UPDATED: Review of DAS at Walt Disney World

It's November 2015, and a few changes have been made to the DAS system.  As most people know, Disney World has been moving over to a system using Magic Bands.  At the time I wrote this in November 2013, there were still FastPass kiosks where paper FastPasses were handed out.  Now a large portion what you do in the parks (from tickets, to dining, to paying for merchandise, room keys, and FastPass+ admission) is done with Magic Bands.  (I'm not going to post a how to on Magic Bands at this time).  Now even the DAS is controlled via Magic Band.  I'll explain how this works. The old post is in black.  Outdated information has been crossed out in PURPLE, new information has been added in RED. 

We just made our most Knowing we were heading to Disney, I have to admit I was very nervous when I heard about changes being made to the Guest Assistance Card.  I understand why they felt compelled to make said changes (I'm sad that so many people ruined a great thing for my kids who don't get many breaks), but understanding why did little to relieve the anxiety I had for how this would affect my kids.

I confess I made more than a few phone calls to Disney to get as much information as possible about the new DAS system which replaced the old GAC on October 9, 2013. The cast members were courteous and as helpful as they could be though I couldn't get definitive answers about how they would handle my unusual situation with four children being on the spectrum and there being a total of eight of us . I was directed to pretty comprehensive information on their website.   I'm posting links, but in case you can't get to them I'll tell you how to navigate there.  Go to DisneyWorld.com.  In the right hand corner you'll see a HELP drop down menu.  While holding down your left mouse button, select the "Guests with Disabilities." This will bring up a new page.  On the disability page, select, "Guests with Cognitive Disabilities."  There are helpful suggestions there regarding stroller rentals, rider switch, and break areas.  There is a pdf guide you can download with information specific to each park.  There is also a link to a page dedicated to the Disability Access Service card. 

How it works:

You go to Guest Relations in any park and talk to a cast member.  Your whole party must be with you.  Based upon your needs, you will be issued a DAS on your Magic Band.  They will take a picture of the child who needs the DAS, They will then scan his/her band as the primary DAS party.  Each person in the party will then have his/her Magic Band scanned as well and attached to the DAS.  We had no issues with all eight of us being attached to one band.    

issue it for the number of people in your party and you will sign the back saying you understand the rules and will not abuse it.  It's good for up to 14 days depending on your tickets.  (Multi-day tickets are valid up to 14 days after the first day is used, so this makes sense). 

You can see our Photoshopped DAS to the right.  

20+ Things I’ve Learned from Our Trip to Disney (Including Tips for Families with Toddlers and Special Needs Kids)

I'm going to post my thoughts on the new DAS system at Walt Disney World in a separate post.  I wanted this post to focus on more general tips to pass on.

1)  Even though the 6 ½ year old may be physically capable of doing all the walking, it’s still a good idea to get a double stroller.  We initially got a single stroller for the baby, but we found the six year old didn’t keep up well when we were moving fast, and one time got confused at which direction we were headed, and was lost for a few minutes.   We did much better when we had a double stroller.  

2)  If your baby naps, using a Disney park stroller will make napping in the park very difficult.  You’ll have to put down some sort of padding or pillows to help your baby be comfortable.  We had our puppy backpack, which is stuffed and soft enough to work as a pillow.  We also used jackets and a lightweight and smaller than usual blanket to help cover the baby.  I would seriously consider getting a fully reclining stroller.  My husband didn’t want to deal with transporting it, so we made do with the Disney strollers and he carried Baby Girl.  There are no storage baskets, though and if the baby gets out while there are things on top or strapped to the back, the stroller will tip over.  

3)  The “Stroller as a Wheelchair” tag proved invaluable for our baby with sensory issues.   One of the perks of the Disney park strollers is they are low to the ground and very easy for the kids to get in and out independently.  It was clear to us that it became her haven from all the stimuli.  She would get excited seeing her stroller and would climb in it.  She would also get agitated being out of the stroller.  When she did that, we would use it as a wheelchair.  We did our best to get by without using the option, but it definitely was needed on many occasions.  We brought a little blanket to help her further shut out stimuli. 

4)  Always, always, always bring the noise cancelling headphones.  Baby Girl did okay with the noise of the fireworks at Magic Kingdom, but didn’t like the loudness of the Indiana Jones spectacular or Fantasmic.  We hadn’t planned on attending either of the Hollywood Studios events, but we did.  I wished dearly I had just left them in the diaper bag.  

5)  Park hopping may be nice, but too much can be a bad thing.  I began planning our trip more than 180 days in advance.  I was on the phone at 6 am 180 days out from our resort reservation to get our ADR's.  I managed to score a reservation at Be Our Guest, and a couple of other restaurants we have always wanted to try but could never get reservations for before.  Unfortunately the times and/or days didn't really work with my overall plan to spend the days in the park with the lowest predicted attendance.  The food was really good on this trip, but my hard-to-come-by dining reservations left us traveling from park to park in order to meet our reservations.  (And feeling rushed and a bit short-changed).  In a word, I didn't plan it very well this time. 

