KathyRN Family's Trip Report: Adventures in Autism: WDW... A FEW PICS, FINALLY! pg 13

[KathyRN137]

I'm really enjoying your TR Kathy. Hopefully, I can catch up on the next 3 pages sometime today.

Thanks so much, but please don't forget to continue working on yours!!

Kathy

 

[teentoddlermom]

I have so enjoyed your TR!
It is a such a positive view of a family dealing with Autism. What comes across to me so strongly is your glass half full (really glass all full!) enthusiasm of your family challenges.
Looking forward to the rest! Love how you've been so faithful about posting!

 

[KathyRN137]

....It is a such a positive view of a family dealing with Autism. What comes across to me so strongly is your glass half full (really glass all full!) enthusiasm of your family challenges.

Oh, you are really kind, thank you!

But really, I'm no supermom. It has been nearly six years since we learned of Billy's diagnosis and our lives were changed forever. I went through all the stages of grieving. It's not unlike grieving for a death; the death of your child's "normal" life and "normal" expectations for the future.

With the help of God I have learned to accept it and make peace with our situation. I choose to focus my energy on his education and therapies, and to just love him as hard as I can!

Discovering the magic of WDW and sharing the fellowship of so many other WDW fans on these boards has been very therapeutic for me!

Kathy

 

[debster812]

Linnie: for your feedback; I really appreciate it! This report is probably a snoozer for most DISers, but I'm writing it mostly for the parents of kids like Billy and Trey...especially if they haven't been to WDW because they are afraid that their child will not do well there.

Kathy--NOT True at all. This TR can be a WONDERFUL introduction to folks with nuero-typical kids, or child-free folks who just have no experience with kiddos on the Autism Spectrum. Your explanations are WONDERFUL. My favorite cousin has a little boy who is 8YO, non-verbal, and autistic. He is the light and apple of our family, and we are actually collecting money within the family to send them to WDW. They simply cannot afford it all, and we think it would do wonders for him. I'm printing out your trip report to share with other members of our family to help with the 'shake-down'

 

[jcc0621]

This is an awesome TR.

My nephew is autistic so I know where you are coming from with the Magic of Disney and the litle breakthroughs. My nephew is now 20 (going to be 21 in November). He will be graduating in June (Has been doing landscaping at his school for this past year). He also lives in NJ, South Jersey.

My SIL & Brother has issues with his schooling. The home district didn't offer the services he needed but didn't want to pay for him to go to another sitrict until SIL sat in the superintendent's office and said "you will either give me what I want or I will go to Channel news" Amazingly they changed their minds

Can't wait to read the rest of the TR.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I've really enjoyed your trip report Karen! I can't wait until the next one. I bet you are excited about your couples trip. Have fun!

My eldest is in the middle of testing. We have always thought aspergers, and that is what the doctors are thinking also.

Life is full of challenges. That is what makes it so special!

 

[blue_river]

I obviously wasn’t watching closely enough, though, b/c he took the bottle of soap and poured half of it into the tub for even more bubbles! All you could see was his little head sticking out of a sea of foam! He had himself a good old time!

It's a good thing it didn't start flowing over the tub! I've seen that happen.

I had warned Aunt Rae in advance about the special effects, but a rather large, muscular man sitting next to Ed was apparently not prepared because he yelped and jumped about a foot in the air when the “mice” ran over his feet!

That was just freaky, especially if it is your first time!

Apparently a lot of mosquitoes were planning to attend the HDDR as well, because the ferry was filled with them!

I read about the mosquitoes being bad in certain areas, like at Fantasmic but there were none around when we went in August.

I handed the camera to Ed and he said we got some good shots. Yessiree, some really good shots: the best one caught the rear ends of not one, but two elephants!

Finished page 8 and look forward to reading page 9 tomorrow with my morning tea

 

[wvdislover]

If only I could get an annual trip to WDW as part of Billy's IEP (Individualized Education Plan)!!

I have an IEP meeting for Sarah today. Think I could convince them to add it in? It sure would make it easier to take her out of school for our Sept. trip!

 

[KathyRN137]

debster812: I can't think of a better gift!

jcc0621: So glad your nephew got what he needed. Go Mom!

Halloweenqueen: Sending you for your son!

wvdislover: Well, you can always try!

blue: Wow! you really are reading!

