Just Wait Until You Read "The Drama"

[ashleydscox]

What's up, my bi...people?! This is a family board, gotta make like I'm in Magic Kingdom and watch my language.

Hi! I'm Ashley and I'm headed to Walt Disney World for the 12th time this November along with some assorted family members (read: my immediate family plus one uncle).

Here. We. Go!

The What: A five night, four day trip to Walt Disney World! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

The Where: Well, WDW. Oh, you mean where are we going to lay down when it's dark out? Well, most of us (and I'll get to The Who at the end) will be staying off property at a rental townhouse. Now, I hate staying off prop, but this is a group of seven adults and two children. We are renting Mouse Ears Villa from Beth and got a truly excellent rate that, IIRC, worked out to about $40 per room per night (I'm not going to do the math again right now, but I think that was the roughness of it). mouseearsvilla.com Check it out!

Most of us are staying there. My mom and dad have reserved a room at Shades of Green, a military resort on property, right near the Polynesian.

My dad is retired Air Force and most of our/my trips to WDW have included staying at SoG. It's an awesome place and I love it and love staying there. My parents decided to get a room there so that the kids could have a place to quickly get back to during the day for naps/relaxation and also because my parents, brother, SIL, niece, and nephew all live in the same house (along with four cats and a Great Dane). Yeah, they wanted a bit of space. Turns out they might not get it. But I'll cover that in The Drama.

The When: Saturday, November 14 through Thursday, November 19. My family's never really done the whole "visit the parks on arrival or departure day". On arrival day we like to hit Downtown Disney/Disney Springs and on departure day we get out of Dodge fast before it starts to hurt too much.

The Why: Please. /barneystinson

The How: My husband and I live in California so we'll be taking several days to drive cross-country.

...

Did you fall for it? No. We're totally not. Sorry, but I am not a pleasure delayer, I want it now! We'll be flying from San Francisco International to MCO with a very short layover in Dallas, TX.

My Uncle Dan lives in Maryland and everybody else is in North Carolina. My uncle has a seven or eight seat van that he'll drive down from Maryland on Friday, 11/13. Then he and my parents will drive the van from NC, my brother and SIL will drive their car along with my nephew and my niece will switch back and forth so that no one individual has to spend eight solid hours in a car with a four year old.

Stay tuned for The Who, with pictures!

 

[ashleydscox]

The Who:
My mom and dad, Doug and Jean (not respectively).

Both in their late 50s, my parents first took my brother and I to WDW when I was 13 and he was 10. My mom and I have been in desperate love with it ever since and plan our vacations together. My brother and dad love it, too, just not like us.

Doug is retired Air Force and grew up an Army brat with two older brothers and one younger brother. Now he works for the City of Charlotte in North Carolina in IT. He loves golf, Epcot, and Goofy.

Here he is again with me and my brother.

Jean works part time retail at Pier One Imports and looks forward to WDW vacations almost as much as I do. She won't touch thrill rides unless you count Soarin' as a thrill ride in which case she does 'cause that's her favorite.

Uncle Dan.

My Uncle Dan is my dad's younger brother. He was born in Germany while my grandfather was still in the Army and is the only of four brothers not to go into the military. He's an outdoorsman who loves to bike and kayak and recently went skydiving for the first time with my cousin Mike (whose son Carter is pictured here; Mike is one of my other uncle's kids, though). Dan is super opinionated, doesn't care what anybody thinks of him...and completely defers to me when it comes to WDW trips because he knows I know my ish.

Ryan and Mal and Ried and Oliver.

Ryan is my younger brother. That'd be him with my niece Ried earlier this year before a Daddy Daughter Dance. Ryan loves thrill rides, our shared childhood filled with The Lion King and Aladdin, and his character autograph book from our 1996 trip. And beer.

Mallory (Mal) is my SIL, here again with Ried. Mal is a special ed teacher who specializes in Down's Syndrome and Autism and I believe she has more patience in one pinky than I do in my entire body.

Still, I think we'll end up seeing a bit of this at some point during the trip:

Ried is my niece and is turning four later this month. Although she loves to play outside and doesn't mind getting dirty, she is one of the girliest girls who ever girled.

Her loves used to include Minnie, Princess Sophia, and Doc McStuffins. And then Frozen came out and we all know how that went down.

This girl is strong-willed and bullheaded so it should be fun.

