Island Hopping: A Highly Inappropriate TR. (Boom.)-- Link to NEW TR! 10/8

[merbobear]

I came back to reread your last update, because I remember I had things I wanted to respond to and never did..and here we are with a new update! What did you guys figure out for the battery issue? For my camera, I just have an extra battery, same size as what came w/ the camera in the first place. For my video camera, we got this super sized battery..I will have to look to see what it is exactly, but it's substantially larger than the original battery (but it doesn't make the camera heavy or anything, I mean it's bigger but it's still just a battery!). I keep the original as a backup, but I rarely have to use it.

You know who the goofiest character we have met is? Not Goofy..but Tigger. At CP he always is bouncing around, he takes people's hats and mickey ears and wears them, covers kids eyes for pictures, etc. So funny.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Aw cute picture with Mickey! Characters with no wait are definitely the best. You guys really hit the character jackpot in Epcot.

Love the Tigger story! Glad no one was injured and it made a funny memory!

The face paintings are gorgeous. Must be the pixie dust that makes it ok for Brynn.

Aw I remember watching Brynn get hit by the fountains in the video! Awesome that it made them happy not mad

Wow that must've been some serious Innoventions rope I understand taking your job seriously or just being cranky but seriously when a child knows you're being ridiculous, that's a problem.

I find it adorable when kids take words so literally (although not so much when I'm the one trying to backpedal out of what I said! )

Love all the pictures from the Character Spot. They look like they had a great time with the characters.

I've never done Living with the Land- it's on my September list!

Yuck. Alcohol leaking out of pores is a terrible smell. Especially in Disney!

 

[heatherlizz602]

YAY!!! An update! I just love your TR. The pics of the character interactions are just precious! I love how Sawyer is trying to look up Pluto's mouth. Adorable!

And great face paintings for the little girlies!!

I hate that CM's have to be grouchy....they work at the happiest place on earth? what gives? But, You gotta love the kids just speaking their mind..Cracks me up

Can't wait for next update. Good news I'm FINALLY getting to go to Disney World!!!! I'm actually quite nervous due to how hot it will be and I have no idea what I'm doing!! But im sure it'll be fun!

 

[Mrs Minnie]

Great updates! Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[nannye]

I am swamped I don't have time to look back for our convo, but can you tell me what video camera you have again?
Thanks
Erin

 

[VACamm]

Yay an update!!!!! Love the Pluto pics

 

[zboos]

Thanks for sharing such a cool trip report. I feel a bit like a kindred spirit. I also have a little Bryn who is on the spectrum. She will be 8 in September and we will be at Disney for her birthday. I also have a 5 year old son. Great stories and it helped to gather some tips from your posts. I did end up buying Peltor Jr earmuffs to bring to help make the fireworks a doable experience.

Thanks again!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Love this update! Just goes to show that we don't have to plan every minute of the day. Those unexpected moments are my favorite part of WDW trips.

Love the beautiful girls with their face paintings.

I am getting much better at just going with the flow at Disney, just like I usually do in "real life." It has made the trips much better!

What a nice end to the day at Epcot! Well, besides that awful CM. Yuck! I was smiling imagining that Brynn or Sawyer might approach the CMs butt so see if there's anything up there.

Love that you and Julia got to spend some big girl time together in Epcot. What a nice memory.

Oh so jealous that you just monorailed back and were in your room so quickly! Some day!

Bahaha!! That would be something they would do!
I do love having some big girl time with Julia. It's just hard to acknowledge that she really is a big girl!!

We love Living With the Land! I like the "old-schoolness" of it.

There is a new game at innoventions:Habit Heroes (revamped from a year ago). My daughter loved it and can't wait to do it again. At of all the activities in Innoventions, I found it to be the most fun.

We only made it to half of Innoventions, and we had so much fun that we're definitely going to try to get in both sides next trip!

I love to read trip reports but never have posted my comments about them. I have enjoyed reading your adventures and must admit your family video brought tears to my eyes. You have a beautiful family and I totally understand why you go to Disney year after year!