Thanks everyone,

Kathy

 

[MomToAp1699]

If only I could get an annual trip to WDW as part of Billy's IEP (Individualized Education Plan)!!

I have an IEP meeting for Sarah today. Think I could convince them to add it in? It sure would make it easier to take her out of school for our Sept. trip!

Request mental health days to be used at your discretion .. Then use Disney as your mental health days

 

[blue_river]

blue: Wow! you really are reading!

You say that like I'm pre-schooler, learning how to read
Yes, I CAN read. I CAN read!!! See spot run.... I'm hooked on phonics now

“Hey Goofy, stay away from my wife!” Ed laughed. (The food must have revived him.) Goofy responded by pointing to himself, and then to me, as it to say, “She’s mine, now!” He grabbed me and led me away to the next room. Ed played along and followed us! He took out his wallet and showed Goofy his badge. Goofy put both his hands in the air, surrendered, and “gave” me back! He even put both hands up against the wall in case Ed wanted to search him! It was a lot of fun and AR and the kids got a real kick out of seeing “the parents” playing with Goofy!

I loved this part!!!!

There was no way that I could climb up after him. I considered it for a fleeting moment, but the image of me getting wedged in one of those narrow tubes and then having to be extricated by a team of CMs gave me pause to reconsider. If only Eddie was here!

You're a hoot

“How do I look so far, Daddy?” she beamed, eyelashes fluttering as her FGIT applied a pastel eyeshadow. He paused a moment to look at his daughter, smiled, and said, “You look beautiful”. Then he rolled his eyes at me, as if to say, “I can’t believe she’s growing up so fast” Poor Daddy! He couldn't take it! He led Billy out into the store while we finished in the Boutique.

That is so sweet.

I wish my DD's were a bit younger so I could have taken them to get their hair done.

Once more, we found ourselves arriving at the park just minutes after opening. One of these years, I vow, we WILL be one of those families that arrives bright and early to be the first ones at rope drop!

We never made it either and I doubt we ever will

The first thing the kids wanted to do was Goofy's Barnstormer. I hinted that they were perhaps getting too big for this kiddie coaster, but they clamored to go on so I agreed to go with them. Meanwhile, Ed and Aunt Rae bought some fruit at the little farmer’s market and sat down to wait for us.

Whatchoo talkin bout??? My girls are 12 and 15 and loved this ride. They went on it 4 or 5 times

“Oh, you’re on the DisBoards!” I whirled around. Someone had FINALLY noticed the large LGMH tags that I had been wearing on my backpack for the entire week!

No one said anything about mine and now I'm rethinking the whole thing. Do I really want to be noticed on our next trip???? I can picture it now:

Fellow Diser: "Oh, you're on the DIS? What's your name?"
Me: "Blue"
Fellow Diser: (says to partner "Run - it's those crazy Canadians")

Aunt Rae declared that if she ate one more chicken Caesar salad, she was going to start clucking!

 

[wvdislover]

MomToAp1699: What an idea! Unfortunately, I don't think it would fly. Oh well, we can dream, can't we?

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

We used to always wear the DIS colors and nobody ever noticed. Finally, a couple of years ago, we ran into a DIS’er at DTD’s Adventurer’s Club. She knew my handle but I didn’t recognize hers.

We have the toughest time at Pecos Bill’s also!! Just with Trey. Like your son, there’s nothing on the menu he likes. DD is fine with a cheeseburger as well as Pooh and I but poor Trey is left out in the cold. He gets fries like Billy and never complains about it. He’s a trooper.

It’s so funny reading your reports and seeing all the similarities. We also have a procedure for getting food. Actually, we have a procedure for darn near EVERYTHING!! With the food our drill is for me to go get it, then wander around aimlessly looking for the brood (all the while juggling enough food for an army!!).

Trey had a piece of breaded fish at England in Epcot when a crazed sea gull swooped in and stole it right out of his hands and flew off. Part of the fish broke off and fell and the ground and Trey says: “oh no, Fish all gone”.

Trey also wants either Mom or Dad at any given moment. Most of the time though, he just wants mom.

Important Tip for Splash Mountain: Keep Mouth Closed when going down the big slide!!

My wife gets a little sad leaving ANY park on the last day. We just LOVE WDW.

Thanks for the report.

 

[MomToAp1699]

MomToAp1699: What an idea! Unfortunately, I don't think it would fly. Oh well, we can dream, can't we?

