Bumps, bruises, too many teenagers & swimming with sharks! NEW 11/17 pg. 32 - The DIS Discussion Forums

DisMomAmy · 05-05-2012, 05:48 PM

Welcome to my latest Trip Report! We just returned from 10 wonderful Disney days from 4/19-4/29. We love spending spring break at Disney and this year didn’t disappoint! We were celebrating DS11’s (Alex’s) upcoming elementary school graduation and also his return from a week at environmental camp with his 5th grade class. It was an amazing experience for him & definitely a reason to celebrate! Also, DS8 (Zach) earned his green belt in karate the afternoon before we left for our trip so I added on that celebration so he wouldn’t be left out.

Who are we?

I’m Amy, SAH “Spectrum Mom” to two wonderful boys who happen to be on the autism spectrum. I’m also a part-time bookkeeper, working mostly at home. I’ve spent the past six years running our school PTO and will be stepping down in June to focus more time on my boys. Alex will be transitioning to middle school this summer. It’s going to be a big change moving from our little elementary school to a large middle school with kids from several other towns.

DH is Tim, a workaholic software engineer. He doesn’t love Disney like the rest of us, but he gets more and more excited prior to each trip! It was his idea to keep this trip a secret from the boys until the morning we left.

DS11 is Alex! Or Alexander as he always used to make us call him! Alex is in 5th grade for about six more weeks! This summer he’ll attend a summer program at his middle school to help him with the transition to the big school. Alex is a wonderful kid and has come SO FAR since he was diagnosed with autism (PDD-NOS) at 26 months. He does an amazing job articulating his needs and telling us when he’s had enough of something. Considering he didn’t talk until he was four and used to bite people and bang his head on the floor, this is an AMAZING thing! Alex has a unique sense of humor and has been trying to figure out the social rules of when it is and isn’t OK to share it with people! Alex plays trumpet and swims on the swim team. He also loves soccer & basketball. In his spare time at home, he likes making spreadsheets about anything imaginable!

DS8 is Zach! Zach is our sensitive guy. He is an artist and loves to share his creativity. He is in second grade and will be free to roam the school next year without his brother lurking around the corner! Even though our boys are very different than one another, Zach is also on the autism spectrum. Zach was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the end of kindergarten, about two years ago. Zach is a very emotional kid, but he’s also very sensitive to other people and their feelings. Not exactly what most people think of when they hear autism. Zach’s major challenges are reading social cues and emotional regulation. He also has a lot of sensory issues – he’s very sensitive to bright lights/sun, heat, loud noises, etc. Just in the last year, he has come so far and has been doing a great job dealing with his challenges. Zach’s favorite things are baseball, karate & Legos! He loves sports and in addition to baseball and karate, he played soccer & basketball this past year.

This was our 7th trip to Disney in the past six years. Our first with the kids was just a few days in 2006 with DBIL, his family & DMIL. We stayed offsite at an awful hotel that we exchanged through our timeshare without much research. We (I) knew we had to go back for a real Disney vacation… which we did in 2007. In 2007 we stayed off-site at Marriott Grande Vista and had a great trip. DBIL & family and DMIL joined us for part of the trip. We got to experience our first (and only) MNSSHP that year. Our next family trip didn’t happen until 2009 when we stayed on-site for the first time at Caribbean Beach Resort. I loved staying on-site but CBR was too small for us. In 2010 we stayed at Sheraton Vistana Resort and had another great trip. 2011 was a repeat at Sheraton Vistana Resort but something was off that trip… we needed a re-do! So in November 2011, to celebrate our 15th anniversary, we took the kids to help us celebrate & we stayed at BWV in a 1BR for five nights! It was an amazing trip & I was afraid we’d raised the bar too high!

This trip started as most of our trips do, with a few nights visiting DBIL in the Tampa area, followed by a week off-site through our timeshare. We booked Sheraton Vistana Villages. Then, after our November trip, decided to skip the visit & booked three nights at the Hard Rock Hotel to do Universal Studios! Then we worried Zach might not be tall enough so we decided to postpone Universal & stay on-site at Disney. The Beach Club had long been my dream resort so when the spring discounts came out we booked a room at BC, to which I later added Club Level! I was so excited and we made many plans around staying in the Epcot area again. Then that dreaded day in March came… SAB was going to be partially closed! We went back and forth but ultimately decided to change resorts. There were pros & cons to every resort we considered… if we couldn’t stay in the Epcot area, we wanted club level at a resort on the monorail loop… that wasn’t going to happen. One day it finally came to me – Animal Kingdom Lodge! I’d stayed there in January 2011 with the Spectrum Moms (see TR in signature) and knew the boys would love it! We couldn’t get club level so I booked us at Kidani in a 1BR. Finally I could sleep again… At least for a few weeks… Just days before we were going to leave for vacation, I read that the SAB pool work was going to be done early and the pool would be fully open during our vacation. After going back and forth on what to do and getting confirmation that the pool was in fact open, I was thrilled to be able to switch our reservation back to the BC. Our Garden View CL room wasn’t available so we went with Lagoon View CL! Everything felt right with the world again!