Thank you SO MUCH! I'm so happy to hear this!

I SOOO wish you would have come and said hello! I was so determined to find you guys on this day, but I soon learned with a 15 month old, that is quite hard to do. My poor family neve has a clue what anyone looks like so it's all up to me.

Maybe we'll have a chance to meet up this September. I'll be all alone!

I know exactly what you mean! I hope we can find a time to meet up, too! It might be easier for you to search for me since you'll be alone...and since we're loud, LOL!

Still lovin' your TR!!! What great character interactions!!!!!

And BBBOOOOOOO to the meanie!!!

He was definitely not the happiest CM in the world. BOOOO!

Just started your trip report today and I am loving it. I work with kids on the spectrum so I can relate to all you go through, especially the disapproving looks of other parents! All of your children sound like great kids! And my son's name is Sawyer! I live in Massachusetts and I have never met another Sawyer! I know of a few celebrities who have kids named Sawyer but my Sawyer is the only one in my area! I live that name!!

We're the only Sawyer in our area (that I know of)!! I thought I gave my kids unique names, and Sawyer's still holding pretty true, but can you believe we've actually met a couple of Brynns out there?! One was at WDW in 2011!

AH! I was seriously looking for both of you all during my Sept trip!! And hey, we're going again in Sept too!!

Now, onto the update!

Love that you guys kinda just did whatever and had fun! I have yet to be in Innoventions, but Mom wants to check out some new stuff this trip and I'm sure some air conditioning will be loved by all!!

BOOOURNS to the crabby CM, that just sucks

We only checked out one side of Innoventions, but we are definitely doing both sides next time! And the A/C was AMAZING, not gonna lie!
Our trip is almost here! And thanks to your hint, I did online check-in!

How did you like Innoventions? Aside from the mean CM, of course.

It was lots of fun! Nice and cool, things to play, things to see, things to climb on. We only got to do one side, but we liked it enough to try both sides next time.

I'm just curious...why do you get fast passes if you have the guest assistance pass? When we get it, they just allow us to go through the fast pass line so there is no need to get fast passes.
Shannon

We try not to use it if we don't have to. For instance, on this day, the FP we got for Soarin' that morning (and used later that night) was a ride Brynn didn't want to go on. We couldn't have used the GAC anyway, because she wouldn't have been on the ride.
If it's morning time, usually her legs are not so weak and clumsy, so she doesn't need to be in her stroller/wheelchair as much. We may use an alternate waiting area in the mornings, but only sometimes have to use the stroller, and that's more for her sensory issues than the physical issues.
Our "stamps" on the GAC are for separate waiting area/alternate entrance and for stroller as a wheelchair. We don't get put through the FP line...like ever! Which stamps/accommodations does your GAC have that gets you through the FP line?! We get FPs so we can go through the FP line so it makes it quicker for her, but I did not realize there was a way to make things faster. She does get antsy. I'm just not aware of the different stamps that could help that.

The picture of Brynn on LWTL is just beautiful! You need to frame that one! Still enjoying reading along. Thanks for the recent updates!

That is her happy place for sure! There and IASW. And guess what...she doesn't know it, but she is going on the Behind the Seeds Tour with Julia and Brandon next trip!!!!!

love that picture of Brynn--what a cutie!

Thank you! She was so happy at that moment.

Steve Urkel references, unintentional awkward faces, silly censoring? All the makings of a great day/update. "Tee-hee, mom said BOOTY!" I love it!
And Illuminations. LOVE that show, but I missed it on my last 2 trips!! Can you believe it! Definitely remedying that this trip!
It's funny what you said about the alcohol smell. The first time I had a drink in Epcot, I had one of the slushy margarita's in Mexico and those things, while not the greatest, are strong! My mom kept telling me I reeked like booze! Hahah!

