We returned from Disney World on December 10th and it is currently December 31st. Apparently it took 3 weeks to fully recover from our "magical" experience. This will be long as we spent 8 days in Florida, so bear with me....I think it'll be worth it. My husband and I have been planning this trip in our heads for several years. We REALLY wanted to take our kids to Disney World, but just weren't sure how fun the experience would be for two kids with Autism. After our disastrous first experience at Elmo live, I swore that it would be years IF EVER before we attempted Disney. I couldn't imagine my two boys spending that much time being bombarded by sensory input in the form of Disney shows, fireworks and parades. I sadly told my husband that our children would probably never enjoy Disney World....we couldn't even make it through a movie or obviously an Elmo show. So....we spent the last 3 years taking our boys to special sensory showings at AMC once a month without fail. We voyaged out to local zoos, theme parks and eventually another Sesame Street Live show and Toy Story on ice. It was a slow and painful process....but we plugged away. Finally this summer we bought season tickets to World's of Fun (a local amusement park). I have no idea how many times we ended up going to the park, but by the fall I saw how much the work had paid off. Max ran to hug Snoopy excitedly and without any fear. Nick sat through a loud singing and dancing show AND actually enjoyed it! He sang and danced along and brought tears to my eyes. We went on ride after ride after ride and the boys were in love with the feeling of spinning and freedom on those rides. So...we took a deep breath, invited Grandpa and Grandma Hill and book an 8 day, 7 night "vacation" to Orlando, complete with plane tickets, hotel rooms on site and 5 day park hopper tickets. Did I mention that I am terrified to fly??? I had not been on a plane in over 8 years and was paralyzed at the thought.....but I figured if my kids could all these amazing things, then I could get on a darn plane for them! (With a healthy dose of Klonopin of course) So....vacation goes like this:
Day #1: We drag the kids out of bed at 5:30 in the morning and haul butt to the airport. Once at the airport, I drug myself into oblivion, we somehow make it through security without losing any children or luggage and we wait for our flight. I informed someone that we were flying with 2 children with Autism and we were granted special passes to board the plane first. THANK GOD. We were able to pick out the best seats for our kids and we sandwiched one of them between each of us and a Grandparent. I was worried the kids would be loud or start their verbal stimming or just generally be scared and upset and piss off the other passengers. Apparently I forgot that this was a flight to Orlando.....the MECCA for kids....our flight was packed with families. My kids were generally entertained by their carry on bags full of bribes and surprises and were no louder than any other kids. I dozed in and out of consciousness.....grateful for Grandma who braved the tiny bathroom with Nick. (He refused to go in it a 2nd time) :) We landed, navigated the airport and boarded a bus for our resort with little incident.....other than the fact that it was REALLY busy. Day #1 ended with some shopping time in Downtown Disney, including a store with an amazing selection of Mr. Potato Head goodies (much to Nick's pleasure). The shopping was a bit overwhelming for the boys, and we had a couple of minor meltdowns (which resulted in a purchase of the bribe of some CARS by grandma). In general, the boys did ok and were mostly unfazed. Unfortunately that ended when Nick saw the pool back at our hotel.....and had to be carried kicking and screaming to the room.
Day #2: We headed to Hollywood studios and once on site, we made a be-line to the Guest Relations area. I explained that I have two children with Autism and produce letters from the Developmental Pediatrician stating that they will have difficulty in crowded areas, long lines and excessive noise. The lovely man helping me didn't even glance at the letters....but wrote me out a special Guest Assistance Card or (GAC). This little gem would allow us to enter all rides either by the handicap entrance or in the "fast pass" line, thus bypassing the majority of the line on rides. They also put a "wheelchair" sticker on our stroller, which allowed us to use the stroller in place of a wheel chair in handicapped accessible areas....sooooo much easier to keep the boys contained that way!! Bless Disney for being so understanding of kids like mine.....I am truly grateful.
We headed right for the Toy Story ride (where we were able to bypass the majority of the 40 minute wait). The boys had SO much fun shooting at 3D targets (or at least Nick did....Max refused to wear the glasses or shoot the targets). The rest of the day was a blur of meeting characters (Mickey, Pooh, Daisy, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Chip 'n Dale, Buzz Lightyear and Woody) and going on rides. The boys were literally ecstatic to meet all the characters!! They grabbed their special autograph books (thanks Grandma) and ran to hug each character, pose for pictures and get autographs. It was an amazing gift for me to see my boys react with such joy! By 3:00 we found a spot to watch the parade and ate lunch while we were waiting. Once the parade started, both boys were fixated on the floats and the characters and OMG we even saw Mr. Potato Head in the parade!! The boys did awesome....I took pictures of the awe on their faces while we watched the parade go by.
