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

[KathyRN137]

~LOVED~ the Butterfly Garden!!!!

Me too!!

I want to live there and I'm not a butterfly!

I know what you mean!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Nice update Kathy,

Wish I had seen the note about your lens fogging up sooner, I kept cleaning my glasses...

Sorry, Goof!!

I think that one reason I didn't realize the lens needed cleaning was that I took my glasses off to take my pix, so they all looked a little "foggy" to me!!


Kathy

 

[Charleston Princess]

I think I am all caught up, Kathy! How disappointing to miss the Pirate and Princess Parade .

Sassy being a euphemism: !!!

Breakfast looks delicious and all the flowers, topiaries, and butterflies are beautiful!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

I'd wanna live in EPCOT

Aww, Billy is *too* cute. I hope someone went and got that Flutterby!

 

[KathyRN137]

I think I am all caught up, Kathy! How disappointing to miss the Pirate and Princess Parade .

Sassy being a euphemism: !!!

Breakfast looks delicious and all the flowers, topiaries, and butterflies are beautiful!

Hi Jackie...welcome home!!

I know you're "with me" on the sassy costume struggles! So hard to get modest costumes as the girls get bigger!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

I'd wanna live in EPCOT

Aww, Billy is *too* cute. I hope someone went and got that Flutterby!

Thanks... he is cute... I'm totally biased, though!

While there was some effort to keep the butterflies contained, there was no concern when this one got loose. (I'm sure this wasn't the first, nor the last escapee!) I suppose there were a lot of flowers around Epcot that needed pollinizing....

Kathy

 

[mommytothreeboys]

My boys and Jeff went in the Butterfly Garden...I'm somewhat like Billy...I don't want them to fly near me so I just stayed out! I knew that I would make a screaming fool of myself if I went in. To me..they are just giant bugs with wings! They are beautiful from a distance, but I don't want it flying near or landing on me!

So cute that Billy was so concerned...what a thoughtful boy!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hi Jackie...welcome home!!

I know you're "with me" on the sassy costume struggles! So hard to get modest costumes as the girls get bigger!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!!


Kathy

Yes, I am with you, and Chelsea seems to try and lean towards the "sassy" costumes these days!

 

[KathyRN137]

My boys and Jeff went in the Butterfly Garden...I'm somewhat like Billy...I don't want them to fly near me so I just stayed out! I knew that I would make a screaming fool of myself if I went in. To me..they are just giant bugs with wings! They are beautiful from a distance, but I don't want it flying near or landing on me!

So cute that Billy was so concerned...what a thoughtful boy!

I can imagine how it might be disconcerting, seeing as there were so many of them flitting about in such a small, confined space!

I'm not quite sure if Billy was concerned for the butterfly, or for the hapless guests that it might "attack!" (I'm reminded of that SpongeBob episode....)


Kathy

 

[DisMomAmy]

I love the Flower & Garden Festival!!

 

[KathyRN137]

I love the Flower & Garden Festival!!

I did, too! Isn't it fabulous how they do different topiary themes for each festival? it makes me want to do a Fall and a Spring trip every year!!!


Kathy

 

[melk]

I'm not quite sure if Billy was concerned for the butterfly, or for the hapless guests that it might "attack!" (I'm reminded of that SpongeBob episode....)


Kathy

That's funny you mention the Spongebob episode. We went to a butterfly exhibit and thought nothing of it. However, my middle dd, who loves all animals, could not get out of there fast enough. She hated it! When we finally got out (we were laughing about it b/c it was so out of character for her), she said it was because of the Spongebob episode, she was too freaked out by them!!

Love that Billy was so concerned about the one that got away...too cute .

 

[KathyRN137]

That's funny you mention the Spongebob episode.... she said it was because of the Spongebob episode, she was too freaked out by them!!

That episode was a little freaky! Seeing a butterfly super close-up with scary music playing in the background certainly makes them seem less like pretty flittering creatures and more like creepy bugs!!

Kathy

 

[Juliah]

Kathy,

I just found this trip report. I've read your others and was so excited to find you are writing another. It's a great fun read, as always. Thanks for sharing!

 

[KathyRN137]

Kathy,

I just found this trip report. I've read your others and was so excited to find you are writing another. It's a great fun read, as always. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Juliah! Good to "see" you again!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter 26: Playfully Picture-Perfect!

Still Thursday, 4/24/08

Epcot ~ World Showcase


After enjoying the butterfly garden, we stopped for a moment by the children’s play area so that Tricia could answer a text message. The play area was designed for little ones, so Billy was more interested in saying hello to topiary Pluto:

One of Tricia’s friends from school was vacationing at Disney this same week and the two had been messaging each other back and forth, trying to arrange a meet. As it turned out, her family was arriving at Epcot at that very moment! We arranged to meet them and Tricia, of course, was very excited! We turned and began walking toward Future World. Once there, Billy became quite insistent about going on one of his favorite attractions... Test Track. We had about a half hour and the standby wait time was listed at 30 or 40 minutes, so we opted to use the GAC so we could enter the FP queue. Good thing, too, because Billy had been chomping at the bit all morning and was really beginning to pace and stim uncontrollably.

