Is it too early for an April 2014 PTR? Starting one anyway. FINAL 4/28 & TR Link!

[MeeskaMomma]

So glad to hear things are going better. You should be one proud momma!

 

[deedee2177]

So glad to hear things are going better. You should be one proud momma!

Thanks so much!! I am very proud. I have my good days and bad days...the bad days come around when I try to predict the future for him. The majority of the time I take it one day at a time.

 

[deedee2177]

Date night at Disney with the DH!!!





So, I talked to DH about having a date night one evening while we are at Disney. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity since we will have the Grandmas to help with the kids. Now I've got to decide which day and the plans. My DH has never been to DTD so I would like to work that in somewhere...so my initial thought is to start there and maybe grab some dinner and then head to a park. I personally would like to go to DHS because I have still not had the chance to see F!, but I would also love Illuminations and I haven't seen that in years!! DECISIONS!!!!!

I'm thinking we will either do this on our 4/23 (DHS day) or 4/24 (Epcot day). I would like to head back to the hotel early afternoon some time, so DH can have the rest of the afternoon/evening together. I'm leaning toward 4/23.

DH and I have also talked about taking a trip just the two of us, but every time we discuss it we feel guilty about going without the kids. We would do a 4 night trip, and I know my Mom would watch my DS and we would go over a weekend when my step-daughter is at your Mommy's. So, I think this date night would give us a good idea if we could handle a whole trip without the kids or would our guilt get to us?

I know this was not an exciting update, but I will do another one when I have made some more plans!

Please feel free to throw out any suggestions! ​

 

[deedee2177]

An Extra Full Day at the Parks!!!

So, my Mom and I went on a weekend getaway this past weekend to the Biltmore Estate.





We had a wonderful time and on our way home we started talking about our upcoming Disney Trip. We were discussing the travel days. Specifically about getting down to Orlando. I told her the plan right now was to leave around lunch time on Easter Sunday, and stop that evening and then finish the trip the following day.

She then made the suggestion of just driving the whole way down there on Sunday. We could leave around 9am and make some stops along the way so the kids (mainly my DS) to get out and burn off some energy. Like she said it really wouldn't matter what time checked in that night, and that way we could have another full day in the Parks. I was all for it but wanted to run it by my DH and DMIL, not to mention I needed to call our hotel and see if they could add another day to the beginning of our stay.

I talked it over with the DH and DMIL and they were in complete support of this plan. I told DH that it would definitely be a help having the Grandmas sitting with the kids to keep them entertained during the trip.

My DMIL just recently went to Orlando with her church and they did the drive in one day on a charter bus so she felt completely comfortable doing the trip in one day.

I called (and emailed) the hotel to see if they could add a day on at the beginning of our stay and they were able to confirm they could do this!!!

So, our plans don't change all that much. We are still planning on going to Epcot on Monday, but instead of going just for the afternoon we will be there all day. I seriously doubt we will make RD this day, but considering we weren't even going to be there until late afternoon I'm fine with missing RD. This will be my first trip not starting off at the MK, but I just know it will be super crowded at MK since it's the Monday after Easter. I'm good with starting off at Epcot...my DMIL has never been there and it's been years since my DM has been. This definitely gives us some flexibility for the rest of the week. We could spend more time at the MK which is definitely my favorite.

121 days to go!!!! I will be doing the double digit dance soon
​

 

[deedee2177]

Park Changes!!​

So, I started thinking (I know very dangerous) since we now have a full extra day at the Park Changes. I decided to take a look at Josh's April 2014 Crowd Calendar and check out his recommendation since I knew that had been a few minor changes to the Park Hours. Based on what I reviewed and Josh's park recommendations I decided to make a few minor changes (shocker!!).

Without further ado here are the changes:

4/20 - Leave for Disney - drive the entire way in one day!

