Hi!
Its been a while, so here is a brief review of:
THE CAST:
ED (DH, Daddy): Age: 45. Occupation: Police Lieutenant. Favorite park: EPCOT. Favorite character: GRUMPY.
TRICIA (DD): Age: 10. Favorite park: MK. Favorite character: TINKERBELLE.
BILLY (DS): Age 8. (Autistic) Favorite Park: MK. Favorite characters: WOODY and BUZZ.
EDDIE(DSS): Age 16. Joining us for part of the trip. Favorite park: MK. Favorite character: CPTN. JACK SPARROW.
AUNT RAE (AR): Age 75. Eds aunt. Favorite park: MK. Favorite character: CINDERELLA.
KATHY (Yours Truly): Age 43. Occupation: RN. Favorite park: MK. Favorite characters: POOH and TIGGER
** Just in case your eyes glazed over during the pre-trip and you decided to skip right to the good stuff, you may wish to review the first one or two posts just to read a bit more about Billys
autism and how it affects our vacation plans.**
And now, please sit back, relax and let me take you along for all the ups and downs of our latest adventure in autism: WDW.
DAY 1: MONDAY, 11/06/06 TRAVEL and ARRIVAL
The morning that I had been looking forward to for months dawned bright and sunny. It was a cool, clear November day, and I breezed through the usual Monday-morning-get-the-kids-off-to-school routine, intent on the few last minute chores that needed to be done before picking them up at noon. Well, at least taking them out of school early meant no lunches to pack!
Thankfully, the kids had no problems getting to sleep last night. I had checked them at 9:30 and they were both snoring! Having spent the weekend packing away all the Halloween decorations and doing major housecleaning; I didnt have too much trouble sleeping, either! I just wish that I could say the same for Ed. Working the night shift can wreck havoc on your sleep cycle. I felt him get up around 3 am and I suppose he sat up watching TV for a while b/c I found him asleep on the couch at 6:30. I figured I would get the kids out the door myself so he could get another hour of sleep. Its no coincidence that his favorite character is Grumpy, especially if hes had a bad night!
Now, we had been doing so much laundry in the past couple of days, we actually BROKE the clothes dryer. Well, really ONE of us broke it, but we wont go into that. Okay, Okay. If you insist!
Someone in our family WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS insists upon overstuffing the washer with his clothes (not sorted by color, mind you) and then using the hottest dryer temp available to get the huge wet bundle to dry! In any case, after several consecutive cycles of this torture, the poor dryer just gave out with one of the kids comforters still wet inside and a load of clothes still wet in the washer!
Fortunately, I have a very nice next-door neighbor who let me use her dryer and a potential crisis was averted!
I hung the comforter over the shower rod in the bathroom and ran across to my neighbors garage and threw in the load of clothes. Then I grabbed our dog Aimees leash and took her for an extra long walk around the neighborhood. She is a three year-old Yellow Lab/Golden Retriever mix and the very best dog in the world!
It felt good to clear my head and breath in the crisp autumn air. It was good for Aimee, too. She knew something was up; she had been sniffing around the luggage last night and had spent the earlier part of the morning upstairs in her house (crate), which was very uncharacteristic of her. She doesnt seem to mind the kennel, though. She enjoys socializing with other dogs. Still, its hard to leave her for a week and I enjoyed spending some time with her before we left.
When we arrived back home, we found that Ed was up and puttering around with his packing. I fixed us a quick breakfast and hoped that the bit of food would help quell the little butterflies I felt in my stomach!
It was still only about 10:15. The driver was picking us up at 12:30 for our 2:30 flight. I had already finished packing for the kids and me the night before. All I had was a few toiletry items left to stick in the bags. It was too early to pick up the kids and the kennel wasnt open yet, so I paced about distractedly. Since Ed was still packing, I decided to run out for a quick manicure.
As I was drying, Ed called to say he was done and to remind me that I still had to take out the stitches that were in his hand. Darn, I had forgotten about that. (He had cut his hand on a leaf blower.) We met at the doctors office where I work and a few snips later, we were on our way. How I managed to do that without ruining my polish, I will never know!
It was now 11:30 and the clock was ticking! I gathered up Aimees things and brought her over to the kennel. Good-bye, Aimee! My next assignment was to drive to a neighboring town to pick Billy up from his school. (Its a private school for kids aged 3-21 with developmental disabilities.) Ed went to pick Tricia up from the elementary school, and then across town to get Aunt Rae.
The receptionists greeted me with a big smile. I think just about everyone in the whole school knew that Billy was going to WDW today! He had been talking about it for weeks. (His speech therapist was thrilled!) He always makes significant strides in either language or social skills, or both after visiting the World.