Thanks for reading along!! Up next: Arrival Day!

DisMomAmy · 05-05-2012, 05:48 PM

Links to updates:

We made it!
Arrival - continued
Arrival - continued
The title
Zach's Photo Tour - Day One
Day 2 - Our first park (part 1)
Day 2 - Our first park (part 2)
Day 2 - Our first park (part 3)
Day 2 - MK (part 1)
Day 2 - MK (part 2)
Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (1)
Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (2)
Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (3)
Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (4)
Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (5)
Day 3 - Resort Day?
More on the surrey bike & life update
Day 4 - Moving Day (part 1)
Day 4 - Moving Day (part 2)
Day 4 - Moving Day (part 3)
Day 4 - Moving Day (part 4)
Day 4 - Moving Day (part 5)
Day 4 - New Resort (part 1)
Day 4 - New Resort (part 2)
This & That - Life Update
Animals & Hoop-Dee-Doo Day (part 1)
Animals & Hoop-Dee-Doo Day (part 2)
Zach's photo tour of day 5 (part 1)
Zach's photo tour of day 5 (part 2)
Zach's photo tour of day 5 (part 3)
Animals & Hoop-Dee-Doo Day (part 3)
Swim Time
The end of swim time & off to HDDR
Hoop-Dee-Doo!
More HDDR
The end of Day 5 (part 1)
The end of Day 5 (part 2)
Day 6 - Going on a Quest (part 1)
Day 6 - Going on a Quest (part 2)
Day 6 - Night out
Day 7 - Magic Kingdom!!
Day 7 - Magic Kingdom!! (part 2)
Day 7 - Magic Kingdom!! (part 3)
Off to the Big Apple!
More MK (part 1)
More MK (part 2)
Pool time & dinner with Mickey
Wishes dessert party (part 1)
Wishes desert party (part 2)
Day 7 - Photopass
Zach's Photo Tour - Day 7
Swimming with Sharks - Day 8
Finishing off Day 8 at DTD
Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 1)
Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 2)
Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 3)
Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 4)
Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 5)
Bad DISer
Zach's Photo Tour of Day 9
Day 9 - Photopass
Day 10 - Our last park day - morning (part 1)
Day 10 - Our last park day - morning (part 2)
Day 10 - Last day/last park (part 1)
Day 10 - Last day/last park (part 2)
New York City Trip - Day 1
NYC - Day 2/part 1
NYC - Day 2/part 2
NYC - Day 3
NYC - Day 4/part 1
NYC - Day 4/part 2
Final Thoughts
April 2013 Plans - part one
April Plans - part two

chloe770 · 05-05-2012, 06:29 PM

Checking in. Great start!

mommytothreeboys · 05-05-2012, 06:40 PM

Yay! I'm here for the fun!

MRYPPNS · 05-05-2012, 07:19 PM

Here

JPFamilyMom · 05-05-2012, 07:37 PM

Hooray

you started, great start, can't wait to read all about it

Reberella · 05-05-2012, 07:45 PM

Here and following along!

KatMark · 05-05-2012, 07:48 PM

Amy, I'm here.

natebenma · 05-05-2012, 07:56 PM

Looking forward to reading all about your trip!!! Dee

DisMomAmy · 05-05-2012, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chloe770

Checking in. Great start!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommytothreeboys

Yay! I'm here for the fun!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRYPPNS

Here

I'm hoping you'll have some things to add to this TR!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPFamilyMom

Hooray

you started, great start, can't wait to read all about it

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reberella

Here and following along!

Quote:

Originally Posted by KatMark

Amy, I'm here.

DisMomAmy · 05-05-2012, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by natebenma

Looking forward to reading all about your trip!!! Dee

You snuck in on me Dee!

EastYorkDisneyFan · 05-05-2012, 10:39 PM

Can I sneak in too?

MeMom · 05-06-2012, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DisMomAmy

Great picture! Looks like a certain back seat passenger thinks the car is going a little too fast, though.

