FASD and Disney World

I realize the above title might end up being a bad combination but this mama is willing to give it a try!  A bit of  intense craziness at our home in addition to some post holiday blues and winter coming caused us to look a little closer at our 5 year dream of going to Disney.  I've been researching how to do it frugally for years and the house we planned to rent in November (one of the many times we've reserved a home and not been able to go) had an opening during the final weeks of this month so we decided to give it a try!  This time of year (as well as early November) is known for lower temps and lower crowds..both of which are really important to us.

So far, at the recommendation of friends, we've decided on a few things that might save our sanity!  Being flexible and taking it slowly for us means a 7 day Magic Your Way pass that will not allow us to doing any park hopping (because with 8 of us we don't "hop" all that easily anyway) but gives us just one park a day and allows us the leisure of returning to the house when we can't keep going.  We bought kid size noise cancelling headphones for the younger boys and their sensory needs.  We got neon yellow Tyvek bracelets that we can use to write emergency info on in case one of our littles gets separated from us.  Another mom suggested using the digital camera each morning to take pictures of the kids so we'll always remember what they had on and have a picture in case of separation.  We've researched which rides and shows are too intense for little kids and bought an inexpensive cell phone on ebay to give to our older gang in case we trust them to leave us for a different older kid show or ride.  We plan to drive to Orlando, taking 1 1/2 days and I used the post Christmas sales as a time to stock up on some under $1 items from Target and Walmart (who says gingerbread window clings for 30 cents might not just save the day after 12 hours in a van together!)

Another great find was Lightwedges (on sale at www.timberdoodle.com) which allows those who can read to do so at night without interfering with their Dad's driving!  We hope this and MP3 players loaded with favorite songs and for the older boys GA Henty free downloads will keep everyone a bit happier.

I'm also researching the Guest Assistance Pass and hoping to get a letter from our doctor to bring as proof that we might need to use a stroller in certain lines (for confinement!) as well as shows and I'm hoping also for a modification for my littles who cannot be in line for a long time with a lot of people.  Info can be found HERE 

I'll let you know how this all works out and new things I learn after the trip!  This is honestly something I've wanted to do for years and right now it's what God is using to give me a bit of a ray of sunshine during a difficult time of wading in the waters of special needs assistance that we are trying to find for Corey.  He has provided the money for us to do this at this time and we are thankful and looking forward to it!