We're Baaaaack!! **The WLV's groupies & Trivia Thread chapter 3

[Muushka]

Wow...I just love that couch!

If they ever change the decor on that, I'm selling my VWL ownership. It's the best!!

Granny! You bad boy

Hi all, DW and I went and saw Avenue Q in DC and then had dinner at a place called Mimi's Cafe.

We are doing the Western Caribbean cruise on DCL from May 2-9, 2009. We are using points.

BWVD congrats on the points.

Good luck to all that are job searching.

Got your cruise on the list
We have a Mimi's Cafe here, is it any good?

Happy birthday Cheer4Bison!

DisneyNutzy - love the pics! Keep the coming.

Thanks for the well wishes on the bake-off. If there was some way I could send them over the internet believe me I would! I could use all the tasters I can get. My sister & niece came over today to try some of my creations. 3 out of 4 got a big thumbs up so I hope I'm on the right track.

So did anyone catch the much discussed Princess Bride on Bravo last night? I was flipping channels & came across it about 10 min. into it. I was so excited. Unfortunately I couldn't stay awake. It's tought to get old!

Loved Wall-E! It was the 1st time I had seen it. Very cute movie.

Anyone else have kids on vacation this week? Feb. vacation with not too much planned is always a scary proposition. The fights have already begun. This will be me by the end of the week.

Bake-off! What fun! And creative. Let us know what recipe you win with

No PB for me on Bravo....commercials......

 

[blossomz]

DN: My kids are special needs too! Woo hoo!

I even helped write the special needs book Open Mouse with Deb Wills. I absolutely agree...no place like home!

I am beginning to think there are fewer and fewer that don't have some kind of special need! They are the rarity these days!

LOVE the photos! I LOVE Crystal Palace!

 

[DaveH]

We have a Mimi's Cafe here, is it any good?

The food here is good. It is a little more expensive than say Red Robin and and the like. Join thier club online and at times you get a coupon for stuff. The one we just got was $5 off of a bill of $15 for breakfast. We usually get there for the 2 of us. Their muffins are baked fresh and are hot when they bring them to you. Here is the address www.mimiscafe.com .

Hope everyone is having a great day.

 

[tea pot]

OT, but I forgot to mention I caved in and bought 40 pts. BLT 1 day before the cut-off.... Ok, back to Wilderness Lodge Villas talk!!

congrats on the points

After recharging our batteries at the lodge we headed out to MK for our Crystal Palace reservations. My son who is non verbal autistic absolutely loves Pooh and his friends. This meal as always was a huge hit with him. Anyone who has a special needs child or knows someone who does realizes how tough it can be at times. Most of our friends and extended family have come to Disney with us at some point and when they see my son here they all say "Wow, now I can see why you guys come here so much." The kid is beside himself with joy when we get to the airport because he just then realizes where we are going. Here is a pic of the kids with Pooh- L-R My Niece, my son giggling, my daughter.

Good night groupies. Stay warm.

What a great picture... I'm just loving your live report thanks so much for taking the time to share.... But I'm getting Home Sick....I too can relate..My nephew has Downs Syndrome... He is very quiet and keeps to himself. In Disney he is a different Kid Big Smiles all Day... Happy and Interactive...
What a blessing... Take care and enjoy the Magic

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

DN love the pictures! So glad your son enjoys it down there so much! That must be a really neat thing to see him there.

Hey DN,
Thanks for the great pictures and the awesome trip report. My son Rizzo is an asperger kid so I can relate to the special needs thing. I think that's why we love the world so much. Love the shirts.

Eliza your reference to asperger reminded me of a story my DD's violin teacher told her. She said she was at the grocery store paying for her food. As the cashier was ringing up the items she would say what every item was. When she got to the asparagus she called it asperger. So now of course we think of that every time we see asparagus.

HL my husband also liked Wall-E. Good luck on the bake off. Wish we had something like smell-o-vision!

 

[horselover]

Speaking of the couch, I couldn't find the pillows hidden in there until we folded it up this morning. I called housekeeping for pillows yesterday and said there were none for the pull out. Nobody told me they were hidden in the couch.

I did the same thing when we were there in Jan! When we checked in the 1st night I called down to HK to ask for pillows. When we checked back in again I found the pillows tucked into the couch. Maybe we should add that little tidbit to our tips for VWL newbies! Oh & your pics are making me home sick!

My oldest DS also has Aspergers so I know what you mean about Disney being your special place. He just loves it there which makes us feel at ease, not to mention how great the chefs are to our other DS who has Celiac Disease. Disney is a special place.

Bake-off! What fun! And creative. Let us know what recipe you win with

Love that positive thinking Muush!

 

[blossomz]

We're rootin' for you horselover!