Quote:

Mickey bar smeared on one's face - that's smile worthy.

I am looking forward to reading all about this nice, long trip!

natebenma · 05-06-2012, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DisMomAmy

You snuck in on me Dee!

And cheated! I didn't read your intro until just now- got to get in on the first page and all.

Did I post a picture of my son who looked strikingly like your son on a previous report of yours?

I am also a SAHM, who recently "retired" as treasurer/VP of the PTA after 7 years when my youngest moved to middle school. My husband is a software engineer, too.

And I must say that I love your taste in resorts!!!

We so have to get together!

Charleston Princess · 05-06-2012, 06:41 AM

Here!!!

05-05-2012, 05:48 PM	#1
DisMomAmy DIS Veteran Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: NH Posts: 7,896	Bumps, bruises, too many teenagers & swimming with sharks! NEW 11/17 pg. 32 Welcome to my latest Trip Report! We just returned from 10 wonderful Disney days from 4/19-4/29. We love spending spring break at Disney and this year didn’t disappoint! We were celebrating DS11’s (Alex’s) upcoming elementary school graduation and also his return from a week at environmental camp with his 5th grade class. It was an amazing experience for him & definitely a reason to celebrate! Also, DS8 (Zach) earned his green belt in karate the afternoon before we left for our trip so I added on that celebration so he wouldn’t be left out. Who are we? I’m Amy, SAH “Spectrum Mom” to two wonderful boys who happen to be on the autism spectrum. I’m also a part-time bookkeeper, working mostly at home. I’ve spent the past six years running our school PTO and will be stepping down in June to focus more time on my boys. Alex will be transitioning to middle school this summer. It’s going to be a big change moving from our little elementary school to a large middle school with kids from several other towns. DH is Tim, a workaholic software engineer. He doesn’t love Disney like the rest of us, but he gets more and more excited prior to each trip! It was his idea to keep this trip a secret from the boys until the morning we left. DS11 is Alex! Or Alexander as he always used to make us call him! Alex is in 5th grade for about six more weeks! This summer he’ll attend a summer program at his middle school to help him with the transition to the big school. Alex is a wonderful kid and has come SO FAR since he was diagnosed with autism (PDD-NOS) at 26 months. He does an amazing job articulating his needs and telling us when he’s had enough of something. Considering he didn’t talk until he was four and used to bite people and bang his head on the floor, this is an AMAZING thing! Alex has a unique sense of humor and has been trying to figure out the social rules of when it is and isn’t OK to share it with people! Alex plays trumpet and swims on the swim team. He also loves soccer & basketball. In his spare time at home, he likes making spreadsheets about anything imaginable! DS8 is Zach! Zach is our sensitive guy. He is an artist and loves to share his creativity. He is in second grade and will be free to roam the school next year without his brother lurking around the corner! Even though our boys are very different than one another, Zach is also on the autism spectrum. Zach was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the end of kindergarten, about two years ago. Zach is a very emotional kid, but he’s also very sensitive to other people and their feelings. Not exactly what most people think of when they hear autism. Zach’s major challenges are reading social cues and emotional regulation. He also has a lot of sensory issues – he’s very sensitive to bright lights/sun, heat, loud noises, etc. Just in the last year, he has come so far and has been doing a great job dealing with his challenges. Zach’s favorite things are baseball, karate & Legos! He loves sports and in addition to baseball and karate, he played soccer & basketball this past year. This was our 7th trip to Disney in the past six years. Our first with the kids was just a few days in 2006 with DBIL, his family & DMIL. We stayed offsite at an awful hotel that we exchanged through our timeshare without much research. We (I) knew we had to go back for a real Disney vacation… which we did in 2007. In 2007 we stayed off-site at Marriott Grande Vista and had a great trip. DBIL & family and DMIL joined us for part of the trip. We got to experience our first (and only) MNSSHP that year. Our next family trip didn’t happen until 2009 when we stayed on-site for the first time at Caribbean Beach Resort. I loved staying on-site but CBR was too small for us. In 2010 we stayed at Sheraton Vistana Resort and had another great trip. 2011 was a repeat at Sheraton Vistana Resort but something was off that trip… we needed a re-do! So in November 2011, to celebrate our 15th anniversary, we took the kids to help us celebrate & we stayed at BWV in a 1BR for five nights! It was an amazing trip & I was afraid we’d raised the bar too high! This trip started as most of our trips do, with a few nights visiting DBIL in the Tampa area, followed by a week off-site through our timeshare. We booked Sheraton Vistana Villages. Then, after our November trip, decided to skip the visit & booked three nights at the Hard Rock Hotel to do Universal Studios! Then we worried Zach might not be tall enough so we decided to postpone Universal & stay on-site at Disney. The Beach Club had long been my dream resort so when the spring discounts came out we booked a room at BC, to which I later added Club Level! I was so excited and we made many plans around staying in the Epcot area again. Then that dreaded day in March came… SAB was going to be partially closed! We went back and forth but ultimately decided to change resorts. There were pros & cons to every resort we considered… if we couldn’t stay in the Epcot area, we wanted club level at a resort on the monorail loop… that wasn’t going to happen. One day it finally came to me – Animal Kingdom Lodge! I’d stayed there in January 2011 with the Spectrum Moms (see TR in signature) and knew the boys would love it! We couldn’t get club level so I booked us at Kidani in a 1BR. Finally I could sleep again… At least for a few weeks… Just days before we were going to leave for vacation, I read that the SAB pool work was going to be done early and the pool would be fully open during our vacation. After going back and forth on what to do and getting confirmation that the pool was in fact open, I was thrilled to be able to switch our reservation back to the BC. Our Garden View CL room wasn’t available so we went with Lagoon View CL! Everything felt right with the world again! Thanks for reading along!! Up next: Arrival Day! __________________ AmyTim Alex(12) & Zach(9) Family, friends, teachers & Stacy too! Cheers to Friendship! October 2012 Girls Weekend! (TR) Cheers to Friendship A ladies weekend Oct. 12 Group PTR Bumps, bruises, too many teenagers & swimming with sharks! 4/12 TR It wouldn't be spring without an Epcot F&G Festival! 4/12 PTR I finally saw the lights! Our super special anniversary trip! Finally getting to see the lights! Nov 2011 Anniversary/Holiday/F&W PTR Spectrum Moms take on the World! - January 2011 PTR/TR No kids, no husbands & no rain! Girls weekend at BWI! Fall 2010 "Mom, this is like a whole new Disney!" An April 2010 TR Last edited by DisMomAmy; 11-17-2012 at 10:15 AM.

