A tour of the Disneyland Hotel

We recently returned from a 3 day stay at the Disneyland Hotel. This hotel is near and dear to us because we got married at the hotel in 1996. We had hoped to stay at the hotel a couple of years ago, but it was going through a big refurbishment, and we didn't want to deal with that, so we stayed at a hotel across the street. When it comes to Disneyland, there are plenty of hotels just across the street where you don't have to pay the high Disney prices. For this trip, we decided to pay the extra price to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. And it does have a big benefit that only on site Disney hotels get. You get early entry to both Disneyland and California Adventure. In fact, the only way to get early entry for California Adventure is if you are staying on site. That means to early access to Carsland! The last time we stayed at this hotel was when the kids were little, so we were eager to see what changes had been made.

We checked in before 8am and were able to drop the car off and check right in with no wait.

The hotel was all decked out with 60th Anniversary decor.

The check in area is in the Fantasy Tower.

We were on the 4th floor, just a couple rooms away from the elevator. 

And as luck would have it, they found a room in the building that was ready for us to check in. Just look at that view! Our wedding reception was held in that circular building to the left. 

The beds had the best headboard. There was a switch that made the castle light up, and you could hear music playing. It was awesome!

There were so many cool little touches that definitely made this a Disney hotel.

Mickey Mouse hands holding up the bathroom lights.

This view was perfect!

Mickey Mouse head in the tile.

The headboard all lit up and sparkly!

Mickey Mouse head in the bathtub.

Cool picture of Walt walking through the castle.

Minnie mouse strolling the hotel grounds. 

Mickey heads printed on the carpet.

We were given limited edition lanyards to carry our park tickets.

And because California is in the middle of a drought.

We enjoyed walking around the hotel. They have made so many changes since our last stay. 

Love these suitcases!

Counter service food. They had decent food options.

The Fantasy Tower behind us.

Our reception location was being set up for an event, so we could only take pictures from the outside. 

These were the doors where we made our grand entrance. It felt so weird to stand in that spot after 19 years. So many good memories from that night!

We made sure to visit the site of our wedding on the hotel grounds. This is the Rose Garden Wedding Gazebo.

It looked like they were setting up for a wedding.

Yeah, we recreated our "I do" moment.

The swimming pool area was pretty cool. They had slides disguised as monorails.

Disneyland Hotel really is a great place to stay! We're looking forward to visiting again!

What's the plan, man? Trip preparation Autism style.

It's been a very busy six weeks, so I haven't had an opportunity to blog. We recently went on a trip back to California and had an awesome time. I thought this would be a good time to talk about how we plan for any trip. Even though my kids are travel veterans, and we started flying with them when they were a year old, we still need to plan, plan, plan. Like most kids with Autism, they want to know the who, what, and where. When the kids were younger, I used to create social stories that explained the daily itinerary. I always included pictures of the airport, hotel, and places we would see. Knowing what to expect really helps them.

Now that the kids are older, we don't need the social story on paper, but you better believe they need to know the details. It keeps anxiety down if they know the plan. As soon as airfare is booked, we discuss what we will be doing. And we continue to discuss right through the very end of the trip. Speaking of airfare, we always try to book non-stop flights. I think in all our flights, we have only had to switch planes one time, and that was pretty stressful. So, we avoid direct flights and change of plane flights at all costs.

So we have a plan. Now we need to get on the plane. We usually do pre-boarding. This allows the kids to take their time, without feeling rushed or stressed by having a long line of passengers trying to push their way on. But before we board, let's talk about food.

We always come prepared with emergency snacks. Because traveling Autism style means being prepared.  This is the key to traveling. We need to have our snacks in order. Sure they serve snacks on the plane. But what if you are on a five hour flight and they don't serve a meal (been there, done that.)? What if there is a flight delay? What if the food options in the terminal are not something that appeals to your child? These have all happened to us, but because we pack snacks, there is always something for the kids to nibble on. This is why it's so important to prepare for these things. We always pack more snacks than we will need, just in case. And those surplus snacks have been a Godsend more than once!

The kids are more independent now, so packing their snacks in their Bento boxes works out great. We have plastic Bento boxes that are perfect for travel. They don't take up too much space in their backpacks, and are pretty light weight. I pack an assortment of crackers, pretzels, and cookies. Sometimes we pack fruit, but to be honest, they tend not to travel well when thrown in a backpack. So dried snacks are easier.

Bento Boxes are perfect for flights!

Along with their Bento boxes, I always pack plastic cups with lids and straws. When the flight attendants pass around drinks, I just pour their drink right in to their cups. No spilled drinks for my kids!

We have a system when crossing through TSA checkpoints. I assist Noah and Nik, while Alex puts the bags on the conveyor belt for screening. I cross the metal detector first, followed by Noah, Nik, and Alex in the rear. Having an adult in front helps to make sure that a child doesn't wander off once they pass through the metal detector. And if one of the kids is selected for a pat down, I can explain to the TSA agent that they have Autism and may need simple commands. The last couple of trips, Alex and Nik have grabbed the bags after they are screened. Nik is a great helper! And this was the first trip that Noah handled his own bag. Way to go, Noah! Colorful bags make them easy to spot if you have to check them.

This trip, we carried our bags on the plane. I am loving our E Bags 21" Mini Mother Lode.
http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-tls-mini-21-wheeled-duffel/125538?productid=1325216
 They meet International flight carry on size, but can expand, and has lots of organizational compartments.

The top compartment has pockets to store shoes or other items. And the bottom compartment has a removable shelf. Man, am I loving these bags! 

We always have Nik on a window seat, Noah in the middle, and me in the aisle, and Alex right across from me. Each kid has a backpack containing their Bento Box, cup and lid, laptop or Ipad, and headphones. Now that the kids are older, they can reach under the seat and grab what they want all on their own. 