6)  FastPass+ is a must.  With FastPass+ you can prepick your fastpasses online before you leave home.  This means you choose your times and the order you want to ride the rides.  (And you can plan around reservations or other planned down times).  How cool is that?  Additionally, you can change your choices once you are there, though we didn't take advantage of that because I was under the impression you had to go to Guest Services each time.  I understand going to Guest Services to change things is the most reliable way to do it, but according to the survey Disney had me take you can do it via the My Disney Experience app.  Either way, I also recommend bringing a written copy of your choices.  See below. 

7)  The WiFi in the parks is good, but still unreliable.  I don't have a smart phone, but I do have an iPod touch.  I was the primary planner in our party and we never were able to successfully link my husband to my account.  It was a challenge at times to check our FastPass+ plans on my iPod because of the WiFi issues.  We had the most issues accessing it at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.  I recommend you still bring a written copy of your FastPass+ times and other reservations.

8)  Plan for slow times like swimming.  This is a must for families with small or ASD children.  (We have both).  The kids really looked forward to the downtime and using the water slide at our resort pool.  We also found out by accident that they offered marshmallow roasting and movies in one of the resort building courtyards every night.  These turned out to be a welcome and surprising diversion. 

9)  Like many families out there, I've been searching Pinterest for great ideas for packing and preparing for our Disney trip.  Two tips I used that I particularly loved:  1) Using little pant hangers on the clothes lines in the bathrooms helps your swimsuits get more air circulation and therefore dry faster.  I also brought clothes pins to keep them from sliding into one big heap on the clothes line.  2) Packing the little kids' clothes in ziplock type bags for each day was a huge time saver.  The socks, underwear (or diaper), hair accessories and everything were included in the bag.  All my husband had to do was know which bag to pull out and he could dress the baby in no time.  A spare baggie of clothes thrown in the diaper bag made sure we had a change of clothes for our baby as well.   

10)  Hanging pop-up hampers and mesh laundry bags are extremely handy.  I found pop-up hanging hampers at Wal-mart and they made a world of difference.  We didn't want to put a hamper on the floor (we're always a bit terrified of bugs) and using the hampers allowed the clothes to air out a bit before we put them into the designated "dirty" suitcase.  The mesh laundry bags kept the laundry contained in the "dirty suitcase" and made it easy to pull out and do laundry once we hit home.  I'm definitely going to be updating our packing lists to reflect these. 

11)  At the Halloween party you can focus on candy and characters or you can focus on rides.  It’s hard to do both.  And even though they do not show up on the character list, the seldom since Princes, like Flynn, Charming, and Phillip, show up with their Princesses on MNSSHP nights.  There is always a long line, so get to them early!

12)  Get the baby into Fantasyland as soon as possible.  We didn’t, and aside from meeting Princesses and riding the teacups, she missed it because the times we were there she was tired and ready for bed.  Don’t put it off.  It is by far my biggest regret of the trip.

13)  Wearing something as simple as an Autism hat can make a difference in how your child is treated.  Acroboy was having a hard time remembering his personal bubble (not bumping into others), making appropriate eye contact and not blurting out odd things.  Instead of withering glares like I have received in the past, I got a few sympathetic smiles.  Acroboy was even picked to speak with Crush at Turtle talk.  I’m not sure if it was because he was wearing his “I Rock Autistm” hat or the fact he sat himself down front and center of all the kids, but he was thrilled to have been picked.  

14)  Character dining reservations require a credit card to reserve it and need to be cancelled by 11pm the day before.  Fantasmic dining packages need to be cancelled two days before.  Don't try to cancel it any later than that--(even if you want to keep the dining reservation and cancel the Fantasmic part, it is an $10/per person cancellation fee). Do not forget to do this!  And if you have sketchy cell or WiFi service, you can always stop into Guest Relations to take care of it. 

15)  If you character dining and your baby girl doesn't have much hair, don't dress her in a Minnie Mouse dress if it is not clear from the waist up it is a dress.  We dressed Baby Girl in a little dress we found at Target, and when she was sitting half the princesses thought she was a boy.  (If you look at the link you can see the top is black and can be mistaken for a boy t-shirt).  I should have gone for the Snow White version.  

16)  Food allergies will be accommodated, but plan on extra time into your schedule.  It took us an hour and a half to eat at Be Our Guest.  The food was really great, the atmosphere was incredible and yes, the grey stuff was delicious. We got to our 8:50 reservation at 8:30 and were seated fairly quickly.  We didn't get out of there until after 10:00 and Baby Girl was a wreck.  My husband took her back home while I took those who were interested in the New Fantasyland around. 

17)  If you want to explore the New Fantasyland without a toddler who will melt down, going around at 10:00 at night will almost guarantee you'll walk onto everything.  We walked right up to Daisy, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, the Little Mermaid ride, etc.  We missed seeing Gaston, but we got fairly clear pictures of his tavern.  This was a particularly good thing for my spectrum kids. 

18)  If you pre-purchase the PhotoPass+, get your red photo card immediately.  You may have a voucher in your info book they send you--find it and turn it in immediately.  We ran into issues with not having the card the first couple of days and therefore losing a couple of pictures.

19)  If part of your group is going on a ride like the Rockin' Roller coaster it's easier to give them the red photo card than to get the photo number and have to go to a kiosk later.  

