5 WEEKS IN FLORIDA! Autism, gymnastics and a little bit of everything! INDEX

[Dollymixture]

Hi! I'm Lucy, mum to four amazing kids and wife to Koolie. Our two boys and my hubby are autistic, which can certainly make holidays interesting sometimes! Our girls are elite gymnasts and will have to train during our holiday.

We are off to Florida for 5 weeks on the 17th of July 2018! This is our second trip to Florida and this time we are planning to do... Disney, Universal, The Keys, Discovery Cove, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Hot air balloon flight, Firearms Adventure, Clear Water Beach and Little Toot Dolphin boat ride, Everglades Alligator Farm and airboat ride and probably a whole lot more! I hope you enjoy reading out trip report.


Pre-Trip
PRE-TRAVEL DAY
TRAVEL DAY
DAY 1 - Florida Keys and the sunset in Key West
Day 2-From Key West to the Everglades
Day 3 - Alligators!
Day 4 - Medieval Times,mermaids and slime!
Day 5 - Islands of Adventure
Day 6 - Orlando gymnastics, haircuts and meltdowns!
Day 7 - Universal Studios
Day 8 - a disappointing time at Volcano Bay
Day 9 - Poorly husband
Day 10 - Amazing day at Discovery Cove and a visit from the Sheriff!
Day 11 - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
Day 12 - Meeting Uncle Dave
Day 13 - Sea World, Florida Mall and the $550 mistake!
Day 14 - Premium Outlets at Vineland
Day 15 - Volcano Bay and Voodoo Donuts!
Day 16 - Busch Gardens and Clearwater Beach
Day 17 - Little Toot Dolphin boat ride in Clearwater
Day 18 - jam packed last evening in Universal
Day 19 - special lifelong memories made with Thompson Aire hot air balloon flight
Day 20 - DISNEY! Typhoon Lagoon and Magic Kingdom, and a few happy tears!
Day 21 - Pandora and Animal Kingdom!
Day 22 - IHOP and Costo
Day 23- Magic Kingdom, meltdowns and Dippin' Dots
Day 24 - no trip report as i was poorly
Day 25 - EPCOT
Day 26 - Rocket launch and Animal Kingdom
Day 27 - Hollywood Studios
Day28 - Firearms Adventure and The Cheesecake Factory
Day 29 - The Kennedy Space Center and Cici's
Day 30 - Fab time at Wonderworks!

[Dollymixture]

First week added

[Rozie]

Love your reports keep writing xxx

[florida girl]

Enjoyed reading your first week. Look forward to more 😊😊

[Dollymixture]

Ahh thank you - I appreciate your comments I'm enjoying writing them, although it's not always easy to find the time!

[hilz22]

Really enjoying your trippy. Thank you for posting my oldest son deals with anxiety and youngest ds has autism and ADHD so your report is close to home for me.
Enjoy the rest of your trip and i can’t wait to read more

[Dollymixture]

Thanks! That’s partly why I wanted to write it - it does help when you know you’re not alone with having to cope with these issues! Have to say they are really good over here with special needs!i hope you have an amazing trip - not long left on your countdown!

Originally Posted by hilz22

Really enjoying your trippy. Thank you for posting my oldest son deals with anxiety and youngest ds has autism and ADHD so your report is close to home for me.
Enjoy the rest of your trip and i can’t wait to read more

See more...

[maznorm]

I am loving this trip report! I have 3 children. Eldest DS is high functioning but also suffers with anxiety, DD is autistic and not at all high functioning to the point where her special school can't provide her with what she needs. DS has possible ADHD and is otherwise a very hyper 4 year old. We have actually had to postpone our holiday to Florida for this year (we haven't been for 8 years) and changed it to next year as DD will not be able to cope with the upheaval with school and a big holiday in the same year. At the moment, we are still trying to find a school that meets her needs. In the meantime I am homeschooling her (unofficially). It also gives us a bit more preparation time. We are planning a few days at Disneyland Paris. We are flying so that DD can get used to the airport and the flight but it is obviously much shorter so if it's a nightmare, it will only be a short one haha! I am really enjoying your tips on how to handle things. Also, I am a cheerleading coach so the gymnastics stuff is really interesting to me as well. Hope you continue to enjoy the rest of your trip. I hope the rest of them don't catch the bug it seems you and your husband caught. Hope you feel better too.

[Kinggie]

Really enjoying reading your trip report. Have a fab rest of your holidays

[Dollymixture]

Hiya maznorm
Thanks for your lovely comments! Sounds like you have your hands full with trying to meet lots of different needs - certainly makes life interesting eh?! People are always amazed at how different Sonny and Elliott are - they really are polar opposites in many ways, but both have the same diagnosis!
All the best with finding your daughter a suitable school - it's so hard when they don't quite fit in anywhere. Elliott has been out of school for nearly 3 years at various different times for that reason!
A fab idea to try out Disneyland Paris and a shorter flight first. Our first trip to Disney was in Paris and it definitely helped the boys have a slightly less intense introduction to it! Flights are always such a worry, but they really are more aware and geared up to helping people with 'invisible' disabilities now, so make use of any help you can get. Boarding the plane first is a lifesaver for us! Does your daughter use a wheelchair? Again, another lifesaver - Elliott would not manage the parks without it, although he can walk (and run off! ) perfectly fine!

Originally Posted by maznorm

I am loving this trip report! I have 3 children. Eldest DS is high functioning but also suffers with anxiety, DD is autistic and not at all high functioning to the point where her special school can't provide her with what she needs. DS has possible ADHD and is otherwise a very hyper 4 year old. We have actually had to postpone our holiday to Florida for this year (we haven't been for 8 years) and changed it to next year as DD will not be able to cope with the upheaval with school and a big holiday in the same year. At the moment, we are still trying to find a school that meets her needs. In the meantime I am homeschooling her (unofficially). It also gives us a bit more preparation time. We are planning a few days at Disneyland Paris. We are flying so that DD can get used to the airport and the flight but it is obviously much shorter so if it's a nightmare, it will only be a short one haha! I am really enjoying your tips on how to handle things. Also, I am a cheerleading coach so the gymnastics stuff is really interesting to me as well. Hope you continue to enjoy the rest of your trip. I hope the rest of them don't catch the bug it seems you and your husband caught. Hope you feel better too.

See more...