And that's how you fly Autism style. 

Don't give up. Don't ever give Up.

The great coach, Jim Valvano, once said in his final speech, "Don't give up. Don't every give up." He said this as he was battling cancer. So much of his speech hits close to home for me, a mom of special needs children.

This weekend marks the 7th anniversary where we took the leap of faith and moved away from everyone and everything that we knew and loved. The anniversary always makes me pause and reflect on the the events of the past 7 years. And I marvel at the progress that my boys have made. I believe in my heart that if we had stayed in our home state, my boys would not have made such progress. This is not a knock on the teachers and paras of California. They were wonderful. But there is only so much a teacher can accomplish with 1 para and 15 kids. Once we moved here, the kids had one on one attention in Elementary school. That would have never been possible back home.

So here we are 7 years later. The kids are thriving here! While they are doing very well, and have made great progress, I have had to come to terms with some of my dreams for the kids. I know that college is not in their future, at least not in the traditional sense. When we finally dropped that off our IEP future goals, I cried. Now I know that not every kid goes to college. But most kids have a choice to go. That choice was taken away from my kids. That hurts. And it's a hard pill to swallow. I'm not a quitter. I believe that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. So to accept the fact that my sons won't walk on stage to accept their Bachelors Degree, that really was a kick in the gut. But over time, I came to terms with it. So the goal is for them to get the best job that they can, and be completely independent. Finally accepting that the kids wouldn't go to a traditional university, is not quitting or giving up on my boys. It's simply acknowledging that their journey is different. Not less than, just different than other kids.

So this week came another one of those little bumps in the goals I have set for my kids. We are just facing the fact that Noah continues to struggle with tying his shoes. We have tried to teach him. The school has tried to teach him. While he has made some progress, he still hasn't mastered the task of tying shoes. So time to suck it up, and come to terms with the fact that my child has a different journey than other kids. Again, not less than, just different. Yes, I am a bit sad. Will my son ever learn to tie his shoes? I am sad that I don't have an answer. I am even more sad that the answer to that question could possibly be no. Because I hate to give up.

Now here is the awesome part of this story. Because with me, there is always a bright side to this story. Noah is blessed with an awesome educational team. His teacher passed along some information about a shoe lace that would help Noah to be more independent. That is the ultimate goal with everything related to my kids. Independence, baby! It's a wonderful word. So meet the little slice of Heaven that will help Noah to be more independent. It's called Lock Laces.

We put them on his shoes when he got home today. And you know what? He did it! Is this giving up on my child? I guess some people might say so. I don't see this as giving up. I see this as acknowledgment that Noah is a kid with different goals. Different, not less than. Don't you forget it!  Different is good. Because his goal is to be independent. And he is moving in that direction.  So no, I am not giving up. I will never give up.

If you have 11 minutes, and want to hear one of the most inspirational speeches, check out Jim Valvano's speech.

Beautifully Different

April is Autism Awareness month. Building awareness is a wonderful thing. Admittedly, it was not the reason why I started this blog. I started blogging just over 2 years ago, for the purpose of sharing our journey with family back home. Our families are a bit old school, and many don't participate in Facebook. A blog seemed like a good place to post pictures and share our experiences with the kids. I quickly realized that blogging was a place for me to put my hopes, fears, and joys about raising 2 sons with Autism. It became cathartic, at times, to finally admit that while it is almost always a joyful journey, there are those times when it can be a challenging journey. For me, this blog is all about working through those challenges, and finding the joy.

Like every family, there are challenging times. It's those tough and challenging times that makes the joyful times so much sweeter. Every milestone or hurdle that my kids have crossed, have allowed us to enjoy the here and now moments. When they were young, we didn't just hide them away. We got out into the community. And getting out there, showed us just how different our kids were from their peers.

Each outing we take with the kids, it's with the goal to stretch out their horizons a little further. We are aware that people can take their kids to Disney and spend  hours at the parks. But we were not that family. Our kids are different. We could spend 2 hours, then 3, then 4. Each trip, we saw improvement. Each new city trip involves new progress. We can do Broadway shows now. We can ride crowded subways in New York City. We can spend 8 hours at a Comic Con convention.

I am aware that my kids are different almost every day. I'm sitting in my scrapbook room right now, and can hear one kid repeating phrases from some movie. He was listing all of Steven Spielberg's movies not too long ago. My other son is acting out a scene from a movie. Or maybe he is making up his own movie. I wouldn't put it past him. There might be some hand flapping and jumping around on tip toes. And there are certainly sound effects involved in everything that they do. Because that's how we roll in this house. My kids are different. But they are beautifully different. I love the activity in this house. Oh I'm sure if you were sitting here, some of you might be scratching your head, or confused by certain behavior. But these little "quirks" are what make them beautifully different.

Being different is not a bad thing. Sure, it has it's challenges. We have taught the kids not to let some of their "quirks" out in public. I hesitate to use the word quirk, because it sounds negative. But, there are certainly some negative effects to letting out some of their quirks in public.  We have a "try not to stim in public" policy. Stimming is repetitive behaviors, such as physical movements or sounds. And stimming in public will get you stared at. Or if you are stimming on the streets of crowded NYC, a scream from a local to "move!" Not being able to control stimming behavior, will impact your ability to be employable. And we are all about building skills to be employable.

I have come to embrace the differences. This is one crazy, fun, vibrant, creative house. And one long Trivial Pursuit game, where you never know what fact your kid is going to trip you up on. The differences in my kids, are what shape their totally awesome personalities. They are beautifully different because of their Autism. Harnessing their differences, and using their skills is what will make them employable in the future.   Don't fear being different. Embrace it!