I am sorry to say that I don't have any pictures to post of my nephew Oliver...yet! Oliver is eight months old and all of the pictures on Facebook were from when he was tiny. I have current pictures on my phone but I'm going to come back later and add them because he's cute as a button.

Oliver is a happy baby as long as he's fed, dry, and rested. He's got his dad's looks and his mom's giggle but so far no favorite Disney characters to speak of.

Next up, me and my husband and...The Drama!

 

[ashleydscox]

Me and Alex!

Here we are in WDW in May 2012:

And here's us in WDW in February of 2014:

Oh, that? That's just Alex proposing at Cinderella's Royal Table...nbd.

Alex and I met in August of 2010 and got married August 2014 after getting engaged during our February 2014 WDW trip.

Alex is originally from a small town in Virginia but we met while living in what I consider to be our hometown, Charlotte, NC. Alex works for a large, well-known, popular, expensive computer and technology company. He previously worked in a data center in NC but in June of last year he was promoted to a position that moved us from NC to Cupertino, CA. I quit my full-time job and sold my car, we moved up our wedding, and we moved to Cali on our three day wedding anniversary just over a year ago.

I am totally obsessed with WDW and Alex indulges me a lot. His favorite ride is Spaceship Earth while mine is the Tower of Terror.

28.360N 81.560W
Goooooooooooooooooooooogle it!
(I originally typed and saved 18.360N because that's what it looked like in the pic...instead of just looking at my wrist for the correct numbers.)

I spend my non-Disney days watching Ashley and Joe at SeeYaReelSoon on YouTube. Strongly recommend.

I had gastric sleeve surgery in December 2014 and have lost 90 pounds so I'm a bit skinnier now.

I'm making you wait even longer for The Drama! (Eh, I'm writing it up now.)

 

[ashleydscox]

Ok, before I get to The Drama, I'm going to quickly hit you with The Plans because there aren't that many of them.

Saturday, 11/14: Arrive. Probably go to Disney Springs and probably eat at Earl of Sandwich since that's what we usually do.

Sunday, 11/15: Disney-Hollywood Studios Day! Alex and I may be ducking out this day, actually. Alex didn't meet his dad until he was 32 and has never met his grandmother on that side of the family. She lives about two hours from WDW so we may be taking that day to visit her, but it's not set in stone yet. We have 2:10 pm reservations for the entire party at The Brown Derby as lunch there is a tradition for my family. Mmm...Cobb Salad, grapefruit cake...om nom nom. Estimated crowds per Touring Plans 5/10.

Monday, 11/16: Epcot Day! No reservations as it'll be the tail end of F&W. Estimated crowds per Touring Plans 4/10.

Tuesday, 11/17: Disney's Animal Kingdom Day! Dinner reservations for Alex and myself at Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge. Estimated crowds per Touring Plans 4/10.

Wednesday, 11/18: Magic Kingdom Day! No reservations made, but I keep calling to see if BBB gets an opening for Ried. So far, no luck. Might make a dinner reservation at a resort for the whole family. Estimated crowds per Touring Plans 3/10.

Thursday, 11/19: Ride back to NC in Dan's van to spend Thanksgiving with Alex's mom and step-father and go to the best RenFaire ever (even the Tortuga Twins said so) in Huntersville, NC. (We'll fly back to CA the Saturday after Thanksgiving).

Now...The Drama!

 

[ashleydscox]

The Drama...dun, dun, dun!

As I mentioned earlier I had gastric sleeve surgery in December of last year (this is not The Drama, nor did it cause The Drama but it's part of the story). I'm 5'2" and apparently when you're short and get sleeved you've got about a 33% chance of developing Gastroesophogael Reflux Disease (GERD). Which I did. Basically, super bad acid reflux/heartburn. Not fun stuff.

In April of this year I started to have a lot of problems eating. I was nauseated a lot, couldn't keep much food down (seriously, Jell-O and popsicles were coming back up), even had problems with drinking more than a sip of water at a time. I assumed it was because of the sleeve and the GERD. I had blood tests done, a barium swallow, and a gastrointestinal endoscopy. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me.

This went on for about six weeks. Now, I know nobody likes being sick to their stomach, but I think I hate it more than most. I've had panic attacks when people near me (school or work) have said, "I don't feel so good." I love the movie Apollo 13 but couldn't watch the puking scene from the time the movie originally came out until about two or three years ago. I still refuse to watch Bridesmaids a second time. So I was miserable and started avoiding eating so that I wouldn't throw up. One week I lost six pounds.

