Wait, do we have a Fast Pass for that? Final Update, Final Thoughts and Favs 1/26

[PrncessA]

I thought about starting a PTR, but since I already have this TR going, I am just going to throw in a few updates on how our February trip planning is going.

Today is our 180 day mark, which means I was able to make our ADR's this morning. It was a completely different experience planning our ADR's this time versus last time!

Over the weekend the entire family talked about what we want for the next trip from restaurants to parks to extras that we all want, and we came up with a plan.

Our first change from this year: No park hoppers. Since we are not staying at the Yacht Club, hopping to Epcot for dinner isn't as feasible and after working on a plan, park hoppers are an expense that aren't worth it. And we save $255!

ADR Plans:

After talking about what tone we wanted this trip to have, we have decided that we want a less structured trip with less ADR's. After a lot a discussion we have decided on:

Tusker House Breakfast
TRex Cafe (the kids are insistent)
Yachtsman (for our anniversary dinner, the kids will stay at the Yacht Club Kid's Club)
Be Our Guest
Hoop Dee Doo (for Lorelai's birthday dinner)
Wishes Dessert Party


That is considerably less than our many many ADR's on our last trip. I was able to get all of the ADR's we wanted this morning!! We will order Garden Grocer for breakfasts and fill in our meals with quick service, which is a complete departure from June, but is exciting in the fact that we can plan our meals on the go and eat when we want.

After estimating our meals and pricing them out, considering that we don't really want to eat desserts with our meals, and we don't really think we will use the refillable mugs to make them worth the cost, it doesn't look like the dining plan will be a good plan for us this time. I am not dropping it yet since this could very well change in the future!

I did a quick search of what our last PIN offers were and last year we were offered a free dining PIN for this time of year, hopefully that will be the case again, since that would offer us the biggest cost savings, as a 20% code would only save us $400. Here's hoping for a great PIN or discount since two trips in less than a year is a definite stretch on the budget!!

Lastly we ask the kids what "extras" they wanted to experience, i.e. pirate cruise, BBB. They were unanimous with saying that YeeHa Bob and Pirate League were their choices. Lorelai isn't interested in doing the BBB on her birthday, but would rather do the Pirates League with Ethan, and they both want to see YeeHa Bob again.

So our trip is shaping up nicely it seems!!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I just found your trip report and I am really enjoying it! One thing I wanted to comment on was the incident when your Ds was accused of saying a bad word. I think those parents were being ridilous. To comment on your parenting over such a silly incident is over the top. I have a friend that has told her son hate is a bad word. While I agree kids should not say I hate you, sometimes it innocently comes up in conversation. When an adult says I hate to eat dinner than go work out. He will (a 3 year old) will say you said hate and continue to demand an apology until he gets one. I get that words like stupid and hate are not nice to say directly to people but in some circumstances (like saying that goofy cartoon was stupid). There is absolutly nothing wrong with that. I think it is far worse to openly criticize another parent in front of your kids . Okay, sorry I got on my soapbox there!

I can't wait to hear the rest.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

Following along. Our kids are similar ages so this is great!

 

[mickeystoontown]

The plans for your upcoming trip look great! We did away with park hoppers years ago and haven't really missed them. Keeping my fingers crossed that you get a pin.

 

[ashleymrush]

Your plans look so good! February is going to be great!

 

[KatMark]

Plans sound great, Sara.

 

[martinmont]

Your plan sounds great! Can I join? yachtman is definitely on my adr wish list for my next trip. I dun have any more dinners to fit it this trip in dec lol.

 

[ddstratton]

Plans sound great so far! As much as I love Disney's restaurants, I also like the idea of having fewer planned sit-down meals. You are more free to do what you want, rather than rushing to an ADR. I'm also considering dropping the park hoppers for our next trip.

 

[petals]

Thanks! I love magic shots, although we had to ask for nearly every one that we got, it was worth it!

I found that the last time I was there as well. I think only one offered us magic shots. For Disneyland i'm ordering photopass plus and we've only 5 days there so I'm going to make sure it's worth it and get pictures with every photopass person we see and ask them for every magic shot they can do

 

[PrncessA]

I just found your trip report and I am really enjoying it! One thing I wanted to comment on was the incident when your Ds was accused of saying a bad word. I think those parents were being ridilous. To comment on your parenting over such a silly incident is over the top. I have a friend that has told her son hate is a bad word. While I agree kids should not say I hate you, sometimes it innocently comes up in conversation. When an adult says I hate to eat dinner than go work out. He will (a 3 year old) will say you said hate and continue to demand an apology until he gets one. I get that words like stupid and hate are not nice to say directly to people but in some circumstances (like saying that goofy cartoon was stupid). There is absolutly nothing wrong with that. I think it is far worse to openly criticize another parent in front of your kids . Okay, sorry I got on my soapbox there!

