Hi there!
While typing, I had the feeling that my tone was coming across weird. If so, just read it as EXCITED instead. Because I'm excited for you! Yay!!!!!!
OK, just in case your TA hasn't given it to you already: specialdiets at disneyworld.com
I don't know if you'll be making your ADRs or she will. If she does, it's no biggie, but if you do, know that that info is right there on EVERY ADR you make online. They make it REALLY easy. They even, at least last time I looked, have a checklist for certain allergies. But with the varied problems, emailing them is great.
You know my family's problem with corn syrup...writing to them got us real maple syrup waiting for us at each planned breakfast. How cool is that?
Yes, our TA did pass on the info about special diets & explained the ADR thing as well....I'll be doing our ADR's because she will be on vacation during the time they need to be made.....besides, I'm kinda used to making my own...of course doing it online will be different!!
It has been for several years now that you can enter on the park ticket at 4pm. Every year the CMs say otherwise, and people panic, but every year, it has opened at 4. For both the Halloween and Christmas parties.
That's great!! I think having a relaxing "resort" day & then heading over for the party will be a good mid-trip break. I'm looking forward to the party!!
Check out the DISabilities forum, that's for SURE.
Along with the GAC (and you will tell them what accomodations they need, not their diagnosis), I think the BIGGEST help you will get is a tag that allows you to use the strollers as wheelchairs! You can't take strollers into the lines without that tag, so GET IT.
That's usually what we get on our cards.....the longer the girls can stay in their strollers the better.
Until beyond close, in our experience. We had hardly anyone around us, because we waited until just about closing time to head in.
I figured right when they get turned on it would be crazy busy......we'll most likely hold off until the crowds die off a bit.....of course, we'll poke our nose down there just to get a feel for the crowds that night before deciding.
Thoughts!
Remember, with the dining plan is goes by night. 7th through 16th is 9 nights, so 9 chunks of dining plan. I didn't count your meals, but *just in case* you went with days, I wanted to make sure you knew (in case the TA missed mentioning it).
Yup, I read up on the plan....so figured 9 TS, 9 QS & 9 Snacks. I also researched to make sure we could still use them the day we were checking out.
Time change! Difficult, for some people. Some people will gradually change their kids' body clocks over the week or two before the trip. That sounds annoying to me, LOL.
For us going East, that first couple days we ARE nightowls. The clock says 9, but our bodies say 6! Dinnertime! Wait, we had dinner 3 hours ago, nah, that was lunch! Feed me feed me!
And that first day...getting up early for a character meal...it can be ROUGH.
Especially because you have two characters meals that day. It *might* be a good idea to skip one.
I'm not totally sure how it works with the dining plan now, but I *believe* most Table Service restaurants take a credit card guarantee, and if you don't show up you are charged $10 per person. Ouch. So if you guys find yourselves exhausted that morning and can't make it, you're out $80 for no meal at all.
Think really carefully if you want those two character meals on that very first day.
And my own personal philosophy, which might or might not work for you but I think you want input anyway, is to wait for the Big Important stuff until you're not really wishing you were sleeping. So the first day for your traveling-this-time family that consists halfway of youngsters MIGHT be best served to not go to the big ol' Magic Kingdom. It might start off with exhaustion and moaning and groaning from the early hour. Maybe. Possibly. You know them best. Obviously. It's just something to think about.
Mike & I will ponder all of that.....we kinda forget about the time change.....the twins will be really hard to get off their "normal" schedule.....it doesn't seem to matter how late we keep them up.....they still wake up in the same half hour of time. What's nice for them, is they can snooze in the car as we travel to what ever park we're going to & snooze in their strollers.....it's getting everyone else up & going....of course being at WDW should be motivation for them to do so.....it seems to work at DL!! lol
Of course, ultimately, it's HARD to not go into MK straightaway. So...just know that the whole place is overwhelming. I mean, 40 square miles! "Walt Disney World Resort is about the size of San Francisco or two Manhattan islands"... It's ridiculous. Now, that isn't how big the *parks* are, but still, they had the room so they used that room.
My feet used to complain about Disneyland trips...when we were there, Laurie, my feet were LAUGHING at me for having whined about DLR! Compared to WDW, DLR is a breeze. Compared to DLR, WDW is insanity packed into a fun exciting package, in terms of walking. Be prepared. Mentally and physically! Make sure those strollers are comfy for the adults as well as the little ones.
I know, looking at the maps & distances for everything here is crazy!! It's a good thing we're not just ride die-hards who have to run from one to the next for 12 hrs straight. The nice thing about taking in the musicals & shows, it gives your feet a break!! We'll start going for family walks once the weather stops dumping rain.......it's been crazy weather here lately. We live up a hill....so that should help everyone's stamina & hopefully prepare everyone for what's to come.
Anyway, it's overwhelming. Now luckily the little kids haven't been to Disneyland very recently, so they wont' get as mentally confused as you will. You turn a corner and...where's New Orleans Square? Oh yes, you KNOW there's no NOS, but it's hard to remember, LOL.
So just be prepared. If you're at all into herbal type concoctions, I cannot recommend Rescue Remedy more for a first WDW trip. It's the little bicker-stopper in my house. Helps a lot with WDW. I kept wanting to dose the sodas that my relatives were drinking during the last trip. But that would be rude, a form of assault actually, so I refrained. With difficulty.
Be SURE to check out allears.net for menus! There's been a rash of menu-changing, which is quite annoying of them to do. Keep apprised of the changes! A menu that sounded great to you before might change into yuckiness. I hear that House of Blues just drastically changed ALL of their menus into some new ridiculousness, taking away everything that everyone loved, just b/c they got a Food Network chef onboard. Blah.
I've already printed menus for the places we're hoping to go to.....but I always recheck them a few times before our trip to look for changes.
We did not choose to do the Wishes Dessert party. Didn't want to have to quiz them on ingredients (like gelatin and corn syrup based ingredients), so it didn't work for us. Since you guys have diet issues too, I'm not sure if it's worth it. I don't even know anything about the actual view; be SURE to read reviews, and lots of them!
I'm more interested in the twins comfort vs the food/goodies served. If we can be somewhere, not crowded, to see the fireworks....the dessert part is just bonus. I can bring snacks for Shy......I think paying extra for nice seating is a must for my family.....I LOVE fireworks & want an unobstructed view of them....and know the twins aren't totally surrounded & panicky.
I think you guys will love Pop. Just driving by the outside of it made me want to stay there.
Love all the pics....it just looks like a happy place.....only complaint is they only have double beds......haven't slept in one of those in over 20 yrs.
Oh, and remember, especially at the beginning of the trip, some of the adults might want to go out for evening EMHs! You guys could swap staying with the more tired kids, or even get an in-room babysitter. I can't remember if the youngest ones are old enough for any of the kid clubs, but in-room could be cool. Maybe. I'm just remembering what a nightowl you were in Anaheim.
The older boys are welcome to stay if we go back to the rooms...they just have to figure out the transportation to get back......lol Of course, one of us would have to stay up in the 2nd room if they're not connecting until they got back in.
And hey, you had some seriously RED hair in '05! Wow!