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

[KathyRN137]

Charleston Princess: Hey, CP, you snuck in there!! Sorry, can't let this report go on without at least one cliffhanger!


Kathy

 

[Charleston Princess]

Charleston Princess: Hey, CP, you snuck in there!! Sorry, can't let this report go on without at least one cliffhanger!


Kathy

It wouldn't be a Kathy trip report without a few!

 

[eandesmom]

The Dream Team! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm all caught up, great updates!!!!!!!!

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

aaaagggggghhhhhhhh !!!!!

What Happens
What Happens
Please tell us what happens next..................

Ugh, these cliffhangers.......

 

[teacher2525]

Looking forward to the big dream team reveal

 

[moparop]

Chants....

update update!! We never had a dream team encounter. I need to live vicariously through you!

 

[KathyRN137]

CHAPTER NINE: Pay It Forward.



Still Monday, 4/21/08...


“Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, We are the Disney Dream Team!”


A ripple of excitement went through the small audience. I leaned over and grinned at the rest of my family. “We’re going to get a Dream!”


“You’re all getting Dream FastPasses,” the CM continued. “Whaddya think about that? No lines today!!” The crowd broke out into applause and excited chatter as the team began passing out the FastPasses attached to cords and designed to wear around the neck.



Ed gave me a wry smile. “Figures,” he said, “We win a dream and it’s something we don’t need.” He was referring, of course, to the GAC. To my horror, when the CM came to our row, he began to wave her away, saying that we didn’t need them!! She looked at him in surprise and began to explain, thinking perhaps that he just didn’t realize what the Dream FastPass was.



“That’s okay,” I broke in, “We’ll take them.” I must have has a look on my face that said, “What, are you NUTS?” because he began to grumble as Tricia and I examined the laminated treasures. “Kathy, we can’t use these, let them give them to someone else,” he chided. “Oh, that’s exactly what I intend to do!” I replied, pulling out my bag so I could stuff all the “golden tickets” inside. Well, except for Tricia’s. She wanted to wear hers around her neck for a while, kind of like a medal that she had won!



I realized (too late) as I opened my bag that I should have pulled out my camera and taken a picture. Oh well, the Dream Team had already exited, smiling and waving, so I just had to accept the fact that I blew it. Well, after all that excitement, we now had to prepare ourselves for a journey to Endor! I had my glasses on and, wow, they really made a difference! Billy sat next to me and he kicked and laughed and waved his arms wildly the entire time.



“Again! Again!” he shouted when it was all over. “No, Buddy,” his dad answered. “Once is enough!” I asked if he was feeling okay and he answered that he was… he had just kept his eyes off the screen. I felt bad that he couldn’t enjoy the ride; its so much fun! We unbuckled and grabbed our things from underneath our seats. As we exited into the hallway, there was yet another surprise! A stormtrooper in white “armor” was standing outside the door waving to everyone as we left! Never saw that before! This morning was just full of surprises!



We decided to visit our old friends, the muppets, next. As we walked, we discussed the Dream FastPasses. Ed still didn’t understand why I wanted to take them. I tried to explain. “Don’t you see? Because now WE can be a little Dream Team and give them away to another family… won’t that be fun?” Tricia was very excited about this. "Can I pick the family we give them to?” she begged. I told her she could, and she was flushed with her newfound power... to give away our Fast Passes!



Soon, we came to a familiar sight:

The pre-show was almost finished. Darn, I really like it! We all went inside and found good seats. Even late in the morning, the crowds were not too heavy. Perhaps a lot of folks were over at Magic Kingdom (Monday). We settled in with our 3D glasses and again, I felt that wearing my own underneath really improved my view of the screen. (But, sad to say, the film has truly seen better days... it’s a bit grainy.) We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and, no matter how many times he’s seen it, Billy still laughs so hard at the end that the tears run down his cheeks!



We dropped our glasses in one of the barrels outside and I was disappointed that there wouldn’t be time to shop in the muppet gift store. We had an 11:30 ADR to make! We quick-stepped it from Streets of America back toward Echo Lake. Checked in at the podium at Hollywood & Vine and proceeded to wait.

A late breakfast or early lunch here has become a tradition. Again, because its one of Billy’s all-time favorites. Good food, good music, good characters…what more can you ask for?