05-05-2012, 05:48 PM	#2
DisMomAmy DIS Veteran Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: NH Posts: 7,896	Links to updates: We made it! Arrival - continued Arrival - continued The title Zach's Photo Tour - Day One Day 2 - Our first park (part 1) Day 2 - Our first park (part 2) Day 2 - Our first park (part 3) Day 2 - MK (part 1) Day 2 - MK (part 2) Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (1) Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (2) Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (3) Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (4) Zach's Photo Tour - Day Two (5) Day 3 - Resort Day? More on the surrey bike & life update Day 4 - Moving Day (part 1) Day 4 - Moving Day (part 2) Day 4 - Moving Day (part 3) Day 4 - Moving Day (part 4) Day 4 - Moving Day (part 5) Day 4 - New Resort (part 1) Day 4 - New Resort (part 2) This & That - Life Update Animals & Hoop-Dee-Doo Day (part 1) Animals & Hoop-Dee-Doo Day (part 2) Zach's photo tour of day 5 (part 1) Zach's photo tour of day 5 (part 2) Zach's photo tour of day 5 (part 3) Animals & Hoop-Dee-Doo Day (part 3) Swim Time The end of swim time & off to HDDR Hoop-Dee-Doo! More HDDR The end of Day 5 (part 1) The end of Day 5 (part 2) Day 6 - Going on a Quest (part 1) Day 6 - Going on a Quest (part 2) Day 6 - Night out Day 7 - Magic Kingdom!! Day 7 - Magic Kingdom!! (part 2) Day 7 - Magic Kingdom!! (part 3) Off to the Big Apple! More MK (part 1) More MK (part 2) Pool time & dinner with Mickey Wishes dessert party (part 1) Wishes desert party (part 2) Day 7 - Photopass Zach's Photo Tour - Day 7 Swimming with Sharks - Day 8 Finishing off Day 8 at DTD Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 1) Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 2) Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 3) Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 4) Day 9 - Time for Teenagers (part 5) Bad DISer Zach's Photo Tour of Day 9 Day 9 - Photopass Day 10 - Our last park day - morning (part 1) Day 10 - Our last park day - morning (part 2) Day 10 - Last day/last park (part 1) Day 10 - Last day/last park (part 2) New York City Trip - Day 1 NYC - Day 2/part 1 NYC - Day 2/part 2 NYC - Day 3 NYC - Day 4/part 1 NYC - Day 4/part 2 Final Thoughts April 2013 Plans - part one April Plans - part two __________________ AmyTim Alex(12) & Zach(9) Family, friends, teachers & Stacy too! Cheers to Friendship! October 2012 Girls Weekend! (TR) Cheers to Friendship A ladies weekend Oct. 12 Group PTR Bumps, bruises, too many teenagers & swimming with sharks! 4/12 TR It wouldn't be spring without an Epcot F&G Festival! 4/12 PTR I finally saw the lights! Our super special anniversary trip! Finally getting to see the lights! Nov 2011 Anniversary/Holiday/F&W PTR Spectrum Moms take on the World! - January 2011 PTR/TR No kids, no husbands & no rain! Girls weekend at BWI! Fall 2010 "Mom, this is like a whole new Disney!" An April 2010 TR Last edited by DisMomAmy; 11-17-2012 at 10:16 AM.