I can't wait to hear the rest.

I agree completely about criticizing other parents! That is just a bad practice! Before I had kids I would look at parents with dirty faced children and think "Why couldn't they just wipe their face." If I had only known what REALLY having children is like, wiping their face every few minutes is the least of your worries!!!

Following along. Our kids are similar ages so this is great!

I love reading around with TR with kids around the same ages!

The plans for your upcoming trip look great! We did away with park hoppers years ago and haven't really missed them. Keeping my fingers crossed that you get a pin.

I am glad to hear that! I am nervous about dropping them.

Your plans look so good! February is going to be great!

Thanks!!

Plans sound great, Sara.

Thanks!! I am trying to get caught up on yours, I have just been so busy!

Your plan sounds great! Can I join? yachtman is definitely on my adr wish list for my next trip. I dun have any more dinners to fit it this trip in dec lol.

Yachtsman was a request from my hubby, as he wants a good steak, I want a good veggie dish. I know what you mean about fitting more in! On our last trip I couldn't fit anymore in, and on this trip I have plenty of room, but am fighting the urge!

Plans sound great so far! As much as I love Disney's restaurants, I also like the idea of having fewer planned sit-down meals. You are more free to do what you want, rather than rushing to an ADR. I'm also considering dropping the park hoppers for our next trip.

I am excited for the change, but nervous!

I found that the last time I was there as well. I think only one offered us magic shots. For Disneyland i'm ordering photopass plus and we've only 5 days there so I'm going to make sure it's worth it and get pictures with every photopass person we see and ask them for every magic shot they can do

It is completely worth it! I can't wait to see the shots!!

 

[PrncessA]

When last we left off we had finished our kick butt morning at DHS and we were on our way out of the park. As we made our way toward the bus stop Ethan was getting louder by the second and his attitude was getting out of control. Not one photo in this section… not moments we wanted to document!

His ADHD manifests it’s self in different ways at different times and one of the most annoying for our family as a whole is when his impulse control is very low. His attitude completely changes and he becomes a very smartaliclly little kid. It is hard for us as parents to stay calm when he gets into this mood and when we escalate the situation, he escalates it right back at us. When this happens at home we have steps that we try and enact to keep everyone calm, and avoid a blow up. It isn’t a fun time in our family.

One of our most important steps to de-escalating the situation is separating and giving everyone time to breath and giving Ethan his medicine and time to cool off. Well in this situation there was no way to get away from the issue at hand and it was hot and crowded and everyone was on edge.

When we arrived at the MK bus stop we were the only people there and we tried calming Ethan down, but he was irritable and getting louder by the moment. By the time the bus pulled up and we were joined by quite a few other people the situation was out of control and Erik was ready to take Ethan back to the hotel room, which with his attitude, was an attractive possibility. As parents it wasn’t our finest moment.

We loaded off the bus and headed to one of the benches to sit and think. If it had been a normal afternoon, with only rides planned, we probably would have gone straight to the hotel and relaxed. Unfortunately, this was our “special” day for the kids and Ethan’s appointment for the Pirates League was about an hour or so away, so it was not an option. We were trying to calm Ethan down, while we were ourselves getting more aggravated than he was, escalating the situation.

Suddenly Lorelai yelled “TENNESSEE” and we all just looked at her and cracked up. It defiantly didn’t solve our situation, but it did relieve the pressure pretty quickly. Erik and I decided that we would give Ethan some time to wind down and we would back off, but it was easily the most stressful part of our trip!

We headed in to the MK and ambled up through Main Street, which was already getting crowded for the parade and we knew from prior experience we didn’t want to get stuck on the parade route. We headed toward Pirates of the Caribbean and decided to check and see if they could fit E in a little early. We made it there at about 2:45 and his appointment was at 3:20, but they were packed and there was no way to get him in, so we decided to get some water and relax in Adventureland until closer to his time. Still no photos though, I think we were just wiped from our ADHD adventure!

Ethan was slowly returning to normal, but his hyperness was a problem until his name was called. I believe that changing his environment and sitting in the AC probably helped, combined with the fact that he was becoming a Pirate!

It was fun to people watch while we were there. We saw a family who must have been having a "grand gathering" and several of the women had set up camp in the Pirates of the Caribbean area. They were literally sprawled out and didn't look like they had any intention on moving any time soon. Random members of their family would come and visit and leave. It was funny to watch.

Now here is where we come across another one of my mistakes… I thought that there wouldn’t be enough time for Lorelai and me to watch Ethan’s makeover and still have time to make it for Lorelai’s BBB appointment. Our plan was for Erik to stay with Ethan and I would go with Lorelai. Turns out we had plenty of time, oh well! On top of that, I kept the camera and Erik took photos with his phone, all of which turned out wonderful, until they were accidentally deleted.