Ya never know, My sons teacher agreed that is was an invaluable emotional and social growth tool for my son and even wrote that on my absence request. Hey, Dreams do come true right?? After all we are talking about Disney... I can't wait to tell my son we are going. He spontaneously began singining " when you wish upon a star" in the car this morning on the way to school

 

[KathyRN137]

You say that like I'm pre-schooler, learning how to read
Yes, I CAN read. I CAN read!!! See spot run.... I'm hooked on phonics now

Come on, now! I didn't mean it like that!!

Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

MomToAp1699: Valerie, I'm on pins and needles waiting for your Big Reveal!

MDF: Buzz, we should coordinate our families' 2008 trips...Billy and Trey would go together like peas and carrots!

wvdislover: Hey, you could argue that WDW is like a giant lab for practicing language and social skills!!

Thank you all for reading...now on to the next installment...

Kathy

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

MDF: Buzz, we should coordinate our families' 2008 trips...Billy and Trey would go together like peas and carrots!

It really sounds like they would!

 

[KathyRN137]

Monday Evening: 11/13/06 Disney Studios

The inevitable End of trip Blues was beginning to creep over me as I folded our clean laundry and we began to pack our bags. From the day I had made our reservation nearly seven months ago, I had planned for, dreamed about, and talked about this vacation most every day…and now it was nearly over! Tomorrow we would be leaving, and although we had been blessed with a wonderful week, the realization that it was all coming to an end made looking forward to our last evening a bittersweet expectation.

We settled down for our nap, but this time I was the one who couldn’t sleep. I could not get my mind to turn off. Everyone else was snoozing, so after a while I just got up and went out onto the balcony with a cool drink. It was peaceful and quiet out there, so I just sat under the slowly circling fan, listening to the chirping of the birds and writing in my travel journal. The smell of fresh-cut grass wafted across the golf course and other than occasional golfers buzzing by in their carts, I was all alone with my thoughts.

After a while, I remembered that I needed to call Continental and make sure that we were seated together for our flight home. We didn’t want to find ourselves scattered around the entire plane as we had on the flight down! The gentleman from the airline assured me that all would be remedied, so I said a little prayer and hoped for the best!

After about 45 minutes, I heard the sound of the alarm going off in the bedroom and went in to rouse the boys. This afternoon we were not in our usual post-break rush to get out the door. I had not been able to procure an ADR for 50's Prime Time Cafe at the Studios any earlier than 6:40, and in a way I was glad. None of us felt like running around tonight. All I really wanted to do was have dinner and see the Spectacle of Lights display; perhaps even Fantasmic! at 8:00, if we could swing it.

Despite the fact that it was a Monday, I knew it would be a busy night at the Studios. Fantasmic had been closed last week for refurbishment and was now re-opened. It was also the opening night of the Spectacle of Lights, as well as EMH. Normally I would have avoided a busy evening at a park, but we really wanted to see SOL and this was our last night at WDW.

After a bit more packing, we were out the door and down the stairs to the bus stop. It was just going on 6:00 and my prediction about this evening’s crowd level appeared to have been accurate; we piled onto the DS bus along with lots of other EMH guests. (So glad we had our ADR!)

We arrived to find Disney’s version of Tinseltown sparkling with lights and garlands. Naturally, the garlands that hung across Hollywood Boulevard each contained a large, brightly lit star! And for the first time, we heard Christmas music playing in the park! My blues were swept away as we entered into the festive spirit of Christmas at WDW!


We checked in about 10 minutes early at 50's PTC and I made sure to tell the hostess that we were hoping for a corner table and a server who wanted to “play”. Then we were led to a waiting area near the bar that was themed to look like the “average” American living room of the fifties, complete with loud wallpaper, black and white TV, and lots of knickknacks. Even the Christmas tree was decorated with large old-fashioned bulbs, tons of heavy tinsel and kitschy ornaments (I think I recognized several from my parents’ collection!)

We busied ourselves with looking over the menu so we would be able to order as soon as possible. We were hungry for some of Mom’s home cookin’! Billy began taking off his socks and sneakers; he was ready to stretch out on the plastic-covered couch to watch some TV!

I was suddenly in the mood for something from the bar, so Ed agreed to share some of “Dad’s Electric Blue Lemonade” with me. It came with one of those flashing blue plastic ice cubes so it was fun to look at. And perhaps I’m just a lightweight when it comes to drinks, but it…was…strong! Woo-hoo!

