Our trip to Disney was THE most amazing trip we have ever taken. I told a friend recently that finally, I get it. I get what all the hype and fuss is about. As cheesy as it sounds, it really is a magical place and dreams really do come true.

So here’s a quick summary of our trip to Disney…

We left on Memorial Day and had a pretty interesting time getting on the plane. It worked out that our 4 pm flight was delayed (due to weather) until 8 pm; otherwise we probably would have missed it. Long story short….it took two supervisors, an act of God and a “heavy” pat-down for my husband to get Gideon on the plane…but we made it! Thankfully no rubber gloves were necessary, if you know what I mean.

Because of the delay we arrived in Orlando well after midnight (they took the long route, around the storm). Gideon did GREAT on the plane ride. We got our rental car around 1:30 am and drove to the Marriott Vacation Club- Harbour Lakes. Needless to say, we didn’t make it into bed until 3 am. Gideon was out well before then and L was (surprisingly) all smiles.

The next day we thought it best to sleep in and chill at the resort. We were excited that Gideon slept an hour longer than usual…and then we remembered that Floridians are an hour ahead… so he really didn’t sleep in. Oh well. We spent all day at the pool, playing putt putt, napping and participating in resort activities.

On Wednesday we got up early, had breakfast and headed to Magic Kingdom. Shout out to Mrs. Hoppe for the cute shirts!

They were soooooo good to us at Disney. I didn’t realize that you could only do 3 fast passes at a time, so when we first got there L wanted to see Elsa and Anna…a 2 hour line. I couldn’t switch to get a fastpass for it, so I went up to the attendant working that FP line and, because of Gideon, he allowed us to go through. Pretty much Laynie got to see almost all the princesses she wanted to and we were even able to get a reservation for a Cinderella character dinner later that night!!!

Even Gideon got some photos with the princesses!

I loved that Gideon got to stay in his chair for rides like It’s a Small World. Laynie loved the 7 dwarfs rollercoaster. And Kevin and I really loved the cinnamon rolls.

Because Kevin held our napping Gideon inside Pinocchio’s restaurant, Laynie and I were able to do some other things. Later we watched the parade and flew on Aladdin’s magic carpets.

When Gideon took his afternoon nap, Laynie and I hit up splash mountain. It was the only ride we waited a long time for…. 50 minutes (but we learned that’s really not a long wait when you’re at Disney). Laynie and I met a very sweet couple and their daughter while we waited (they’re in the seat behind us).

Basically, Wednesday was awesome. We didn’t get home from our character dinner until after 11 pm. So the next day we rested at the hotel pool and did some shopping at Downtown Disney. I had a Sea Salt Caramel Banana smoothie from Ghirardelli. That alone made my day.

Friday we went to Hollywood Studios because L wanted to see Beauty and the Beast Live as well as the Frozen Sing Along (which by the way, turned out to be Kevin’s favorite part of the day…and I’m not joking. It was a comedy show for adults with the Frozen songs for the kids).  There we met a sweet boy named Jack. Jack has cerebral palsy and if they lived in Texas, I think Gideon and Jack would be good friends. Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of them together.  🙁

The remaining days we pretty much played at the resort.

And we did tour a chocolate factory and make our own chocolate bars. Gideon slept through the whole thing.

Saturday we did some last minute putt putt, got our family photo taken and went to a hibachi bar for dinner.

Sunday, at 3 am, our alarm went off and we said goodbye to our home away from home. Our 6 am flight took off with no delays and thanks to the notes made by the DFW Southwest Airlines, we got through Florida security without even having to take off our shoes.  It was a breeze of a process and although we were sad to leave, it’s always nice to be home.

I just want to take a second and say thanks again to both families who made this trip possible. Words could never adequately express how grateful we are…..not only did you guys give us a break from reality, but we got experience a trip that accommodates for children with special needs. That was huge. Thanks also to Susan and C&R medical for getting Gideon’s stroller expedited for our trip. I’m so glad we got to take him in a seating system that is designed to meet his needs.

I love how everything came together for our trip to Disney.. and it really was a dream come true.

My favorite Laynie-ism of the trip- “Mom, I’ve waited my whole life for this.”

The past two months have been very exciting for us as certain plans have come to fruition. After much paperwork and patience, Gideon got new equipment!

Back in April Gideon received a tomato sitter with a rolling base. All thanks to Mr. Kane’s 3rd grade class and DARS. Mr. Kane’s kiddos raised money for Gideon to get this special chair back in December. But before we purchased it, we found out that DARS was going to cover the sitter and base, but not the rolling base that we wanted. So we waited on DARS (their paperwork process can be lengthy, but we are grateful). Then last month, when we got the call that DARS had the chair, we purchased the base with wheels on our own-thanks to Mr. Kane’s class.

This sitter has been so wonderful for Gideon and our family. Now he can sit and play without having to hold himself in a sitting position. It is also great for mine and Kevin’s parents. It’s hard to carry Gideon across the house now that he’s getting so big. This allows us to roll him from room to room if we need to. He’s almost outgrown his high chair, but I’m not worried about that now, because his sitter works the same way. Overall, it just makes interacting with him easy.

Then a few days ago we got a call from our medical supply rep, Susan. She has been working her butt off (since October) to get Gideon an adaptive stroller. I’ll spare you the details, but just know that this process was (and probably always will be) grueling. So when she called us Wednesday, she was very excited to tell us that it had been delivered…just in time for our surprise family vacation next week!!  (She pulled some major strings!! Thank you Susan!!)

She brought it over late Wednesday and this is what it looks like.

You may not be able to tell from the photos, but this stroller is AWESOME!! First of all, notice how the seating system supports Gideon? That is huge! Another cool feature is that the chair turns so that Gideon can face forwards or backwards. It also tilts AND reclines!!!! This is a great feature for me because I can change his diaper while he’s in the stroller. That means a lot since he will only get bigger and outgrow the bathroom changing stations.

Laynie is excited because the push bars lower down so she is able to push him like the big sister that she is. The stroller also came with a tray that we can use for feedings or play. Did I mention it as a zero turn radius?!?!? Seriously, it is overall amazing. The only down side is that it is harder to take apart and put in my car…mostly because it’s heavy and my “trunk” is small….stupid jeep compass, what was I thinking??

All that said, we are so grateful for these new pieces of equipment. They have already made life so much easier for us and for Gideon. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been involved in making life more enjoyable for our son. There are so many who are involved in my little boy’s life- therapists, reps, doctors, as well as friends, family and complete strangers who just love our boy….thank you. Thank you for loving him and us well. Not every family has the community support that we do and I hope you all know that that is something we do not take for granted.

Blessings