A Halloween Adventure in Autism (11/7) Prayer Request for Catie (p.129)

[KathyRN137]

Oh, Kathy I think a THV would be an amazing choice for a Christmas trip! We stayed in one just after they opened in June and they are great..... On the DVC boards they have a Christmas tree share, we participated a few years ago and it was so nice to have decorations. Take a look!

Sounds like a great idea! I love to decorate for Christmas!

It looks like more than enough room. You sound so excited to go in 2011. I know you will plan a great trip!

I still get a bit apprehensive about those Christmas vacation crowds, but it will be worth it to have one last Disney Hurrah with Eddie!

Joe was just talking about a THV when we bring our friends (which might be 2011 or 2012). They look beautiful! The only draw back I see is that they are far from the main buildings of SSR, so you'd just have to plan not to have to go there very often, which is easy enough! I love that they are 3 bedrooms for the price of 2.

From DVCNews.com:

Bus service at Treehouse Villas is via shuttle. A dedicated bus makes the rounds between two treehouse stops, The Springs,and The Grandstand at SSR. You have to take the shuttle, get off at either Springs or Grandstand, and transfer to a different bus leaving the property.

There is a boat dock. Boats run every 20 minutes along this route: Treehouse Villas, SSR, Downtown Disney (Pleasure Island dock), back to SSR, and then to Treehouse Villas to start over again. The boat dock is centrally located. Walking time to the boat dock should be no more than 5 minutes, even from the furthest villas.

Walking: From the Carriage House to the Treehouse Villa area it's about 9-10 minutes.
From the leisure pool in the Grandstand area to the Treehouse Villas it's about 6 minutes.
From the Grandstand parking lot to the Treehouse Villas area it's about 4 minutes.

I've read a few reports on the DVC boards that described the shuttle service as very good.

I think that would be an awesome place to stay! Perfect for a family of "big kids"!

Especially the "big" girl... who will be fifteen... and will not want to share a room, let alone a bed, with her brothers!

The Tree House Villas look amazing!! I think it would be a perfect choice for your gang!

Three bedrooms for the "price" of two is very attractive, point-wise! I wish we could get a 2 BR villa at BLT, but we don't have enough points for the premium season.

I got to see some pictures when my friend Liz and her family stayed at the Tree House Villas. I so hope you get to do it!!

Thanks... they have that comfortable/rustic look... should be very cozy for Christmastime!

... DH and I just talked last night about future vacation plans and because we're planning on going to the Caribbean with friends in 11 we weren't going to plan a trip to WDW that year! I have to get there soon after the refurb is done!!!! If it's complete mid 11 I have to plan a trip!



THV are definitely cool!! I think it's a great option for you guys!

That's a great reason to plan a trip! (As if we really needed another!)

I think that a THV ressie gives us flexibility in case we have any friends, cousins, girlfriends, etc. that wind up coming along!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Wow, how great to score rope-side seats for the parade!

Daniel used to be the same way with fireworks, I clearly remember the day he excitedly turned around in the MK and proudly announced he watched it without plugging his ears. Now he loves them!

Hope we won't have to wait too long to hear about the parade.

It is such a relief... I used to feel so guilty that we were "making him" sit through fireworks with the rest of the family, even with the ear plugs! Now he just laughs at them!

Sounds like you guys found perfect seats! Don't you hate it when someone comes up and jumps in front of you when you were obviously waiting there longer?!?!

Can't wait for our parade pictures!!

I can't imagine how crowded it must've been on Main Street!

I love that Cinderella's Coach photo op. Beautiful!

Ariana also adores the fireworks now but I still remember absolutely sprinting towards the exits while trying to cover her ears as much as possible and apologizing to anyone around us for her terrorized screaming! What a site we must have been!

Thankfully the family that was asked to move on didn't just try to back up in front of you!

I don't think they had any room once the ropes went up! When I say the CMs stretched the rope in front of us... well, lets just say I was sucking my tummy in until they passed. I was afraid they would think I was a safety hazard and would make me move!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

...I'm seeing your TR through a parent's perspective and it's interesting to see what parents sacrifice for their kids. It may be "criss-crossing" the park when it goes against any Disney planners nature, but your simple submission to their whims is refreshing.

Are you by any chance insinuating that I am a pushover??

( It was definitely easier to run around the party with kids than to navigate around the parks with Aunt Rae, bless her heart.)

Why, in her satchel, of course! Where else would she keep her gold?

Like any good pirate wench, I left my satchel behind whilst I searched for treasure (well, it was popcorn... but treasure sounds so much better!)

The girls did pretty good on the Hallowishes pictures!!!

Woo hoo for great parade spot mojo!!!