We passed a bit of time looking at all the props and listening to Aunt Rae reminisce about what her home had looked like in the fifties. Our ADR time came and went. We were just considering going to the podium to ask how much longer our wait would be, when the hostess paged us and we left the cozy little living room and were shown to our Formica-topped kitchenette table. Once again, we were given exactly what we needed: a (relatively) quiet corner so Billy would not get too overstimulated.

Our waiter, Uncle Chris, soon came and I could see that this was going to be a good time! Of course, the first thing we did was to let him know that Billy was autistic. Chris took it is stride. We were all treated like little kids at this table!!

He handed us a basket containing our silverware wrapped in cloth napkins and instructed Tricia to set the table and for all of us to be sure to wash our hands before dinner! AR, who always carries antibacterial wet wipes in her purse, and who always wipes her hands with them before every meal, got into the mood and waved them at Uncle Chris, who then teased her for trying to earn brownie points!

He took our order, and reprimanded me for not saying “please”! “How come the autistic kid can remember to say ‘please’ and you can’t?” he demanded. Remorsefully, I repeated my order, this time using the magic word.

As with all the other TS restaurants, the chef came to our table to discuss AR’s dietary needs with her. She told Nelson that she wanted to order the meatloaf and he said that he could easily make her a special meatloaf using gluten-free breadcrumbs. AR still couldn’t get over how accommodating all the chefs at WDW were and how she had been able to stay on her diet while on vacation.

As we were waiting for our meal, the kids colored on their placemats with crayons. Tricia was soon engrossed in her artistic creation, but Billy soon lost interest. Then he spied one of his favorite toys sitting on the ledge of a pass-through in the wall. It was a View-Master! He kept himself busy holding it up to the light and clicking from slide to slide. “What’s on the reel?” I asked Ed. Billy was a good boy and shared the toy with his dad. Ed chuckled. “It’s the dessert menu!” he said. What a clever idea!

Uncle Chris came along with our appetizers and promptly scolded Ed for looking at desserts before he was finished with dinner! He began to take it away from Ed, when Billy protested loudly and said, “I want the toy, please!” Uncle Chris rewarded him for saying please by letting him keep the View-Master throughout dinner.

“And how old are you, princess?” he asked Tricia. “I’m ten!” she exclaimed. Chris cupped his hands alongside his mouth and loudly shouted out, “Attention, everyone! We have a ten year-old girl here who’s looking for a boyfriend!” Tricia covered her face as the surrounding tables erupted in laughter. "We've got one for you over here," a dad from a neighboring table teased, pointing to his son. Tricia turned a lovely shade of pink!


Each table was outfitted with its own little TV, and we watched vintage clips from “The Mickey Mouse Club”, “The Donna Reed Show”, “I Married Joan”, and others while we finished our soup. Just as the kids were getting antsy, their food came and they were soon munching happily away on fried chicken, which I had to convince them was the fifties’ version of chicken fingers. Tricia had a special kid’s drink with a red flashing ice cube and she took a special delight in clinking her cup with mine and “toasting” everyone and everything that she could think of!

AR had her “special” meatloaf (“delicious”), while Ed enjoyed the regular version. I think that I had the pot roast. I’m not sure. By this time, Uncle Chris had brought a second glass of Electric Lemonade just for me and I was too busy having a good time to take notes for my travel journal! Whatever I had, it was good!

I looked over at Ed’s plate and tried to suppress a smile. Oh, I knew that he was in for it! You see he has a funny habit of eating his dinner one food at a time. First, he eats the meat, then the starch, and last, the vegetable. He has always done this, whether at home or at a restaurant. So far, he had worked his way through everything except….the veggies! I winked at Tricia as Chris came over to “see if everyone was cleaning his plate.” This was going to be good.

“Young man, you’re not eating your vegetables”, he scolded. “I’m just going to have to help you!” With that, he took a forkful of Ed’s green beans and fed it to him. “Open wide!” He held the forkfull of beans in front of his mouth. "Here comes the airplane!"


At first, Ed protested, but then he eventually gave in and played along. Well, the kids almost fell out of their chairs, they were laughing so hard. I know the servers must get tired of doing this schtick every night, but trust me, seeing the children’s faces as their parents get treated like little kids is just priceless!