Shortly after the parade ended, we headed to a stadium (literally) to watch a stunt show with cars. We bought popcorn, settled in and the show began....wow.....I guess I didn't expect those car engines to be SO loud. Nick got a shocked look on his face, covered his ears, commenced screaming and attempted to run out of the stadium. We tried to calm him down, which was just not going to happen.....he was in sensory overload. We earned some interesting looks from people nearby and Grandpa finally made a hasty exit with Nick. Cue the second time in two days that tears sprang to my eyes....it's hard to see a 6 year old become so panicked. On the other hand, Max LOVED the stunt show and cheered when Lightening McQueen made an entrance. That was worth staying for. :) After the show was over, we met up with Nick and Grandpa.....Nick began issuing direct and clear orders, "come on, let's go bus!" Poor kid....it was only 5:00 and we had a long night ahead of us.
We rode the tower of terror (Max was too small, but Nick rode!!) By 5:45 we worked our way to one side of the park to wait for the Osborne Family Christmas lights to come on and "dance" to music. What an amazing spectacle of lights this was!! The boys were ecstatic with literally wall to wall Christmas lights lining two blocks! Their eyes shined as we pointed out all of the colors and labeled all the decorations....a carousel, a Christmas tree, even a bicycle all outlined in Christmas lights. Like magic (or by a special snow machine), little snowflakes began falling which caused quite the reaction!! Sadly, we had to hurry away after a few minutes to try and make it to the Fantasmic showing at 6:30. We arrived just as the show began and were informed that it was "standing room only." As we hurried into the theater, Nick finally let out what he had been holding in for several hours. His frustrations erupted in loud, throaty, hysterical screams that told us this show was far too loud for him to handle. We decided to leave the show and oblige Nick by heading out of the park and getting on a bus. Unfortunately for him, Mommy and Daddy had what we believed to be an amazing surprise in store. When we scheduled this vacation (4 months prior) we also booked dinner at Chef Mickey's (at an astounding $60 a person) where we could dine on a buffet and visit with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto as they wandered about the restaurant. We just KNEW the boys would love it! Honestly, they did love the dinner....there was such excitement as they saw each character and got autographs. We took pictures and the looks on Max's face were priceless and full of joy. Nick managed to locate macaroni and cheese in the shape of Mickey heads and was ecstatic to be enjoying some special shaped macaroni (a current obsession). Grandpa decided to get in on the fun and signed both autograph books for the boys with "PaPa :)." Max was in hysterics when he saw this....he screamed and smacked Grandpa's hand and tried like hell to wipe the autograph off of the page. He was seriously upset....and I think it's because he knows that ONLY the characters are supposed to sign those books!!! We left the restaurant with full tummies and happy hearts only to realize that the fireworks were getting ready to begin just across the street at Magic Kingdom. We went out onto one of the hotel's balconies to watch the show. As the fireworks began in all their glory, Nick got that familiar panicked look on his face. He started screaming and bolted as fast as he could, running inside and down the hotel's hallway. Grandma chased after him and brought him back to the window where he could watch the fireworks from inside without being bothered by the noise. It wasn't long before Grandma began to hear the familiar gagging noises coming from Nick's throat. She grabbed him and they ran like hell to the bathroom! As she pushed open the door to the bathroom, Nick began retching and vomiting his $60 dinner all over the bathroom tile. She was just grateful that it wasn't on the carpet....and that he was able to finish vomiting in the toilet. The rest of our crew finished watching the fireworks display and made the long trek back to our hotel via Disney bus with Nick (who smelled terribly like barf) and myself (definitely in need of some wine), and Daddy (who was immediately sent to the liquor store), and Grandma and Grandpa who looked like they couldn't believe what they had gotten themselves into. We finally made it back to our hotel, gave the boys late baths and went to bed.....the next day was another FULL day at Magic Kingdom. I was terribly discouraged and very certain that this day was only the beginning of what would be a really, really tough week for all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment