Sunday, Day 7 Downtown Disney and return home

Today we ate our final breakfast in the Gingerbread House and packed up our things. We decided to do some shopping at Downtown Disney since our flight home didn’t leave until 8:15pm.
We went to the kitchen shop first so I could get a few things. I’d really been looking for this Mickey Mouse apron and they were my last shot at getting it. I ended up with the display apron, some kitchen towels and a really cute set of measuring cups.
We split up and I took the kids to Pin Traders to get Boo his first lanyard and some pins. I’d gotten him 2 pins when we come before. We weren’t sure exactly what we wanted this time so we wandered and looked for quite a while. We ended up with 2 pins each, a lanyard for Nikolas & me, and 2 of the surprise specialty pins for the 10 years of pin trading.
After the pins we went to the Christmas shop and I bought a wonderful Disney frame for the excellent picture of the kids with Santa.
After a bit more wandering we loaded up and headed to the airport to turn in the van and wait for our plane. We got there about 3 hours early so there was a lot of time to kill. We grabbed some Burger King and went to our gate to wait. Mikayla and I went to the bookstore so she could get a book to read and way too soon it was time to board the plane.
We had such a magical time! I was definitely NOT ready to head back. As a matter of fact, Mikayla and I are already planning our next trip. We’ve decided to make it in either November or early December (probably 2011) so we can do some of the Christmas stuff.

Saturday, Day 6 Magic Kingdom

This was our last day in the parks and I planned it as a special day for Nikolas. We took him on every ride and show he could get on and enjoy.

After another wonderful breakfast at the Gingerbread House we headed out to the Magic Kingdom. Mom & Dad went too so Mom could ride the Pirates of the Carribean and then to the Hall of Presidents. While they were doing that we took more pictures with Daisy and Pluto and in front of the Castle from the Crystal Palace. Then we headed to the Pirates for Nikolas. Captain Jack was doing a live show while we were getting ready for the ride. Mikayla got a bit of it on video while I got Nikolas in the mei tai. This way Nikolas was able to sit on my lap and really enjoy the ride.

Next we rode the Magic Carpets which was a lot of fun. When we got off we started looking for mom & dad but didn’t see them. We did see Jasmine & Aladin so we got some pictures and headed off to find my parents. We took them back to the villa and the kids took a short nap.



We went back late the afternoon, just me, Mikayla and Nikolas. It was a wonderful afternoon! We decided to take the ferry over this time. This visit will be all about the rides! We took Nikolas on everything we even thought he might enjoy-some things more than once!



We rode Pooh, Snow White twice, the Tea Cups, the Haunted Mansion, the Hall of Presidents (so I could feed him plus it is educational), Mickey’s Philhamagic, and Pirates again. We watched the fireworks and ran out of time to ride Pooh again. We took our time and strolled out of the park, stopping for several pictures in front of the castle and in the front of the park at the new Christmas scene. We finally left at 10:30.

Day 3 continues...

After Peter Pan we started toward Mickey’s Toon Town Fair. When we passed Ariel’s Grotto we notice that she was there and stopped for some really nice photos and a meet-n-greet. My son is such a flirt! He was laughing and grinning at nearly everything she said or did. It was really nice because this was a character Mikayla wanted to meet last time and we kept missing her so now we have the much longed for autographs!



We stopped for a photo in front of the sign and started the character meets. Today there was Tink, Fawn & Terrance and Belle, Aurora and Cinderella at the Hall of Fame tent. Nikolas liked Fawn but wasn’t too impressed with Tink (I think she was too intense for him though I don’t know why since his sister is just like that….maybe that was it?). He did seem to like Terrance and we got a pretty nice picture for the album.







We went in to see the princesses next. We had to wait for awhile (we actually were forgotten but it wasn’t a problem). While we waited we met a wonderful family with a service dog. Their dog is an assistance and seizure dog which is what we will be looking into in a few years. They said it was the best thing they’ve ever done and that we won’t be sorry when we get ours. Their dog is a border collie but we want a german shepherd. I know it’s unusual but we had one we were training for that and he passed away at 3yrs old. I just like the breed, size and intelligence of shepherds so that’s what we will have trained.

After asking how much longer the wait was (it was over 30 min by then) we were taken back and got to meet their Royal Highnesses. Once again he was flirting up a storm with the pretty princesses who were so focused on him. We got picture with Cinderella, Belle and Aurora. I love the one with Aurora because we have that exact same pose with her from 4 years ago. That was totally unplanned but really nice.