As soon as we had finished, Tricia began recruiting Billy to help her and soon they were both lobbying for ToT and R&RC!! “Oh please!” I implored, “Not right after you ate!” Ed and I persuaded them to go to the Great Movie Ride, instead. “We’ve got the whole day,” I reassured them. “I promise, we’ll do them later, just let your stomachs settle a bit!” A short stroll around Echo Lake, past the Sorcerer’s Hat, and we were there.

Once again, we got the mobster and not the outlaw, and this time the mobster was a moll (a female!) She hammed it up a bit, but somehow, she just didn’t quite fit the role. Nevertheless, we do this for the wonderful movie scenes, anyway. I’m one more fan who gets to feeling very nostalgic during the final movie clip montage… I love old black and white movies the most!



After we exited the theater, we walked around to the front and I stopped to look at the hand/footprints in the cement. I never get a chance to see all of them, because the kids are usually clamoring to go somewhere else… they think looking at the sidewalk is boring. Well, I suppose that, for them, it really is. So, we began to cross the park, heading in the direction of Sunset Blvd.



Did you ever see the movie, Sunset Boulevard, with William Holden and Gloria Swanson? If you answered, no, then make sure you rent it sometime. It’s really good!



Okay, back to Disney. The HSM2 show was going on in front of the hat, so it was a bit congested, but we circumvented the crowd and pressed on toward our goal. And, no, Tricia is not a HSM fan (although she agrees that Zach is very cute), so unless he was there, personally, she had no interest in stopping.

She was quite anxious to do ToT this trip, as we had not had time for it last year for some reason. As we walked along, she wheedled, cajoled, and all-out pestered Ed to try it “just once” with little success. “I won’t be much fun to be around if I’m feeling dizzy for the rest of the day,” he answered, getting a bit annoyed at her persistence. He won’t admit it, but I think it really bothers him that his body won’t allow him to enjoy all of the thrill rides his kids enjoy.

Oooh, get ready, Tricia!!

We arrived at ToT and for the first time, the standby line was exceptionally long (as was to be expected.) Even the lines at the FP machines were impressive! So, for the first time, we utilized the GAC. There was still a bit of a wait and Billy was really revving up… his arms were flapping and he was chanting his “Duck-a-Duck-a” monologue loudly, which was embarrassing Tricia to no end.



I suppose that I’ve become somewhat immune to the stares we get from other people when he starts this kind of behavior in public, but for a 12-yr old sister, it can be hard. She tried to “shush” him just once too often, once too sharply, and I had to scold her for it. “Tricia, he can’t help it, it’s just his way of coping,” I reminded her (for the hundredth time.) Thankfully, the line kept moving, slowly but steadily, and we all became more and more excited to ride our spooky elevator. I distracted the kids a bit by having them pose for a few pictures:

Awesome Theming!

We made it down to the basement and stood on our numbered spots, waiting for our car. Tricia was excited, but nervous…perhaps that’s why her patience with Billy had been so short. “Are you sure you want to ride?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible. “Oh, yes,” she answered. “But can you sit between me and Billy?” I could feel it already… my arms were going to get squeezed on both sides like double blood pressure cuffs!! Oh well, what are mothers for?



We had an amazing, giddy, heart-pounding ride! The whole car was screaming, which always makes me laugh uncontrollably. Even though they had both put the death-grip on me, they both wanted to ride, “again! Again!” But, I reminded them that we still wanted to ride on R&RC and that it wouldn’t be nice to leave their daddy out of the fun for too long.



Checked out the ride photo and…. Where are my children? Oh, yes, there they are! Both their faces were buried in my shoulders! We laughed about that and then exited so we could get on line for R&RC.

Same situation here... the park seemed to be getting more and more crowded now that it was afternoon. We GAC’d it again and I asked Tricia if she wanted to start looking for a family we could give the Dream FastPasses to. That helped to pass the time for her in the queue. There was a little glitch, however. She insisted that she wanted to keep her FP as a memento. That meant we needed to find a family of three to use the remaining FPs. I tried to persuade her to give hers away, but she was firm. “I want to keep it to remember the day!” she repeated. Sigh. Oh well, so much for “pay it forward!”