05-05-2012, 06:29 PM	#3
chloe770 Isn't it just more fun to be surprised? Without SpongeBob I would never get anything done Join Date: May 2008 Location: The Small Wonder Posts: 1,101	Checking in. Great start! __________________

05-05-2012, 06:40 PM	#4
mommytothreeboys DIS Veteran Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: upstate NY Posts: 3,418	Yay! I'm here for the fun! __________________ Me (Missy) DH DS(18) DS(15) DS(12) Road Trippin', Cruisin' and Photo Bombin'--Our EPIC Family Vacation!3 Boys and 20 Hours in a Minivan, I Must Really Love this Place! Mom's At It Again! A PTR for April 2009 "Hello? I'm in the Carousel of Progress.." The "I Can't Believe I'm Doing a PTR for This Trip" PTRParadise and Magic...All Rolled into One Vacation!

05-05-2012, 07:19 PM	#5
MRYPPNS Practically Prefect in Every Way Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: 17 Cherry Tree Lane Posts: 4,894	Here __________________ Heidi ~~~~

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05-05-2012, 07:37 PM	#6
JPFamilyMom DIS Veteran Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: That place between sleep and awake, where you can still remember dreaming Posts: 1,487	Hooray you started, great start, can't wait to read all about it __________________ June 2004:ASsports Jan 2011: Kidani March 2011: off property Sept 2012: AoA-Cars Suite June 2013: undecided NEW PTR Sept 2012 Food, Fun, and Learning...and one Night of Joy March 2011We survived Spring Break with fears, tears, fun and laughter January 2011 Spectrum Moms Take on the World March 2011Breaking our ptr curse...March 2011

05-05-2012, 07:45 PM	#7
Reberella Mouseketeer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: 1,512,660 yards from Disney World :'( Posts: 229	hereeee Here and following along! __________________ Rebecca

05-05-2012, 07:48 PM	#8
KatMark DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 35,228	Amy, I'm here. __________________

05-05-2012, 07:56 PM	#9
natebenma DIS Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: near Boston Posts: 8,497	Looking forward to reading all about your trip!!! Dee __________________ Dee DH ::DS(14) DS(12) Oreo Monster Energy Cat 2013 Beach and Yacht Club FAQ, Friends & Fun Lily Goes Live: A Princess' First Visit to her Kingdom The Amazing Adventures of Flat Ben 145 Middle Schoolers Wicked Awesome or Epic Fail??? Welcome, Foolish Muggles! IoA/US/MK/SW July 2011 Anniversary Getaway- Puerto Rico, p. 47 Atlantis, April 2012, p. 56 Mexico, Feb 2013, p. 74, Pre-Trip Report 2013 "What's New?" p.84 3rd Annual We are "NEVER" going to Disney in the summer again TR,

05-05-2012, 10:39 PM	#12
EastYorkDisneyFan DIS Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: East York (Toronto), Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,969	Can I sneak in too? __________________ Heading West for DPN WestFest 2010 - TR underway F & F at the DLR! Fun and planing for DPN WestFest 2011 You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it takes people to make the dream a reality. - Walt Disney

05-06-2012, 06:41 AM	#15
Charleston Princess DIS Veteran Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 21,603	Here!!! __________________ Me (Jackie), Charles, Chelsea (15), Connor (13) 2012 TR: A Fourth of Pixie-Dust!2012 PTR: Does Pixie Dust Help with Decision-Making? May 2011 PTR: Sensing Pixie Dust I Am! July 2010 TR: Where Pixie-Dusted Birthday Dreams Come True! October 2009 TR: Shaken, Not Stirred, With a Twist of Pixie Dust! A Food and Wine Trip Report!June 2009 TR: Divas, Zebra Domes, and Pixie Dust! A Week in an African Paradise!

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