I also started experiencing numbness in my legs that would eventually spread over my entire body except for my back and face. My walking started getting shaky, my balance took a nose dive, and I was tired alla time. Alex and I both thought that I was nutrient deficient. I was also very depressed and had been homesick for months.

On Thursday, May 14 I went to the hospital for a bariatric surgery support group meeting. I didn't trust myself to drive (I had hit a car while pulling into a parking space about a week and a half beforehand) so Alex dropped me off. I was able to walk but felt more secure with a hand on the wall to keep my balance.

The bariatric nurse who runs the meetings said that it was possible for a nutrient deficiency to be causing my walking and balance issues, but that it usually takes a lot longer for your body to start having this kind of response. And then I passed out while sitting down in the meeting.

I was only out for a second but when they asked if I wanted to go to the ER I emphatically said yes. Something had to be wrong and I needed to know what it was.

That's when we found out my potassium was way low so I got both IV potassium and pills. During the ER interview I was asked about my mental health and it was suggested that I spend some time in the psychiatric unit there at the hospital. I was still shaky on my feet but we now thought that watching my potassium levels and working on my stomach issues would solve the problem.

I moved to psych at 5 am Friday morning and was there until Saturday of the following week.

My first day there they gave me a walker because they didn't want me to fall (I had fallen once before at home). I then managed to fall seven more times while I was in psych. By the Friday a week after I got there I couldn't stand or walk. The psych unit was not staffed with people who could lift me, luckily my husband never missed a day of visitation so he moved me from a chair in the common room to a wheelchair and from the wheelchair to bed.

Saturday morning I was able to scoot myself from bed to a wheelchair and had a conversation with one of the other patients who happened to also be a nurse. She said it sounded like I could have cord compression in my spine and that I should really push for an MRI. My psychiatrist was stating that she thought I was having a psychological response to leaving my job, getting married, moving across the country, having two friends pass away, and having two surgeries (also had my gallbladder out) in a seven month time frame. Alex's mom used to be a patient advocate at a psychiatric hospital and Alex doesn't mess around so we got me back up to the medical unit by Saturday evening.

I had an MRI of my neck and upper back that night. On Sunday I had another MRI of my lower back, a sonogram of my legs, and a spinal tap. That evening my neurologist diagnosed me with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

GBS is a rare auto-immune disorder in which your immune system attacks your nervous system and eats away at the myelin sheaths that protect your nerves. It can cause numbness, tingling, nerve pain, and paralysis. By the time of my diagnosis I was completely bed-bound and had numbness in my hands.

I had an extremely lucky, mild case. GBS can affect your heart and diaphragm and most people with GBS become completely paralyzed and have to be placed on a ventilator and feeding tube. There are stories from people on-line who weren't able to speak or open their eyes. I read one account of a girl whose only way to communicate was by looking left or right for yes and no while her mother held her eyelid open. People with GBS are conscience and usually in a lot of pain during this experience. I had excruciating nerve pain in my feet and couldn't feel any contact below the waist. But I could still move my torso and had complete upper body control (except for some in my hands). I could sit up, turn over in bed, talk, feed myself, and never lost bowel or bladder control. I did have amazingly fluctuating blood pressure, but overall, my case of GBS was very mild.

Here's me enjoying some Starbucks passion tea, pineapple, and a heart monitor. My stomach problems resolved after three days in psych. We still don't know exactly what was going on with my stomach, however, GBS is almost always triggered by a virus or infection such as the flu so I think I had some sort of virus or infection that wasn't detected on my blood tests. My appetite and eating habits are completely back to sleeve normal now.

I had five IVIG treatments over five days (Sunday through Thursday) and then waited until Tuesday to be moved to a residential rehab facility. I was still unable to stand when I got there. I was there for two and a half weeks and was walking with a walker and able to shower, toilet, and dress myself alone as well as go up and down five steps with handrails by the time I left.

After in-patient I flew back to NC to stay with my family and go to out-patient while Alex moved us (our former apartment in Cupertino was on the second floor with no elevators and there were no first floor apartments available) to a brand new high rise apartment building in San Jose, CA. Elevators are my friend.

According to what I read on-line, 80% of people with GBS have a full recovery but this can take up to two years.