As he came around the corner with one of the aides, he caught sight of me and ran down the hall. Go to Walt Disney World!! he shouted as he threw himself into my arms. As we headed out the door hand in hand, the aide and the receptionists laughed and waved goodbye. Billy bounced up and down in his seat and we sang along with Disney songs blaring from the speakers until we reached home!
Were walkin right down the middle of Main Street, U-S-Ay-ay-ay!!
We pulled into the driveway just as Ed arrived with Tricia and Aunt Rae. Then the driver pulled up and
Aaaggh! I just remembered
the laundry was still in my neighbors dryer!
They all laughed at me as I ran frantically across the yard and back into the house with the overflowing basket of clothes!
It never fails! No matter how ready I think I am, I always end up running at the last minute! We settled into the van and I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as we made the short trip to the airport without incident. We were on our way at last!
What a surprise awaited us when we checked in
ALL FIVE of us were to be seated in different areas of the plane!
I couldnt believe they would do that to a family with kids! Fortunately, a nice Continental agent named Olivia helped us to get at least one seat next to Billy. (Thank you, Olivia!)
Apparently when we changed our flight a while back, the information about there being kids traveling with us got lost. Spit out of the computer is how Olivia put it! I will have to call Continental the day before we leave Orlando to make sure this doesnt happen on the way home
I dont even want to think about that now!
We boarded the plane and Ed sat with Billy. A few rows up, Aunt Rae took her seat between two young men. I felt bad that she had to be separated from us, but she later said that they had both been very pleasant and she hadnt minded much. She had slept through most of the flight anyway. She had been up at 4am and had been too excited to go back to sleep! (Sound familiar?)
Ed had brought along a portable DVD player with earphones for Billy, so he watched DVDs during the flight and did very well.
That was a good investment! Billy actually enjoys take-off and landing; he laughs really hard when the plane rumbles and vibrates!
Tricia and I were seated across the aisle from each other in the front of the plane, each in the middle seat. A nice fellow in his early thirties wearing a baseball cap came to sit next to Tricia and when I explained the situation, he kindly agreed to switch seats with me. (Thank you, nice guy in the baseball cap!).
Tricia did homework while I worked on my travel journal and read a magazine (a rare treat.) About three hours later, the pilot announced the weather in Orlando: 78* and sunny! We had arrived!
After what seemed like an eternity, we obtained our bags from the baggage carousel, hopped in our van, and we were on our way to
OLD KEY WEST.
One of the things I love the most about WDW is staying at a Disney resort, and what I look forward to the most is trying a new one each time we visit! As we pulled into the Hospitality House area, I just knew that we would not be disappointed with OKW!
The evening was soft and warm; Calypso music played in the background as we checked in. Ed took the kids over to the area where a TV was playing old B&W Mickey cartoons. The area is called Papas Den, and it is decorated in Disneys version of what could have been Ernest Hemmingways Family room! Bookcases filled with books and knick-knacks lined the room and a few trophy fish adorned the walls.
Billy plopped himself onto one of the plump sofas, kicked off his sneakers, and made himself right at home! Yes, homey is just how I would describe it. Tricia wanted to play the table game that was there (was it foosball?) with her dad, but some CMs were setting up for some kind of a private party and they politely asked them to come back and play another time. She contented herself with the cartoons.
It was about 7:30 and there was only one person in front of me for check-in. The CMs were friendly and helpful. Our order from Garden Grocer was ready and waiting for us, and the box of snacks and other sundries that I had mailed down a few days earlier was easily procured and placed with our luggage. When I expressed concern that were late for our 7:10 ADR at Olivias, one of them called over to the restaurant and explained that we would be over as soon as we had checked in. (Good thing, too, b/c we were all starving!)
Everything was going along just a little too perfectly. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did.
I have always been very lucky with room requests in the past, so I was a bit disappointed to find that we were to be in bldg. 52, on the southernmost edge of the property. I had requested a bldg. with an elevator (for Aunt Rae) near the Hospitality House (HH). I suppose thats what happens when you check in late in the evening on a Monday.
The villa was on the 2nd floor and I was concerned that AR would have a tough time with the stairs after walking around for a few hours in the parks. She vehemently insisted that she would not. (Ed joked he would stand behind her and push, if necessary!) Since there were no other 2BRs available, we decided to make the best of it and headed over to
Olivia's for dinner.
We checked in at the podium and were given a pager. Tricia was eager to see the theme pool, so we took a little walk outside and admired the pool, the sandcastle slide, and the little marina area. It was very pretty at night. Little light bulb strands were strung overhead and the steel drum music played softly as the water lapped up against the little boats tied to the dock. People sat at several picnic tables along the water, their laughter and murmured conversations adding to the relaxed, yet festive atmosphere.