After his flirt session with the princesses we shopped for a few minutes then went next door to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Boo seemed to like Minnie but was really excited to meet Mickey again. This time he was dressed in regular clothes not sorcerer ones! Mickey and Minnie signed both autograph books then we left to ride the train. We hopped on the train and rode around to Frontierland so Mikayla and I could ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Mom and Dad took Nikolas wandering while we were gone. It was getting a later now (a bit after 6pm) and Mom was getting too tired so we started out of the park. She hadn’t ridden Pirates yet but since we were coming back on Saturday we didn’t worry about it. I did get them to stop for a picture in front of the castle while it was all lit up and just dark enough to get a really nice picture (after LOTS of tries).
Time to head back for dinner and a decent night’s sleep.

Day 3 It's All About The Magic Kingdom!

Ahhhh, the Magic Kingdom….my favorite place to relax and enjoy being a Disney nut. No one looks funny at the “grown-up” who is wearing the Mickey Mouse shirt, ears, etc. You can really be a kid there and it’s OK.
The kids and I woke all up in a good mood and ready to go. We got the grandparents and went to breakfast at GKTW. (We ate breakfast and dinner there every day to save and because it’s really good food.) I just knew this would be a very relaxing day for me and my family. OK, so dad is over all the Disney World trips (maybe we took 1 too many when I was a kid?) but he’s being a good sport since my kids are new to it all. We ate breakfast, packed up and were at the Magic Kingdom getting parked and to the monorail by 10:30. I decided against being there for rope drop at any park since DD is not a morning person and my parents really aren’t into all the parks anymore. Let’s keep it fun and relaxing. We also decided to use the monorail since wheelchairs & strollers on the ferry are just not a fun way to start the day.
We get there, go thru security and head for Tomorrow Land before we go to ToonTown. Of course I have to stop for some photopass pics in front of the castle.



It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm but not hot. Funny how 82 degrees in Florida feels so much cooler than 82 in Indiana. Today we will focus on rides that either Boo can’t ride since we have someone to watch him or ones that it takes another set of hands for him to ride and lots of character pictures. I was quite surprised at how much Nikolas enjoyed meeting all the different characters. He was really into being with each one of them and would get frustrated if we went too long without character interaction. That’s my little man…lovin’ Disney already!
Back to Tomorrow Land…we started on the TTA since Space Mountain was still being refurbished (that was a complete bummer since it’s my FAV!). After that we went over to the Carosel of Progress and Buzz Lightyear. Nikolas enjoyed all of them. He really likes about anything with movement which means he should like most of the park.
After that we decide to head to Pinocchio Haus for lunch. Let’s just say that wasn’t as smooth as I’d hoped and leave it. When lunch was finished and tempers had cooled we went over to Small World and rode. This is one of my mom’s favorites. I think it’s really cute but there was too much going on for Nikolas. He just sat quietly and listened to the music without even trying to look around. With his visual issues he just has a difficult time processing lots of things at once. He did seem to enjoy all the music though. Next we rode Peter Pan. He hadn’t seen that DVD yet but he really seemed to enjoy that ride. I think the “flying” over the town had a lot to do with it since the motions are intensified a bit because the underside of the ships are free.

Up next...the rest of day 3...

Here's the beginning of our trip report...

OK, this trip report is gonna be long so I'm going to break it down into tons of posts. They will be the same as on the DisBoards so you won't miss anything if you don't read both.

Well, here goes….

Day 1…Time to leave!
I had to be up at 3:00 am and the kids had to be ready by 4:00 to meet the limo. It was right on time and got here at 4:15. :)
I admit I was worried because another Wish family left the week before and the limo was an hour LATE!!! We did all our boarding passes and baggage payments online the night before so we had some “wiggle” room but I was still a bundle of nerves.
I don’t have any limo pictures since it was so dark still-sorry! Mikayla was excited to ride in the limo but Nikolas was unimpressed.
I thought for sure Nikolas would sleep but...not a wink. Getting to the airport and thru security went off without a hitch. We got loaded on the plane and I got the cutest picture of Nikolas waiting for us to take off…



That last one was taken by me as we were about half way thru take-off. He LOVED the feeling I guess. (btw..it’s about 7:15am & I’m soooo tired!)
The plane ride was uneventful except that the pastry & iced coffee Mikayla got from Starbucks made her a bit queasy on the plane so she sat with her head down for about half of the flight. I warned her about too much sugar…mom’s don’t know anything do we? Hehehe..
When we landed in Orlando we had no trouble getting to the GKTW greeter. He was a very sweet older gentleman whom I believe knows everything about that airport. We found the luggage and got our van in the blink of an eye.
Finally…we were off to Give Kids The World!!!!

We're back!

