kadancer

I feel guilty for not reporting sooner.  We were incredibly lucky to see this little darling the morning he was born.  He was visible on the Safari, along with a whole ton of cast members that were observing Mommy and Baby.  According to our driver, they had been with the mother for over 24 hours.  The driver was explaining that the baby had been born as we were rounding the bend and the little guy lifted his head up out of the water.  It was a breathtaking moment!!
Also, the tiger cubs are now out for viewing on the Maharajah Trail.  They weren't out much when we were there because the temperature was too cold.

Small World is my "I have arrived" moment.  I hope it stays put and that future generations regain the sense of wonder that doesn't require large drops and high speed.

Small World is my "I have arrived" moment.  I hope it stays put and that future generations regain the sense of wonder that doesn't require large drops and high speed.

Small World is my "I have arrived" moment.  I hope it stays put and that future generations regain the sense of wonder that doesn't require large drops and high speed.

Sounds like a lovely trip!  Now I am REALLY hoping to go to Geyser Point in February. 
I have wondered about a trip report without pictures. My computer skills are pre-historic and on top of that I often forget that I should photograph our fun.  Perhaps I will try my hand at this for our summer Fort trip. 
In the meantime, thanks for relieving the cold weather blues.  My DH and DS are turning around to come home as I type.  They left last night to run in one of the Disney races this weekend and had to give up in Roanoke, NC because the I95 was too dangerous.  Now they are beginning the slow trip home.  You have successfully lifted some of my sadness for my DS - this would have been his first race and he is disappointed.   Thank you for sharing!!!

What a gorgeous wedding!  

Hello and welcome:
We have been to the Fort in the fall a few times and we have not experienced a huge problem with mosquitoes.  Many others are there more frequently during that time period and will have better advise.  My son is on the severe end of the spectrum and also has skin issues - he has a rare form of psoriasis - which flares when his body undergoes any kind of abnormal physical stress (including mosquito bites).  We use sunscreen with a mosquito repellent and that seems to keep the pests away from him.  
We have seen deer, wild turkeys, armadillos, squirrels, lizards, and bunnies in the Fort.  One June we had a pair of woodpeckers nesting on our site - it was so amazing.
Hope that helps a bit.

I am planning a trip to assess the damage Irma did to the 3000 loop.  Beer lines are already scheduled for replacement, so mainly I will be focusing on the massage parlor.  I can't hook up the Outback, however, until I hit at least 650 likes.  So it's all up to you! 

I'd like to see more countries, too.  Brazil sounds good.  I'd like to see Russia, Hungary, Egypt, or India.  The World Showcase is the closest I will get to any of them.

I could not agree more.  The price doesn't not change the way I feel pulling through the Magic Kingdom entrance, hearing "Welcome Home" at the Fort gate, or getting 'it's a small world" stuck in my head.  I think we carry some of the magic with us always.....

We are looking forward to riding Journey Into Imagination on our upcoming trip and enjoying the jumping fountains.  I wish Disney would bring some of the "edutainment" back to EPCOT.  It was a great concept for fun learning.  I think we assume that today's kids are so caught up in the thrills that we forget to give them other options.

I think having the stand-by lines pass through the restrooms would be a nifty improvement....we could just meet our parties on the far side and everyone would be more comfortable.

Thanks for sharing the best time of day at the Fort.  I love taking my morning walk while it is quiet and peaceful.  I feel like I am on vacation just looking at the photos....

I love this EPCOT, too.  You could spend a whole day exploring the exhibits and never ride an attraction.  I remember taking my 7 year old niece to EPCOT on Thanksgiving and letting her call home to wish everyone a Happy Turkey Day!  She still talks about that call to this day!  One of my favorites was the stationary bikes in the Wonders of Life pavilion that you could ride and the screen made it seem like you were riding through the Magic Kingdom.  It makes me sad that these types of experiences have gone by the wayside because my DS would absolutely love them.

I think having the stand-by lines pass through the restrooms would be a nifty improvement....we could just meet our parties on the far side and everyone would be more comfortable.

Just wanted to praise my son who played a flawless rendition of the Cantina Band song from Star Wars yesterday in his piano recital.  

Just wanted to praise my son who played a flawless rendition of the Cantina Band song from Star Wars yesterday in his piano recital.  

We are among the few that actually still enjoy Ellen's Energy Adventure.  My son is a non-thrill seeker and is very disappointed that another of his favorites is being replaced by a roller coaster.  Our next trip to the Fort was not supposed to be until next summer, but we are jumping through financial and campsite availability hoops to get him to Florida for one last ride.