 

[Muushka]

The food here is good. It is a little more expensive than say Red Robin and and the like. Join thier club online and at times you get a coupon for stuff. The one we just got was $5 off of a bill of $15 for breakfast. We usually get there for the 2 of us. Their muffins are baked fresh and are hot when they bring them to you. Here is the address www.mimiscafe.com .

Hope everyone is having a great day.

Thanks, Dave. The menu looks great, different and tasty. I will have to give it a try.

 

[cheer4bison]

Thanks Groupies for all the wonderful birthday messages! Had an excellent birthday. Spent it with DS, DH, parents and in-laws. My considerate sister treated me to my very first pedicure at an adorable day spa. So much fun!

Thanks, DN, for the awesome on-site trip report! What a special treat to live vicariously through you this week! I appreciate all your efforts to keep us apprised of the activities at our collective home down south.

 

[DisneyNutzy]

Hey DN,
Thanks for the great pictures and the awesome trip report. My son Rizzo is an asperger kid so I can relate to the special needs thing. I think that's why we love the world so much. Love the shirts.
Neat rain trick, sort of like washing your car. the minute you wash it, it is certain to rain. Hope your neice is feeling better. Keep us posted.

DN: My kids are special needs too! Woo hoo!

I even helped write the special needs book Open Mouse with Deb Wills. I absolutely agree...no place like home!

I am beginning to think there are fewer and fewer that don't have some kind of special need! They are the rarity these days!

LOVE the photos! I LOVE Crystal Palace!

congrats on the points



What a great picture... I'm just loving your live report thanks so much for taking the time to share.... But I'm getting Home Sick....I too can relate..My nephew has Downs Syndrome... He is very quiet and keeps to himself. In Disney he is a different Kid Big Smiles all Day... Happy and Interactive...
What a blessing... Take care and enjoy the Magic

I did the same thing when we were there in Jan! When we checked in the 1st night I called down to HK to ask for pillows. When we checked back in again I found the pillows tucked into the couch. Maybe we should add that little tidbit to our tips for VWL newbies! Oh & your pics are making me home sick!

My oldest DS also has Aspergers so I know what you mean about Disney being your special place. He just loves it there which makes us feel at ease, not to mention how great the chefs are to our other DS who has Celiac Disease. Disney is a special place.

Wow. Looks like we can start a special needs groupies sub group.

Eliza- Shirts were under 5 bucks online at the Disney Outlet. I have Donald T's for the boys and Daisy for the girls ready for our photopass sitting this week.

Blossomz - I'll have to pick that book up now.

Be back with Day 3

 

[DisneyNutzy]

Today was our sleep in day. I had breakfast on the balcony and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We were planning on relaxing by the pool today but it was a little cold in the morning. I knew the girls wanted to get to Downtown Disney at some point so I offered up an audible and they almost knocked me over with a resounding YES! You'd think the excitement of shopping would get them moving a little quicker but that would make you foolish like me. So while I paced the room the girls did whatever it is they do that makes them so late all the time!
Here are a few random shots of the lodge-

The girls finally made it down to the lobby. Here are some poor people going home

I always hate departure day and am very jealous of the people just checking in.

Here is a group shot in front of the lodge while we are waiting for them to bring the car up.

If the economy is in trouble you would never have known it based on the amount of people spending money at Downtown Disney. It was an absolute gorgeous afternoon to walk around. We had lunch at the open stage area and listened to a high school band from Maryland. The World of Disney was giving free pin lanyards with 2 pins to each annual pass holder. They also gave us a certificate for an additional 10% off all purchases made that day. With the 10% AP discount already in hand my wife decided with a total of 20% off all purchases she would need to buy about 300% more stuff then we planned! Those damn "FREE" lanyards and pins cost me a fortune! Disney marketing genius!

We left Downtown much poorer and headed back to DHS. They had EMH and we had reservations at the Brown Derby. We went to the Little Mermaid show then split up. I took my son to Playhouse Disney and the girls went to Indiana Jones show. We had been renting a MacLaren special needs stroller for my son on all our past trips but he has outgrown that and this was our first time renting a wheelchair for him. It pushes much easier except when we enter the DHS. The second we enter the turnstile he uses all his body weight to start jerking the wheelchair towards Playhouse Disney. Fingers are pointing, legs dragging and he will even grab on to an occasional stranger to stop our progress if we dare head anywhere but the courtyard of the Playhouse Disney show. Once we are there he is okay with doing Mermaid or even the animation show first. He realizes we are near his show and will see it soon but we have to go to that area first. The playhouse Disney show was over and Indiana Jones had barely started so I took my son to ride Toy Story mania which is quickly becoming another favorite of his. He just pulls on the string and doesn't really care about hitting anything but he loves the glasses and all the action.

