dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Prologue
Most people go on holiday for some rest and relaxation. Those of you that have followed my trip reports before know that the two R words are not really part of my vocabulary. I am normally on the go from morning to night. However, this trip was severely challenging my comfort zone.
This already started before the holiday. I am a compulsive planner and have been known to plan and book holidays two years in advance. By those standards, 4 months ahead of time is a last minute trip. However, that was just the start. There was one element that I had set my heart on that stubbornly refused to fall into place and I just as stubbornly refused to acknowledge that it may not. As they say, failure was not an option. This element was a five night cruise on the re-imagined Disney Magic. I had been watching availability and prices since July and was watching the website like a hawk for discounts. Eventually everything fell into place and the cruise was booked 12 days before we were due to leave for Florida. Talk about a roller coaster ride.
Speaking of roller coasters, I am probably the biggest chicken alive when it comes to thrill rides. They literally scare the living daylights out of me. For me, as thrilling as it gets is Big Thunder Mountain or Matterhorn and the biggest drop on a water ride that I can tolerate is the drop on Pirates of the Caribbean. There have been a number of occasions where I had every intention to try a new ride and then backed out literally at the last minute. Thrill rides are definitely not my thing. Hence I don't really know what possessed me when I decided to ride the seven biggest, fastest and scariest rides at Walt Disney World all in one holiday. It all started with me looking at Photopass+ and the attractions that are included and thinking it would be a neat thing to do them all. I giggled at the thought and moved on to different things. However, an idea was born and was germinating. At some stage, the idea popped up again and I figured I was paying for those attraction photos so I may as well use this fact for something positive. I decided that I would get people to sponsor me to do those rides with all the donations going to Give Kids The World Village. I was mulling this over for a while and I nearly changed my mind on this as I really was not sure that I could actually do this. Then I followed a story on one of my Disney-related Facebook groups about a very sick little girl who had been given the chance to visit Give Kids The World Village. As the story unfolded, I had no idea just how well timed this visit was. For most of the week I saw photos of her with big smiles meeting the characters and gleefully riding the spinning tea cups. Unfortunately the news changed as the week moved on. On what was supposed her last day at Walt Disney World, she was rushed to hospital and later that day, the decision was taken to airlift her back to her hometown so that she could be surrounded by her wider family. A matter of hours later, she sadly passed away. This really brought home just how important the work Give Kids The World Village does really is. This was just one little girl, but being able to stay at Give Kids The World Village meant that the last week of her life was a happy one and also provided her family with precious memories. This story really moved me. I suddenly realised that it would be selfish of me to let my fear of those rides get in the way of doing something positive. Before I could change my mind, I put the idea out there and once donations started to roll in, I was committed. As I type this, I have got to accept that I failed to reach my $500.00 target. However, I am not feeling too sad about this as Give Kids The World Village still has $370 for their amazing work that they would not have otherwise. For this, it was all worth it.
This project was the headliner for this trip, but there were other elements that put me out of my comfort zone. I have to say over the past 6 years, I have become rather comfortable staying at one of the Disney resorts. Everything is so nice and predictable. I have my dinner reservations all sorted out weeks and months in advance, my entertainment is taken care of and I know however early I need to get to a park or however late I leave, there will be transportation back to the hotel. We always used to stay on International Drive and I have gone to Disney from there before and contrary to my fear, I never got stranded and I never ended up in Downtown Orlando after missing my stop. We never starved to death either. Still, getting to and from Disney and having to find somewhere to eat every evening caused me considerable stress before the trip.
Apart from thrill rides, I am terrified of ladders and heights. I also have always maintained that I learned to swim in my teens as I was scared when water got above the level of my shoulders. I am sure knowing this, going for a walk on the bottom of the reef wearing a helmet that weighs about the same as my combined luggage (and I do not travel light) sounds just like the thing to do.
As you can see, this was not a conventionally relaxing holiday. It was however a great adventure filled with Magic and wonder and I would not have wanted to miss a second of this (and yes you may remind me of this when you see some of the photos). So buckle up, keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and join me for the ride: Scared Silly But Loving It.
