The way We do a Disney Re-Do ~~ Beach club Aug 13-22 - FINISHED!!! 1/20 About This Page:

[JoanneS]

I am so impressed that you didn't cave in to Hannah's issues and skip the breakfast. You seem to have a good control of balance for your family that is very impressive. I know it can't be easy, but IMHO you are doing a terrific job.

[mcc0313]

I am sorry that the morning was so difficult with you not feeling well and Hannah not in the best of moods...she did look a little more animated in the pictures so hopefully some yummy will put a smile on her face

[chezp]

Great updates!

[benjiboo25]

Thanks to everyone for continuing to follow along. I cannot believe I am only on day 3! I need to pick up the pace a bit more with this TR!

Originally Posted by saibot0001

No, I doubt it will crush it. I'm a mom too and I realize we are human and have our own moments.

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

I agree with sailbot0001! I think your great! For reasons that are very different than most too, I bet. We all have our moments and I know I've had mine and cried over them.
I'm sorry you can't relax and enjoy things more, hopefully you have your moments. And some of them were at Disney.

thanks . We had many AMAZING moments! Although we had our share of stressers, they were fewer and less intense than we experience in a typical week at home. Disney was amazing for our family!

Originally Posted by stubekis

OMG, wow, could I relate to this latest installment! My son has sensory issues and we constantly struggle with the exact quandry you posed. How much do we give in or allow this to control/change what we do, esp. when/if it will mean my dd will miss out on something she's excited about or considers important? And, I might add, we have gone through similar things on the reverse - although she doesn't have sensory issues, being nearly 4 years younger she is often slower and tires more easily, therefore meaning we risk meltdowns/tantrums from pushing too hard. I don't think there's an easy answer. One way we've survived (and I know you did a little of this on your last trip) is by splitting up at times. If she's had it one of us may take her to the room while the other stays with him. If his sensory issues are affecting his behavior and making him difficult, ditto. Or we just split up and do different things. It's not often we have to, but it has helped. I'm glad to hear Hannah started to come around and you were able to get her to CM. Can't wait to hear how things go with the meal and the characters! I hope it was an enjoyable experience!

Originally Posted by B.M.

Sounds like yall had a great time at Epcot, glad everyone enjoyed Mission Space (one of my faves) and that yall got to see Illuminations (we have yet to see it)!
I know what you mean about not knowing when to push and trying to balance special needs with other family members desires. I have two kids with sensory issues, one more severe than others. I try to find a balance. My oldest can not handle fire work type shows, I tried to "push" when he was younger, but now realize it was a mistake and we avoid them. My younger son with sensory issue has an abnormal, crazy fear of flying- but we will be flying in May. I know that we will have a rough go of it at first, but I expect him to calm quickly when he realizes he is fine and hopefully he will no longer have the fear..... I can also relate to how your younger dd feeds off your older daughtes sensitivities. My oldest two (13 and 11) do that. The 13 yr old has sensory stuff and my 11 yr old has always fed off his fears. As they are getting older, we still deal with it some- but my 11 yr old now recongizes that the fears are unwarranted and only a response to his older brother. For the longest he didn't like fireworks or roller coasters because big brother didn't; but now he realizes he actually enjoys both very much!

I am sure this is something that all families deal with, to some extent. Whenever there is more than one person involved, there are compromises to make and someone may not get their way. I try not to be so self absorbed in the ASD world to think it is that our struggels are that far removed from those of every other family. I just see how different it is to navigate that path with the oldest and youngest, and I can get resentful and imagine how "easy" life would be if all three could better manage social inetactions and emotional responses.

My youngest is already coming around to her own opinions on some things...a while back she realized the hair brush is not actually a torture device ("it hurts Hannah, but it doesn;t hurt me, right?") and she is a little dare devil who will not be disswayed from trying a thrill ride!

Originally Posted by Linnynad

No, it was me. We chatted about it a little during your pre TR. Josie has been getting EI at home up until last week. Now that she is 3 they evaluated her for the community program at the school and she did really well. BUT coming from where she did and making such huge progress they suggested we try at least one year with her in the program ( in fear of stopping everything she might revert backwards). During our trip she did great, however I also think because at the momment she is our only child it makes things easier. If I start to notice her getting cranky, we leave and go back to the resort and she either falls asleep or gets excited to go swimming.
Her sensory issues are nothing compared to what they were. Still can't get her to eat cake or ice-cream, but I guess that ain't so bad right???

