babyberger
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2012
- Messages
- 1,919
Living in Florida means Disney has always been a weekend trip for us, but not this time! We are actually taking a mini Disney vacation February 6-10. We have been to Disney so many times, and were just there in September, October, and December. But this trip adds a new twist; DS was recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy (as well as tree nut). Thankfully Disney is one of the most gluten free (GF) friendly places and we didn't have to change our plans much. Normally, I wouldn't do a trip report for one or two nights, but since we are going for a bit longer and have a couple “circumstances” I thought I would try my hand at my first trip report.
Who we are:
For this trip it will be me(38), DH(41), DS(9) and DD(7). We will be leaving DS(20) behind as he has classes and as he puts it, has grown out of Disney
What makes our vacations a little different is that DS has Asperger’s Syndrome. So our trip is all about preventing meltdowns while having a great time. After many miserable trips we learned about the Guest Assistance Card (GAC) and that changed our lives and made Disney magical once again 
We have also learned that just about every CM is sensitive to our requests/needs once we explain that DS is on the Autism Spectrum.
This is us in September at Captain's Grille (not the best picture, but our only family picture in the past 3 trips)
Where we are staying:
Because all of our previous weekend trips kept changing (to the point that I joined the beloved Resort Changer’s thread
) we actually got to try out all the resorts we thought may be a possibility for this trip. So this trip has gone from being booked at WL, to YC, and eventually CR. In September and October, DS kept asking to stay at CR, so we finally caved and booked it for our December trip. I have to say, it was probably the best decision we made. Although DH and I still love the atmosphere of YC, we quickly appreciated the conveniences of the CR and let the kids pick between YC and CR for this trip, they both jumped up and down 
screaming “CONTEMPORARY”. The rooms are larger than YC, and the guaranteed day bed means that DS ad DD don’t have to sleep in the same bed (or with DH or I). We also really appreciated no long winding hallways (which can be the case at YC and WL) after a long day in the parks. In December we had a Bay Lake view, but splurged for CL, so we got to enjoy the Magic Kingdom view from the lounge. We booked a Bay Lake view again for February, but when I saw the TPV rooms open up under the AP discount, they were only $35 more a night than what we were paying for BLV, so we jumped on it and made the change! I will miss my morning coffee enjoying the serenity of Bay Lake, but the kids are just so excited about the view of the Magic Kingdom!
What we are eating:
After the wheat allergy diagnosis we decided to cancel our ADR’s at Via Napoli and Fulton’s, leaving us with the following meals (updated to where we actually ate):
Columbia Harbor House
The Wave Dinner
Sci-Fi Diner lunch
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch
Pizzafari
The Wave Breakfast
Coral Reef Lunch
Contempo Cafe Dinner
The Wave breakfast (again)
The rest of our meals will most likely be QS although we may add in a breakfast or two at The Wave, and I am armed with the GF list from the Special Diets team. I have extensively researched which are the best GF meals and think I am ready! We are also really excited to go to Babycakes NYC and try their GF goodies! Not to mention I don't have to cook for five days
The Planning:
I do plan our days using TouringPlans.com and EasyWDW. We do not follow a touring plan per se, but rather use the crowd predictors to pick our parks for each day. We let the kids pick the order of the rides and know that we may need to stop for a break at any given time or change plans quickly. We have become experts in vacation flexibility over the years. We know what rides/shows DS can’t do, which restaurants he can’t eat in, and how to judge lines to see if we are getting in them or skipping them (even with the GAC in hand).
Side Notes:
We have an appointment with DS’ gastroenterologist on Monday and are hoping to hear that he no longer needs a couple of his stomach medications which have to be perfectly timed between meals. This would mean no carrying meds with us and DS being able to eat/snack whenever he wants! I know it sounds insignificant and silly, but I always feel so badly saying, “no, you can’t eat now” and having to make trips back and forth to First Aid to keep our meds stored during the day.
We will be bringing schoolwork with us as DS and DD will be missing three days of school. We were able to get one writing assignment early and will have that done before we go, but the other stuff will be coming with us. So at some point during our days we will be carving out some time for schoolwork
Our plan is to be on the road Wednesday morning by 6am, check into CR by 9am or so, and hopefully in the MK by 10am
My goal is to update daily especially with pictures and review of the GF food offerings.