They did, and it gave me a chance to just enjoy them for a change! I did comandeer the camera for the parade, however!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

good one...can't wait for more! and now you have me seriously considering maybe we really need to do MNSCHP when the kids are still little...when to fit it in though?

Scrappie

You should definitely try for the Christmas Party when you go for Thanksgiving!

What a great location for the parade! SCORE!!!

Glad to hear everyone enjoyed BTMRR in the dark too!

We lucked out, big time! I'm glad the rest of them made it back in time... the crowd was thick and it's hard to move through the area once the parade ropes are up!

Sounds like a great spot for a parade, I can't wait to hear how your group liked it! I just love the Hallowishes music - I'm glad Billy loved it so much too!

Thanks! He wanted to listen to that CD constantly in the weeks leading up to our trip! That, and the Wishes CD!

I think a Tree House sounds fabulous!! Glad you got such good seats for the parade.

Thanks! Lots of pix coming up in the next installment!
(Not the greatest pix, mind you, but lots of them!)

Kathy

 

[IluvXU]

What a fun night! The shirts you received were darling! I love the plan of the treehouse villas! I have always thought riding the boat past them from POR/FQ that they would be so fun to stay in....

 

[KathyRN137]

What a fun night! The shirts you received were darling! I love the plan of the treehouse villas! I have always thought riding the boat past them from POR/FQ that they would be so fun to stay in....

Many of the treehouses have water views...


http://dvcnews.com/index.php/resorts/saratoga-springs/maps-a-photos


Scroll down a bit and you can click on photos of the decor....



Kathy

 

[jordanyosh]

Are you by any chance insinuating that I am a pushover??

( It was definitely easier to run around the party with kids than to navigate around the parks with Aunt Rae, bless her heart.)

not a pushover, a nudgeover.. no, seriously I'm using submission as you who puts your children's happiness above your own desires.

 

[KathyRN137]

not a pushover, a nudgeover..

"nudgeover!"

Tricia calls me "The Marshmallow." I'm about as tough as tissue paper....


Kathy

 

[jordanyosh]

"nudgeover!"

Tricia calls me "The Marshmallow." I'm about as tough as tissue paper....


Kathy

Love is love....nothing wrong with that...discipline..that's what Ed is for...

 

[mommytothreeboys]

We like to watch the parades from in front of the Shooting Arcade too! I'm so glad you were able to score such a great spot even though your regular one was taken! I can't wait to see pictures of the parade.

I think THV will be great for your family! We saw them in April of last year (as they were finishing up construction) on our way by in the boat from POR to DTD. They look very cool!

 

[KathyRN137]

We like to watch the parades from in front of the Shooting Arcade too! I'm so glad you were able to score such a great spot even though your regular one was taken! I can't wait to see pictures of the parade.

I think THV will be great for your family! We saw them in April of last year (as they were finishing up construction) on our way by in the boat from POR to DTD. They look very cool!

Isn't it funny how we humans are such creatures of habit? We like to sit on one of the big wooden planter boxes if we can. Even Tricia made a comment when we saw they were taken... "Mom, they're in our spot!"


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter Thirteen: What's a Pirate Wench to Do?

Still Saturday Night
October 31, 2009
The Magic Kingdom
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party


I left off just as Ron, Abby, Ed, Tricia, Catie, and Billy returned from a thrilling nighttime ride on BTMRR. As I had foreseen, they had a bit of a time getting back through the parade crowd to our viewing spots in front of the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon. Thanks to our friend, the rope, Nancy, her son, Ethan, and I had managed to save front-row spaces for the rest of our DIS-Meet group.


The cry immediately went up for snacks so Ron and I volunteered to brave the line at the popcorn kiosk across the way. (It smelled soooo good!) Ron brought Abby along to assist, but silly me! I left the girls to help Ed with Billy, instructing them to keep their cameras poised and ready in case the Headless Horseman made his ride before I could return. I left my stripey pirate bag behind and took only my KTTW card, figuring it would be easier to carry things without the bag hanging over my arm.


There was a small opening in the crowd lined up on the other side of the parade group not far from the popcorn kiosk, so we were able to get to it fairly quickly. The line itself, however, was moving v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y! Come on, people, it’s popcorn and sodas for Heaven’s sake! What could be taking so long? At least I had Abby and Ron to keep me company.

(Nancy, don’t laugh, but I think you’re DH looks a teeny bit like Gary Sinise!)

I had just made it to the counter when the ominous strains of Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” signaled the approach of the Horseman! I caught a quick glimpse of him through the crowd as he galloped by. Luckily, Catie was able to get a (slightly blurry) picture:

Now I was in a bit of a quandary. I had just finished “paying for” two bottles of Coke, a bottle of water, and three boxes of popcorn and now I had to carry all of this AND squeeze my way through the mass of humanity that now filled in every space surrounding the parade route so that I could cross before the parade began! Not only had I left any potential helpers behind, I had left my bag as well… and my pirate pants had no pockets!