So glad to hear of Josie's progress! She is such a beautiful girl!

We did not start to identify Hannah's issues until she was about 3. She was ridiculously smart (knew all of her letters and letter sounds at 18 months, started identifying sight words at 2...) and very verbal by one year. It was easy to overlook the other concerns, or be so blinded by our pride at having a "genius" for a dughter that we did not consider just how unusual those abilities were. Once we started down the ASD road, we realized she was not verbal, at least not in a traditional sense. She could (and can still) memorize just about anything she hears and spit it back verbatim. Although she produced much language, at an early age, it was not "original" language production. She was not "communicating" but simply "parroting." That said, she has come amazing lengths in the past 3 years!

Originally Posted by JoanneS

I am so impressed that you didn't cave in to Hannah's issues and skip the breakfast. You seem to have a good control of balance for your family that is very impressive. I know it can't be easy, but IMHO you are doing a terrific job.

thanks...

Originally Posted by mcc0313

I am sorry that the morning was so difficult with you not feeling well and Hannah not in the best of moods...she did look a little more animated in the pictures so hopefully some yummy will put a smile on her face

Yummy food makes us all smile!

[benjiboo25]

When we were choosing seats at the table, we made sure that Hannah was on the back of the booth, so she would not be subjected to unwanted character interaction. Of course, her little sister took the cue and insisted she also sit on the back bench to avoid the characters. Maybe character meals are not the best use of our family resources of time or money! LOL!


A chef came out to talk about making special food for Delaney. This was the first TS restaurant we experienced where chef did not walk me to buffet. He verbally explained some of the things that would be safe for her. When I got to the buffet, I could not tell which of the three potato dishes were the “hashbrowns” he indicated would be safe. But we were able to find enough items for her to eat. For the most part, our DD will fill up on lots of fruit, dry cereal and bacon/sausage at buffet restaurants. The chef did make specials waffles for DD, but she said they tasted “sour.” Oh well. At least they were cute!




By the time the characters started visiting, Hannah’s earlier mood was forgotten (thanks in large part to Mickey waffles and pancakes!) and she eagerly got up from her seat to meet them (except Goofy, of course). Little sister followed her lead and also warmed up to the fur friends (except Goofy, of course).






This was the first time Hannah had been willing to meet Pluto (I thought I had a picture! but no...). It was just the day before that she REFUSED to go anywhere near Pluto! She sets a goal, and talks herself through it. Stealing a title from another thread, this is one of the ways that “Disney brings out the best” in Hannah—she is willing to take risks and push herself at WDW in ways she would never do at home.


As you can see, Delaney LOVES Minnie mouse!!! We got to meet her a few times during this trip!!


Overall, it was a great experience. However, the restaurant got very crowded as we were finishing up our meal. We probably would have lingered longer (and DH would have filled another plate) if the place was still calm and mellow.


So we made our way to the monorail to take us to MK.


Hannah processed the CM experience in her own way throughout the day. To many, her comments would seem random and disconnected from any context. On the ride to MK, she talked about how good it was that she got her brownie after she met Pluto and not before--(Because chocolate is bad for dogs, of course!). She also said, “I enjoyed that more than you think I did.” Apparently I did not acknowledge that statement enough, because I heard it, and its variants, numerous times during the day. (No, really, I had more fun than you think!) I was glad to hear it! J


Next up: MK here we come!

[OneLittleSpark]

Another great update! Hannah looked very happy in the CM pics and I totally believe that she had a better time than you think! LOL How cute!

I am very much enjoying your pics, they to me empitamize(sic) Disney, you can see the joy in your faces, not a say cheese and fake smile pics. I love them! THe one with Delaney and Minnie, priceless! She sounds like quite the little firecracker...fun!

So glad everyone enjoyed CM and Hannah was able to enjoy herself as well. Sounds like your trip is going good so far. Waiting for the part where I think you are a bad mother, or so you say.

[saibot0001]

Aww...so glad Hannah warmed up to all the charachters (well, except Goofy) at CM's instead of spending the whole meal under the table. I'm glad she "enjoyed that more than you think ", and the pictures are absolutely adorable. Another great update.

[MGW]

Great updates! And you look wonderful in the pictures, not like you are sick at all! Can't wait for more!

[mcc0313]

Glad that the meal turned out to be a huge success and that Hannah "enjoyed it more than you think" Loved the smile on Hannah's face, she definitely seemed to lose her "not so good mood" from earlier in the day. Love Delaney and Minnie Mouse, just adorable.

