An APRIL Adventure in Autism: 2008 (8/8) Time to Say Good-Bye....

[KathyRN137]

...I loved the Main Street pictures, but it just makes me miss Magic Kingdom more . I loved the KTTK tour, I am so happy we did that last year.

What a great tour! I'd love to do Yuletide Fantasy someday! (I am way too chicken to ever try the Segway Experience, although that one looks cool, too!)

I couldn't have said it better myself! Even though DD is only 12 she's got the teen issues already.

I frequently get from both girls "Why do we always have to do whatever Daniel wants?" They are usually very good about it all but sometimes it pops up. We've started splitting up at times too.

We did the KTTK tour when we went for our 10yr anniversary trip and loved it. Next year is 15yrs, maybe we should do another Mom & Dad weekend there..........

I love Mom & Dad weekends... you get to do all the "romantic" "grown-up" stuff!! (Or, run a half-marathon if you are so inclined!)

I think that a bit of sibling rivalry/jealousy is normal... so long as it isn't a constant theme.

Your girls and mine will come to understand their brothers' disability better as they get older and they will realize why they sometimes were treated differently...


Kathy

 

[All7OfUs]

Great update! In fact, if you don't mind, I've just made my desktop wallpaper the picture of City Hall. I hope that's okay.

I really love your pix of Frontierland too.

Great strategy for taming the teens. Sometimes drastic measures, like shopping, are needed! I always try to find that win-win solution too.

 

[KathyRN137]

Great update! In fact, if you don't mind, I've just made my desktop wallpaper the picture of City Hall. I hope that's okay.

I really love your pix of Frontierland too.

Great strategy for taming the teens. Sometimes drastic measures, like shopping, are needed! I always try to find that win-win solution too.

Why should I mind?? Enjoy!!

Hey, it's not always best to keep the entire family velcro-ed together all the time...


Kathy

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Another very enjoyable update, sad to see this TR come to an end. Kudos on dividing & conquering, this works for us as well, DH has a relaxing snack or drink & I shop

 

[KathyRN137]

Another very enjoyable update, sad to see this TR come to an end. Kudos on dividing & conquering, this works for us as well, DH has a relaxing snack or drink & I shop

Just because you have a plan, that doesn't mean there isn't room for flexibility! I really enjoyed this particular trip so very much because we were more inclined to roll with how we were feeling.

I'm sad to see this report end, too, but it's time to focus on the next trip!

Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

..thank you, MRYPPNS!!


http://www.disneytravelagents.com/S.../pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_Nov.pdf


Kathy

ETA: Whoops! Thought I was posting this on my pre-trippie!! LOL!

See! I really do need to wrap this baby up!

 

[eandesmom]

Chapter 33: Divide and Conquer (the Endoftripitis)

The guilt card... one of the many devices found in the Teen Bag of Tricks. “I want to go shopping!” she declared. “You said we could do some shopping and today’s our last day!”

BINGO!

I must confess that Main Street is one area of the Magic Kingdom that our family tends to overlook. Upon entering the park, we’re inclined to walk quickly past all the lovely shops on our way to the first attraction of the day in an effort to avoid a long line. At the end of the day, we’re usually too tired to do anything but gaze appreciatively at the many artful window displays as we slowly move with the crowds toward the gate and the bus stops beyond.

Kathy

Well, at least with the guilt card you can get information out of them as to what it is they DO want. Far worse (and more common in our house) is the silent card. The sulking silent treatment. Just not speaking. Sometimes accompanied by storming off to ones room but more often than not, being present...but not "present".

still, sounds like a perfect divide and conquer to me!

I the main street pictures! it is my dream to meander the shops one day, all of them! And I'd love to do it with DSD. I have a feeling, with my MIL on the trip next time, it has some real potential!

 

[mom2mek]

Nice update Kathy!

I hate endoftripitis!

Sara

 

[KathyRN137]

... Sometimes accompanied by storming off to ones room but more often than not, being present...but not "present".

Eh, I get that once in a while, too.

Thirteen is hard. I wouldn't be thirteen again for all the tea in China!

Nice update Kathy!

I hate endoftripitis!

Sara

Thanks, Sara!
(Should I stop by your report and look for an update?)


Kathy

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Ok-I'm heading over to your pretrippie for your fall trip-it looks like there's plenty there to keep me busy...

 

[KathyRN137]

Ok-I'm heading over to your pretrippie for your fall trip-it looks like there's plenty there to keep me busy...

I honestly don't know how that happened! My PTRs have never grown that long before!

Ugh... I'd better get going and post my last intallment....


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter 34: Going Out With a Bang! I Mean, a Splash!!

April 24, 2008 ~ The Magic Kingdom~


I believe that I left off in FrontierLand…

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of my favorite attractions in the Magic Kingdom! For one thing, it’s pure Disney… a fun, zippy, runaway train ride through humorous Western scenes created by some very talented Imagineers. But the second reason I love it is because its one of the few Disney “thrill rides” that Ed will do with the rest of the family because it doesn't affect his inner ear pressure!