Now just to count down to departure
Who we are:
For this trip it will be me(38), DH(41), DS(9) and DD(7). We will be leaving DS(20) behind as he has classes and as he puts it, has grown out of Disney
What makes our vacations a little different is that DS has Asperger’s Syndrome. So our trip is all about preventing meltdowns while having a great time. After many miserable trips we learned about the Guest Assistance Card (GAC) and that changed our lives and made Disney magical once again We have also learned that just about every CM is sensitive to our requests/needs once we explain that DS is on the Autism Spectrum. This is us in September at Captain's Grille (not the best picture, but our only family picture in the past 3 trips)
Where we are staying:
Because all of our previous weekend trips kept changing (to the point that I joined the beloved Resort Changer’s thread
) we actually got to try out all the resorts we thought may be a possibility for this trip. So this trip has gone from being booked at WL, to YC, and eventually CR. In September and October, DS kept asking to stay at CR, so we finally caved and booked it for our December trip. I have to say, it was probably the best decision we made. Although DH and I still love the atmosphere of YC, we quickly appreciated the conveniences of the CR and let the kids pick between YC and CR for this trip, they both jumped up and down screaming “CONTEMPORARY”. The rooms are larger than YC, and the guaranteed day bed means that DS ad DD don’t have to sleep in the same bed (or with DH or I). We also really appreciated no long winding hallways (which can be the case at YC and WL) after a long day in the parks. In December we had a Bay Lake view, but splurged for CL, so we got to enjoy the Magic Kingdom view from the lounge. We booked a Bay Lake view again for February, but when I saw the TPV rooms open up under the AP discount, they were only $35 more a night than what we were paying for BLV, so we jumped on it and made the change! I will miss my morning coffee enjoying the serenity of Bay Lake, but the kids are just so excited about the view of the Magic Kingdom! What we are eating:
After the wheat allergy diagnosis we decided to cancel our ADR’s at Via Napoli and Fulton’s, leaving us with the following meals (updated to where we actually ate):
Columbia Harbor House
The Wave Dinner
Sci-Fi Diner lunch
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch
Pizzafari
The Wave Breakfast
Coral Reef Lunch
Contempo Cafe Dinner
The Wave breakfast (again)
The rest of our meals will most likely be QS although we may add in a breakfast or two at The Wave, and I am armed with the GF list from the Special Diets team. I have extensively researched which are the best GF meals and think I am ready! We are also really excited to go to Babycakes NYC and try their GF goodies! Not to mention I don't have to cook for five days
The Planning:
I do plan our days using TouringPlans.com and EasyWDW. We do not follow a touring plan per se, but rather use the crowd predictors to pick our parks for each day. We let the kids pick the order of the rides and know that we may need to stop for a break at any given time or change plans quickly. We have become experts in vacation flexibility over the years. We know what rides/shows DS can’t do, which restaurants he can’t eat in, and how to judge lines to see if we are getting in them or skipping them (even with the GAC in hand).
Side Notes:
We have an appointment with DS’ gastroenterologist on Monday and are hoping to hear that he no longer needs a couple of his stomach medications which have to be perfectly timed between meals. This would mean no carrying meds with us and DS being able to eat/snack whenever he wants! I know it sounds insignificant and silly, but I always feel so badly saying, “no, you can’t eat now” and having to make trips back and forth to First Aid to keep our meds stored during the day.
We will be bringing schoolwork with us as DS and DD will be missing three days of school. We were able to get one writing assignment early and will have that done before we go, but the other stuff will be coming with us. So at some point during our days we will be carving out some time for schoolwork
Our plan is to be on the road Wednesday morning by 6am, check into CR by 9am or so, and hopefully in the MK by 10am
My goal is to update daily especially with pictures and review of the GF food offerings.
Now just to count down to departure
I can't wait!
A trip report!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Melissa Go 
and support!
Melissa!! I'm here! 
What does DD and DH think?? Must be difficult to resist after all the time spent on the new thread! 
I almost applied for the job at DL...thought the commute might be a bit much 
