First Family Vacation 9/2!

[RosyMom]

I wrote this last night and my computer crashed So here it is now!


I don't know why, but I am so nervous posting this! I'll try to follow the format I've seen others use

We are off to Disney in just over a week! I have been busy planning away and would love any and all input you may have to offer. It is our first family vacation ever and we have lots to celebrate!

So, who are we? Well, I am Heather and my husband is Ethan. Our big boy, Alex is 8. This trip is in part to celebrate his adoption just a few weeks ago! He is my biological child and Ethan just adopted him. Ethan has been his only real daddy since he was 3 and we are SO THRILLED that it is all legal now.

Our little guy, Spencer, is 23 months old. So this is obviously a birthday trip, too, lol. Spencer is on the autism spectrum. That will be a challenge. We are hoping to get a GAC to make the waiting a little more tolerable.

I know a doctor's note is not required for the GAC, but I asked the doctor for one anyway. I am SO MAD because they refused! Not because he doesn't need it - they agree that he does. But because another patient just got back from Disney and said they never used it. I really hope that doesn't cause problems.

He melts down when he has to stay in one place, sobbing and flailing He has never really been in a crowd, I have no idea if that will result in his silent staring or crying. He is also a runner. If you let go of his hand for a MILLI-SECOND he will be gone. We have a little tether leash for him and also the tattoos with our phone number on them.

He is mostly non-verbal, for example, he has been able to say "mama" for a while but he only just started to use it to mean me and he says "hiya". He can sign "more" and "finished" and that is about it. Being out of his safe place is going to be hard on him. Some people have suggested we shouldn't bring him. But the only thing worse for him than coming is being away from the only people who can understand him for almost a week!

Another thing to know about us: we are not rope-drop people.

I know for others that ruins the planning right there. But along with autism comes sleep issues and my little man just fell asleep at 3am. That is why I am writing this up at 4am. So, yeah, no rope drops. It is ok. I'm not a morning person either.

On to the planning:

We are using the Deluxe Dining Plan. Spencer does have a hard time in the time between ordering and the food arriving, unless there is bread or something on the table. Sometimes a toy or crayons help, otherwise one of us takes him on a walk where we won't bother other diners.

I guess it is getting a bit late (early?) so I will stop here for now. Please let me know if you have any advice so far with the little planning I have mentioned. Thanks!

 

[happybelle]

I wrote this last night and my computer crashed So here it is now!


I don't know why, but I am so nervous posting this! I'll try to follow the format I've seen others use

We are off to Disney in just over a week! I have been busy planning away and would love any and all input you may have to offer. It is our first family vacation ever and we have lots to celebrate!

So, who are we? Well, I am Heather and my husband is Ethan. Our big boy, Alex is 8. This trip is in part to celebrate his adoption just a few weeks ago! He is my biological child and Ethan just adopted him. Ethan has been his only real daddy since he was 3 and we are SO THRILLED that it is all legal now.

Our little guy, Spencer, is 23 months old. So this is obviously a birthday trip, too, lol. Spencer is on the autism spectrum. That will be a challenge. We are hoping to get a GAC to make the waiting a little more tolerable.

I know a doctor's note is not required for the GAC, but I asked the doctor for one anyway. I am SO MAD because they refused! Not because he doesn't need it - they agree that he does. But because another patient just got back from Disney and said they never used it. I really hope that doesn't cause problems.

He melts down when he has to stay in one place, sobbing and flailing He has never really been in a crowd, I have no idea if that will result in his silent staring or crying. He is also a runner. If you let go of his hand for a MILLI-SECOND he will be gone. We have a little tether leash for him and also the tattoos with our phone number on them.

He is mostly non-verbal, for example, he has been able to say "mama" for a while but he only just started to use it to mean me and he says "hiya". He can sign "more" and "finished" and that is about it. Being out of his safe place is going to be hard on him. Some people have suggested we shouldn't bring him. But the only thing worse for him than coming is being away from the only people who can understand him for almost a week!

Another thing to know about us: we are not rope-drop people.