I hope I don't smell like that, LOL!! I never think the GGS are strong, and that's mostly what I get. I did try that margarita in Mexico last trip, but if you remember, it was on my headache day and it too me for-ev-er to drink it, so I didn't notice it being strong, either. Maybe I smelled like them, LOL!!!!
For real, though, it wasn't just the smell. They were clearly more than a little intoxicated. Glazed over eyes. Stumbling. Loud and obnoxious. I am all for a couple of drinks during the day at Epcot (and maybe we can have one in September!), but I'm pretty sure they did the Drinking Around the World thing...like twice!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Just found your TR and spent some time this morning getting to know your family and catching up on all the fun. Far too much to comment on in detail so I'll sum it up with what a cute family you have and thank you for sharing the details of your trip. LOVE the video!

Oh, YAY!!!

This day at Epcot seems like heaven. I LOVE just taking in the atmosphere and then meeting characters around World Showcase. PERFECTION.

I love julia’s face paint. That is gorgeous!

I would epically fail doing the Great Piggy Bank Adventure. I try to save money but most of the time, I spend it. I blame that on Disney.

The pictures with the characters are adorable! I love them!

We had a great day doing just that!
Julia's face paint looked really delicate. I loved it! And I have to say I was glad she finally was choosing new face paintings, since every other year she has done Tinker Bell!

The CMs who feel the need to loudly tell me not to cross the line like six times in a row really irk me. It's like, "dude, we heard you the first time," and we stopped at the line/rope and did nothing to indicate we were going to barrel through.

Next time I'm at Epcot, I should stop by Innoventions. I always skip over those buildings, but my two year old nephew would love the firetruck.

Finally, I'm bummed out I didn't make time for Character Spot in the past now that Donald in his blue suit is nowhere to be found (unless one gets lucky with the random characters in Epcot, which I never do).

I did not realize that about Donald! I mean, if I thought about it, I'd realize it, but just...WHOA! No blue suit! That's just horrible.

Great updates, I couldn't get enough of your adorable family so I started reading your other report in your signature.

That was a fabulous trip! Great weather, low crowds, and Mamie to help you out. I am about halfway through and oh my goodness the pictures are great. Sawyer was a sweet little guy. Love the pictures of him giving Mickey kisses. I also love how you mention nursing him and using cloth diapers. I have spent many hours on our trips in the baby care centers nursing one of mine. Very sweet memories. We are using cloth diapers on my youngest one, I really like saving the money but yuck the poopy diapers are starting to get to me. No wonder cloth diaper babies potty train early!

Your girls look so sweet dressed in their princess dresses, my little princess dressed as Cinderella many years ago. Now she is 12 and going into 7th grade. Time flies and they grow up so fast.

Can't wait for another update… and wow it won't be long and you will be on your next trip!

I'm so glad you liked it enough to read my last one!
We loved nursing and cloth diapering! It's rare to find people who CD!
And yep, he IS potty trained!
59 days til our next trip!!

I love the cloth diapers and breastfeeding too. Actually I remember commenting on your other TR about exactly that! I did the same with all my kids.

I remember that! Love finding like-minded people!

I came back to reread your last update, because I remember I had things I wanted to respond to and never did..and here we are with a new update! What did you guys figure out for the battery issue? For my camera, I just have an extra battery, same size as what came w/ the camera in the first place. For my video camera, we got this super sized battery..I will have to look to see what it is exactly, but it's substantially larger than the original battery (but it doesn't make the camera heavy or anything, I mean it's bigger but it's still just a battery!). I keep the original as a backup, but I rarely have to use it.

You know who the goofiest character we have met is? Not Goofy..but Tigger. At CP he always is bouncing around, he takes people's hats and mickey ears and wears them, covers kids eyes for pictures, etc. So funny.

Brandon got a new battery pack with an extra shutter button and grip. It holds two extra batteries, plus the one already in the camera. As for the video camera, no real battery solution there...we just also will be using a Go Pro camera in addition to our regular one, so battery time will be split.
Tigger is always so much fun, you're right!

Aw cute picture with Mickey! Characters with no wait are definitely the best. You guys really hit the character jackpot in Epcot.

Love the Tigger story! Glad no one was injured and it made a funny memory!

The face paintings are gorgeous. Must be the pixie dust that makes it ok for Brynn.

