A Halloween Adventure in Autism (11/12) New Thread Begun on TR Board!

[KathyRN137]

Kathy, you look fantastic! It is very evident you have lost weight!!

The party looks like a great success! I love the pic of the girls at the table busy planning our their "plan of attack". DISers in the making right there!

Today makes 98 days right?

Yes... I noticed my ADR countdown ticker was a bit off, so I fixed it. I can make them this Saturday!

It was fun to see the girls mapping out their desired rides/attractions and to hear Tricia give Catie the "updates" on more recent ones like Expedition Everest and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. We're all so very anxious to try Toy Story Midway Mania... I've a feeling that its going to be a huge family favorite!!

Billy rattles off his list of favorites for each park on a regular basis. Aunt Eileen took out the park maps and had him point to them and guess what? He had no problem picking them out on the maps! I'm telling you, he has the park layouts memorized!!


Kathy

 

[Charleston Princess]

What a fun party! The table looked great, the food looks delicious, the goody bag treats are cute, and everyone looks like they are having a wonderful time! I adore the picture of your dog in the Mickey ears!

Chelsea and Connor had a copy of The Lost Journals this past summer, and it was a lifesaver as we waited in various lines!

 

[jcc0621]

What an awesome idea for a party and the kids looks like they had a ball!

I need to plan something for the night before we leave. Probably nothing as elaborate as you did. I'm not creative (or a good cook) maybe pizza and some Disney movies (and a Universal movie or 2) to get us in the spirit of the trip!

 

[moparop]

Looks like a wonderful party!! I love the Mickey ear headbands... how fun! Looks like the kids were thrilled with hte goody bags and quite a few of those recipies are going to need to go on my "need to try" list!

I am glad the costumes are mostly figured out. I remember the stress my mom and I had agreeing on clothing for me when I was 13 and I can't imagine it's easier from the other side. I guess I'll be finding out in a few years, huh?

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Great Party! That food looks yummy!

Have you seen the Disney Movie Night thread on the family board? I think I am going to start doing that, it looks like a lot of fun!

I am on the phone right now with Disney to see if I can add free dining.

Here is the information from the October Code Watch thread.



VALUE RESORTS get free quick service dining when purchasing an applicable Magic Your Way Package. Code EVN

MODERATE AND ABOVE get the free basic Dining Plan. (with the one table service a day) Code GCA

Travel period September 27 to December 17

You CAN upgrade your value resort to basic dining and pay the price point difference. Code RGV

 

[KathyRN137]

Great Party! That food looks yummy!

Have you seen the Disney Movie Night thread on the family board? I think I am going to start doing that, it looks like a lot of fun!

I am on the phone right now with Disney to see if I can add free dining.

Here is the information from the October Code Watch thread.


I called without a code and the CM put me on hold and do a search. She came back and said it was Disney Visa free dining and then applied to our existing ressie. She did say that it was based on resort availibility. Luckily our resort qualified.

This is from another thread - I am assuming they are correct

VALUE RESORTS get free quick service dining when purchasing an applicable Magic Your Way Package. Code EVN

MODERATE AND ABOVE get the free basic Dining Plan. (with the one table service a day) Code GCA

Travel period September 27 to December 17

You CAN upgrade your value resort to basic dining and pay the price point difference. Code RGV

Thanks so much for passing along the Free Dining codes... I do appreciate it! Unfortunately DVC members staying on points are not eligible for free dining. (They've already "got" us, I guess, so there's no need to give us incentives.) Oh well. Good luck with adding it on to your ressie, that would really be a fantastic savings!!

I would love to initiate a Disney movie night, except Billy is so impatient and controlling when it comes to audio-visual things. He likes to FF to his favorite parts/songs and play them over several times, go to the "bonus features" and watch them, and he also has a penchant for watching parts of the movies in Spanish or French!! He cries when we won't let him have control of the remote, so it tends to make everyone a bit crazy!! (But he loves it, so sometimes we let him!)


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

What a fun party! The table looked great, the food looks delicious, the goody bag treats are cute, and everyone looks like they are having a wonderful time! I adore the picture of your dog in the Mickey ears!