4/21 - Animal Kingdom - Change! We had originally planned to go to Epcot but changed that when the day we had selected for HS became a "not recommended park" on the day we were planning on going on. So, I moved Epcot to the former HS day, and since the only recommended park on this day was AK...the decision was made. Ok, if you can follow that you definitely deserve a prize!! I actually think this might work out well. My DM and DMIL have not been to this park before, and I know my DM will enjoy it since she is such an animal lover (she works at an Animal Hospital). Not to mention AK is one of my DH's favorite. The AK is scheduled to stay open until 8pm which might work out the best...I don't think we will end up staying to closing so it might be a relatively early night for us back at the hotel to rest up!

4/22 - Magic Kingdom (no change). This will still be strange not getting to the MK until the 2nd day, but I still think it works out best!

4/23 - Epcot - Change! Epcot is my 2nd favorite park (MK being the first) so I definitely want to be here at Park Opening which I don't think would happen if we went here on the first day after the long drive the day before. I wasn't able to see everything I wanted during our last trip...tough day with DH and kids that day. So, I want to make sure I get to see more this time!

4/24 - Hollywood Studios - Change! I honestly don't expect to spend the entire day in this park this day because the kids (and Grandmas) are not ready for ToT or RnRC. Now if it was just me and my DH I could see us spending a lot more time here. So, this day will consist of the Toy Story Dash and the calmer rides/shows. Because of this I think this might be
the best night for DH and I to have our date night...I'm still working on those plans so I will share those details later. However, I would LOVE to hear some suggestions!!

4/25 - At this point, this day is open for us. I know it will end at MK, but not sure where we will start the day off at. I will have to see what the group would like to do. Since I'm missing out on starting my trip at MK I HAVE TO keep with my tradition of ending at MK!

I know you are all on the edge of your seats wondering if I was able to change my ADRs due to these park changes...well no reason to keep you in suspense...yes, I was able to change the 2 that were impacted by this. All good there!

Like I mentioned before I have some ideas for mine and the DH's date night at Disney, but I would love to hear some suggestions. Now, the Signature Restaurants are out this trip, I think we are going to save those for when we do our Re-Honeymoon!

Here is the VERY tentative plan:

* Drop the kids and Grandmas off at the hotel, I'm shooting for a 4pm drop off time but we will see..I don't want to rush them at the parks just so DH and I can go out. Again, this is our HS day so it depends on how much we get done this day.

My DD has already started making some plans on what they will do for the afternoon...so far it involves swimming, movies and food! We will leave the stroller with the Grandmas because there is a lot of stuff in walking distance of the hotel.

* Head to DTD, maybe. My DH has never been to DTD so I thought this would be a good chance for us to walk around and take in some sights. However, we both like the thought of heading to a park just the 2 of us.

* We will also want to grab some dinner, so I was able to secure an ADR at 'Ohana at 7:45!! I have been dying to eat here and we usually NEVER would spend this much money on a dinner for just the 2 of us, but we wanted to do something special.

Again, I'm open to other suggestions so please send them my way. I was kinda wanting to eat at a Resort Restaurant to give us the opportunity to see one of the resorts.

* If we keep this ADR then we could very easily go to the MK before dinner and then maybe watch Wishes from the Poly Beach (another thing I have been dying to do).

Another option is to go back to HS after dinner and see F! which I have never seen (please don't throw rocks...it has just never worked out for me to see it). My DH is not too thrilled about going back to HS, but I think I could convince him especially if we didn't get to ride the ToT and RnRC earlier in the day. UGH decisions!!

Ok, so that is my update! Please don't be shocked if you see more changes. In the meantime, please send your suggestions for the big Disney Date night

Hope everyone had a very safe and Happy New Year!​

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Congrats on figuring out date night for you and DH...what a treat! I just made an ADR for dinner at Ohana for my May trip...great minds think alike.

When I was there in October, my friends and I did a dinner reservation at HS which allowed us to get priority seating at Fantasmic without waiting in the line. The seating wasn't the best ever, but it was pretty good (right in the middle) and totally worth it to not have to fight with the crowds. (Especially during a high crowd week which you might be dealing with.) You can either dine at Hollywood and Vine (that's where we went, and it was a great buffet!), the Brown Derby, or Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano.