Aw I remember watching Brynn get hit by the fountains in the video! Awesome that it made them happy not mad

Wow that must've been some serious Innoventions rope I understand taking your job seriously or just being cranky but seriously when a child knows you're being ridiculous, that's a problem.

I find it adorable when kids take words so literally (although not so much when I'm the one trying to backpedal out of what I said! )

Love all the pictures from the Character Spot. They look like they had a great time with the characters.

I've never done Living with the Land- it's on my September list!

Yuck. Alcohol leaking out of pores is a terrible smell. Especially in Disney!

I am definitely so ready for September!!
Yeah, if we crossed that rope, it could have blown up or something!
You have to do LWTL. It's a classic! I'm not saying it's full of excitement or anything (definitely not), but it is so...Epcot.

YAY!!! An update! I just love your TR. The pics of the character interactions are just precious! I love how Sawyer is trying to look up Pluto's mouth. Adorable!

And great face paintings for the little girlies!!

I hate that CM's have to be grouchy....they work at the happiest place on earth? what gives? But, You gotta love the kids just speaking their mind..Cracks me up

Can't wait for next update. Good news I'm FINALLY getting to go to Disney World!!!! I'm actually quite nervous due to how hot it will be and I have no idea what I'm doing!! But im sure it'll be fun!

Thanks! And I'm so glad you're finally going! It will be hot, but you can handle it! Drink lots of water, see air conditioned shows, get some Frog Togs. YOU CAN DO IT!!

Great updates! Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks! I need to get working on more soon!

I am swamped I don't have time to look back for our convo, but can you tell me what video camera you have again?
Thanks
Erin

We have the Canon Vixia HFM52 HD.

Yay an update!!!!! Love the Pluto pics

Isn't he so sweet with the kids! He loved that Sawyer was playing "dog" with him!

Thanks for sharing such a cool trip report. I feel a bit like a kindred spirit. I also have a little Bryn who is on the spectrum. She will be 8 in September and we will be at Disney for her birthday. I also have a 5 year old son. Great stories and it helped to gather some tips from your posts. I did end up buying Peltor Jr earmuffs to bring to help make the fireworks a doable experience.

Thanks again!

WOW!!! How wonderful! And how wonderful to be at Disney for her birthday!
You will not regret the Peltor Jr earmuffs! We have two pairs, and sometimes I think we need more. She does the fireworks pretty much just fine with them, as well as making herself calm in lots of situations. As you saw after Chef Mickey's, we just put her in the stroller, gave her the earmuffs and sunglasses, and she immediately calmed down because she could be in her own little world. She needs that sometimes.
So glad to have someone reading who knows what it's like to have a daughter on the spectrum. It's just not that common! Love having a kindred spirit !

 

[disneylvr4vr]

All caught up! Loved those last two updates! Your kids are so gosh darn CUTE!

 

[Stasieki]

Yay for updates!!! I've been wondering where you were. I love your TR.

We've doen about 6 trips in the last 7 years... each trip I try to slow down a bit more to see new things. I'm almost like a robot. We do enjoy them but I feel like we are missing out on some gems. Next trip will be a year from this fall, I think. It is my goal to go in it with no real plan.

How do you find that happy medium?

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

All caught up! Loved those last two updates! Your kids are so gosh darn CUTE!

YAY! And thanks!

Yay for updates!!! I've been wondering where you were. I love your TR.

We've doen about 6 trips in the last 7 years... each trip I try to slow down a bit more to see new things. I'm almost like a robot. We do enjoy them but I feel like we are missing out on some gems. Next trip will be a year from this fall, I think. It is my goal to go in it with no real plan.

How do you find that happy medium?