I began to gather the drinks and snacks in my arms, my KTTW card pressed between two fingers of my right hand. I stopped….I just knew that I would drop that card. So, with a quick glance in either direction to see if anyone was looking, I furtively stuck the card down the front of my blouse, picked up my things and took off!


Well, that’s what any good wench would do, right? I hope Ron didn’t see that…


Now the challenge was to find a way to get across the parade route. “Excuse me! Excuse me!” I shouted over the music, but people just did not seem to want to budge. I was just waiting for someone to knock my arm and get showered with my children’s popcorn! Finally, I reached a CM standing by the rope and she “parted the waters” so that I could dash across to my family waiting on the other side. Whew! Just made it!


I traded a box of popcorn for Tricia’s camera and got ready to catch some of the Boo-To-You Parade while the others munched. I know you’ve been waiting for these… I will apologize for the quality; Tricia’s camera is actually my “old” camera with fewer pixels, so it wasn’t the greatest.


The parade, on the other hand, sure was!

I caught Tigger in the middle of a bounce!

​

Continued in next post…


Kathy

 

[kate_wdw]

Kathy, thanks for getting pictures of the parade. I'm not generally big on parades, but Boo To You is one I'd like to see! While I'm at it, I'm really enjoying your trip report and am always excited when I see that a new chapter has been posted. Thanks!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wow - Another update! You're on a roll Kathy! I love the picture of Tigger mid-bounce! As far as the KTTW card down your shirt... Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter Thirteen, con’t

The Pirates are Coming!

Captain Hook...

...and Captain Jack!
​

Funny story: as the pirate float came by, one of the pirates came up to Billy and “stole” his popcorn box. The “trick” was on him, however. Billy had polished off the entire box already and it was empty! The pirate threw up his hands and gave Billy a “What’s up with that?” expression. The pirate gave the empty box back and Billy said, “Sorry,” in a very matter-of-fact way. Then the pirate went away, grumbling.


Ed, Tricia and Catie thought it was hilarious!

Here comes the Haunted Mansion float, complete with "ghostly fog"...

We got up close and personal with Big Bad Wolf!

​

Continued next post...


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter Thirteen, con't.



CMs walked along depositing candy into the kids’ treat bags. Billy didn’t bother with his treat bag, he simply held out his empty popcorn box!

Eww! A chocolate eye ball!!

It was lots of fun to share the fireworks and the parade with Nancy and her family. Thanks, Dreamer & Wisher! Once the parade had ended, however, we decided to part ways. They were off to do some more rides and we were headed to the Castle for the last showing of the Villians’ Mix and Mingle.



We took a nice, easy walk from Frontierland toward the Hub. The crowd was very thick now and we were all getting a bit tired. It had been a long day! We found an empty bench and paused to people-watch for about 10-15 minutes or so. We let the crowd thin a bit more before we got up and mosey-ed over to the Castle forecourt stage. There were a few people already there, but we were able to get nice spots in the center and we plopped ourselves down on the ground with the rest of them to wait.


The Castle glowed…

​

Ed received a text message from his brother… the Yankees had won! The Series would continue! Several men around us heard us talking and they leaned in to ask Ed the score, etc. I was glad, not just because my husband’s team had won, but because this meant he could have another shot at catching some of the next game.


Happily, we settled in to wait for the villains to take center stage. Afterwards we hoped to meet some of the characters and (finally) get some pictures. My niece was on a mission… to meet her favorite villain, the evil Malificent! The star of the show!





Kathy

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great update Kathy!! Your parade pictures bring back fond memories!

 

[jcc0621]

The Yankees

 

[KathyRN137]

Kathy, thanks for getting pictures of the parade. I'm not generally big on parades, but Boo To You is one I'd like to see! While I'm at it, I'm really enjoying your trip report and am always excited when I see that a new chapter has been posted. Thanks!

Thanks! The Haunted Mansion butlers and ghosts are my favorite!

Wow - Another update! You're on a roll Kathy! I love the picture of Tigger mid-bounce! As far as the KTTW card down your shirt... Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Great update Kathy!! Your parade pictures bring back fond memories!

Great! Updating regularly can be tough, but I'm trying!

The Yankees

Sorry, Janet! Ed's a big Yankee fan since he was little and first saw Mickey Mantle play!


Kathy

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

We sat in the same spot for Boo To You

It didn't look like that park was too bad crowd-wise for being on Halloween night.