My youngest son is on the severe end of the autism spectrum and although he has received service since very young and is a student in a Kennedy Krieger school he is is still non-verbal.  As Autism Awareness month draws to a close I find myself reflecting on my relationship with Benjamin. He is at times a terror and at times an angel. He exhausts me and fills me with energy all in the same one hour period. I would so love to know what he is thinking. When he bangs his head he breaks my heart and when he giggles he melts it. He fills me with pain and agony, joy and hope, confusion and clarity. How can one small human being control a life so fully? And then I think - the answer is simple, in this one truly magnificent way he is just like any other child of any other parent. All of them bring us hurt and pleasure, joy and sadness, fear and hope and we are all LUCKY to share their lives with them. So, when you think of me and my Benjamin don't ever feel pity or sadness for me because my life with him and all of the mystery it involves is priceless.



 

 

My youngest son is on the severe end of the autism spectrum and although he has received service since very young and is a student in a Kennedy Krieger school he is is still non-verbal.  As Autism Awareness month draws to a close I find myself reflecting on my relationship with Benjamin. He is at times a terror and at times an angel. He exhausts me and fills me with energy all in the same one hour period. I would so love to know what he is thinking. When he bangs his head he breaks my heart and when he giggles he melts it. He fills me with pain and agony, joy and hope, confusion and clarity. How can one small human being control a life so fully? And then I think - the answer is simple, in this one truly magnificent way he is just like any other child of any other parent. All of them bring us hurt and pleasure, joy and sadness, fear and hope and we are all LUCKY to share their lives with them. So, when you think of me and my Benjamin don't ever feel pity or sadness for me because my life with him and all of the mystery it involves is priceless.



 

 

Okay, As the parent of an autistic child I am somewhat embarrassed by this lawsuit.  Do the changes to the GAC make it more difficult for my son to visit the parks, ABSOLUTELY, but to claim that Disney made these changes to exclude kids like my son is beyond ludicrous.  Yes, it is important that guests with disabilities have the same access to experiences that all guests have, but it is also the duty of every parent of a disabled to child to take responsibility for the needs of their own child.  We visited WDW at both Thanksgiving and Christmas with my son and found ways to get him on his favorite rides (using fastpass and by getting to the parks early) without the need for a lawsuit. 
 
Beyond this I can also honestly say the the folks at Disney have repeatedly gone out of their way to accommodate my sons needs.  Simple things, by seeing my son's distress at being too early for a fast pass+ time and adjusting the time in the system to let him go through, making sure that we have a campsite that gives him the privacy that he needs...well the list could go on and on.  NO OTHER place in the world goes out of the way to take care of my son like WDW.

Congratulations to everyone on their weight loss.  I am at the beginning of the same quest right now and am encouraged by all of your great stories. 

Feeling a bit like "Little Mary Sunshine" today, so I want to say instead of letting the slow transportatin be a probem try to make the best of the situation. We don't hurry when on vacation - that includes waiting for transportation. Part of the Disney trip is waiting so I try to look at it as a chance to hold conversations with my family and great "strangers" from all over the place. On our last trip during a long wait we met a lady that worked for the National Zoo who showed us video on her phone of the brand new baby panda just after birth. It was just amazing and wouldn't have happened if we weren't waiting for something. So, remember the magic can happen anywhere.

I had the honor of playing Malificent in the Sleeping Beauty ballet.  It was just about the most fun I have ever had onstage. 

Okay, As the parent of an autistic child I am somewhat embarrassed by this lawsuit.  Do the changes to the GAC make it more difficult for my son to visit the parks, ABSOLUTELY, but to claim that Disney made these changes to exclude kids like my son is beyond ludicrous.  Yes, it is important that guests with disabilities have the same access to experiences that all guests have, but it is also the duty of every parent of a disabled to child to take responsibility for the needs of their own child.  We visited WDW at both Thanksgiving and Christmas with my son and found ways to get him on his favorite rides (using fastpass and by getting to the parks early) without the need for a lawsuit. 
 
Beyond this I can also honestly say the the folks at Disney have repeatedly gone out of their way to accommodate my sons needs.  Simple things, by seeing my son's distress at being too early for a fast pass+ time and adjusting the time in the system to let him go through, making sure that we have a campsite that gives him the privacy that he needs...well the list could go on and on.  NO OTHER place in the world goes out of the way to take care of my son like WDW.