Honestly, I think it's just because I have to!! Having young kids, plus Brynn needing some extra attention to stay calm, I just have learned to go with the flow pretty much all the time in life. I do go to Disney with a loose plan. I make touring plans (general ones) for the day. We like to know which direction we're going in so we're not standing in the middle of the walkways (I HATE THAT), but if we don't make it to a place in time, we skip it. Maybe we find something along the way. Maybe things don't go as planned. Maybe we're in need of some quiet time and have to change the plans to accommodate that. We do what we need to do.
Back in the hotel room, I keep a running list of things the kids really wanted to see (which is most things, LOL!), and I check them off if we've seen them once. We return to MK and Epcot, so if we missed it the first day, we'll get it another day, and we adjust our plans for that. We STILL haven't seen it all or been on every ride, but we do long trips and do them often. We know we'll be back, so there's not a lot of pressure to do it all.
I ask the kids what their most important things to see are, and as long as we do those, we're good.

 

[zboos]

Oh, YAY!!!

We had a great day doing just that!
Julia's face paint looked really delicate. I loved it! And I have to say I was glad she finally was choosing new face paintings, since every other year she has done Tinker Bell!

I did not realize that about Donald! I mean, if I thought about it, I'd realize it, but just...WHOA! No blue suit! That's just horrible.

I'm so glad you liked it enough to read my last one!
We loved nursing and cloth diapering! It's rare to find people who CD!
And yep, he IS potty trained!
59 days til our next trip!!

I remember that! Love finding like-minded people!

Brandon got a new battery pack with an extra shutter button and grip. It holds two extra batteries, plus the one already in the camera. As for the video camera, no real battery solution there...we just also will be using a Go Pro camera in addition to our regular one, so battery time will be split.
Tigger is always so much fun, you're right!

I am definitely so ready for September!!
Yeah, if we crossed that rope, it could have blown up or something!
You have to do LWTL. It's a classic! I'm not saying it's full of excitement or anything (definitely not), but it is so...Epcot.

Thanks! And I'm so glad you're finally going! It will be hot, but you can handle it! Drink lots of water, see air conditioned shows, get some Frog Togs. YOU CAN DO IT!!

Thanks! I need to get working on more soon!

We have the Canon Vixia HFM52 HD.

Isn't he so sweet with the kids! He loved that Sawyer was playing "dog" with him!

WOW!!! How wonderful! And how wonderful to be at Disney for her birthday!
You will not regret the Peltor Jr earmuffs! We have two pairs, and sometimes I think we need more. She does the fireworks pretty much just fine with them, as well as making herself calm in lots of situations. As you saw after Chef Mickey's, we just put her in the stroller, gave her the earmuffs and sunglasses, and she immediately calmed down because she could be in her own little world. She needs that sometimes.
So glad to have someone reading who knows what it's like to have a daughter on the spectrum. It's just not that common! Love having a kindred spirit !

It is a cool coincidence for sure. Bryn does pretty ok through the crowds so we no longer do a GAC. Granted we usually just drive to Legoland CA and she knows that park like the back of her hand. I am going in thinking no GAC and revising if she gets too overwhelmed. We have never done fireworks but I know the ear muffs are necessary to even try. Last time we did a show environment was Sea World and the loud clapping from the crowd made her way too nervous. This will be the first time we try some shows but it's also the first time we have ear muffs so I am going in pretty optimistic but ready to revise plans if necessary. I think one of the gifts of having a kid like Bryn (or in your case Brynn) is it teaches you flexibility. My type A personality was forced to be laid back any sheer survival necessity we are excited to be there for her birthday but worried about how my son will feel about that. We didn't plan on going "for" her birthday but chose those dates for the free dining. I don't want his bday to roll around in Feb and expect a huge trip or be bummed that Bryn got special attention that he won't get. Trying not to topple the sibling apple cart or I better play the lotto and hope we can spring for a matching Disney trip in Feb . We arrive 9/24 thru 10/1 then go to Universal for a couple days. Maybe Declan can have a super early birthday there to balance the scales

 

[zboos]

Oh and when we did use a GAC at Disneyland a couple years ago it definitely did not get us into the fast pass lane. We mostly used handicap entrances and were able to let her stay in the stroller more so she felt less anxiety. Some rides worked in our favor and others we waited about the same as the others in line.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

It took me two days, but got through this whole TR .... and now for way to many comments