20)  Don't trust your iconic photos to just one PhotoPass photographer. We did at Hollywood Studios and didn't actually get a picture of the giant sorcerer's hat behind us.  We thought he took it, but it never showed up with our photos--even after looking for it at Guest Relations.  So my advice, take advantage of as many photograph opportunities as possible. 

21)  And speaking of photograph opportunities--take the extra five minutes in the morning to get the photo if you can.  Half the time we were too tired and rushing out the gates to one of those dining reservations I had made to take a photo.  I wish we had done the photos first thing.  It's my second biggest regret. 

22)  Let go of any expectations you'll be able to do it all.  Given the ages of my children and expense of Disney, we figured this will be our last trip to Walt Disney World as a whole family before the kids graduate, and leave for college and missions.  We'd love to take them every year, but it's just not possible.  I had grand plans going in to this vacation, but about a day in I realized I needed to let them go.  We just weren't going to be able to do everything we had dreamed of in the time we had.  If I attempted to make my family get it all in, I was just going to make everyone miserable.

As I mentioned, on most days after hitting their favorite attractions and a couple of new ones, the kids just wanted to go swimming--so we went.  We took a few evenings off and swam and discovered the marshmallow roasting and courtyard movies that our resort offered every night.  It was a welcome change of pace and added some special memories into the mix.  I do regret not taking Baby Girl to more of Fantasyland, but I also know she's too young to remember this trip.  My older kids will remember some unique memories and a happy vacation, and that's what I really wanted in the end. 

So let go and enjoy the ride.  Remember what is the most important thing, that your family spends quality time together making a lifetime of happy memories.  Don't let your regrets overshadow the good memories you make.  I think my favorite memory is sitting by the pool after a fairly full day at the parks, snuggling with my baby while I watched my family play together in the water.  It was a moment of peace and happiness that I think will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I wish you similar memories.

Reviewing the new DAS and Getting the Most Out of the DAS and FastPasses at Walt Disney World During a Slower Time of Year

It's November 2015, and a few changes have been made to the DAS system.  As most people know, Disney World has been moving over to a system using Magic Bands.  At the time I wrote this in November 2013, there were still FastPass kiosks where paper FastPasses were handed out.  Now a large portion what you do in the parks (from tickets, to dining, to paying for merchandise, room keys, and FastPass+ admission) is done with Magic Bands.  (I'm not going to post a how to on Magic Bands at this time).  Now even the DAS is controlled via Magic Band.  I'll explain how this works. The old post is in black.  Outdated information has been crossed out in PURPLE, new information has been added in RED. 

We just made our most Knowing we were heading to Disney, I have to admit I was very nervous when I heard about changes being made to the Guest Assistance Card.  I understand why they felt compelled to make said changes (I'm sad that so many people ruined a great thing for my kids who don't get many breaks), but understanding why did little to relieve the anxiety I had for how this would affect my kids.

I confess I made more than a few phone calls to Disney to get as much information as possible about the new DAS system which replaced the old GAC on October 9, 2013. The cast members were courteous and as helpful as they could be though I couldn't get definitive answers about how they would handle my unusual situation with four children being on the spectrum and there being a total of eight of us . I was directed to pretty comprehensive information on their website.   I'm posting links, but in case you can't get to them I'll tell you how to navigate there.  Go to DisneyWorld.com.  In the right hand corner you'll see a HELP drop down menu.  While holding down your left mouse button, select the "Guests with Disabilities." This will bring up a new page.  On the disability page, select, "Guests with Cognitive Disabilities."  There are helpful suggestions there regarding stroller rentals, rider switch, and break areas.  There is a pdf guide you can download with information specific to each park.  There is also a link to a page dedicated to the Disability Access Service card. 

How it works:

You go to Guest Relations in any park and talk to a cast member.  Your whole party must be with you.  Based upon your needs, you will be issued a DAS on your Magic Band.  They will take a picture of the child who needs the DAS, They will then scan his/her band as the primary DAS party.  Each person in the party will then have his/her Magic Band scanned as well and attached to the DAS.  We had no issues with all eight of us being attached to one band.    

issue it for the number of people in your party and you will sign the back saying you understand the rules and will not abuse it.  It's good for up to 14 days depending on your tickets.  (Multi-day tickets are valid up to 14 days after the first day is used, so this makes sense). 

You can see our Photoshopped DAS to the right.  

Autism Hat Tutorial

 

For a while now I've been contemplating making something that would possibly make my life a little easier.  I've had enough meltdowns on outings with my ASD kids to know I wanted to do something to indicate we are an Autism family.  I also wanted it to be an item I could keep in my car or diaper bag and pull out if we had an unplanned excursion.  (Those are the kind that prompt the most meltdowns).

There are great t-shirts out there, but those would be wearable once and then need to be washed.  I would also have to get it back into the bag/car after it was washed. (Which might be a challenge since I've forgotten to restock diapers for the baby from time to time).  I also wanted to have whatever I made available for daily use on our vacation to Disney World. 

I thought about creating vests out of lightweight material, and I may still do that, but another crafter on the fabric store suggested hats to me.  This made total sense to me since I have to have all the kids pack hats for the Florida sun anyway.  I checked out the store and they both painters caps and plain baseball caps.

