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

Good for you for saying something to those kids! I'm not sure what parents are thinking sometimes not watching their kids.

Love your "costumes". :)
 
Good move on seeing Capt. Jack first. When we went to the P & P Party we didn't realize how popular he would be and never got to see him (except in the tutorial) becasue the line was never shorter than 2 hours long :faint:
 
Well I'm :rotfl: about the crusty old crab and that you took a picture of her. P&PP looks pretty busy. Wish they still did them though. Why do some many parents let their boys act like little brats in line fulls of people :rolleyes:. i was on line with Thomas holding a tray of food at Sunshine seasons last week. this woman and her two boys around 11 & 9 proceeded to fight and punch one another while in the food line. They were very close to knocking into several people as it was busy in there. the mom could have cared less about her little animals. If they had knocked into me or Thomas i would have let her have it. Sorry about the vent ;). Looking forward to your Captain Jack meet and the rest of P&PP.
 
Sounds like fun!... DH just can't see spending the extra $50/person. I guess it is a lot....:sad2:


Well, I originally wasn't going to get tickets for that same exact reason. But, it was something special and as you can see from the placquard outside the MK entrance, they had very few parties left now that the busier season was approaching. We did get a small discount for being DVC members... so that helped me to rationalize the expense! :rolleyes1


Great update as always, Kathy!

I don't know why I always look at pirate mickey and pirate minnie and think they look like turtles. :confused3
Sara


Okay Sara, I thought that was so funny! I went back and looked at the pictures of Mickey and Minnie... I'm still laughing...because for the life of me, I can't see the turtle resemblance!! :rotfl:


Good for you for saying something to those kids! I'm not sure what parents are thinking sometimes not watching their kids.


I was so amazed! I guess people kind of let their guard down because it's Disney, but you can never be too careful when it comes to your most precious possesions! ;)


Good move on seeing Capt. Jack first. When we went to the P & P Party we didn't realize how popular he would be and never got to see him (except in the tutorial) becasue the line was never shorter than 2 hours long :faint:


Thanks, but just wait! I did make a rather dumb miscalculation later on.... :headache:



Well I'm :rotfl: about the crusty old crab and that you took a picture of her. P&PP looks pretty busy. Wish they still did them though....


Well, the park was still full of "regular" guests when we arrived, so it did thin out considerably later on. The folks on line for Captain Jack were probably the ones who had done their homework. Like Janet (jcc0621) said, later on the wait to see him became really outrageous! :crowded:


Kathy
 

I'm so glad you spoke up to those sword-fighting pirates - I would have done the same thing. I'm amazed at how some people can be totally oblivious to their children's behavior! Now on to Captain Jack Sparrow ... pirate:
 
I love that Ed made you get a pic of his "favorite" CM. I can so see my hubby doing that. "If you are taking pics of everything else for the DIS, you might as well get a pic of her too Margaret" :lol:

Glad to hear you said something to the little pirates. It blows my mind to see how little parenting goes on some days!

Now, show me some Cap'n Jack please! pirate:
 
I can't believe you guys ran into the crusty crab!! And that Ed wanted documentation for your TR!! :rotfl:

So, did you get to meet Jack?:confused3
 
Okay Sara, I thought that was so funny! I went back and looked at the pictures of Mickey and Minnie... I'm still laughing...because for the life of me, I can't see the turtle resemblance!! :rotfl:
Kathy

:rotfl::rotfl2::rotfl:

I guess it's the green color, I don't know, but I think they look a little like Franklin (have you seen that show?) :confused3

Sara
 
Chapter 21: The Captain and the Kid

April 23, 2008

The Magic Kingdom
Pirate & Princess Party

********************************​


The heavy black curtains were pulled aside... the doors opened… and we found ourselves entering a dimly lit queue reminiscent of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.


Only so much better!!


The walls were draped in black fabric... day had magically been transformed into night. We slowly wound our way past a series of eerily lit scenes depicting a phantom pirate ship. A skeleton crew swabbed the decks, climbed the rigging, and searched for buried treasure...all against an audio backdrop of mournfully howling winds and the baleful sounds of a ghostly hornpipe.





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It took us perhaps fifteen minutes or so to navigate the entire haunted queue, but it was so well done that the time passed quickly... there was so much to look at! The line crept toward a second set of heavily curtained doors manned by cast members in tattered pirate garb. Beyond these, the atmosphere changed dramatically. Now we had “come ashore” and were entering the temporary hideout of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Terra cotta planters containing a wide variety of tropical plants and trees partially obscured the view of a crumbling courtyard and it’s charismatic host.



Here, Captain Jack was holding court... surrounded by the spoils of his crew’s most recent plunder. As he greeted each new group of guests, it became more and more evident why the line had moved as slowly as it did. The Captain was a most congenial host... taking his time, not only to sign autographs and pose for the obligatory photograph... but to participate in substantial conversations with each of his guests.




When it was finally our family’s turn to approach the pirate throne, Captain Jack immediately spied the medallion around Tricia’s neck. He fixed his gaze upon her and said, “Young lady, you know of course that this medallion has a curse upon it!” Then he proceeded to introduce himself to us individually. Ed shook his hand, then quickly grabbed the camera from me and stood alongside the photopass photographer so he could share the best angle. First, were just going to let the kids pose by themselves:




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(He said something to Tricia and she began to laugh...)