First) I love love love your video. I watched it and then made my daughter come over to watch it with me - was tearing up as she would yell off "Snow White! Cinderella! Belle!". I commented on the youtube page that Disney should send that video to people thinking of a trip - will definitely seal the deal for them

B) (what, I'm not good at ordering) I love your dry whit/humorous writing style ... even just the "mom voice" you use to tell us to read the next update which is right next, coming up, just keep reading.

iii) your husbands photos are great - you are right that Disney should use them. Particularly the ones that shows attractions at an interesting angle (and I totally didn't mean that to read "I really like the ones that don't have your family in them")

4th) So glad that getting the GA card for Brynn worked out. I have found reading about all the things you need to take into account for when traveling with her to be interesting and informative (yes, I am trying to get school credit for reading this TR)

V) love all the character interactions you got - especially in EPCOT Center

Last) Saw you mention some "stuff" at home that is keeping you from having time to write up more reports - just wanted to wish you all the best with that.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

It is a cool coincidence for sure. Bryn does pretty ok through the crowds so we no longer do a GAC. Granted we usually just drive to Legoland CA and she knows that park like the back of her hand. I am going in thinking no GAC and revising if she gets too overwhelmed. We have never done fireworks but I know the ear muffs are necessary to even try. Last time we did a show environment was Sea World and the loud clapping from the crowd made her way too nervous. This will be the first time we try some shows but it's also the first time we have ear muffs so I am going in pretty optimistic but ready to revise plans if necessary. I think one of the gifts of having a kid like Bryn (or in your case Brynn) is it teaches you flexibility. My type A personality was forced to be laid back any sheer survival necessity we are excited to be there for her birthday but worried about how my son will feel about that. We didn't plan on going "for" her birthday but chose those dates for the free dining. I don't want his bday to roll around in Feb and expect a huge trip or be bummed that Bryn got special attention that he won't get. Trying not to topple the sibling apple cart or I better play the lotto and hope we can spring for a matching Disney trip in Feb . We arrive 9/24 thru 10/1 then go to Universal for a couple days. Maybe Declan can have a super early birthday there to balance the scales

I completely understand about not causing birthday jealousy! I guess the good things about going in September for us is that nobody has a birthday! They ask us on the reservation line what we're celebrating, and I always say, "NOTHING! Just being at Disney!"
My hopes are that one day I have to use NO special things for Brynn. No GAC, no IEP, nothing with an acronym! I only use the GAC when absolutely necessary, as I said in one of my comments above. I really think that she can learn coping mechanisms. She's already learned some, and I know that will get easier as she gets older.

Oh and when we did use a GAC at Disneyland a couple years ago it definitely did not get us into the fast pass lane. We mostly used handicap entrances and were able to let her stay in the stroller more so she felt less anxiety. Some rides worked in our favor and others we waited about the same as the others in line.

Yeah, I think that's a big misconception. I have never been through the FP line without a FP! Handicapped line, yes, if she was in her stroller. Or roped off waiting area (BEST ACCOMMODATION!). My experience is that we wait as long, if not longer, but the result is that we actually get to do more because we can keep her "together" for longer. No one touching her, sitting in her stroller to decompress...those little things make a world of difference for her. We've always gone in slow times, so I can't really comment on the effect of GAC on waits during a busy season. Then again, if you are truly trying to accommodate quick lines and better waiting scenarios, then slow season and use of FP should be your first line of action, and it is ours!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

It took me two days, but got through this whole TR .... and now for way to many comments

First) I love love love your video. I watched it and then made my daughter come over to watch it with me - was tearing up as she would yell off "Snow White! Cinderella! Belle!". I commented on the youtube page that Disney should send that video to people thinking of a trip - will definitely seal the deal for them

B) (what, I'm not good at ordering) I love your dry whit/humorous writing style ... even just the "mom voice" you use to tell us to read the next update which is right next, coming up, just keep reading.

iii) your husbands photos are great - you are right that Disney should use them. Particularly the ones that shows attractions at an interesting angle (and I totally didn't mean that to read "I really like the ones that don't have your family in them")

4th) So glad that getting the GA card for Brynn worked out. I have found reading about all the things you need to take into account for when traveling with her to be interesting and informative (yes, I am trying to get school credit for reading this TR)

V) love all the character interactions you got - especially in EPCOT Center

Last) Saw you mention some "stuff" at home that is keeping you from having time to write up more reports - just wanted to wish you all the best with that.