We met the girls at the Brown Derby which was very good. In all the years we had been coming to Disney we never tried the Derby until 3 trips ago. Now we try to eat there every trip. I had the NY Strip. My daughter also ordered it which I knew meant I was getting at least a steak and a half. By the time we left the Brown Derby it was EMH (8-11 tonight.) The girls wanted to ride Toy Story since they didn't get to earlier. Here are a few shots of us waiting to ride.

After Toy Story we split again this time my wife took my son to Muppets 3D while I took the girls to

While waiting a very long time to see Steven Tyler and not moving much an announcement came over the PA saying the ride was broke and they were closing it. The crowd all headed to the Tower of Terror which now looked like it would be at least an hour wait. Half the crew was cold and tired as it was about 10PM by this point. I had promised my niece I would ride this with her because my daughter who loves most of the thrill rides doesn't want any part of this one. With some dissension among the ranks as to what we should do at this point I struck up a deal with my niece that I would get up early with her tomorrow and be at rope drop so she and I could ride Tower of Terror. She agreed so that ended our night and made everyone happy to return to the lodge. On that note I better get to bed as I have an early wake up call to keep a promise. Here is a pic we took of the new American Idol attraction while roaming the DHS.

Good night groupies. See you tomorrow for day 4.

 

[jimmytammy]

DisneyNutzy

Thanks for letting us live at VWL through your trip. The pics are great!

BTW, Ranger Stan will be in on Wed from 7-4. If you happen to see him, tell him Jimmy, Tammy and the kids say hey

We have a special needs son, so we can relate. He has CAPD, Central Auditory Processing Disease. To look at him, you dont notice. But to speak, it stands out more. He processes speech at a much slower pace than most, therefore it takes him longer to answer, and he struggles with trying to communicate. Since birth he has had developmental issues, muscle mass, physical delays, etc. Two hernia surgeries, one at 6 weeks old. His young life has been a struggle.

We realized early on that homeschooling would be our best option as he was constantly battling to keep up in school, and we didnt want him shuffled through the system.

He loves WDW, and still views things through a kids eyes even at 14. WDW makes things special for all of us, but he lives for that next trip, as if its his 1st visit.

Sorry to keep going on, just wanted to share. Thanks for sharing you family with us.

 

[Muushka]

As I sit here after reading about the Groupie's special needs kiddos, I feel overwhelmed with emotion. Thank you all for sharing about your children. I look forward to the day that I can meet you all. What a special bunch of people.

Today I am volunteering with the Special Olympics kiddos at the bowling lanes. I am psyched!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Does WLV have a workout facility? I am assuming its in the lodge building? How big is it?

 

[tea pot]

Does WLV have a workout facility? I am assuming its in the lodge building? How big is it?

Yes It Does.....
I'm pretty sure it's in the Villas....

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Yes It Does.....
I'm pretty sure it's in the Villas....

Thanks!!! I sure hope its in the villas!!!! My DH works out every morning....I promised to join him this trip!

 

[Muushka]

Yuppers, it is in the Villas.

I had a great time this morning bowling with the Special Olympics. They (and we, the volunteers) had such a fun time. What a great group of kiddos. Muushkas! (my term of endearment for good kids!)

 

[twokats]

I can totally relate also. Both my kids are in their 20's, but with their special needs they still live at home and WDW is their absolute favorite place. DD is cerebral palsy (no speech and some fine motor difficulty) and DS is spina bifida.

A week after our 2007 trip DS went into the hospital with a shunt malfunction. He was in the hospital for 22 days and underwent 7 surgeries on his brain. Luckily, he had no problems while we were in WDW. We were able to enjoy all our vacation, it was just really touch and go after we got home.

As I have said before, the trip in May will be our first totally without kids. DD has been with us every time we have been. DS has been on all but 2.
It is always a joy to see things through those special eyes!!!

DN Have an awesome trip.

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

Loving the live updates! Keep 'em coming.

Muushka - I don't think I ever gave you the date. I just rambled about the fact that I was taking my first cruise and quite jittery about it. The Mystery Cruise is June 25-28 on the Disney Wonder.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

As I sit here after reading about the Groupie's special needs kiddos, I feel overwhelmed with emotion. Thank you all for sharing about your children. I look forward to the day that I can meet you all. What a special bunch of people.

Today I am volunteering with the Special Olympics kiddos at the bowling lanes. I am psyched!

I so agree with you Muushka. My brother didn't have any of those types of special needs but he did have a brain tumor which left him really dependant on my Mom. Having seen what she went through I sure appreciate and admire all of our groupie with special needs kids. This is for you.
And here is one for you Muushka for your work with the Special Olympics.

I am so glad to be a part of this thread. You are all awesome!!!!!