As it was Ethan and Erik got checked in at around 3:15 and before they knew it they were being called back. Lorelai and I headed off in search of pop corn and lemonade!

Next up: Things get MUCH better for our party!!A happy Pirate and Princess have Dinner at CRT…

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm so sorry that Ethan's ADHD was rearing it's ugly head. As you know, with John's epilepsy, we run into some of those same issues. It's really tough on the caregivers/parents/spouses to remain calm when all you want to do is make it better. Good for Lorelai shouting out TENNESSEE! It made everybody stop and have a little giggle. I'm happy that the air conditioning and change of environment helped Ethan before his pirate makeover.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Your plans for February look great. Sounds like a fun trip you're family is planning.

ugh it's so hard when a kid has a meltdown and it's hot and there are so many people around. When my older son (who is 9 now) was 5 and we went to WDW we had a similar experience during Spring Break (which we have vowed never to go during that period again), he was still in the stroller, but the meltdown started and shoes flew out of the stroller and we were frantically trying to get out of the park, we took a wrong turn and landed at the baby center, and that calmed him down (a little a/c, toy story movie, and little toys to play with). I tell everyone Baby Center saved our day. so I feel for you and can totally relate.

Looking forward to your evening and the kids spending an evening as pirate and princess

 

[ashleymrush]

I so feel for you. You've read about our tantrum adventures in my TR but my little brother, who is now 13, has severe ADHD too and my mom has gone through many of the same things with him. We've all had those moments when we think we are not making the best decisions in parenting but it seems like you handled it like a pro. It can be hard when other people are around and watching but I figure that if they have kids, they get it and if they don't have kids, there is no way they could understand so I try to ignore judgement and staring.

I'm glad he enjoyed the Pirate's League. It really is so much fun. I'm sure Lorelei will enjoy it next year too. It's too bad you lost your pictures. All the more reason to take tons on the next trip! I hope you were able to hold on to your BBB and CRT pictures. Looking forward to hearing about it. I'm always jealous of anyone that can experience BBB since it won't happen for me unless I have a niece or granddaughter to take...both of which are very far away.

 

[KatMark]

I'm so sorry about the situation with Ethan, but it appears to me that you and DH did great and things turned around. I imagine it is hard with other people around who don't understand the situation, etc.

I can't wait to see how the pirate turned out and the princess.

 

[JKSWonder]

I feel for you. Our son is on the autism spectrum and ADHD. At times, we simply feel like we don't know what the heck we are doing where he is concerned.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Hi! I just finished catching up on your family adventure! You guys are a lot of fun!

Glad you got some pixie dust at YC; CL sounds like a dream! And I did want to comment on how beautifully your daughter explained your son's use of the word stupid; you all are doing something right when your child not only recognizes when a word should be used, but is also able to, quite eloquently, explain why. I say bravo to good parenting!!

I am sorry for your sons melt down. My sis was never diagnosed with ADHD or anything, but she was, what my mama called, "an easily agitated child." We had our fair share of rough moments growing up. But again, it seems like you guys know how to sooth your little man; I'm sure in the moment it was awful, but it seemed to pass without too much going array. I can't wait to see what else you guys did on your trip, and to see the rest of your plans for February!!

 

[Laura Bell]

Let the adventure continue....

 

[PrncessA]

I promise that I am going to get to responses today, I thought I would over the weekend, but that wasn't happening let me tell you!

Just a quick life update for now! The kids start school on Monday, so my life will go back to semi-normal during the week, hopefully! Tonight is their "back-to-school" night, which I am completely unprepared for. Also we have Lorelai's cheerleading shoe fitting and her last uniform fitting, since their picture day is on Saturday.

We have had an eventfull week since last Friday. Ethan got sick with a crazy fever and a sore throat, I was convinced it was strep, so was the doctor... it wasn't. Just a virus that had to work it's way out. Not good when you have a end of the summer vacation planned. He rallied and had a blast at the water park.

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

At the doctor, waiting on strep results:


Sleeping while I am at work:


Two days later, seems to be feeling better. He did lose his voice and still hasn't gotten it completely back yet.







That is as far as Ethan made it, he turned around and went mini-golfing.























We got back to normal life yesterday

I will try and do responses and an update today!! I am so excited to share our experiences with the Pirates League and BBB!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Poor little man, you can tell from the pictures that he wasn't feeling well. Sleeping it off, I guess.

The end of the Summer trip looks like it was a lot of fun. Glad that Ethan was feeling well enough to enjoy himself. Miss Lorelai is grinning from ear to ear wasn't she?

School is back in session here too but, for some reason, our chaos hasn't settled down any.