You are freaking hilarious. AND SWEET! Definitely sweet!
As for #four, I could write a book on this stuff. We can talk, and I'm sure you'll get school credit. If Brynn had been around when I was getting my degree, I would have done all my projects on her. Most interesting kid EVER. I'm a teacher (or former teacher, since I stay at home with these guys), so that should equal school credit, right?? Forget that you're not in elementary school...
Yeah, I don't even realize I'm using a Mom voice anymore. It's just my voice. And I'm Mom. You probably understand that, I'm guessing (er, the dad version). Now get back to work, or there's a time-out chair with your name on it, kid!!

ETA: Thanks for your thoughtfulness about our home craziness. I was going to do an update here about it, but I'm really not sure what to update. In a nutshell, a hedge fund is probably buying our house...probably...except they aren't keeping us very informed about the process. At the same time, Brandon's job is not very secure--they are doing away with his department one by one. So, job hunt. But are we allowed to hunt in other states? We don't know until we know for sure what is going on with the hedge fund thing. We're also trying to find out funding for Brynn's therapies and the AFOs (leg braces) she needs, so we're applying for all sorts of things. It's just a very hectic summer. I appreciate your concern and well-wishes!

 

[rachel09985]

I love the random character meet in the alley! It is even more funny because those characters are in training so he must have really been scared about hitting her!

Those sunglasses are hilarious!!!

 

[zboos]

I completely understand about not causing birthday jealousy! I guess the good things about going in September for us is that nobody has a birthday! They ask us on the reservation line what we're celebrating, and I always say, "NOTHING! Just being at Disney!"
My hopes are that one day I have to use NO special things for Brynn. No GAC, no IEP, nothing with an acronym! I only use the GAC when absolutely necessary, as I said in one of my comments above. I really think that she can learn coping mechanisms. She's already learned some, and I know that will get easier as she gets older.


Yeah, I think that's a big misconception. I have never been through the FP line without a FP! Handicapped line, yes, if she was in her stroller. Or roped off waiting area (BEST ACCOMMODATION!). My experience is that we wait as long, if not longer, but the result is that we actually get to do more because we can keep her "together" for longer. No one touching her, sitting in her stroller to decompress...those little things make a world of difference for her. We've always gone in slow times, so I can't really comment on the effect of GAC on waits during a busy season. Then again, if you are truly trying to accommodate quick lines and better waiting scenarios, then slow season and use of FP should be your first line of action, and it is ours!

I know, right! I think most people think the GACs are a golden ticket to a super express lane that just doesn't exist I am in complete agreement on scaling back on accommodations made for Bryn if it can be helped. It is so important for the kids to learn to adapt into this world as the world won't always adapt for them. It has been a challenging but utterly amazing journey and I can't imagine life and parenthood to be any different. I can't wait to show her and my son the joys of the big DW. I loved reading your TR and I feel so much more prepared in getting ready for our journey because I can relate to what you guys experienced so well.

For Disneyland and Legoland both of my kids have always walked (no stroller) but after reading so much about how big Epcot is and doing so many parks back to back I did decide to rent a double from Apple rentals. I just hope Bryn fits in it! She is very tall for her age. She is the size of a 10 year old. I know I might get some "looks" cramming her in a stroller but she will have new SMOs (or cork inserts not sure which yet) and there is no way she can do all that walking for a week+.

BTW, loved your video. Super cute and that moment when Brynn sees herself and smiles? Ohmygosh. It brought tears to my eyes. I know that expression so well and I know how rare it is when it does happen. WOW! Great moment that you guys were able to capture so well.

 

[princess_momma]

Ummm...hi! Your TR might be my new favorite and I've gotten all caught up in one night and your family is adorable and delightfully entertaining! I can't wait for more!