I found this awesome puzzle piece flannel in the fabric store.  Multi-colored puzzle pieces are a symbol for Autism, so this was perfect for my needs.

I used my silhouette cameo with a fabric blade and iron-on interfacing.  Flannel is thicker, so I found the canvas setting worked well.  I used a downloaded Mickey head and turned it into a cut file using my silhouette software.  I cut three from the fabric. You can't really see two cut Mickeys with this photo, but they were there. 

To iron on the Mickey head, I needed to support the inside of the ball cap. I first used a wadded up pair of jeans I was repairing.  It didn't give enough support.  Then I used a folded towel which worked much better. 

I looked high and low to find the right scale letters for my hats.  I also bought a fabric paint pen.  The fabric paint pen didn't give me the look I wanted, and I was lucky enough to find what I needed at Hobby Lobby.  They are JOY brand Baby Monogram Letters and Numbers.  You can find them here. 

I laid out the letters first on the hat (which was a bit tricky), then figuring out where the T needed to be more or less centered, I started ironing down letters.  I found it easiest to keep working in one direction with the letters since the iron had heated up the fabric and made the glue on the letters start to warm up a little.  

By the way, the dark spot you see above the Mickey head in the picture below?  It was wet there where I had wiped away the fabric paint.  The fabric paint really didn't work as well, though I don't have a picture to prove it to you.

The finished blue cap. 

For the record, the painters cap really didn't have enough room to use any letters, so I left it plain.

The white baseball cap with a bit more embellishment.  

 

I was overall pleased with the end result.  I had the kids wear the caps to the Disney and instead of glares, I got smiles and patience.  Acroboy wore his cap and sat front and center at Turtle Talk With Crush and he was chosen to talk to Crush.  (Boy!  Was he excited!).  I'm not sure if it was because of the hat or where he had chosen to sit, but he was thrilled none-the-less.

I think the hats also were a blessing when he got himself lost for a few minutes.  He found a parent with kids (like we've trained the kids to do), and they were talking to a Cast Member when we located him.  The hat let the Cast Member and kind parent know we had some special needs going on. 

The hats of course got dirty, and we lost one of the letters I hadn't ironed down enough.  When we got home I washed them in a sweater bag (the mesh kind that sometimes they hold nylons and other things too).  I figured if any more letters came off in the wash, they would end up in the bag.

See the clean, but damaged hat?

I then ironed the letters back on to the hat, and they look as good as new!

Review of Vintage Mickey

As I was thinking of countdown activities to do with my kids, the idea came to me to have the family watch every Disney movie ever made.  then I realized 1) If you count sequels and all live action movies, it is a verrrrry long list, (more movies than watching one a day for a year).  2) Not all of the Disney movies have tie-ins in the parks.  That being the case, I decided to tweak the list to include original animated movies (no sequels) and all movies that inspired attractions found in the Disney parks.  This opened up Star Wars and Indiana Jones for viewing.  

So how to organize my list?  We own some of the movies Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, etc.  Some of them I know we will have to borrow from Netflix or the library.  If you are interested, I will be posting the list in a PDF format in the future so you can use it for potential countdown activities.

Walt Disney once said, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."  So, following Walt's advice, I decided to start with the mouse that started it all.  I looked online to see if I could lay my hands on Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse film.  It turns out it is part of a collection of short films with Mickey Mouse starting in 1929 called, Vintage Mickey. When I was looking for an image for this post, I found that Disney has now uploaded Steamboat Willie and other original shorts to YouTube. 

This review will include our ASD point of view.  

Steamboat Willie starts out with Mickey Mouse steering a steamboat and whistling--an image I think most Disney fans are familiar with.  The cartoon progresses and we find Mickey being chased off the wheel and yelled at by a "Pete"-like character.  Mickey is apparently the hired hand.  Minnie boards the boat and has her music she is carrying eaten by a goat.  Mickey cranks the goats tail and it begins to emit music from its mouth.  I think it was "Turkey in the Straw".   Mickey Mouse then proceeds to run around and manipulate or "play" other animals to create additional music.  

My kids were appalled by Mickey's behavior.  They couldn't believe Mickey was so rude he would pull off suckling baby pigs to pull on and play music with the mother's teats.  At one point Acroboy, who loves Mickey Mouse more than anyone I know, exclaimed, "I hate Mickey!"

The next short wasn't much better.  Mickey tries to get barnyard animals to help him build an airplane.  He finally succeeds by modifying a car in a cartoonish manner and pulling off the tail feathers of a frightened turkey to create the plane's tail.  Once he has a working airplane, he takes Minnie up in the air.  He tries to get a kiss from her and when that doesn't succeed, he does some aerial acrobatics that scare Minnie into his arms.  Then he kisses her and she slaps him. She is not really having any of it and manages to leave the situation by parachuting out of the plane and using her bloomers as a parachute.  

My kids were once again outraged by Mickey's cad-like behavior.  

