Maggie'sMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2008
- Messages
- 7,839
Sorry. This is more a vent than a request for help.
My DD is in Florida with her dad this week. He promised her they would go to Disney for 2-3 days. They are staying off-site. She's bipolar and has a lot of sensory issues. She can easily get overwhelmed and frustrated. I've found that we have the best Disney experiences with following a good touring plan to avoid crowds. Which is why I'd never take her during spring break, but oh well...
When my ex took DD to the MK a few years ago, it was a fiasco. It was during spring break time then as well. DD wanted to do 3 things: ride Dumbo, ride Peter Pan, and meet the princesses. I told my ex to go about it this way: get to the MK before opening, head straight to Dumbo and ride it, grab a fastpass for Peter Pan if the wait is longer than 30 minutes, then head to Toontown to meet the princesses as soon as TT opens. Well, that night when I spoke to my DD, she was in tears. Daddy told her the lines for Dumbo and the princesses were too long, and they waited 90 minutes to ride Peter Pan because he didn't think it was worth it to get fastpasses. They hadn't bothered to get to the park until after 10am and it was packed.
Fast forward to this year. My ex again promises DD they will go to Disney. I asked him if he would be open to advice and was shocked when he said yes. So I made a list of the crowd levels for each day they'd be in Florida, which were the best and worst parks for each day, which parks had EMHs and told him to avoid those since they were staying off-site. I asked DD for 3 things in Epcot and MK that she wanted to do and gave him a basic plan for getting those things done with the least amount of waiting. I kept stressing to avoid the EMHs park and get there at park opening.
Also, my ex had discussed taking his dad along with them. This is a recipe for disaster as his dad is impatient, short-tempered, and all around not a nice person to be with. When my ex and I talked last Friday, he told me he had decided taking his dad would be a bad thing and it would be best if it were just him and DD. Wow! My ex is actually making a good decision that will be in our DD's best interest.
So last night, I called to talk to DD. No answer and my ex doesn't call back until after DD is in bed so I can't talk to her. My ex mentions the plan is to head to Epcot today. Huh? Epcot has AM EMHs today. It's my "park to avoid" for the day. Oh, and they are taking grandpa (my ex's dad) with them. They thought they could get a wheelchair for him and skip all the lines.
Where's the smilie for banging my head against a wall? Why did I bother offering advice when my ex just ignores it? I just feel like this is going to set up a very rough day for DD. I have a feeling I'll be listening to my DD crying on the phone tonight.
My DD is in Florida with her dad this week. He promised her they would go to Disney for 2-3 days. They are staying off-site. She's bipolar and has a lot of sensory issues. She can easily get overwhelmed and frustrated. I've found that we have the best Disney experiences with following a good touring plan to avoid crowds. Which is why I'd never take her during spring break, but oh well...
When my ex took DD to the MK a few years ago, it was a fiasco. It was during spring break time then as well. DD wanted to do 3 things: ride Dumbo, ride Peter Pan, and meet the princesses. I told my ex to go about it this way: get to the MK before opening, head straight to Dumbo and ride it, grab a fastpass for Peter Pan if the wait is longer than 30 minutes, then head to Toontown to meet the princesses as soon as TT opens. Well, that night when I spoke to my DD, she was in tears. Daddy told her the lines for Dumbo and the princesses were too long, and they waited 90 minutes to ride Peter Pan because he didn't think it was worth it to get fastpasses. They hadn't bothered to get to the park until after 10am and it was packed.
Fast forward to this year. My ex again promises DD they will go to Disney. I asked him if he would be open to advice and was shocked when he said yes. So I made a list of the crowd levels for each day they'd be in Florida, which were the best and worst parks for each day, which parks had EMHs and told him to avoid those since they were staying off-site. I asked DD for 3 things in Epcot and MK that she wanted to do and gave him a basic plan for getting those things done with the least amount of waiting. I kept stressing to avoid the EMHs park and get there at park opening.
Also, my ex had discussed taking his dad along with them. This is a recipe for disaster as his dad is impatient, short-tempered, and all around not a nice person to be with. When my ex and I talked last Friday, he told me he had decided taking his dad would be a bad thing and it would be best if it were just him and DD. Wow! My ex is actually making a good decision that will be in our DD's best interest.
So last night, I called to talk to DD. No answer and my ex doesn't call back until after DD is in bed so I can't talk to her. My ex mentions the plan is to head to Epcot today. Huh? Epcot has AM EMHs today. It's my "park to avoid" for the day. Oh, and they are taking grandpa (my ex's dad) with them. They thought they could get a wheelchair for him and skip all the lines.
Where's the smilie for banging my head against a wall? Why did I bother offering advice when my ex just ignores it? I just feel like this is going to set up a very rough day for DD. I have a feeling I'll be listening to my DD crying on the phone tonight.
Glad it went better than last time