Soon, however, I had other things on my mind. We were getting placed in the little corrals getting ready to board the second to next limo. “Make sure you keep your head back on the headrest for take off!” I reminded her. Because it was so crowded, the CM placed a man from the single-riders line with Tricia, which made me a little uncomfortable. Not that he looked like a weirdo, or anything, in fact he was probably a really nice guy. It’s just, well, you know. “I’ll be right here behind you with your brother!” I told her… very loudly. As our limo pulled up, I shouted it over the noise once more.


“O-K, MOM, I’ve GOT IT, already!” she tossed back, annoyed. Little did she know that I wasn’t saying it for her, I was saying it for him!


Fortunately, my fears were unfounded and we all had a great ride! Wow, that take-off launch is something else! We exited through the crowded gift shop and quickly found Ed sitting on a low wall drinking from one of the water bottles we had brought. We three were suddenly thirsty (think the screaming may have had something to do with that) and so we all took a little water break before moving on.



As we walked, Ed said that he had been thinking about where we could eat for dinner. “I’d really like to try that Sci-Fi place,” he told me. Hmmm. We had originally planned on grabbing counter service; we had no ADR for Sci-Fi and I wasn’t sure if we could get one now. Nevertheless, we stopped in a shady spot and I called WDW-DINE to see if we could get a reservation for dinner. We could, but not until a quarter to seven. I gave the news to Ed and he told me to take it. After I flipped my phone shut, I pointed out that it would be fairly late to eat since we had our breakfast/lunch at 11:30.



We checked the time. If I recall correctly, it was somewhere around 3:30. The sun was hot and, although we had been having a great time, we were all starting to droop a bit. (Still feeling the after effects of the long car ride, I think.) Ed suggested that we leave the park and go back to the resort for a little break, then return for dinner at Sci-Fi. I wasn’t keen on leaving… after all, the park was closing at 8:00... we probably wouldn’t have time for anything but dinner later on. However, in keeping with my new “easy-going” touring attitude, I acquiesced and we were soon on our way toward Hollywood Blvd.

“C’mon, Tricia,” I said. “It’s now or never! Let’s pick the lucky family.” I had already begun to feel guilty about holding onto those Dream FPs for so long. But then I figured that if we chose a group just coming into the park at this hour, it would work out great. There would be little chance for them to get regular FPs so late in the day. We stood by the Crossroads of the World kiosk and Tricia scanned the incoming crowd.



I was afraid that she would choose a family of three, just to discover that a fourth person was off getting a stroller or a park map. I warned her that if that happened, she would have to give up that fourth FP, and she agreed. She continued to look over the crowd, searching for just the right prospects. “Let’s go, Tricia!” her father prodded impatiently.


Shielding her eyes from the bright sun with one hand, she suddenly pointed to one group of three. “How about….. them?!!” she blurted. I took the FPs out of my bag and together we walked toward the unsuspecting family...


Kathy

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Love your TR! Great as always! Can't wait to read more.

 

[moparop]

What a special surprise!! I think it's even cooler you got the passes and then passed them on.

Sounds like it was a great day!

 

[wvdislover]

Do you give it them the FastPasses? How excited are they? Do they even know what they are?!? Great update! Can't wait to hear the next installment! It's neat that Billy had so much fun on those attractions...I'm hoping that Sarah will try RnRC this year Our hope for Allison is that she'll ride Goofy's Barnstormer, and then BTMRR. We have been giving her a hard time about it for years! She's afraid it will be too fast It's a hard thing to deal with as a thrill-ride lovin' mom

 

[mom2mek]

Oh how exciting to actually get the dream fastpasses and then get to give them away! I can't wait to see who you find to give them to (and if they take them!)

Love those pics of Billy at Hollywood and Vine! So cute!

Sara

 

[KathyRN137]

eandesmom: Thanks! The Dream Team really surprised us all! Too bad I didn't have my camera...

LuvindisCruiser: Sorry, hope you were able to get some sleep last night!

teacher2525: Hi! I laugh everytime I see that pic of Huey, Dewey, & Lewie!

moparop: We never saw it coming! I wasn't going to not take those FPs!! I wanted to be part of the Dream Team, too!!

