Thursday, March 29, 2018

Disneyland Tips & Tricks

Since we are nearing the end of our Disneyland Season Pass year, I thought I would share some tips with you. We generally travel as a large group, with multiple children who have special needs, so keep that in mind.  One thing I found to be helpful is to plan in advance. Think about the items you or your children use throughout any given day, then make a list. I am including the list I use for you to download if you'd like.

Going to an unfamiliar place is difficult enough, but when it's filled with crowds and new sights/sounds it can be overwhelming. If you are not familiar with Disneyland, I would recommend that you sit down with a map of the park prior to your arrival. We also had our younger children watch videos of Disneyland on Youtube so that it would not be completely unfamiliar. I created a social story for our son who has autism.  You can find that video here:


 


We recommend downloading the Disneyland app seen below onto your phone prior to your arrival also. It will give you park hours, showtimes, wait times for attractions at Disneyland and California Adventure, locations of characters/dining/shops/restrooms/guest services, as well as you can link your pass to get FASTPASS vouchers loaded directly on them.   




We are naturally early risers since our children wake up early every day. That is very beneficial when visiting Disneyland. Get to the park early and beat the crowds! We have found that visiting the park opposite of the one offering the "Early Morning Entrance" is a best bet also.  For the more popular rides, you will want to get your FASTPASS vouchers first thing to ensure that your ride time isn't at the end of the day. If you are traveling with a child who cannot ride and need to have 1 adult wait off the ride with them, you can ask for a rider switch which will allow the adult who was waiting off the ride to gain entrance through the FASTPASS entrance once the remainder of the party has exited the ride.



If you are traveling with a guest who has a disability, you can check in with guest services at City Hall or any green umbrella throughout the park to have a DAS (Disability Access Service) added to their pass. This will allow the disabled person and their party to obtain a return time for that attraction. This is helpful as you don't have to actually wait in the line while you are waiting. You can use the restroom, get a snack, or even enjoy another ride!

Feel free to comment with any questions and I will respond as soon as possible.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Kids Bowl Free





I am sharing a resource that our family found incredibly useful last summer. You can register your family at KidsBowlFree.com and your children will receive 2 FREE games of bowling everyday from April 17 through September 8, Monday thru Thursday 8am-8pm and Friday thru Sunday 8am-6pm. On their website, you can choose which bowling alley you'd like to use.

You can also add a family pass for $29.95 so that up to 4 additional adult guests may bowl during the entire season.  You will also need to rent bowling shoes if you do not own a pair.

I highly recommend this as our family loved it last year and definitely got a lot of use out of it. If you have participated in this event, please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.



Saturday, March 3, 2018

Major Update



I know I haven't posted in several years and there is a good reason. Our family has grown to abundance! The picture above was taken in November 2016 at the California State Capitol. Our family was being honored as Adoptive Family of the Year by our foster/adoptive agency, Koinonia Family Services. Wow, what an honor!

Our oldest son, DJ, is pictured on the far right with his girlfriend, Ashley. Our oldest daughter, Adriana, is pictured in the back with her husband, Richie. He's the tallest of the bunch! My mom and Michael are on the left, behind me. Daniel, my husband, is in the center, which is very fitting. Of course there's James, John, Amada, and Alex. AND... the youngest 2 in the stroller are Joey and Rissa. Their adoption was finalized in 2016.

Homeschool Helps: Equivalent Fractions FREEBIE

 I know it has been a while since I have posted. Life is crazy, as usual. We are back to homeschooling two of our children this year. Becaus...