will be there in 2012!!

The year is 2012, WDW is not happening. Kinder was TOUGH. Kiddo is not ready for WDW. That's ok, we will revisit later.

2013-2014 - No clue what happened during these two years, so it must have been rough.

The year is 2015, youngest Kiddo (no special needs) is graduating from Kinder. Let's plan a trip to WDW! Hmm, not happening. Oldest kiddo is not dealing well with life. That's ok, the time will come.

The year is 2016, oldest kiddo is turning 9! Should we go to WDW. I'm having doubts, so we went to Hershey Park. Kiddo did well for 3 days! It was exciting, he did some rides, he handled medium-size crowd!

The year is 2017, kiddo almost got kicked out of school. Well, planning is the last thing on my mind, and it will send the wrong message.

The year is 2018, last year of elementary school for oldest kiddo, and my energy is all going to find a middle school for his needs. WDW needs to wait.

The year is 2019--In February 2019 during sub-zero temperatures at our home (NYC) I told the family "We're going to WDW this year. Don't know when, don't know how, don't know if it's going to work. I'll have Plan A (fun in the parks!), Plan B (fun at a resort!), Plan C....have not gotten to that one yet." Oldest kiddo (remember, special needs) asks me, "Do they have good food?". And I said "YES!!! If food is what you want there's a magical place called Epcot where you can have food from all over the world!" Kiddo said (remember, he had a speech delay but not anymore), "I'm excited about this, it is going to be fun."

YEAH!!! Kiddo is in as long as he has plenty to eat. And my youngest, she just wants to see princesses and get a manicure.

Stay tuned! Adventures in planning a WDW vacation for a non-traditional family continues.

 

[Spash007]

I hope I'm not breaking an unwritten rule of posting a pre-trip planning log. I will try to make it entertaining since pre-trip planning started in the year 2011.

Our trip to WDW is on November 27. Will stay until December 1st. Why so short? Kiddo who has special needs who can't be out of his comfort zone more than 5 days.

The year is 2011, oldest kiddo is 4, the youngest is 2. I was thinking that when oldest kiddo graduated from Kinder I could take him to WDW. But because of Autism, ADHD and a Speech Delay, this had to be planned to PERFECTION. So, we started with going to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. 1 1/2 days of rides with limited meltdowns. Disney--we will be there in 2012!!

The year is 2012, WDW is not happening. Kinder was TOUGH. Kiddo is not ready for WDW. That's ok, we will revisit later.

2013-2014 - No clue what happened during these two years, so it must have been rough.

The year is 2015, youngest Kiddo (no special needs) is graduating from Kinder. Let's plan a trip to WDW! Hmm, not happening. Oldest kiddo is not dealing well with life. That's ok, the time will come.

The year is 2016, oldest kiddo is turning 9! Should we go to WDW. I'm having doubts, so we went to Hershey Park. Kiddo did well for 3 days! It was exciting, he did some rides, he handled medium-size crowd!

The year is 2017, kiddo almost got kicked out of school. Well, planning is the last thing on my mind, and it will send the wrong message.

The year is 2018, last year of elementary school for oldest kiddo, and my energy is all going to find a middle school for his needs. WDW needs to wait.

The year is 2019--In February 2019 during sub-zero temperatures at our home (NYC) I told the family "We're going to WDW this year. Don't know when, don't know how, don't know if it's going to work. I'll have Plan A (fun in the parks!), Plan B (fun at a resort!), Plan C....have not gotten to that one yet." Oldest kiddo (remember, special needs) asks me, "Do they have good food?". And I said "YES!!! If food is what you want there's a magical place called Epcot where you can have food from all over the world!" Kiddo said (remember, he had a speech delay but not anymore), "I'm excited about this, it is going to be fun."

YEAH!!! Kiddo is in as long as he has plenty to eat. And my youngest, she just wants to see princesses and get a manicure.

Stay tuned! Adventures in planning a WDW vacation for a non-traditional family continues.

You got this! No unwritten rules broken - I've found this is a GREAT group of people to help plan trips because there are people from so many different backgrounds! And when family members get bored of hearing about Disney 24/7, it's nice to have this outlet.

We went this past December, and loved that time of year. The holiday decorations were up and the temperatures were a bit cooler. I believe that's right when the Festival of the Holidays will be starting, so while there isn't as much food as the Food and Wine Festival, there are still lots of options in Epcot, and for snack credits! (If you're on the dining plan).

Do you know where you're going to be staying?

 

[mdcpr]

You got this! No unwritten rules broken - I've found this is a GREAT group of people to help plan trips because there are people from so many different backgrounds! And when family members get bored of hearing about Disney 24/7, it's nice to have this outlet.

We went this past December, and loved that time of year. The holiday decorations were up and the temperatures were a bit cooler. I believe that's right when the Festival of the Holidays will be starting, so while there isn't as much food as the Food and Wine Festival, there are still lots of options in Epcot, and for snack credits! (If you're on the dining plan).

Do you know where you're going to be staying?

We're staying at the Wilderness Lodge. After waiting for so many years, I'm giving my kids an excellent vacation.

 

[aliceismad]

Your family will have a wonderful time! And even if your Plan A goes absolutely astray (which I doubt will happen), Wilderness Lodge is a beautiful resort.

Are you planning meet and greets for princesses? If you think you might like a character meal, Akershus in Epcot is a really good place to see princesses and an easier reservation than Cinderella's.

 

[Janir]

Your family will have a wonderful time! And even if your Plan A goes absolutely astray (which I doubt will happen), Wilderness Lodge is a beautiful resort.

Are you planning meet and greets for princesses? If you think you might like a character meal, Akershus in Epcot is a really good place to see princesses and an easier reservation than Cinderella's.

I'll second that! Akershus was also better food IMHO and a buffet style. Less cramped and a bit more room for interaction. Definitely an easier ADR. Wife and I needed some pictures and video of some favorite princesses to give as birthday presents to two of our sweet neighbor girls so we did this to get Cinderella and it was a lot of fun for just adults. We had to do a separate M&G for Elsa back in MK.

Yes, princess meet and greets can be fun for adults!!! Don't discount them as activities! Ok I'm not gonna stand in a 3 hour line for Elsa or any other, but as part of a dinner or a shorter line, its fun.