I tried to post a link for you, but apparently I haven't crossed the threshold to be allowed to do so! Oops! Just google "disney dinner reservation fantasmic" and you will see it!

 

[deedee2177]

Congrats on figuring out date night for you and DH...what a treat! I just made an ADR for dinner at Ohana for my May trip...great minds think alike.

When I was there in October, my friends and I did a dinner reservation at HS which allowed us to get priority seating at Fantasmic without waiting in the line. The seating wasn't the best ever, but it was pretty good (right in the middle) and totally worth it to not have to fight with the crowds. (Especially during a high crowd week which you might be dealing with.) You can either dine at Hollywood and Vine (that's where we went, and it was a great buffet!), the Brown Derby, or Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano.

I tried to post a link for you, but apparently I haven't crossed the threshold to be allowed to do so! Oops! Just google "disney dinner reservation fantasmic" and you will see it!

Great minds definitely do think alike! I was thinking about doing a F! dinner package. H&V would probably work well for us since my DH can sometimes be a very picky eater...so buffets always work well for us! Not to mention it would secure us a seat for F!...another positive. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for reading along. Hope you have a great trip in May!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Ah, yes! As a somewhat reformed picky eater, I definitely understand the benefit of the buffet! Looking forward to hearing what you decide to do!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

I found you Sandy from FB!

Tina

 

[deedee2177]

I found you Sandy from FB!

Tina

Welcome Tina...thanks for joining!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

So I was able to catch up reading your PTR today.

Glad to see DS is doing better. I am so happy there are so many wonderful therapy centers in this world to help out. It brought tears to my eyes in your post about DS diagnosis. I have a friend with a son who is autistic, his spectrum is much higher than your DS. He is 14 now and in high school, I have had many a nights and days crying with her and listening to her frustrations with schools and therapists about him. I have also listened to all his steps to functioning well and it has been wonderful. The accomplishments have been many. He functions well and is adorable. So there is hope in the future.

Resort Changes, I looked up your current resort Seralago and it is adorable. I love the pool and it has food stations. It is so cute. Good Choice, it would leave the Grandma's with activities and food for your date night.


I like your idea of date night, going to MK, eating dinner at Ohana, and then watching Wishes from the beach at the Polynesian because it is on your list of things you want to do. But DHS option may be the better choice. I happen to know they are going to have DVC construction at the Polynesian and I am not sure if that will hinder your view of Wishes or not. So keep an eye on that situation, if you chose that route.

Here is some information:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/the...rt-as-dvc-villas-build-looks-set-to-begin.htm

I will continue to read along!

.

 

[deedee2177]

So I was able to catch up reading your PTR today.

Glad to see DS is doing better. I am so happy there are so many wonderful therapy centers in this world to help out. It brought tears to my eyes in your post about DS diagnosis. I have a friend with a son who is autistic, his spectrum is much higher than your DS. He is 14 now and in high school, I have had many a nights and days crying with her and listening to her frustrations with schools and therapists about him. I have also listened to all his steps to functioning well and it has been wonderful. The accomplishments have been many. He functions well and is adorable. So there is hope in the future.

Resort Changes, I looked up your current resort Seralago and it is adorable. I love the pool and it has food stations. It is so cute. Good Choice, it would leave the Grandma's with activities and food for your date night.


I like your idea of date night, going to MK, eating dinner at Ohana, and then watching Wishes from the beach at the Polynesian because it is on your list of things you want to do. But DHS option may be the better choice. I happen to know they are going to have DVC construction at the Polynesian and I am not sure if that will hinder your view of Wishes or not. So keep an eye on that situation, if you chose that route.

Here is some information:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/the...rt-as-dvc-villas-build-looks-set-to-begin.htm

I will continue to read along!

.