This is a challenging collection of cartoons for kids on the Autism spectrum to watch.  My kids don't pick up on social cues and rules naturally, and I often have to let them know the rules for acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and now we watch a movie where a beloved character is breaking all the rules I've taught them.  (Don't touch other people's things, respect other's personal space, don't touch, hug, or kiss unless you've been given permission, etc).

I had to explain to them that the cartoons were at least eighty years old (and older) and it was a very different society than the one we live in today.  I had a history teacher who once taught us to not judge the past by today's social mores.  Now I find myself trying to pass that lesson on to my children.  

My husband and I could see other reflections of early twentieth century America through the pastoral setting of most of the cartoons.    We have seem to have completed the shift from the agrarian based society to an urban emphasis.  

Towards the end of the collection, Mickey Mouse begins to act more like the lovable character we all know.  The last cartoon was of a surprise birthday party Minnie threw for Mickey.  There was piano playing and dancing and it made my kids laugh.  Acroboy decided Mickey Mouse was okay after-all.  

******

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to wrap this review up.   Like I told my children you can't really judge the past based upon today's societal norms.  I personally am not a fan of slapstick (though I watched my fair share of "Tom and Jerry" in the past).  The humor in these cartoons is often outdated and slapstick.  (Mickey stealing kisses was funny in 1930, but would get him hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit in 2013).  I enjoyed watching "Vintage Mickey" for the educational value of seeing what was considered funny in the late twenties and thirties of the last century, as well as comparing and contrasting the leaps we have made technologically in the film industry since the first film.  (Brave is worlds apart from Steamboat Willie).

This film was more challenging for my children to watch.  My kids didn't really know how to handle a Mickey who did not abide by the rules of what we've taught them is acceptable behavior.  (Why should Mickey be allowed to invade the personal space of others or not respect their belongings?)  They are at an age where they appreciate slapstick more than I do, so they enjoyed some of it more than more than I did. 

All in all it was a mixed experience.  I can recommend this movie for its educational purposes, but if you watch it with your kids, be prepared to explain differences in humor from different eras.

13 Tips and/or Mistakes to Avoid When Taking Your Autism Spectrum Child(ren) to Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter

This post used to be titled, "Why I Won't Be Taking My Autism Spectrum Children Back to Universal Islands of Adventure"

I generally try to be pretty positive, and I realized my post and title were not at all positive.  So I'm rewriting this post in the hopes that my mistakes and errors will help someone else--especially if that someone else has a child(ren) on the Autism Spectrum--have a better time than we did. If you want the quick list, head to the bottom of the post. If you want to understand the story behind the post, keep reading. 


To be fair, I feel I should tell you I have spoken with a couple of other moms who had a completely opposite experience to the one that I had.  But like I said--if my experience can help others avoid the same problems, then at least something good can come from our experience.

*******

I am fortunate that my kids are high functioning on the spectrum.  I know others who are not as lucky. Even though the kids are high functioning, we still have challenges.  While they don't seem to notice if they infringe on other people's personal space, they become quite agitated when others stand close to them or inadvertently bump them.  They have a difficult time waiting for long periods of time.  We have a range of sensory issues from those who get overwhelmed by sound and light (or lack of light), and those who seek more stimulation.  We have phobias of spiders, bugs, dark, heights, storms, etc.  It makes for an interesting life--let alone vacation.

These same kids who can hyper focus on one subject LOVE Harry Potter. If you have an ASD child you know what I mean.  I know more about Minecraft, Pokemon, dinosaurs, wolves, owls, Mario, trains, planes, whales and dolphins than any one person should know about.  This is because ASD children will often find a subject that sparks their interest and will learn everything there is to possibly learn about that subject and then want to tell you everything they have learned. 

I didn't mind the Harry Potter obsession because I found the books equally as entertaining as my children did.  I took the children to a weekend long release party for the final book where a town transformed itself into Hogsmeade. There were giant chess games and a sorting hat for children, as well as throngs of people dressed up as Harry Potter characters.  My favorites were the girls I saw dressed up as house elves.  They were adorable.  And I still chuckle when I think how the bathrooms in the library were renamed, "The Rooms of Requirement". 

We loved the experience of the town transformed, and were thrilled when we heard Universal was creating Hogwarts and a wizarding village complete with shops like Zonko's and Ollivanders.

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You will recall with this post, that we used the Harry Potter theme to tell the kids we were going to Orlando.  We were really looking forward to it.

To prepare for our trip, I tried to do some research into the rides at Universal.  I wanted to know what height and health restrictions existed, as well as what rides my kids might find too scary.  (If you've read this post, you'll recall my kids freaked out at "It's Tough to be a Bug", and "Stitch's Great Escape".   I had a difficult time getting all the information I wanted from their website, so I decided to call.  The employee I spoke with on the phone was extremely helpful in me figure out in advance my kids would not do well with attractions like, "Twister", and "Spider-man" and even might find Harry Potter challenging.  He assured me they had Guest Assistance Cards (called Passes there). We also realized there would be a lot of rides Acroboy would miss out on because of height.

I relayed the information to my children and they decided it was worth the risk--they loved Harry Potter that much.