Soon our pager lit up and we returned to the restaurant for a much-anticipated meal. We each had eaten a slice of pizza for lunch at the airport around 1:00 and it was now 8:00. We were on the Dining Plan and we planned to make the most of it because we were hungry!
The atmosphere at Olivias was friendly and casual. The dining room was painted a cheery yellow and framed antique Key West post cards and more trophy fish hung about the walls. Large old-fashioned paddle fans turned slowly along the ceiling.
I ordered the crab cakes for an appetizer and a steak salad. Ed was disappointed to find that they were out of the prime rib, so he ordered the sirloin steak. Both he and Aunt Rae ordered the chicken noodle soup, and AR ordered the pork chop with mashed sweet potatoes. The kids orders were no surprise: pizza for Billy and cheeseburger for Tricia.
My grandmother always used to say, Hunger is the best sauce! We really enjoyed our meal that night!
Tricia loved the cheeseburger; although the granny smith apple slices that came with it were so tart they made here face pucker! Billy gobbled up all his pizza, so Id say he would give it a high mark. (But seriously, you cannot put Florida pizza in the same league with N.J. pizza; no matter how hungry you are!)
Ed gave an enthusiastic thumbs up when asked about his steak, and my steak salad was good and fresh. Aunt Rae gave four stars to her entrée and despite the fact that she barely weighs more that my eight year-old, managed to eat every bite!
Dessert was a delicious key lime tart for AR and me, and moist chocolate cake for Ed and Tricia. (Billy doesnt eat any dessert except for chocolate chip cookies, so tonight he went without.)
While eating our dessert, we noticed that a TV crew with those big cameras on their shoulders was filming some guests on the other side of the dining room. Our waitress told us that it was The Today Show doing a piece about destinations that have great dining accommodations for those traveling with children. It seemed odd that they were filming a piece about dining with children so late at night, but here we were eating dinner with our kids at 9pm, so who was I to criticize!
We rolled out of the dining room and I made a restroom stop with the kids off the restaurants lobby area. The walls of the lobby were covered with family photos and greetings from previous OKW guests through the years. We took a few minutes to look at them and I made a mental note to send one to add to the collection.
We strolled over to the luggage assistance desk and were told that a luggage cart would soon be along to transport us to our vacation home. We sat down to wait on a bench when, suddenly, Billy jumped up and began dancing to the rhythmic music that was coming from speakers overhead. He grabbed Aunt Raes hands and said, Lets dance! It was so funny and so unexpected! Aunt Rae was beaming and we all enjoyed the impromptu show!
Soon, a luggage cart pulled up and the bellman helped us to load our bags and our groceries in the back. We sped off to building #52. The bellman was an older gentleman, very friendly, and he asked us the usual questions about where we were from and commented on how nice the weather had been lately. It was still fairly warm, despite the late hour, and we enjoyed the pleasant breeze and the rare freedom of not needing a jacket in November!
We pulled up in front of a group of white clapboard buildings surrounded by lush vegetation and gently swaying palm trees. I had been anxious about our location, but I have to admit that I was getting a bit tired and was just looking forward to getting unpacked and settled in.
We each grabbed a bag and dutifully followed the bellman up one flight of stairs and around several corners, looking for
#5223.. We were not finding it. I pointed out the numbers marked on the corners to help the poor man gain his sense of direction, but he insisted that he knew where we were going and that the signs were sometimes wrong. Huh?
Down the stairs we went and over to the next building, then up another flight of stairs again. Still no #5223! Down the stairs we went again, bags and all.
By now, I was starting to get a little Grumpy, myself. It had been a long day. I parked Aunt Rae, the kids, and myself on a bench and asked Ed to come and get us when they located our room! Tricia could see that I was unhappy and she patted my arm and said, Cheer up, Mom, were in Walt Disney World!
We found it! Ed called out. We climbed the stairs once more and deposited our bags in front of #5223 while the bellman fiddled with the card key, apologizing profusely, little beads of sweat forming on his brow. I imagined that he feared that his tip was getting smaller by the minute!
After trying the door unsuccessfully for another minute, he told us to wait while he went back downstairs to his cart to radio the front desk. I was beginning to think that we were not going to be able to wake up early and get to the Magic Kingdom for the opening ceremony the next morning as I had planned.
Suddenly, the door opened and an older woman in a bathrobe and hair up in pink curlers peered out and said, Can I help you? Clearly, she had been awakened by our attempts to get into her room!! The bellman came back with a radio and looked as confused as ever when he saw that our room was occupied. He called the front desk again. Apparently, we had been searching all this time for the wrong room! The CM had hastily written #5223 on our map when our room was actually #522
5! (Our deepest apologies, lady in curlers, wherever you are!)
Around the corner we trudged and our door was opened without difficulty by the very apologetic bellman. He expressed genuine surprise and gratitude when Ed did give him a tip! (Well, the room mix-up really wasnt his fault.) What an amazing place! I thought that we were spoiled last year when we had our first DVC stay in a 1BR at SSR. The 2BR at OKW just blew us away!
It was huge! In the entranceway we were greeted by a towel-girl sitting on a small ledge under the hallway mirror. Her skirt was embellished with stickers and curling ribbon. We were delighted. The rooms were painted in pastel colors with white trim, and cheerful watercolor prints decorated the walls.
Aunt Rae and Tricia settled into the seafoam green bedroom with the 2 queen beds and its own bathroom, and Ed and I surveyed the master BR and bath. Billy ran around the living room for a few minutes looking for the TV! It was hidden behind the light oak-stained cabinet doors under the island that separated the kitchen and the living room. He cried briefly when he was told that it was too late for TV, but then he took off his socks and sneakers and lay down on the couch saying, Its time for sleep! He was pretty tired.
It really was way past bedtime by now. Ed opened up the sleeper sofa in the living room and helped Billy into his pajamas while I started to unpack our things. I was a bit concerned about the sleeping arrangements for Billy.
You see, even though he has slept in his own bed for quite some time, now, he has always liked to have company with him in his room at home. There is a 2nd bed in his room for his brother, Eddie, to use when he visits. Many nights he has asked Tricia to come into his room and sleep in Eddies bed b/c he doesnt like to be alone.
Eddie would be sharing the sleeper sofa with him over the weekend, but for now the plan was for Billy to sleep there by himself. I was glad that I had packed a night light for him! The living room was quite dark with no lights on and I knew he would feel better.
Last year Tricia shared the sleeper sofa with him, but, since this year we needed the 2nd BR for Aunt Rae, she lucked out with a queen-size bed all to herself. (And, at the age of ten, shes really getting too old to share a bed with her brother, anyway.) She was very impressed with the queen bed and gloated about it loudly. For her, sharing a room with Aunt Rae was going to be like having a slumber party every night!
So, while I continued to unpack, Ed made up the sofa bed then snuggled up with Billy and his Buzz and Woody toys, hoping to help him get to sleep in the strange surroundings without too much trouble.
I was really impressed when I went to put things away in the bathroom. It was quite spacious and had storage drawers built into the vanity, which I really liked. A huge mirror hung over the vanity and seashell prints graced the walls. An adjoining room contained a gigantic hot tub and pedestal sink, along with a corner étagère, which held even more towel creations!
A shuttered window lay between the hot tub area and the master bedroom, which was painted a pale peach color. A king bed was the centerpiece of the room and it was covered by a green spread with a floral wedding-ring pattern. The armoire housing the TV stood opposite. A cushioned wicker chair and ottoman and a potted silk tropical plant sat in the corner and a ceiling fan circled lazily overhead. Two large windows with Venetian blinds and pastel patterned drapes were on one wall, and a single glass door led to the balcony, which contained a resin table, four chairs, and yet another ceiling fan.
Double doors led back into the living/dining area, which held a large, round dining table and chairs. A loveseat, pullout sofa, and chair with ottoman were grouped around a coffee table. The living room was banked with windows on both sides, and I couldnt wait to see how nice and sunny it would be in the morning!
Ed tiptoed into the bedroom and whispered that Billy was asleep. We put away the rest of our belongings and brushed our teeth. At last we fell into bed and then into a sound sleep, the alarm clock set to wake us up early for our first full day at WDW!
Next Chapter: Jersey Shirts in Fantasyland.
Kathy
There has been lots going on around here and, thankfully, it has made the past few weeks go by quickly! Naturally, the biggest thing has been Back to School . Once again, the changing seasons brings the familiar shift in routine that shapes our daily lives. The children are off to school each morning wearing new clothes and carrying new notebooks and lunch bags in their new backpacks.
Ughh!! The math was too painful! 
, then Halloween 
, and then, we GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD!!" 
"Hooray!!"
I should have used bribery. The first one who falls asleep each night gets two quarters for the Disney gift shops! I should just have Daddy stop by the house and get them to stop fooling around with just one of those You two better cut it out or else
looks. (Even more effective when he is in uniform! ::cop: ) I should
.hold on a minute
.. 
Okay, they are finally asleep!!
I also have a son who is autistic. He's 4 now. But that is not why I'm posting to your report. We are also going with out the kids this year in Jan 24-27 and staying at the BCV. When will you be there?
I just wanted to say thanks for your wonderful pre trip planning post. Like you I'm a planner freak. My family is also going this Nov 3 -12th. Staying at the POP 
. By the way, this is one of my first posts. I usually just like to read 
My husband said "Jersey Week is ruining our vacation with more crowds instead of less" 
Thanks again 