Tina! Great point, I never even thought about the construction at the Poly being issue. Yep, might have to do the F! package instead...now to decide which restaurant. I guess I could always ask the DH what he would prefer to do...what a concept, huh? LOL

Well, I still have my reservation at 'Ohana for now and I will keep that until I know for sure what we end of up doing, because part of me still would like to keep that reservation regardless of the construction because it's definitely on my Disney Bucket List.

Thanks again for the advice!!

 

[deedee2177]

DOUBLE DIGIT BANANA DANCE!!!!

We have finally reached the double digits!! Hello, beautiful 99 days!! Considering when I uploaded the countdown app on my phone we were close to 300 days, I can't believe I'm now sitting at 99 days!!

Nothing much has changed since my last trip update...I will wait until you all have picked your chins off the floor. I know it's crazy, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I have had two sick kiddos at home and work has been nuts. Things seem to be settling down a bit now on both fronts so I'm sure I will revisit all the plans and make sure everything is set.

Now onto everyone's favorite topic...FP+!! So, I have read that the FP+ is rolling out to the rest of the Parks rather rapidly. So, that will definitely change my plan of attack on things since we are staying off-site. Luckily, we always try to be at the Parks right at opening so I'm hoping that will help me be able to get to the FP+ kiosks to select our passes for the day before they all disappear. I'm thinking I will definitely need a list that has Options 1, 2 and 3. I don't want to spend a bunch of time at the kiosk...that is valuable Park time just being wasted.

Also, we are getting our tickets through Undercover Tourist. I'm wondering if I will be able to link those tickets to MDE? I have my ADRs all linked and set up, just curious if I can link my UT tickets. We have used them in the past and they are your typical plastic Disney Tickets so I'm assuming I can.

I'm also curious to see how the kiosks work...will I have to scan each person's ticket for the FP+ or can I just select on ride/attraction and pick the number in my party that will need the FP? Clearly I need to do some more research so if anyone can point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it!

I know this was yet another picture-less update, but I promise that won't always be the case.

Thanks for following along with me and participating in the DOUBLE DIGIT BANANA DANCE with me! ​

 

[LB1122]

When we were there in December they had people working at the FP+ area so you could make it all happen faster...I do not know the exact detail but it looked like the lines moved fast so good luck

 

[deedee2177]

When we were there in December they had people working at the FP+ area so you could make it all happen faster...I do not know the exact detail but it looked like the lines moved fast so good luck

Well, that is good to know! I've done more reading up on this and it appears once you scan your ticket at the kiosk, it gives you the choice to add members of your party to your FP selection. So, that is good!

Also, since I'm getting our tickets from Undercover Tourist I wanted to do a bit more research on the possibility of linking them to MDE...it appears you can so that might help in this process as well. It will definitely be a new experience!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Well, that is good to know! I've done more reading up on this and it appears once you scan your ticket at the kiosk, it gives you the choice to add members of your party to your FP selection. So, that is good! Also, since I'm getting our tickets from Undercover Tourist I wanted to do a bit more research on the possibility of linking them to MDE...it appears you can so that might help in this process as well. It will definitely be a new experience!

Good news! I didn't know you could link them ahead of time for offsite, I like to stay in the know. So thank you for that. I think it will go fairly quickly for you. At least that is what I am hoping.


.

 

[deedee2177]

Good news! I didn't know you could link them ahead of time for offsite, I like to stay in the know. So thank you for that. I think it will go fairly quickly for you. At least that is what I am hoping.


.

Hi Tina! I'm not 100% positive I will be able to link my UT tickets before I go, but that is what I have read...however I won't feel good about it until I try myself. I will post on here how it goes. We are planning on buying our tickets on 3/15, so I have some time to stress (I mean research) about it further.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Hi Tina! I'm not 100% positive I will be able to link my UT tickets before I go, but that is what I have read...however I won't feel good about it until I try myself. I will post on here how it goes. We are planning on buying our tickets on 3/15, so I have some time to stress (I mean research) about it further.