Most people go on holiday for some rest and relaxation. Those of you that have followed my trip reports before know that the two R words are not really part of my vocabulary. I am normally on the go from morning to night. However, this trip was severely challenging my comfort zone.
This already started before the holiday. I am a compulsive planner and have been known to plan and book holidays two years in advance. By those standards, 4 months ahead of time is a last minute trip. However, that was just the start. There was one element that I had set my heart on that stubbornly refused to fall into place and I just as stubbornly refused to acknowledge that it may not. As they say, failure was not an option. This element was a five night cruise on the re-imagined Disney Magic. I had been watching availability and prices since July and was watching the website like a hawk for discounts. Eventually everything fell into place and the cruise was booked 12 days before we were due to leave for Florida. Talk about a roller coaster ride.
Speaking of roller coasters, I am probably the biggest chicken alive when it comes to thrill rides. They literally scare the living daylights out of me. For me, as thrilling as it gets is Big Thunder Mountain or Matterhorn and the biggest drop on a water ride that I can tolerate is the drop on Pirates of the Caribbean. There have been a number of occasions where I had every intention to try a new ride and then backed out literally at the last minute. Thrill rides are definitely not my thing. Hence I don't really know what possessed me when I decided to ride the seven biggest, fastest and scariest rides at Walt Disney World all in one holiday. It all started with me looking at Photopass+ and the attractions that are included and thinking it would be a neat thing to do them all. I giggled at the thought and moved on to different things. However, an idea was born and was germinating. At some stage, the idea popped up again and I figured I was paying for those attraction photos so I may as well use this fact for something positive. I decided that I would get people to sponsor me to do those rides with all the donations going to Give Kids The World Village. I was mulling this over for a while and I nearly changed my mind on this as I really was not sure that I could actually do this. Then I followed a story on one of my Disney-related Facebook groups about a very sick little girl who had been given the chance to visit Give Kids The World Village. As the story unfolded, I had no idea just how well timed this visit was. For most of the week I saw photos of her with big smiles meeting the characters and gleefully riding the spinning tea cups. Unfortunately the news changed as the week moved on. On what was supposed her last day at Walt Disney World, she was rushed to hospital and later that day, the decision was taken to airlift her back to her hometown so that she could be surrounded by her wider family. A matter of hours later, she sadly passed away. This really brought home just how important the work Give Kids The World Village does really is. This was just one little girl, but being able to stay at Give Kids The World Village meant that the last week of her life was a happy one and also provided her family with precious memories. This story really moved me. I suddenly realised that it would be selfish of me to let my fear of those rides get in the way of doing something positive. Before I could change my mind, I put the idea out there and once donations started to roll in, I was committed. As I type this, I have got to accept that I failed to reach my $500.00 target. However, I am not feeling too sad about this as Give Kids The World Village still has $370 for their amazing work that they would not have otherwise. For this, it was all worth it.
This project was the headliner for this trip, but there were other elements that put me out of my comfort zone. I have to say over the past 6 years, I have become rather comfortable staying at one of the Disney resorts. Everything is so nice and predictable. I have my dinner reservations all sorted out weeks and months in advance, my entertainment is taken care of and I know however early I need to get to a park or however late I leave, there will be transportation back to the hotel. We always used to stay on International Drive and I have gone to Disney from there before and contrary to my fear, I never got stranded and I never ended up in Downtown Orlando after missing my stop. We never starved to death either. Still, getting to and from Disney and having to find somewhere to eat every evening caused me considerable stress before the trip.
Apart from thrill rides, I am terrified of ladders and heights. I also have always maintained that I learned to swim in my teens as I was scared when water got above the level of my shoulders. I am sure knowing this, going for a walk on the bottom of the reef wearing a helmet that weighs about the same as my combined luggage (and I do not travel light) sounds just like the thing to do.
As you can see, this was not a conventionally relaxing holiday. It was however a great adventure filled with Magic and wonder and I would not have wanted to miss a second of this (and yes you may remind me of this when you see some of the photos). So buckle up, keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and join me for the ride: Scared Silly But Loving It.
can't wait for more!