When we first arrived at U:IOA, we purchased our tickets and then found Guest Relations.  It was only then that we were told that Universal did not issue any GAP's when attendance was "low" and the "average" wait time (of the whole park) was about 20 minutes.  Not only that, the GAP is not good for a few of the rides--"Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" being one of them.  I'm sorry to say the employee at Guest Relations was pretty rude when we were requesting assistance. 

Disappointed, we moved on into the park.  We pretty much made a beeline for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Overall park attendance may have been low, but I'm pretty sure they were all in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  



See the crowds?

I knew from my research that would should have gone straight for "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey", but my kids had to take in everything at their own pace.  And sometimes no matter how much coaching you do before hand, this is not a battle you are going to win.  I did not want to start the day with meltdowns because I dragged them to the Forbidden Journey. (In retrospect they might have been smaller than the meltdowns that happened because we didn't make a beeline there).

Depending on which way you enter the Wizarding World, you will come across the "Dueling Dragons" coaster first.  My kids could not resist the pull of a roller coaster and rode it.  One of them came off the ride in tears because he was overwhelmed and the rest enjoyed it.  When I asked the overwhelmed child (Lawboy) about it later he said the coaster was, "Awesome!"  Hmmm.  Not how I remember it. Funny how time can change how we think about things.

The shops also pulled them in, and I have to admit the shops are very well done. 

We approached the castle and encountered an employee directing patrons to the line and checking heights of children. We saw him turn a family with a son who was too short away.  Knowing our youngest (Acroboy) was too short we asked where we should wait and were directed to the gift shop.   He never asked or offered the child swap option.  We had talked to probably half a dozen employees at this point and were never once told about the child switch option.  I don't know why it didn't occur to me to ask, but I didn't.  Now that I think about it, I think the entrance to the child swap is even in the gift shop, but I was ditsy from feeling so frazzled.  Navigating ASD kids through a new experience can be a challenge, but it can also be rewarding.  I was feeling challenged at this point.

In the past at other amusement parks ::coughdisneycough:: when we all approached a line together and someone didn't make the height cutoff, we were told then and there how we could switch off riding.  If anyone from Universal comes across this blog I ask that you train your employees to offer this option. (Please at least make it clear to frazzled moms like me where you go for child swap). 

The estimated wait time was 45 minutes.  This is twice the limit of what my kids can typically handle, but they trudged on.  One of the kids was already in tears (remember that roller coaster?), but wanted to go on Forbidden Journey so badly he tried to "suck it up".  An added problem was bags are not allowed on the ride, so my kids checked their fanny packs into a locker and did not have access to the DS's the whole time.  My husband and I kept texting throughout his wait.  It gotta say it was a train wreck.  Whirlwind kept bumping into others, trying to climb on things and caused general chaos.

I was so upset at the messages I was getting (and admitedly a little hormonal too), that I went to a second Guest Relations booth inside the park. I emotionally explained to them about my boys and their challenges--wanting to know what, if anything, could be done to help my boys.  Bruce was very sympathetic, and issued us a single GAP even though it was light attendance.  The GAP is not good for Forbidden Journey, though he tried to make a note for us to use it on it.

Eventually we all joined up again.  The kids were pretty tired and agitated. Only Whirlwind wanted to go anywhere near "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" again.  The rest of them wanted to just sit quietly and rest for a bit.  They assured me I wanted to go through the queue to see everything.  I gave the GAP to them in case they changed their minds and wanted to go anything.

I should have kept it.

I did enjoy looking at everything, but Whirlwind was having an even harder time waiting and having others in his proximity.  I tried to keep him distracted by asking him to point out things to me he had seen the first time around. It didn't help that the couple in line in front of us kept stopping the line so they could take pictures of them standing in front of significant props or rooms.  The rooms were definitely photo worthy, though I think I would have made a different choice in that situation.  Finally Whirlwind and I got to a point where we volunteered as solo riders and we passed them up. 

As Whirlwind and I were exiting the ride (over 45 minutes from the time we entered the line) I encountered the second really friendly and helpful employee of the day.  Elizabeth with curly hair asked how I enjoyed the ride. Poor girl did not know what had happened before this point in time.  I commented about the lack of child switching as an option.  She informed me that there IS child swapping--in fact they have an area devoted for parents and younger siblings to wait.  She apologized and told me if I brought back Acroboy, she would give him a certificate for him to come back and ride (a future express pass as it were) when he was the proper height to ride.   I did so, and she was gave us the certificate and wished us a good day. 



At this point everyone was pretty exhausted and hungry.  We entered the Three Broomsticks to eat.  It was a very popular place to dine.  We were hurried through the queue and sent to a kiosk to order our food.  We never once saw a children's menu amongst all the menu boards.  This is what was on the menu:
* Rotisserie-smoked chicken
* Chargrilled ribs
* Turkey legs
* Fish and chips
* Shepherd’s pie
* Cornish pasties
* Potato leek soup
* Split pea soup
* Ham soup

My children's sensory issues extend to food.  This was not an ASD kid friendly meal.   I now know there IS a children's menu which includes chicken fingers and mac & cheese.  Once again we were rushed and no help given to point out kids menus.

We ordered Butterbeers for everyone and some of the kids thought the foam was disgusting. Only after spooning it off did they drink it.  The rest of us loved it.