A thirty-minute wait was posted for standby, but we didn’t want to take a chance on it. The park would be closing promptly at seven for Grad Night, and we wanted to end the evening with a Splash after this! So, we used the GAC (but from what I could see of the standby queue, the actual wait was much shorter than posted. Good news for everyone!


We boarded our train and barely had time to put away our pin lanyards and sunglasses. Then, off we went!

Howdy, folks! Please keep your hands and arms inside the train, and remain seated at all times…’cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!


How about a trivia question??

What is the name of the little deserted mining town on BTMRR?

While you’re trying to remember, I’m going to head over to Splash Mountain. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes…..




*



*



*



*



*

You know, Disney could’ve simply stuck a utilitarian sign on a pole that said, “Splash Mountain” in big black letters, but no! Look at all the whimsy that was put into this attraction’s entrance!


As I fumbled through my bag for my poncho, Ed announced that he would not be joining us. Oh, bummer! The last time we rode Splash, Billy got a bit nervous and I had really wished that Ed had been sitting next to him instead of me. (Not to mention that Tricia wouldn’t have to sit alone.) But Ed was adamant; he was not interested in getting wet. Off he went to… well, frankly, I can’t remember, but off he went while I gathered the kids’ ponchos and we entered the queue.


Fortunately, Billy did not seem anxious at all this time, so I began to relax. Well, as much as one can relax when ultimately facing an 87-foot drop at 40 mph! In the meantime, we had the lovely characters, flowers, and birds from Song of the South to entertain us on our relaxing float down the river…

Right before each of the “little” drops, Billy began to grab my arm and shout, “Here it comes! Here it comes!” The he laughed like crazy, which in turn made me laugh. Uh-Oh, here comes the big drop! Please excuse me while I put my hood up…..

This time we escaped with only our lower legs getting wet… I’ve had a much bigger soaking on Splash Mountain and I was so relieved not to be drenched, for now we were anticipating a 20-minute ride in an air-conditioned bus back to Old Key West!

Yes, the time had come for us to leave the Magic Kingdom for the last time. We met up with Ed, who was waiting for us at the ride’s exit, and began our heavy-footed walk through FrontierLand.

The crowd had cleared out considerably here:

Goodbye, Casey’s!

People were pouring out of the stores along Main Street and heading, as we were, to the exit. I tried to distract myself from my sadness by taking as many pictures as I could until Ed got annoyed that I was dragging my feet.

See? We stayed as long as we possibly could!


Not daring to risk being trampled by turning to face the oncoming crowd for a photo op, I took one last, brief glimpse at the Castle. Then, before I knew it, we were under the railroad trestle and through the turnstiles. Ah, Heavy Sigh! It always seems harder to leave the Magic Kingdom on the last day… I wondered why I had scheduled it that way, again! Ed, on the other hand, was already talking enthusiastically about the road trip ahead; he seemed to have no regret that our time in Disney was ending. I took some consolation in the fact that Tricia was feeling a bit sad like me. Misery does love company!

We queued up for the OKW bus and it soon arrived. Heavy Sigh! Our last Disney bus ride!

(Continued Next Post!)




Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

(Continued)


As we rumbled on back to the resort, we discussed our plans for dinner (or lack thereof.) Because the Magic Kingdom was closing early, we hadn’t wanted to waste any of our precious park time by stopping for something in the park. Consequently, everyone was beginning to get pretty hungry. It seemed that the resort’s counter service option, Good’s Food to Go, would be our likely destination but then Ed surprised me announcing he wasn’t in the mood for a quick burger; he wanted a full meal. He suggested that we try for a table at Olivia’s as walk-ins.


Knowing that we had Good’s as a back-up plan, I agreed and we hopped off at the Hospitality House stop and made our way to the restaurant. Billy, however, had other ideas. He ran across to the other side of the breezeway and tried to open the heavy door.

“Where are you going, buddy?” Ed asked, but I already knew where he was headed:

To the kids’ television in the check-in area for some more Mickey cartoons, of course!


He began to cry when we told him we were going the other way, so I told Ed that I would stop by the podium and see about a table and he could take Billy to watch the cartoons in the meantime. Tricia and I went into Olivia’s and luckily they were not busy. We took our buzzer-thingy and walked across to the other side of the breezeway and into Papa’s Den. There, Billy was happily laughing at the antics of Chip ‘n Dale while Ed sat in a nearby armchair, “resting his eyes.”


I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t dreading the long ride home the next day. Ed must’ve been thinking about it, too, because he commented that he really wanted us to try to get to bed as early as possible that night. Having dinner so late wasn’t exactly conducive to those plans, but that’s the way things had turned out so there was nothing we could do about it.


Soon our buzzer lit up and began vibrating and we tore Billy away from the cartoons with the promise of a big bowl of macaroni! We laughed as the hostess brought us to almost the exact same table we had been given earlier in the week…side room, by a window… perfect for Billy. He must’ve been getting tired because he was progressively getting louder and louder; so much so that Ed had to speak to him several times about lowering his voice. Ultimately, when threatened with bodily removal from the restaurant (and consequently… no macaroni) he settled down and began energetically scribbling on the kids’ menu with a pen that I produced from my bag.