[benjiboo25]

We entered MK about 9:45. Our plan was to head straight to ToonTown to meet the fairies before the crowds got too big (Of course this was something we skipped last time). The boys went to get FPs for one of the mountains and would meet us in ToonTown.


I got the LINES app before this trip and was obsessively checking the posted ride times before and during our trip. I know that the times are just estimates based on past information, but I did not find them to be very accurate, in both directions. I will still use the app (unless WDW makes an official one for DRIODS before our next trip) but will not let those estimates factor as heavily into our plans.


The LINES app indicated 40 minute waits for both the fairies and whatever Mountain the boys went to FP. We got to the fairies with a posted wait time of 15 minutes. The CM indicated the “real time” was even less than that and shared that Sunday mornings are the slowest time here! The same CM saw my GAC in my lanyard and asked us if we wanted to wait in the side area. (I did not plan to show it here, because last trip when we had the GAC for that one day, I was told it would not work for character meet and greets). I took her offer because I thought it would be nice to sit down while we waited for our turn. We remembered waiting (at the exit) last trip before meeting princesses. We were given a “special” pass that indicated we may have to wait up to 30 minutes for someone to escort us back.


This time, our wait in the comfy seats was longer than it would have been if we waited in line. We waited about 20 minutes, and saw people cruising through the line. We were brought through the back entrance where we waited to be taken in to see the fairies. I was disappointed that we were not “shrunk.” When I realized where we were, I tried to tell the girls, “I think this is where we wait to be shrunk before entering pixie hollow.” Whether she was playing along or really lost in the magic, Hannah kept finding “signs” that we had gotten smaller.

Meeting the fairies was fun, but Hannah was fixated on Tink (we would be meeting her last) and was not very interested in the first two fairies (except to tell them about Tinkerbell!). Delaney did not really have a context for the other fairies either, so kept looking ahead to Tink.




When we were through, the line for the princesses looked nonexistent, so we hopped in that line (the regular way) and were visiting with Cindy and friends in less than 5 minutes.

(Sorry I did not reduce all the pics...)





We then found the boys in the gift shop and we headed out to explore some more of Toontown.


I wondered what took them so long to get FPs for Splash Mountain. Apparently there was no line for the ride. So they rode it. Twice. And got fastpasses for later. The crowds were very cooperative for us on this Sunday morning! It was an EMH evening, so I imagine many people were planning to come later in the day. The LINES app had this day listed as an 8 for crowds, but it never felt that way to us. It was also VERY hot, so that may have been holding back the crowds as well. And, this was the start of the “free dining” promotion. Reflecting on it now, and how crowded MK was later in our trip, I bet that attendance was low on this day as many people traveling in this time frame were just arriving and not yet hitting the parks…hmmm….


Next stop: The Barnstormer (a family favorite!). There was no line. We rode 3 times in a row, barely having to pause through the queue.






We were tired of all the walking (LOL!) and we needed to get out of the sun. We headed to explore Minnie’s house. This was a highlight of the last trip (for me and the girls). We explored Minnie’s house on the MK day where we split up with the kids. The boys did not see it.

This time…they were not very impressed. DH kept rushing the kids through. I encouraged him to let them explore a bit, but he did not want to feel we were getting in others’ way. Not as magical…






We left Minnie’s. The heat was building. We were getting crabby. It was clearly time for some frozen lemonade. I ordered 3 lemonades with 2 extra cups. There was enough to split 5 ways.


We sat on a bench outside Minnie’s house to enjoy our lemonades. The stroller was parked next to the bench with Delaney in the front and Hannah in the back. We were watching the world go by in ToonTown.


It was a good day…


and then…

[lazanya]

Ahhhhh........What happens??? I'm enjoying your TR and now I'm in suspense!

[KMB733]

Glad to hear breakfast at Chef Mickey's went well. And you're day at MK is going well, but you can't leave us in suspense!!!

[Colexis Mom]

Glad breakfast was a hit! Sounds like a great time at MK!

[Linnynad]

Uh-oh!!! I have been smiling to myself while reading along on your updates today because of Hannah;s reactions to the chararcters and her telling you how much she enjoyed it!!! SOOOO wonderful!
Glad the crowds were low for you in MK. We were so rushed through Minnie's house this visit, I wish we could have spent more time in there.
Nervous to hear about what's coming up next though

[islandgirl]

I'm all caught up again....Great updates! Love all the wonderful pictures you got! You have a beautiful family! So glad your vacation was filled with magic this time!