Once our plates were satisfactorily empty, Uncle Chris took our dessert order and we mapped out our plan for the rest of the evening. We had been sitting here enjoying our dinner for quite a while. It was well past 7:30 and no one felt like rushing through dessert and running across the park to get seats for the 8:00 Fantasmic, so we decided to let it go. We agreed that we would head directly over to the SOL so we could walk off some of our meal.

I realized this was definitely a good idea once I got a look at our desserts! Ed and I were faced with huge slices of warm apple pie a la mode, and AR determinedly set out to finish her bowl of ice cream. Billy ate one of his customary chocolate-chip cookies from home, while Tricia set out to tackle this chocolate brownie monstrosity whose name escapes me, but which I will simply refer to as Diabetes on a Dish(!)

After some more eating and laughing, we were finally finished and left the restaurant. We had been there for a very long time; nearly an hour and forty-five minutes had passed since we originally checked in. But thanks to our Uncle Chris, we had a rollicking good time as well as a wonderful meal! His enthusiasm and sense of humor really made it a fun experience for our family. If we eat here in the future, I will definitely make a request for him to be our server!


We rolled on over to the Streets of America and were amazed at the breathtaking display of Christmas lights dancing in time to “Carol of the Bells.” It was a bit chilly, now, so we donned our sweatshirts. Most of the guests must still have been over at Fantasmic!, because we were struck with how relatively uncrowded it was as we walked around craning our necks to see the millions of lights that were both around and above us.

“Snowflakes” fluttered down and both kids danced and whirled around, calling out in amazement, “It’s snowing! It’s snowing!” It was so realistic that more than once we had to tell them not to stick out their tongues to try to catch the flakes, which, I believe, are made of soap!

We took our time here and continued our leisurely walk down past the HISTK Movie Set and to the square in front of LMA Stunt show. A host of angels with flickering, moving wings floated above us as we strolled across to admire a beautiful crèche, the strains of “Joy to the World” ringing through the streets.


I silently blessed the Disney Company for their prominent display of the Holy Family, angels, shepherds, and wise men throughout the entire SOL. In recent years it seems that, at least in our part of the country, there has been a noticeable push toward the secularization of Christmas. Department store windows are decorated with plain white lights, and snowmen; there’s not a single Baby Jesus in sight. Our municipal buildings are hung with red, white, and blue, so as not to “offend” anyone. And in school our children sing only about Rudolph and Frosty in the “Holiday” program. It was such a wonderful feeling to know that, at least at WDW, Christmas was still Christmas, and you could openly celebrate the coming of the season with a sense of joy!


Fantasmic! must have let out, b/c the crowds were beginning to thicken noticeably as we completed our tour. Billy caught sight of the Muppet*Vision 3D theater and begged to see it again. We were all in the mood for another dose of Muppet humor, so we walked over to the theater (just for the halibut), stopping as we entered to look for the key under the mat!

After the show, we considered our options. We really didn’t feel like battling the crowds in the super-congested Sunset Boulevard area for another ride on R&RC, so we continued with our slow and easy pace and made a left on Commissary Lane and walked over to the Great Movie Ride. I knew Aunt Rae would enjoy this one. We spent some time looking at all the hand and footprints cast in cement outside of the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, then we entered the queue.

We wound our way quickly around some famous movie props in large glass display cases: a carousel horse from Mary Poppins, children’s costumes from Narnia, and something from Raiders of the Lost Ark (I think). We joined a group of other guests in the next room, a sort of “holding area” of the queue sectioned off, naturally, with red velvet ropes. A huge silver screen showed clips and trailers from the movies that were about to be featured in the attraction.

We boarded the tram and headed off for a tour of some of the wonderful films of yesteryear. We gazed upon life-sized audioanimatronic characters that sang, danced, and spoke with their “real” voices on the sets of famous movies. We saw Gene Kelly dance around a lamppost in Singin' in the Rain, watched as Rick and Ilsa said their heart wrenching goodbye in Casablanca, and sang along as Bert the chimney sweep cavorted with Mary Poppins. Our tram was hijacked in Gangster Alley and Billy covered his ears and scrunched his eyes shut when the really LOUD “shooting” started!

