Happy 2016!
I went to bed on New Year’s Eve at 9:30. I had company.
Powder knew I was going to make her move from her spot so I could get into bed. She was snubbing me.
On New Year’s Day I watched the Outback Bowl and saw my Tennessee Volunteers win in acrobatic fashion.
My gnomes and dog are watching the Outback Bowl #GOVOLS
A photo posted by @dvmheather on
Percival and Esmerelda were excited about the game too.
I’ve been holding off on starting several books in order to use them for 2016 reading challenges. Now I’m able to start these. (I had to explain to the husband a few days ago that I couldn’t finish any books because I had already finished my end of year graphics. Oh, the problems of a book blogger.)
Now, blog folks, I have a problem. In a few weeks I’m heading to Florida for a conference. The husband and Z are coming with me to visit family and to go to a few parks. Z is autistic and her obsession is Disney. For example, she spent dinner time with my parents on New Year’s watching her iPod touch for updates on wait times in lines in real time at Disney. That’s the level of obsessed we are talking. She decided a few months ago that she would like to go to Universal for the first time on this trip. We were proud that she was willing to try something new.
You know that I love me some Harry Potter at Universal. I agreed to go with them. I mentioned that maybe Z should watch at least the first Harry Potter movie before we go so she would have some understanding of what she was going to see at the park.
All Hell Broke Loose Last Night
She freaked. She started screaming that it was too scary and that it was a boy thing. She believes in very strict gender separations. If she labels something a boy thing (male vocalist on a song, boy in the preview for a movie, a boy she knows likes something, etc.), she will have nothing to do with it. Yes, I tried to explain about Ms. Granger.
I told her that if we went to Universal, a lot of time would be spent in Harry Potter world. If she honestly felt that she couldn’t handle it, then maybe she wasn’t ready for this park and we shouldn’t waste our money. If you’ve been there you know that the amazing Hogwarts ride immerses you in a Harry Potter movie and there is that fire breathing dragon on top of Gringots.
At this point, dear readers, the child started speaking blasphemy. She stood in my living room and yelled,
NO ONE CARES ABOUT STUPID HARRY POTTER!
I know! I couldn’t believe it either. I fully expected Voldemort to arise from the back of her head.
For the record, she is 12 but very immature for her age. If she is at a place that she finds scary she has a habit of approaching random strangers and yelling, “I’m not afraid of you” in their faces. I’m pretty confident in saying that if she is unable to make herself watch the first movie, then a trip to Universal is off the table. The husband is so sad though. He’s never been and was really looking forward to going. Me paying for tickets were part of his Christmas presents. (I haven’t bought them yet so we aren’t out any money yet.)
Any other ideas?
You know her and her limitations better than anyone else. You will not be able to relax and enjoy yourself if she is stressed and frightened. Stick to her comfort level and perhaps the future might hold a separate trip for you and your husband if you have a caregiver for your daughter that you trust. God bless you.
That’s tough! My cousins were 9 when we took them to Islands of Adventure and they didn’t enjoy it as much as I did. However the actual Universal park is more kid friendly that includes Shrek, Minions, Curious George etc. and has more shows, you can save money and just go to the one park. If you do go test out the kid friendly parts first to see how she reacts and then determine if she’s ready to try the ‘older’ parts. That’s what we did with the kids
Yikes, that’s really unfortunate. It’s been ages since we’ve been to the Florida theme parks, but as a kid I hated most rides & would always wait for my folks at the exit with my nose in a book. Do you think something like that would be possible? I’m not sure what Universal Studio policies are on unaccompanied minors, or whether you think she’d be mature enough to wait patiently while you enjoyed a Potter themed ride or shop.
TIme to send her off to Hogwarts, she’s well past eleven years old! (Joking… sort of). I think despite her phobias of ‘boy’ things, she still might enjoy a trip to Harry Potter World, which would then sneakily make her want to watch the movies (and/or read the books?). I never went to a theme park at her age, but that seems like something you should be able to enjoy without even knowing the fandom. Sure, she’ll miss out a bit, but she can be a genuine Muggle in a land full of HP enthusiasts. And I’m sure not *everyone* who visits Harry Potter world knows everything about Harry. Hapless Muggle siblings are likely dragged along for the ride.
~Litha Nelle
I’m more concerned about her getting violent because she doesn’t like it and gets scared. We did get her to watch the first movie today. She almost laughed once and that made her very angry because she was so determined to hate it.
Oh man, that IS tough! You aren’t going to like my answer…but I think maybe you should just table Harry Potter for this year. I understand that you and your husband want to go (you know, you could always take me…. just kidding!), but I don’t think that you two will enjoy it if Z has a hard time with it.
What is the timeline? You said your Florida trip is in a few weeks, but when would you have to buy tickets? If possible, I would buy yourself as much time as possible with this one and. hopefully, things will work out in a way that works for all of you.
Sorry about all this!
With her we never buy tickets in advance for anything because you don’t know if there is going to be a meltdown on the day of an event. I’m thinking it probably won’t happen.