Ok, sounds good. I had to laugh as the stress I mean research I get that 100% because I am an obsessive researcher myself.

.

 

[deedee2177]

Life Update!!​

So, since you all have been on this journey with me about my son, I wanted to provide another update. He is doing WONDERFUL!! He has really made some great progress lately. Here are some of the recent things he has accomplished:

1. Put his shape puzzle together all on his own, including turning the pieces to fit into place

2. Making a car sound when we ask, "How does a car go?"

3. More engagement/eye contact when playing with us and his Therapists

4. Taking turns when playing with his sister. Their favorite game is taking turns running an jumping into the bean bag.

5. Picking out the specfic Disney Figurine when asked. We ask him "Where is Mickey Mouse" and he will pick the Mickey Figurine and show us.

I know these may seem like minor things to some, but these are huge steps for Joey because these were things he would really struggle with just a few weeks ago!! I'm so proud of him and we have so much to celebrate on his birthday a few weeks. We have also placed him on a gluten free diet, we initially did this because he had some stomach issues (no need to share the details), and we immediately saw some improvement in that area after him only being on this new diet for a few days. We have not had one stomach issue since we introduced him to this about 3 weeks ago. I'm not saying there is a direct correlation between the new diet and the progress he is making that I shared earlier but the timing of the new diet and his improvements run paralell, though I have read some research where some medical professionals believe there is a direct correlation between gluten and some autistic characteristics. To be honest I'm learning as I go through this with him, and I know some things that work for us may not work for others and vice versa. There are stories of parents that have made changes to their child's diet and the child has pulled out of all the autistic characteristics. However, I'm fully aware this is not the case for everyone. That is the one thing I have learned that autism is such a wide spectrum and there are so many variations. He will have his re-assessment in April to see if he is still showing signs of autism at that point, if so we will keep on truckin'!

I thank you all that have offered encouraging words regarding my son...I cannot how much that means to me!!

Joey thanks you too!

​

 

[deedee2177]

Some much appreciated Pixie Dust!!!​

For all of you that have been following along you know I have had some bumps when it has come to accommodations for our group of six. I had originally looked at vacation rentals but for some reason or another they did not work out. So, we decided to just stay at the Seralago which would fit us all and was within our budget. Though I was satisfied with the choice I was slightly concerned about the space and only have one bathroom for all of us. I just knew that after being in the Parks all day we would all want to spread out and just relax, and not feel on top of each other. So, I have been keeping my eye out for a vacation rental that would provide us more room and fell within our budget. Well...........

I found one and we paid the deposit on Friday! It's a 4 bedroom 3 bath condo...more than enough room for all of us!! Not to mention it is located in the same community that one of the other ones that I looked at is located....Villas of Seven Dwarfs Lane. Not only does it have enough room for all of us, it's cheaper than the 2 room suite we had lined up at Seralago. I'm so relieved and I'm so excited!!

Google Images

The layout is really going to work out for us. Like I mentioned it's 4 bedrooms...1 King Master downstairs with en suite bathroom (me and the hubby), Bedroom 1 upstairs has 2 twin beds (DD7 and DMIL), Bedroom 2 upstairs Queen Jr Master with en suite bathroom (DM) and Bedroom 3 upstairs upstairs has 2 twin beds (DS2). There is also another full bathroom in the hallway upstairs. Another plus is that they also provide a Pak N Play and a high chair...now we don't have to try to figure out how to pack our high chair into the minivan. I'm sure my DS2 will end up in bed with my Mom..she loves cuddling with him.

Google Images

The location of this condo is great as well, only 4 miles away from Disney! Also right around the corner from grocery stores which I will be visiting when we get there on our travel day to stock up on breakfast food and snacks for the week.

Google Images

It has plenty of things for the kids to do as well...swimming pool and playground. This will come in handy for the Grandmas when the DH and I are having our date night!!

Google Images

Google Images

I'm so excited about this!!! Now if I could just find a better deal on renting a minivan....​