But, I think our favorite scene was the dazzlingly colorful Munchkinland from the Wizard of Oz! When the Wicked Witch of the West appeared in a cloud of fiery smoke, I could swear that I was really looking at the pea-green face of Margaret Hamilton! Oooh, I remember having bad dreams about that witch when I was a child! As the ride ended, we were treated to a stirring montage of scenes from dozens of classic movies. Everyone applauded as we exited the tram and found ourselves once more in Hollywood Plaza.

Unbelievably, it was now about a quarter to ten and we needed to get going so the kids could get to bed. We had to check out first thing in the morning and then we had a 9:15 ADR for breakfast at Boma.

We walked slowly under The Hat and down Hollywood Boulevard toward the main gate. Although the urge to shop for pins and other souvenirs was strong, I resisted the many inviting shops that lined the street and before I knew it, we were out the gate and at the bus stop. Soon we were headed back to our villa at OKW one last time.

Kathy

Next Chapter: Breakfast with the animals—Not! A sneek peek at Nemo, and we wave goodbye to WDW.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

The inevitable End of trip Blues was beginning to creep over me as I folded our clean laundry and we began to pack our bags. From the day I had made our reservation nearly seven months ago, I had planned for, dreamed about, and talked about this vacation most every day…and now it was nearly over! Tomorrow we would be leaving, and although we had been blessed with a wonderful week, the realization that it was all coming to an end made looking forward to our last evening a bittersweet expectation.

Yes, yes. I know EXACTLY what you're feeling. Great description also.

We settled down for our nap, but this time I was the one who couldn’t sleep. I could not get my mind to turn off. Everyone else was snoozing, so after a while I just got up and went out onto the balcony with a cool drink. It was peaceful and quiet out there, so I just sat under the slowly circling fan, listening to the chirping of the birds and writing in my travel journal. The smell of fresh-cut grass wafted across the golf course and other than occasional golfers buzzing by in their carts, I was all alone with my thoughts.

This is part of the vacation "experience" for me and I know exactly how you felt. I can't remember what floor you're on but we were on the second in our 2-bdr and I went out there every day while the troops played or watched TV. For some reason, our family doesn't nap. I wish they did.

Billy began taking off his socks and sneakers; he was ready to stretch out on the plastic-covered couch to watch some TV!

I can totally picture this!

I was suddenly in the mood for something from the bar, so Ed agreed to share some of “Dad’s Electric Blue Lemonade” with me.

I don't think I've ever shared a drink with my wife. We've shared a bottle of wine, but not a drink.


Question: Do they have boothes at the 50's PTC?

After some more eating and laughing, we were finally finished and left the restaurant. We had been there for a very long time; nearly an hour and forty-five minutes had passed since we originally checked in. But thanks to our Uncle Chris, we had a rollicking good time as well as a wonderful meal! His enthusiasm and sense of humor really made it a fun experience for our family. If we eat here in the future, I will definitely make a request for him to be our server!

This is why you dine with Disney. It it expensive? Yes. But the atmosphere makes it all worthwhile.

Unbelievably, it was now about a quarter to ten and we needed to get going so the kids could get to bed. We had to check out first thing in the morning and then we had a 9:15 ADR for breakfast at Boma.

We've never done b-fast at Boma but we dinner there and it was good.

Great Report!

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

Day Eight: Monday Morning. 11/13/06 Magic Kingdom

When the song was done, the kids returned to their places and we were all introduced to a “newfangled dance” called the Hokey-Pokey! Billy began jumping up and down excitedly. He knew the dance from school! The same cowboy from before came back and started doing the Hokey-Pokey with us. Billy was laughing and dancing and having such an obviously good time that he attracted the attention of one of the pretty cowgirls. She came over and, surprise! Billy reached out to her and said, “Let’s dance!” She was able to keep him engaged and focused throughout the entire dance!

Kathy, you made me almost cry! I wanted to go back and read it again, but I knew I'd lose it for sure. (Just ask Buzz, he knows how much I hate to cry-it takes a lot to even make me cry) But this was awesome-really struck a chord with me. If it had been my son, I definitely would've been bawling right there. We've never actually had anyone do something like that for Trey-most people realize he's different and back off. This just really touched my heart.

AR sounds like a kick!! Reading your TR gives me such a happy feeling-I love MK too and although I tell Buzz Epcot is my favorite park, I really think my favorite is MK. Reminds me of when I was a kid and just brings back memories of watching the Walt Disney Show on Sunday nights with my family.

I did all our laundry the night before we left so I wouldn't come home to a full laundry load too. One less thing to do!