Lunch for my family of seven was over $100, and I hate to say not worth it.  There was a lot of wasted food because the kids didn't like what they had ordered.  I'm sure we would have done better ordering off of the kid menu since it is has chicken fingers and mac & cheese. 

We wanted to see Ollivanders, so I jumped in line while my husband took the kids around the shops some more.  Firstborn loves owls, so he adored the owlery.

When I was close to the entrance, I texted my husband and he brought the kids.  I had previously let the people behind us know I was going to be bringing my family into line, but that they were waiting elsewhere because of issues related to to Autism.  They were kind and gracious.

It was pretty amazing to go inside Ollivanders.  I was filming right away and to our delight, Whirlwind was chosen to pick a wand.  It was the single best part of the day by far.  Whirlwind had saved all of his money throughout the trip to Disney and held off on buying anything because he wanted a wand so badly.  Saving his money and delaying gratification was a major accomplishment for him. Major accomplishment.  Big.  Huge. Ginormous.  (Are ya starting to get the idea?)  :D This was a proud mama moment.

Whirlwind got to buy his wand, though we had to deal with a small meltdown from Princess Ballerina.  She did not have any money left for a wand and had not been chosen.  I tried to gently point out that at least she could say her brother had been chosen for the wand ceremony.  The other sweet children we entered with did not have that pleasure--to them some random boy got picked.  Additionally she had just spent her souvenir money the day before buying a Belle costume for her 18" doll from Target.

Funny thing is in all the time that has passed since the trip, I've only heard her lament the lack of wand twice.  I'm pretty sure that was a jealousy motivated meltdown.

We left the Wizarding World of Harry Potter finally and went to Jurassic Park.  The ride was wet and cold and the dinosaurs were too much for Acroboy.  We decided to blow off steam in the dinosaur play area next to the Pteranodon Flyers.  The kids saw Pteranodon Flyers and "had" to ride it.

It's too bad they have all of three working flyers.  (Really--I paid attention to who was getting on and off and how many flyers came in between).  It makes for a ridiculously long wait.  Seriously.  Three working flyers--two riders per flyer, you do the math.  By the way, the estimated wait time of 20 minutes was waaaaaay off.  (So, no, we didn't get to use the GAP here either). 

We let them run around for a long time in the dinosaur play land.  The sun was setting and we it was getting colder (for November at least).

At this point everyone's nerves were shot, they were overstimulated and ready to just leave.  We walked around counter-clockwise towards the entrance, but no one had a desire to ride or do anything else.  All the waiting and waiting and waiting and then hyper-stimulation in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter left us exhausted.  Even though we had finally gotten a GAP, no one wanted to ride anything else.

For a one-day visit to IOA and food it cost us nearly $800, and in my opinion it was not worth it.  I understand the more days you visit, the cheaper it becomes per day.  However, with unless you are REALLY into roller coasters, or getting wet,  this park doesn't have much to offer.

If you decide to go, I wish you better luck than we had.  My tips/advice:

1. IF you can afford it, staying at one of the official Universal hotels will get you early access into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and a less crowded meal at the Three Broomsticks. Personally even at the off-season when we went, we can't afford it, but more power to you if you can. 
2. Get to Islands of Adventure early and make a beeline for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  Do not get distracted by anything else.  Annnd good luck with that.  I couldn't pull it off, but I hope you can. 
3. If you can't get there early before the park opens, you might want to make the Wizarding World of Harry Potter your last stop. I understand now that things often slow down towards the end of the day.
4. They DO have child-swapping.  Don't let anyone at the ride gates tell you otherwise.  Ask away until you find it.
5. Bring your electronic gadgets to pass the time, BUT make sure they are small enough to sit in a secure pocket. This will ease the time spent in line. 
6. If park attendance seems to have picked up, check again for a GAP.  
7. There IS a children's menu in the Three Broomsticks.  Know your options before you go, ask to see it or split the meals.  
8. Split the Butterbeers until you know everyone likes it.  
9. The line for Ollivanders is long and often in the sun.  If you have proximity/waiting issues like we do, have one member of your party wait in line until you have about 15-20 people in front of you.  Call in your group at that point.  Explain early on to the people behind you what you are doing and why you are doing it.  Most people are understanding when they know you're working with disabilities. 
10. I think the fact I was filming Ollivanders from the second we stepped in the door and that Whirlwind was right in front of me AND the right age (tween) for "needing" a wand helped him get chosen. BONUS TIP:  Prepare everyone for the possibility that none of them may get picked.  If by chance one of them does, teach them to look at as a family victory.  "Isn't it great for all of us?"  That might be a challenge too, but it mostly worked with our family.   
11. Keep your kids distracted when you are near the Pteranodon Flyers so you don't have to ride them.  It will also be a challenge, but you'll thank me later.  (They are kind of noisy when they are overhead so be prepared to sing a Barney song or something).  
12. Buy your tickets before hand and/or look for deals.  I confess we bought ours at the gate even though I know better than that. 
13. Skip the park all together, make your own wands and watch the movies over again if you are not into roller coasters.  You'll save a boatload of money that way.  

Good luck!  I wish you a stress free and wonderful visit. 