Chelsea and Connor had a copy of The Lost Journals this past summer, and it was a lifesaver as we waited in various lines!

Oh, good! I'm hoping the girls will enjoy using them! Tricia loves looking for Hidden Mickeys and it looks like it has some fun scavenger hunt activities as well!

Aimee the dog was so happy... she loves when lots of people are around!

What an awesome idea for a party and the kids looks like they had a ball!

I need to plan something for the night before we leave. Probably nothing as elaborate as you did. I'm not creative (or a good cook) maybe pizza and some Disney movies (and a Universal movie or 2) to get us in the spirit of the trip!

Three personal sized pizzas would make a great Mickey head!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Looks like a wonderful party!! I love the Mickey ear headbands... how fun! Looks like the kids were thrilled with hte goody bags and quite a few of those recipies are going to need to go on my "need to try" list!

I am glad the costumes are mostly figured out. I remember the stress my mom and I had agreeing on clothing for me when I was 13 and I can't imagine it's easier from the other side. I guess I'll be finding out in a few years, huh?

Perhaps it won't be as bad with boys... unless you are hinting that a little pixie-girl is on the way!!

Wow! You're getting to the home stretch (literally!!)

Kathy

 

[princesskelz]

man i wish my parents were awsome like you guys!
that party sounded fun and the food cant go wrong with Disney food!

your ADRs sound good. I LOVE 50's Prime time Cafe espically the meat loaf!!

Have a nice weekend

 

[DisMomAmy]

What a fun party!! I'm glad the weather cooperated for you... it's pouring buckets here today... again!

I like the "Guide to the Magic" books you got the kids - I didn't see that one on the website.

 

[cjackearl]

What an awesome party! I'm going to try the pasta salad, the chicken and the dip for sure!

Cute goody bags. I've never seen glow earings. I'm with Catie, those are cool. Also, Billy's CD? There's a song by Peter Gabriel in Wall-e? I NEED that CD!! Peter Gabriel was the first real concert I saw in HS and I still love him.

I'm glad the costume situation is figured out. The two girl cousins will be adorable pirate lasses.

I think if you're bound and determined, or better if Billy is bound and determined to see F!, I'd probably book the package. Your seats may not be any better, but you may not have to wait in a 2 hour line to get seats, either. Although the only F! package available during our dates was HBD. MM F! package was the first ressie I requested at my 90 day mark at 7 am, with no hold, and nothing was available. I tried back several times and still nothing. If Hollywood and Vine is on your list anyway, and the characters are available for dinner, I might book the package, if available.

 

[MRYPPNS]

I have a question.....with Ed is it that he doesn't like the pre-planning of having ADRs or is it that he really doesnt like sit down meals and would rather have the flexiblity do CS?

 

[irish dancer]

What a GREAT party! It looks like everyone had a lot of fun!! Your ADR list looks great too, all my favorites.

My Daniel is EXACTLY the same way about movies! He drives his sisters crazy with it (I'm constantly hearing "MOM, he's skipping again!"). We frequently have Friday Pizza and Movie Night and we make it clear to him that we will watch it once all together all the way through and then he can have free reign with the remote to rewatch any parts he wants. He's gotten pretty good with that compromise. That was a big thing they worked on in school, they emphasized the promise part of comPROMISE.

Best of luck with getting all your ADRs. Since you're doing so many TS and especially if you're going during the "holiday surcharge" timeframe the DDP will probably work to your advantage.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

The party looked very fun!! LOVE your house & the deck too, wow!!! How nice that your sis loves so close...I am envious...

 

[Hedy]

I'm (obviously) in a very different place than you are in terms of people and eating habits, but after seing what 'Ohana and Boma cost these days, I went with free dining (think about it-Boma is $30.99 apiece for adults, the DDP is $39.99.
Or-have you run the numbers for if one of you got an AP (at the DVC rate), then got a Tables in Wonderland card? I know for my brother and DSIL, they broke even pretty easily.

 

[KathyRN137]

man i wish my parents were awsome like you guys!
that party sounded fun and the food cant go wrong with Disney food!

your ADRs sound good. I LOVE 50's Prime time Cafe espically the meat loaf!!

El loves the meat loaf there; I'm a PTC pot roast fan myself!!

It was fun trying to work in the Disney recipes...

What a fun party!! I'm glad the weather cooperated for you... it's pouring buckets here today... again!

I like the "Guide to the Magic" books you got the kids - I didn't see that one on the website.

I thought this "journal" version would be good since the girls are older and both have been to WDW before. Thanks for recommending them!

The party looked very fun!! LOVE your house & the deck too, wow!!! How nice that your sis loves so close...I am envious...

Thank you! Funny, I have four sisters that all live within 20 minutes of each other and my parents, so I always think of myself as living "so far away" from them! I guess an hour isn't really that bad.

Perhaps we'll move down the shore after Ed retires...


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

I have a question.....with Ed is it that he doesn't like the pre-planning of having ADRs or is it that he really doesnt like sit down meals and would rather have the flexiblity do CS?

It's the "having to be somewhere at a certain time" that bothers him. He actually likes TS meals because he feels they are more of a break from the park. (Also, hamburgers and hot dogs and pizza all week isn't really healthy for us!)

Unfortunately, with free dining occurring during our stay, ADRs are a must!.

...I think if you're bound and determined, or better if Billy is bound and determined to see F!, I'd probably book the package. Your seats may not be any better, but you may not have to wait in a 2 hour line to get seats, either. Although the only F! package available during our dates was HBD. MM F! package was the first ressie I requested at my 90 day mark at 7 am, with no hold, and nothing was available. I tried back several times and still nothing. If Hollywood and Vine is on your list anyway, and the characters are available for dinner, I might book the package, if available.

Unfortunately, the characters aren't there for dinner.

I'm hearing that the dining package folks have to enter with everyone else now... is that true or not? Anybody know for sure??

What a GREAT party! It looks like everyone had a lot of fun!! Your ADR list looks great too, all my favorites.

My Daniel is EXACTLY the same way about movies! He drives his sisters crazy with it (I'm constantly hearing "MOM, he's skipping again!"). We frequently have Friday Pizza and Movie Night and we make it clear to him that we will watch it once all together all the way through and then he can have free reign with the remote to rewatch any parts he wants. He's gotten pretty good with that compromise. That was a big thing they worked on in school, they emphasized the promise part of comPROMISE.

Best of luck with getting all your ADRs. Since you're doing so many TS and especially if you're going during the "holiday surcharge" timeframe the DDP will probably work to your advantage.

Hmmm. Is holiday surcharge just for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years, or does it include Halloween? I hadn't heard...

The only thing that is frustrating me is that we know where we want to eat, but without park hours, etc, we don't know which days we want our ressies!!

Glad Daniel is compromising with the movies... Billy's still working on that particular social skill!

I'm (obviously) in a very different place than you are in terms of people and eating habits, but after seing what 'Ohana and Boma cost these days, I went with free dining (think about it-Boma is $30.99 apiece for adults, the DDP is $39.99.
Or-have you run the numbers for if one of you got an AP (at the DVC rate), then got a Tables in Wonderland card? I know for my brother and DSIL, they broke even pretty easily.

We never considered TIW, I'll have to research it some more. I did talk to Ed today about the regular DDP and he agreed that it was a good idea.


Kathy

 

[MinnieNurse]

Wow, the party looks like it was a huge success. I have to get that Guide to the Magic book, it looks fun. I also like that CD you got Billy.

Dis just feeds my shopping addiction. Watched Confessions of a Shopaholic last night. It was cute, but of course the book was way better.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I missed the party...DARN. And it looked so fun!!! And yummy

 

[moparop]

Perhaps it won't be as bad with boys... unless you are hinting that a little pixie-girl is on the way!!

Wow! You're getting to the home stretch (literally!!)

Kathy

Yes, we do have a on the way this time. I wasn't sure I believed it after the first two ultrasounds, but now we have been through 5 and they have all said girl, so I even gave away all of the baby boy clothing. Our very busy family with be complete with 2 and a

You ain't kidding about that home stretch. It's stretching in every direction imaginable.