I know for others that ruins the planning right there. But along with autism comes sleep issues and my little man just fell asleep at 3am. That is why I am writing this up at 4am. So, yeah, no rope drops. It is ok. I'm not a morning person either.

On to the planning:

We are using the Deluxe Dining Plan. Spencer does have a hard time in the time between ordering and the food arriving, unless there is bread or something on the table. Sometimes a toy or crayons help, otherwise one of us takes him on a walk where we won't bother other diners.

I guess it is getting a bit late (early?) so I will stop here for now. Please let me know if you have any advice so far with the little planning I have mentioned. Thanks!

Hi. You will have a great time, just do Disney your way and listen to your little guy's needs. You don't need a note for GAC. I would get a tag for the stroller as a wheelchair to help with lines and you might not even need the GAC. (What accommodations other than the stroller would he need)? Have a great trip.

 

[misca]

I think we will be going around the same time! Our times are 9/1-9/8

Have you found any of the other posts here with other families with Autism? You can use the search function to find them all.

If you are bringing bags along you can get some things to help him in the lines. I bought a small 99 cent etch-a-sketch from walmart that had princesses on it, and I will bring that along to try and keep her busy with the lines. I was thinking about bringing our Kindle, but I don't want it to break or get lost while we are in the parks. Does he like to fiddle with things to keep his hands busy? You can find the hand puzzles at different stores to keep him busy.

The good thing about going around this time is the crowds are supposed to be lower than most of the year! Do you know what parks you are going on each day? Knowing that will help a bunch with crowd control as well. I know you are not rope drop people but it would help a ton in the morning if he has problems waiting in lines.

We also bought the tattoos for our daughter, but in case we forget to put it on that morning or if it somehow rubs off I also went to Petsmart and bought a pettag with my daughters name, and our phone numbers on it. I plan on putting it on her shoe so its just another precaution.

 

[RosyMom]

Misca - we will be there at the same time! Where are you staying?

Thank you for the ideas! I did go out today to pick up some fiddley little toys to keep them busy in line. One of the moms on here mentioned pipe cleaners and I thought that was great! I got a bunch in all different sizes, including huge furry ones.

Here is what I have planned so far:

We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

Day 1: Monday Sept. 2
Arrive in Orlando in the PM
Settle in, explore
9:05p ADR at Chef Mickey
Sleep!

Day 2: Tuesday Sept. 3 - MK!
We will go to MK as early as possible, and get the GAC
10:30am ADR at Crystal Palace
Explore Frontierland, Adventureland, Liberty Square
5:25pm ADR Libery Tree Tavern
Explore Futureland (saving Fantasyland for our second MK day!)
9:00 Illuminations

Ok, that is all for now! More as soon as I can

 

[RosyMom]

Day 3: Wednesday Sept 4 - HS
Get there as early as possible to see if there are any Jedi Training spots left.
11:00am ADR Hollywood & Vine (can you tell we are packing in the Character Meals?)
Explore HS
3:45pm ADR The Holllywood Brown Derby, Fanstasmic Dinner Package.
More exploration, then Fantasmic

Day 4: Thursday Sept 5 - MK
We hope to have lunch at BOG
Explore Fantasyland and anywhere else we want to go in MK
9:45 ADR at CRT

Day 5: Friday Sept 6 DD, Epcot
DD and general exploration
5:30pm ADR Artist Point
Epcot after dinner

Day 6: Saturday Sept 7, Epcot
12:10pm ADR Le Cellier
7:30pm ADR Tokyo Dining (hopefully scoring a good seat for Illuminations!)
9:00pm Illuminations

Day 7: Sunday Sept 8, AK
Check out of hotel
9:45 ADR Tusker House
Explore AK until we have to head to the airport

Oh, I have a question! Do we have to go back to our own hotel to get the bus to the airport? Or can we board from other places?

Please let me know if you think I have any holes in the plans or if something is overbooked. We want to leave wiggle room in case Spencer can't handle things...but we don't want to overlook anything important, either

Thank you for reading