OK, this was an AWESOME trip! While I would NEVER wish illness on a child (or anyone for that matter), if your little one has a life-threatening diagnosis....please look into a trip to Give Kids The World. There are many Wish foundations that can send you there. They are completely set up for our kids....lovely villas with huge bathrooms that are completely accessible (I wanted to bring that bathroom home with me!).
They love the kids and it shows every second of every day. Most of the people there are volunteers and they spoil everyone in the family. They have activities every evening that completely include ALL the children no matter how differently-abled they are. Santa comes and will hold any child you bring to him. A beautiful little girl on a vent was a few people before us and he told her momma to "bring that little one here so I can hold her". It brought tears to my eyes! Many people are so afraid of our kids but not there. Mayor Clayton (a 6ft tall rabbit) dances with the kids and interacts fully with any who want to try.
I'm getting ready to start my trip report on the DisBoards. I'll also post it here for those who aren't on there. It's going to be in phases and I'm trying to go day-by-day with pictures. Our PhotoPass CD from Disney has been ordered so there will be pictures too! :)


I took mostly video but there are random pictures I'll add as I load them. Have fun and enjoy reliving our trip with us!


Our first photo is of Boo waiting for the plane to take off...


I think he's just a little excited....what do you think? hehehe!

It's almost time but...

Boo's Wish Trip to Disney is in about 1 1/2 weeks! Excitement is running crazy here but during our visit to my sister's house on Sunday (birthday stuff for her & her son) all the kids managed to get the FLU! Yep, all the kids have the flu and we've been put on Tamiflu. I must sing a few praises for that stuff. None of us (I'm on it too) have gotten seriously ill. We definitely feel crummy-body aches, cough, runny noses, some fevers-but catching it this early is good. I only felt horrible for about 36 hours, DS seems to be really tired and has a mild cough but seems to be OK, DD still feels bad (but probably not quite as bad as she wants everyone to think). Her cough is awful but she's pretty active and chipper until you remind her to "go back to bed and rest-you have the flu" then she's "suddenly" oh so ill again. :)
The volunteers are bringing our travel documents on Sunday. Oh, and our lockdowns for the van and Boo's special needs stroller got approved! YEA!!! We were scheduled to have the lockdowns installed on Friday but I think I'm going to move it to when we get back since I want all of us to rest as much as possible this week and next week is just not possible. I have no idea when the stroller will be here so we're planning to take the wheelchair instead. My new Mei Tai carrier pattern is MIA so I either have to draft my own or not use one. (I plan to draft my own if I can't find it in the next few days.) My sister-in-law just found out she's expecting (very happily surprised!) so I can make her one later when it shows up.
I think that covers all the important stuff for now. I'll post pictures of our trip when we get back. I've decided to get the PhotoPass CD so we'll have lots of pics and I get to be in them too. :)
Have a great week everyone!

3 weeks!!!

It's only 3 more weeks until we leave! Exitement is really picking up here. I've got so much to do and so little time to finish all of it. Nikolas doesn't really understand "we're going to Mickey Mouse's house" but we tell him every day and he just smiles.

I made reservations for November 3 at Play-n-Dine so he can see JoJo and Goliath. They are still his favorites. :)

I've kinda planned which parks will be on what day...at least tentatively. Our wish volunteers are supposed to come to bring our documents a week or 2 before we leave.

Nikolas' CICOA case manager called today and our lockdowns for the van and his new special needs stroller have been approved so if we're really lucky we can take the stroller and rent a regular minivan instead of a lift van. A lift van would be nice to try but it's a lot more expensive. I know we aren't paying for this but there's no reason to be greedy. I wish I knew how much spending money they're giving us and what other things they've planned. I hear Give Kids the World do all kinds of special things too but I'm not sure what'll be going on when we're there. I think the surprises will be wonderful but I have a hard time not being the one doing the planning. It's the OCD in me. :) I'll be back when I know more!!

New return flight..

Well I opted for the earliest leaving flight and the later return flight. Guess what...the airline moved the flight time. It was for 6:43 pm (who comes up with these times?) now it's for 8:30ish pm. 2 extra hours to explore GKTW. YEA!! Now I need to figure out what needs packed, get the suitcases from the in-laws (they HAVE to be aired out...chain smokers!) and figure out what clothes I need to replace for the kids. Gracie has outgrown the pants we bought at the beginnng of August already. I'm glad we decided to go to Plato's Closet instead of paying full price. We're going to go thru the clothes she has and go back in the next week or 2. Well chores are still waiting...why can't they do themselves? Have a great weekend!

Wish Trip Dates came today!!

We got the dates for the trip today! We're going from November 2 thru November 8. We will be staying at Give Kids the World resort. You've really gotta see that place...it's a theme park in itself. :)
I'll be sure to post pictures when we get back. There are so many things for me to plan (and pack). Make-A-Wish and Give Kids The World take care of almost everything but there are lots of things I'm learning about that will make this trip extra special.
If you're even thinking about Disney World or Disneyland then you need to go to the DISBoards and sign up. Be prepared to read, read, read! There is soooo much information but boy is it helpful and the people are so wonderful & friendly. Off to read some more...oh, and here is a link to our thread...
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2263732
Have a great evening!!