Once we were in line and he realized that we would be riding Test Track, he began to calm down a bit. That, plus he got a bit distracted by Ed putting ear plugs in his ears to muffle the noise of the “test equipment” banging and clanging away! The darkened briefing room did not seem to bother him as much this time, although he did grab Ed’s hand and tell him, “I’ve got you!” several times before the doors opened and we moved toward the final section of the queue.


As we inched toward the loading area, Tricia talked constantly about meeting up with her friend, Catherine, and told us she really wanted to do Soarin’ with her because Catherine had never done it before. I had to gently remind her that Catherine’s family would have to get FPs for Soarin’ and that it was already close to noontime. There was a good chance that Soarin’ FPs would be sold out already. She whipped out her phone and sent another TM to Catherine, telling her to stop by Soarin’ first so they could get FPs. I silently wished them luck!


We boarded our test vehicle (a bright red one, much to Tricia’s pleasure) and were off down the track to put it through its barrage of tests and tortures. As usual, the climactic 65 MPH tear around the banked track with the wind in our faces was the best part! We laughed and cheered and I dabbed my eyes as we pulled into the building and waited for our turn to disembark. Even wearing sunglasses, my eyes always tear up on Test Track!


Once outside, Tricia checked her messages again and informed us that our next stop would be Mission Space. It was all we could do to keep her from running to meet up with her friend!! (BTW, Catherine’s mother gave me permission to post their pictures.)

OMG!! You're HERE!! OMG!! YOU'RE here!!

OMG, We're BOTH here!!

We’d never met Catherine’s parents before, so there were introductions to be made all around. We talked for a couple of minutes and the conversation naturally turned toward “what do you want to do now?” As it turns out, Catherine’s family had gone to Soarin’ for FPs and although they were not yet sold out as I had feared, the return time was not until much later in the evening, so they had decided to pass.


Hmmm. What to do? Well, the FP return time for Mission Space was quite reasonable, so they decided to get those. Thinking that the kids would enjoy the ImageWorks Labs (and that there would not be much of a wait) I suggested that we go pay a visit to Figment in the meantime!


Catherine’s younger brother, Jack, was around the same age as Billy. I’m sure that Catherine had explained to Jack that Billy was autistic, but sometimes its difficult for kids to grasp the full concept of what that means. He shyly made an attempt to talk with Billy, but after a quick “Hello,” Billy basically ignored him and just kept humming to himself and laughing at nothing in particular. I reassured Jack that Billy was not being unfriendly, that it was simply a matter of him not being able to interact and have normal conversations because of his autism. “His brain doesn’t work the way yours does,” is the simplified version that I’ve grown accustomed to using in these situations. “It’s hard for him to talk with people.” Jack nodded and went over to hover around the girls as they cooed over the tiny pairs of baby Crocs displayed at one of the kiosks.



OMG! Look at the cute little baby Crocs! And all the Disney jibbitz!!

Baby Crocs could make good cell phone holders!!

Once more, I felt that old familiar pang as I watched the three “typical” kids laugh and talk so easily with each other while Billy stood off to the side... a ten year-old boy unable to join in, still holding his mother’s hand as if he were still in kindergarten. I sighed. It wouldn’t be worth trying to get Billy to talk with Jack here in the midst of a busy and crowded theme park... it was just too distracting. Perhaps later I could encourage him to interact a bit more, but right now he was pacing around and too excited to focus on something as demanding as a two-way conversation. Besides, Catherine’s mom was trying to tell me something and I didn’t want to be rude, so I shook myself out of it and turned my attention to our own conversation while Billy happily patted the big rubber balls gathered for display in what looked like a giant wire tomato planter.


Soon we nudged the kids away from the kiosk and continued on towards the Imagination Pavilion.

We adults sat in one row and the kids all squeezed together in the other. This was such a good ride to do as a group... we all enjoyed our tour of the Imagination Labs with Figment and Dr. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle.) I felt better seeing Billy sitting with the other kids, laughing at all the sight gags and, of course, the stinky skunk smell! When the song, One Little Spark, began to play, Billy was jumping up and down with excitement and singing along. The other kids got a real kick out of seeing him so animated and we all chuckled and sang right along with him. (It’s impossible not to laugh when Billy laughs... he just lets out these huge belly laughs!)


When the ride ended, we hurried to the Kodak “What If?” Labs. It was quite crowded here, but after a brief wait, the two girls got to use one of the digital photo machines and began to have fun playing around with it. Catherine’s parents finally grabbed another machine and they helped Jack make some funny e-mail creations. Meanwhile, Ed took Billy over to the ImageWorks interactive play area for some fun. He never gets tired of directing musical instruments and stepping on the squares that make sounds!

Once the girls had tired of playing with the machine and had e-mailed the pictures to each other, they wanted to walk over to where a CM performer dressed in a lab coat was beginning a funny routine about using digital cameras or taking pictures or something or other. The CM “lab tech” had them pose while she took their picture with the GIANT camera and their picture flashed on the big screen above.