DearDaisyin Durham: Can you tell that I'm trying to be more Lazy??

wvdislover: Barnstormer is a great beginner coaster... I was sad when Tricia and Billy aged out of it!

mom2mek: Those pix are a lot like last year... and the year before that! He never gets tired of Play & Dine; I'm sure we'll do it again this year!


Kathy

 

[kaysmommie]

I'm all caught up again. Love the pics of OKW! Which do you like better OKW or SSR? From the pics OKW appeals to me more, maybe I should have booked there instead. Great day at HS so far. on winning the Dream FP's. Looking forward to hearing about who you and Tricia gave them to.

 

[blue_river]

I'm sure I've said it before but I love the lime green crocs!

I don't think you should feel guilty about enjoying the time without Aunt Rae because you have those memories to cherish forever and this was a brand new trip


What a lucky audience to win the dream fast passes! I can't wait to read about the family who received yours!

Way to spread the pixiedust Kathy

 

[tinkermamaof2]

So nice of you to give away the dream fastpasses Kathy. I can totally understand Tricia wanting to keep hers as a souveneir, I have two girls around her age who would probably want to do the same thing. I love that Billy gets so excited when going on the rides, a great thing that you can enjoy together! Have a great day!!

Patti

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Another Cliffhanger! I can't wait to read about the family chosen.

 

[carissanboys]

Okay Kathy - I'm finally here and all caught up!

I love reading your TRs - it's like reading a novel.

I loved the movie Forget Paris so when you mentioned that line about the FIL repeating "You want it. You got it. Toyota." I cracked up!

We never drive at night for the reasons you mentioned. I just can't sleep in a vehicle. The boys don't sleep well either.

We always take 295 around Richmond too. Even if the traffic isn't bad, I find the roads on 95 through the city can be kind of narrow.

I can't wait to see who you guys ended up giving your Dream FPs to! That happened to us on our very first trip to WDW. We won them on our last day and we were getting ready to leave. We did use a couple of them, but then gave them away on our way out. So fun.

 

[KathyRN137]

kaysmommie: I liked SSR, and would stay there again, but we're from Jersey and the theming there is upstate New York... it just doesn't seem as vacation-y to me. (I feel the same way about the BC and BW resorts b/c I grew up at the Shore.) They just don't feel different! The boat/walk to DTD from SSR is very nice!

blue river: THANKS!! I had more fun thinking about giving them away than I did getting them... it makes you feel like Santa or the Tooth Fairy or something!!

tinkermammaof2: I wouldn't mind her keeping it so much except... where is it now? Under her bed? Stuffed a drawer?

Dreamer & Wisher: She picked a good one!!

carissanboys: Wasn't it fun to give them away to strangers? Ed loved driving all night, but he works nights so his body was "awake" anyway. I will never do that again unless it is absolutely, positively the only way I'm getting down to Disney!!


Thanks for reading, everybody!


Kathy

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Kathy, you actually have to vacation WITH lazy people!! Only then will you feel the zen of lazy You guys are so active!

I love reading all that you guys do! It's so fun! Even DH wants to know what's new

 

[melk]

I'm so glad I'm finally caught up!

Loved reading about the drive to WDW. I want to drive (I hate to fly) but DH won't do it. We would have about another 5 hours than you did, definitely a long trip, but maybe someday I'll get my way .

We love OKW as well, stayed there twice, one time in a grand villa with extended family. That was just gorgeous, would do that again in a heartbeat (the gv part, not necessarily the extended family part ).

Also, during our trip last week we had some fp's for RNRC that we decided not to use, we were ready to leave and would be returning later in the week. So DH looked for a family entering HS who we could give them to. He finally approached a family with some teenagers. Not sure if it was their first trip or what, but the husband and kids were just looking at him, not taking the fp's, just looking confused. It must have dawned on the wife what they were and she suddenly grabbed them and thanked DH. We laughed about it, saying she was obviously the one who had done her homework and knew a good thing when she saw it!!

Can't wait to read more. April really is beautiful there, isn't it?

p.s. Loved Ed's Yoda shirt in one of the pics ('Judge me by my size, do you?'). Had seen that when we got off Star Tours and was tempted to buy it for DH (he won't do Star Tours). If only I had an unlimited cash fund!!