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The Captain continued bantering with us in his perpetually droll manner. “And you, lad,” he said to Billy, “I see you’re sporting the skull and crossbones... are you by any chance a pirate?”

Billy shocked us all by turning to the Captain and throwing his fist up in the air as if holding an imaginary sword.

“AAAARRRGGHHH!!!” he shouted. “Pirate says, Aaarrgghh!!”


Well, that was it. It was all over for me.


How amazing... that this incredibly talented cast member could make such an instant connection with my autistic son, who just minutes before had been in his own little world, singing to himself and pacing about the room distractedly. He was able to grab his attention and elicit a completely appropriate response to his question... and we hadn’t even had the chance to let him know that Billy was autistic. It was truly a magical moment! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! :cloud9:



Captain Jack made the decision for me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a picture with him and his new recruit. While Ed clicked away with the camera, the Captain kept making funny little comments out the side of his mouth and I just couldn’t keep a straight face, even for the camera!




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I look at these pictures and I have to think that he may not exactly have been a Johnny Depp look-a-like, but this cast member captured the true essence of Jack Sparrow’s flamboyant and endearing personality. It was a meet and greet experience that was pure Disney Magic and entirely worth the wait.


Thanks, Jack, for helping my son to become a member of your crew. I will always be grateful. pixiedust:


Kathy
 
The Captain continued bantering with us in his perpetually droll manner. “And you, lad,” he said to Billy, “I see you’re sporting the skull and crossbones... are you by any chance a pirate?”

Billy shocked us all by turning to the Captain and throwing his fist up in the air as if holding an imaginary sword.

“AAAARRRGGHHH!!!” he shouted. “Pirate says, Aaarrgghh!!”

Well, I had to come out of lurkdom to say what a great memory! When I was student teaching, I had a couple of Autistic kids. They were only in the class for morning announcements and lunch. Anyhow, I remember feeling really special when one of the kids grabbed my hand and looked at. That is so cool about Billy's pirate: Aarrgghh!
 
Kathy, you have such a gift for words....usually people just write something like ....we walked in the room, and got a picture with Jack Sparrow, and then we were off to ride Pirates....or something similar. You, on the other hand, paint such an accurate picture of the whole atmosphere, the queue, the sounds, everything! I feel like I am right there with you!! Thank you so much for your wonderful writing!! :flower3:

What a magical moment for you - to see Billy make such a connection with the Captain right off the bat! How fabulous! :goodvibes

Sara
 
Oooh, Kathy, it warms my heart when you tell of these Billy stories :sad:

I still get teary-eyed over the Eeyore story a few TR's back!
 
what an awesome interaction!! I am sitting here tearing up reading about Jack and Billy's exchange!

That's truly pixiedust: for you!!!


That's such an amazing set-up they have! The photos of the area blow me away. Did Ed get a chance to get a pic with Jack too?
 
lovely trip report.
a few questions.
i have a cousin who is the same age as your son and we are going to Disney in october.
any helpful tips i dont want him not enjoying himself or breaking down:guilty:
TIA:)
 
All that intro work that you did...wonderful writing by the way...and this is what I choose to quote...

I'm a guy what can I say.


Yay!! Looky everybody... JORDAN'S BACK!!! :woohoo:


Well, I had to come out of lurkdom to say what a great memory!... That is so cool about Billy's pirate: Aarrgghh!

First of all... :welcome:

Second of all... Mwa-Ha-Ha-Ha!! Now I've got you!! (Once you come out of lurkdom on my reports, I expect to see you again!!!)


Kathy, you have such a gift for words....

What a magical moment for you - to see Billy make such a connection with the Captain right off the bat! How fabulous! :goodvibes

Sara


Aww, thanks Sara! :blush:

This was definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip! ::yes::

Kathy
 
What a magical moment! I love the pictures.. only Disney does such an awesome environment!
 
Oooh, Kathy, it warms my heart when you tell of these Billy stories :sad:

I still get teary-eyed over the Eeyore story a few TR's back!


Oh, thanks! :hug: That's my mostest favorit-est Disney memory, ever!


what an awesome interaction!! I am sitting here tearing up reading about Jack and Billy's exchange!

That's truly pixiedust: for you!!!

That's such an amazing set-up they have! The photos of the area blow me away. Did Ed get a chance to get a pic with Jack too?


Thanks, it was really special! :cloud9:

And, no, Ed never did get to pose with Jack! He did joke with him a bit, but I think he was just enjoying our reactions and decided he wanted to play photographer for a change!




lovely trip report.
a few questions.
i have a cousin who is the same age as your son and we are going to Disney in october.
any helpful tips i dont want him not enjoying himself or breaking down:guilty:
TIA:)


Ah, I could write forever on that topic! :rolleyes:

I think I will PM you on that!

In the meantime, have you checked out the Dis-ABILITIES board? There are often threads about autistic kids and WDW trip concerns...

Thank you for reading!! :grouphug:


Kathy
 













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