Then she had the whole group pose together and she printed out all the pictures for each family.... what nice little souvenirs!

By this time it was 1:20 and the FP window for MS was opening at 1:30. As we walked over to the International Space Training Center we all discussed which team we wanted to try... Green or Orange. Thankfully, everyone in Catherine’s family wanted to go Green, so we could all stay together!


Some of you may recall from previous reports that Ed has an inner ear condition that precludes him from doing any “spinny” rides, since they give him vertigo. Try as I might, I could not convince him the previous year to try the Green version of MS... he just would not believe me when I told him it would not spin at all!!


Now, I ask you... would I do something like that?? Of course not! I would never try to “trick” someone into going on a ride that might make him feel ill! Oh well... the point is, this would be Ed’s first time on Mission Space and I was very excited! He loves to watch TV shows about aeronautics and the space program and such and is quite knowledgeable about it, so I really was quite sure that he would enjoy this. We arrived at the entrance and were given our choice of orange or green passes; then we queued up in the shorter FP line. There’s a lot to look at while waiting and it wasn’t too long until we were lining up for our de-briefing. “Oh, Gary Sinise!” murmured Ed. (See, he was impressed already!)


Each training simulator needed a team of four and the kids all wanted to go together... no parents. We decided to let them have a bit of freedom and, since we would be just a few feet away from them in the next simulator, we could still maintain voice contact with them if necessary. The kids were absolutely thrilled. “Woo-Hoo!! No parents!!” they chanted as they danced around waiting for the final door to the simulators to open. The CM monitoring the door just grinned and all the adults smiled and shook their heads. Billy was shouting, “Woo-Hoo!” too, but I think it was just because the other kids were celebrating, because as soon as we were permitted to enter, he immediately tried to enter the vehicle with Ed and me!


“Go sit with the other kids,” we told him. He was a bit unsure, but then the other three called to him, “Billy! Come sit with us! Come sit with us!” and it made me feel really good to see them reaching out to him. We had the two older girls sit on the outside while the younger boys took the inside seats. I was about to reach in and help Billy with his seat belt when Tricia piped up and said, “Mom, I can handle it!”


From the next vehicle Ed chimed in, “Yeah, Kathy, come sit down, he can buckle his seat belt!” Well... um... okay. I sat down and stored my bag while listening to Ed give me a little lecture about letting the kids do things for themselves. Hey, old habits die hard!! It’s tough for a mom to stop acting like... a mom!


No time to ponder the issue, our ship was preparing to blast off!! I can’t remember who was assigned to what duty, but we all had a fun time on the flight. Even during the most precarious moments of the mission, I could hear Billy shrieking with laughter in the next vehicle while his sister chastised him. “Billy, stop pressing all the buttons at the same time; you’re gonna make us tip over!” I laughed to myself, wondering if she truly believed that or not! Even without the centrifuge, the liftoff experience seems quite realistic.


When we had safely completed our mission, we exited our simulators and filed out into the hallway that led to the Space Base interactive play area. “Well, how did you like it?” I asked Ed, expecting to hear a glowing review. I was surprised to find that my husband had been underwhelmed. “It really wasn’t much more that watching a little movie on the screen,” he replied. “I thought there would be a lot more to it.” Well, there is a lot more to it if you ride the Orange version, I suppose. But who wants to risk getting sick or dizzy? Oh well, I like it, anyway.


The arcade-type games at Space Base were tempting, but Catherine’s family had somewhere they had to be (a lunch ressie, perhaps?) and we reluctantly had to part ways. The girls hugged and the adults shook hands… it had been such fun for Tricia to have her friend to play with for a couple of hours! She had enjoyed it so much that it really became the inspiration for us to invite her same-age cousin, Catie, to come with us on our trip this year. Catie’s also quite used to Billy and his quirky ways, so it should work out very well.


“So, do you want to play some of the games?” I asked. “No, no, NO!” declared Billy. “I want Soarin’, pleeeese!!”

“Yeah, let’s do Soarin!!,” Tricia agreed. Then she began to chant and Billy quickly joined in:


Soarin! Soarin!! Soarin!!!


Next Up: From astronauts to hang-gliders within a matter of minutes!


Kathy

 

[Goofster57]

Cool update Kathy,

Sorry Ed was underwhelmed....But I guess I can't say much since I have never been on either side..

Thumbs up to Tricia for looking after her brother..

 

[Hedy]

Nice update. I like how the other kids just took Billy in with them in "their" capsule.

 

[KathyRN137]

Cool update Kathy,

Sorry Ed was underwhelmed....But I guess I can't say much since I have never been on either side..

Thumbs up to Tricia for looking after her brother..

Me too on both counts... surprised Ed didn't love MS and proud that Tricia took charge of Billy!!

And yes, that smudge is still there!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Nice update. I like how the other kids just took Billy in with them in "their" capsule.

It's such a great feeling when I see him doing things with and acting like the "normal" kids!! (Happens a lot at WDW!!)


Kathy