I like Olivia’s. The food is good and the service is quick. My one and only complaint is the lighting… it always seems so brightly-lit in there! If they could only dim the lights a tad, I think the atmosphere would be a bit more relaxing. In any case, Ed was happy because he had already made up his mind on having the meatloaf before he even looked at the menu. Hmmm, comfort food! Perhaps he wasn’t as immune to endoftripitis as I had thought!


Nothing on the menu was really grabbing me and I wasn’t really feeling all that hungry anyway. I decided that a cup of soup and an appetizer would do for me.

Here’s the soup of the day… lobster bisque, I think.

Ed and Tricia began making fun of me for taking a picture of my soup…

The waitress saw that I had my camera out and offered to take a family photo, which was very thoughtful of her.

Soon the rest of the food came…

Ed’s meatloaf:

Tricia ordered the customary cheeseburger, which was served with lettuce and tomato that unfortunately went uneaten. That picture came out a bit blurry so trust me; it looked like the standard restaurant-type cheeseburger!

Billy was happy as could be with his macaroni.

Macaroni is even better when it’s Mickey-shaped!

I ordered the tomato and mozzarella salad with balsamic syrup. It was very good and along with the soup, was just the perfect amount of food that I wanted.

It was getting late and everyone was full, so we skipped desert and left Olivia’s. After a quick stop at the gift shop for something I cannot recall, we took a leisurely walk back to Turtle Pond. The marina area looked so pretty with the lights twinkling on the water!

Soon we were back in our cozy studio. After continuing the packing that I had begun that morning and loading a few items into the van parked right outside the villa, we rested a bit and then began preparing for bed. Ed wanted to be on the road immediately after breakfast, so we had no plans for the following morning except checking out of the resort.

Five days had never flown by so quickly!

After turning out the light and warning the kids that there “had better not be any fooling around” and that they should “close their eyes and go to sleep,” Ed turned and put his arms around me and asked me if I was okay.

“Of course I’m not okay!” I whispered, ruefully. “We’re leaving in the morning!”

He laughed softly, “We can’t stay here forever, Kathy!” Of course, I knew that to be true. But a couple more days wouldn’t have hurt! Not one little bit!



Kathy

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I hate the end of a trip...so sad! And why CAN'T we stay forever, Ed....WHY???

I don't blame you dragging your feet on the way out of MK. Make it last as long as you can!

I can't imagine a long drive after a Disney vacation...I'm glad you are going to bed early!

 

[KathyRN137]

I hate the end of a trip...so sad! And why CAN'T we stay forever, Ed....WHY???

I don't blame you dragging your feet on the way out of MK. Make it last as long as you can!

I can't imagine a long drive after a Disney vacation...I'm glad you are going to bed early!

I would truly rather not drive again... I'd only do it if it was the only possible way we could do a Disney trip!!

All I kept thinking of as I lay in bed that night was that we could've had 2+ additional days if we had flown the way we always had....


Kathy

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Wow great update. You really did a good job conveying Endoftripitis. It is so hard to leave the Magic Kingdom at the end of a trip. We always linger in the shops buying a few Mickey Head Rice Krispy Treats at the confectionery for the trip home. I love pictures you took leaving the Magic Kingdom.

Dinner looked lovely! I love Tomato and Mozzarella salad. I have been enjoying those this summer with fresh tomatoes from our garden.

 

[KathyRN137]

Wow great update. You really did a good job conveying Endoftripitis. It is so hard to leave the Magic Kingdom at the end of a trip. We always linger in the shops buying a few Mickey Head Rice Krispy Treats at the confectionery for the trip home. I love pictures you took leaving the Magic Kingdom.

Dinner looked lovely! I love Tomato and Mozzarella salad. I have been enjoying those this summer with fresh tomatoes from our garden.

Yummy!

The MK is such a two-sided coin.... on the one side is absolute euphoria when you first walk down Main Street and on the other is pure dejection when you are leaving for the "last" time!


Kathy

 

[Goofydiane]

Kathy - another great trip. I look forward to hearing about your adventures, they all sound like so much fun! Can't wait to hear about MNSSHP!

 

[AGPrincess]

Heavy sigh is right...it's always sad to see a trip end! But it's been a great TR. Now I've got to go catch up on your pre-trip!

 

[KathyRN137]

Kathy - another great trip. I look forward to hearing about your adventures, they all sound like so much fun! Can't wait to hear about MNSSHP!

Thanks, Diane!
Are you writing a pre-trippie for your F&W trip? I didn't see one on the board, but maybe I missed it....

Heavy sigh is right...it's always sad to see a trip end! But it's been a great TR. Now I've got to go catch up on your pre-trip!

Hi Princess!

How're the swim classes going?

Tricia's volunteer stint as a reading buddy at the library is finished already. She had fun working with a six-year old girl... getting her excited about books and reading! She's thinking about being a teacher when she grows up!

Kathy