Lessons Learned in Disney

Well...we survived our Disney trip this past week. I must say, even though I do feel bad for getting the Guest Assistance Card it sure does make for an easier time. Yes, we don't look like there's anything physically wrong with us and yes we can get on the ride like everyone else....but after a few lines with wait times over 30 minutes...you'll see that maybe we're not like you. And then the meltdowns start and the tantrums and maybe even a few tears. With the GAC we just avoid the issues that set all that stuff off and everyone has a more pleasant day. That includes all our neurotypical fellow guests who don't have to witness us having said meltdown/tantrum...it really is a win, win situation for everyone! It also makes life easier when eating at the amazing Disney restaurants. My son is almost 13, well in the land of Disney, you are put on an adult ticket at age 10!!! This also means that if you're using the dining plan, they must order off an adult menu!! Now, my daughter (so close to the spectrum if she sneezes wrong she'll be on it), will eat and experiment with food. She enjoyed a lovely salmon, several nice salads, and some awesome chicken dishes and great desserts while we were there. My son, (PDD-NOS), thinks that chicken nuggets, nachos (meat/cheese/chips only), pizza, and hot dogs/hamburgers are their own food groups and the only ones he will eat from. With the GAC, he was allowed to order off the children's menu and not have it affect the dining plan. Now, the places still didn't always have something on the children's menu either that he wanted but he could usually get something closer to what he wanted. I think the two best meals I saw him eat while we were there was a plate of spaghetti and meatballs (all made just the way he likes it) at Mama Melroses's in Hollywood Studios and a hot dog of all things at The Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios. Otherwise he always at his fries and would pick at whatever he'd ordered and the boy just doesn't do dessert even though it's part of the plan. And thankfully we finally found bottled sweet tea in the cafeteria of our resort and brewed sweet tea he could fill up his resort mug with...he's definitely a Georgia boy when it comes to his beverage of choice. We also don't stay for fireworks...I love fireworks very much. My son can take or leave them, but he enjoys watching them from a distance. My daughter thinks they're pretty but hates the noise. Me, I love them and the noise, but I can't stand the huge crowd to leave the park after the show which means waiting foreverrrrr on a Disney bus to take us back to the resort. So, we leave before the show and get on a bus with plenty of room and weather permitting hit the pool where we can sometimes hear/see one of the shows depending on which resort we are at (Art of Animation this trip). We actually braved Magic Kingdom and one day of Hollywood Studios in ponchos thanks to Tropical Storm Andrea...and as freaked out by weather as I get...when a tornado warning was issued for Orange County (I had no idea where in Orange County I was to know if it was headed our way), we calmly ducked into Hall of Presidents for the show until it passed, kids were never aware of the tornado warning so everyone was cool. All in all it was a good trip, but I'm still tired two days later not because of the 20 something miles we walked (thanks pedometer app!), but of having all those people all around me all day for 5 days! Sensory overload for sure! We might take a year or two off from Disney, but they've got some stuff being built that's ready to open in 2014....so thinking summer of 2015 (omg...I'll have a 9th grader then!) will be a good time to revisit. And eventually I'd like to do a solo trip or a trip with just me and a couple of close friends...because I can't always eat where I want to and go where I want...and they just won't stand in line because they think they're too old and thus Mom is too old to stand in line and have her picture taken with Woody and Buzz (::: sadness :::). We've found Disney is one of my focus areas and if that escape from reality via movies, shows, or the parks makes life better for me, then so be it. My wallet may not always agree, especially now I've found pin collecting!!