Getaway with the Hubby

A few weeks ago I mentioned I might be able to go with my husband to a conference in Orlando.  We were able to work it out with someone to watch the children and we went away for a few days.  I was able to visit with a good friend and her family during the day when my husband was involved in his conference.  

My friend's husband works at Disney and so we made a visit there as well.  I finally got to see the Beauty and the Beast show and I loved it.  I also finally saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular as well and I can't wait to get my family back to see it.  I think the boys in particular will enjoy it.  

I didn't ride much while I was there since I'm pretty pregnant, but I did ride Snow White's adventure before it closes down for good, and I rode Peter Pan's Flight.

I admit to falling  asleep during Impressions de France.  I blame being pregnant.

It was some nice getaway time with DH (Dear Husband) which we haven't for eight years.  Far too long since we'd been able to go somewhere together sans children.  It was also good to visit with a good friend and visit WDW with the only child being the one in my belly.  

The kids were good for the sitter and her husband, and she gave us a new idea for handling our schedules after school.  

It was definitely a win all the way around. 

More Doctors, More Evals, and a Break

Looking at my month you can see it is very full of evaluations for Acroboy, and Doctors appointments for the kids and myself. We had the usual orthodontist visits, immunization visits for Acroboy, and a visit for Princess Ballerina to the dermatologist to look at the birthmark on her forehead. I also had my checkup for the baby and things still look good.

It turns out the birthmark on Princess Ballerina's forehead is a very light Port Wine stain. It will not fade anymore than it has.  We were told we could take her to a pediatric dermatologist and have it removed with a laser treatment if we wanted. We could also do it when she is older. DH and I talked about it, and we think if it becomes a self-esteem issue later on we'll do it, but for now we'll let things be.

I did find a way to bring up her birthmark to Princess Ballerina and speak with her about how she feels about it. She said, "If I didn't have my birthmark, I wouldn't look like me."

You rock girl, you rock.

Acroboy has had speech evaluations and a psychologist observe him at music time. She observed for about 15- 20 minutes. After spending several hours at our evaluations at our favorite autism medical center, and even with the speech therapist, let's just say I'm skeptical about how full a picture she got of Acroboy after just 20 minutes.

Our Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet is coming up, and it will be my last one for a while. Last month was our last Pinewood Derby until Acroboy turns eight and joins cub scouts.

Lastly, in a couple of weeks I get to join DH at a conference in Orlando. I have a good friend who lives in the area, and the plan is to hang out with her during the day while DH is in his meetings. It will be a last getaway before this baby gets here. I'm looking forward to it. We may even hit up Disney. Disney World without kids? I haven't done that in ages. If we go, I think I'll see all those shows my kids have no patience to sit through (like Beauty and the Beast).

My friend's grown daughter is coming with her husband (for one night) and their little girl to stay with my kids (the rest of the time).

I'm looking forward to a brief, but welcome break.

Mickey Mouse Shirts

Ready for it?  I'm going to post pictures of our Disney shirts. To protect the identity of my kids, I had a little fun in photoshop...

So how did we do them?  Easy peasy.
1) I downloaded a template of Mickey Mouse ears.
2) Next I traced that template on our shirts in pencil.
3) I sewed around the Mouse ears with dental floss.  I've read you should use waxed.  I used the teflon slippery kind.
4)  I pulled the dental floss tight to make a puckered "balloon".

Now this is where I diverged on the two techniques.  By the way, I skipped the soda ash step some tutorials recommend. 

Orange and black Halloween Mickey shirts. (concentric circle idea)
1) I put rubber bands around the puckered balloon to keep it separate.  I did mine right on the line of the floss--I've since read you should make sure it is below it to keep it pretty separate. 
2) Using the puckered balloon as the end, wrap rubber bands to section off the shirt..  By the end it should look something like a snake.
3) Use fabric dyes in any pattern you want until each section you want colored is colored.  For more coverage, make sure you get into the folds or grooves of the shirt.
4) Be careful not to let dyed sections touch each other--color will transfer.
5) Wrap in plastic and let it sit for a day or so.

Blue and red (swirl shirts)
1) Lay your shirt flat with the Mickey poking up in the center.
2) Take the Mickey and twist it clockwise gathering up the shirt as you go.
3) Once the shirt resembles something like a fat disk, carefully wrap rubber bands across it dividing the shirt like a pie.  Keep the Mickey head poking up. 
4)  Color the Mickey head with fabric dye--wrap with plastic wrap and secure with elastics.  Then use the fabric dyes in any order you want until on the pie until each section you want colored is colored.  5) For more coverage, make sure you get into the folds or grooves of the shirt.
6) Be careful not to let dyed sections touch each other--color will transfer.
7) Wrap in plastic and let it sit for a day or so.

Once the dyes have set for a day or two, unwrap each shirt and run under cold water until the water run-off is clear.  Dry the shirts and wash them again.

On the blue and red Mickey shirts, the stitched Mickey didn't show up well.  To rectify that I tried using bleach with a toothpick and a q-tip to trace the outline.  That didn't work too well, so I used a bleach pen to trace the out line and that worked much, much better.

Other tutorials with photos here and  for swirl pattern here.  Cutest video of both techniques here.