I'm now back home and doing great. I still use a walker, but have stopped using it in the apartment. Alex says I look like a toddler. My balance is still a bit off (especially if I close my eyes while standing up). I use a walker outside of the apartment for things like going to dinner or getting my nails done and a wheelchair for things like grocery shopping at Target or going to the mall.

I gained back about eight pounds when my appetite came back and have held fast at 90 pounds lost since my sleeve surgery. I need to lose about fifty more, but am just now getting to a place where I can exercise safely again.

Here's Alex and I two days ago at Wizard World San Jose (oh, we're nerds, BTW):

He's pushing my chair and I really, really needed cat ears.

I'm planning on buying a cane soon since I should be using something around the apartment and that way I can start moving away from the walker altogether.

We're going to use the wheelchair while in WDW. Even though I can walk, the amount of walking at WDW is far beyond what I can currently handle. I also still have a lot of issues with fatigue. We spent about six hours at Wizard World on Saturday and I only got out of the chair three times, twice to stretch and once to go to the bathroom...and I got into bed at 7:20 that night. I was exhausted.

Since I'm pretty sure all of the bedrooms at Mouse Ears Villa are on the second floor, my parents have offered to switch and let Alex and I stay in their room at SoG. I can do stairs much better now as long as I have a hand rail, but I'm going to wait until we get closer to our vacation before making that decision.

I am sooooo looking forward to this trip and to having some fun. Will I be tired? Yeah! But it'll be worth it and I can't wait.

Only 68 days to go!

 

[Disney2013Girl]

That's so scary, but I'm glad they got everything figured out! Hopefully some Disney Therapy helps speed the healing process along :-D

 

[ashleydscox]

Thanks for reading Disney2013Girl!

54 days left! I'm still way excited, however, after seeing how crowds dealt with my wheelchair at the Monterey Bay Aquarium this past Saturday, I have a mild concern that this trip will be a disaster.

Meanwhile, Ried turned four over the weekend:

Queen Elsa with her tiara (if you call it a crown, she will correct you).

Doc McStuffins

Cinderella

And apparently I forgot to come back and add a picture of Oliver so here's one from the birthday

Just enjoying a lovely meal of crayons.

Deep philosophical conversation with OMR (Old Man River - it was my brother's doing; Mom is Omi from the German for "grandmother". We have a good chunk of German ancestry on my mom's side, but we also lived there when Ryan and I were little as my dad was stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base).

Look, I'm using a cane!

And, just for comparison's sake, here's me approx 92 lbs ago during my last WDW trip:

54 days! Wheeeeeeeee!

 

[ashleydscox]

44 days to go!

Been watching a lot of Disney Haul videos on YouTube. And some Disney Bounding videos. I'm getting totally pumped up and ready to go.

Mouse Ears Villa has their Queen bedroom (with attached bathroom and walk-in shower) on the first floor so I will be able to stay there.

Ryan has interviewed for a security position with the Charlotte Douglas Airport and there's a slight possibility that if he gets the job he won't be able to go to WDW.

Once we get to about two weeks out, I'll allow myself to start packing and will post pictures or a video.

 

[ashleydscox]

So I had it in my head that the final payment for Mouse Ears Villa was due by 10/6. I was wrong. It was due by 10/3. I realized this yesterday, which was 10/4. Luckily Beth, the owner, was cool and my husband and I got the payment in yesterday and all is well.

40 days to go and tomorrow I'm going to buy some trip shirts from the HimAndGem Etsy shop. I can't yet speak to their quality, but I love their designs so you should check them out!

Spent this past weekend at Con-Volution 2015 in San Francisco and used my cane the entire time. Still planning on using the wheelchair at WDW. A single hotel sci-fi convention =/= WDW. But it was still nice to get a measure of my progress.

 

[ashleydscox]

31 days to go and I'm getting anxious! I am so ready for this trip! I mean, once the dress I ordered from Old Navy comes in...and the Cinderella's Castle MagicBand that I ordered for Ried comes in...and Alex and I order my new walker that has a seat built in that I'm going to try out while we're there.

Today is Oct 14 and it looks like the FastPass+ options are only open through to Nov 13 which means I'll have to wait until this Friday the 16 to make FP+ reservations for Nov 15. Alrighty, then.

We've got a big party and we're still working on how much to cater to Ried. Yes she wants to meet characters, but the rest of us want to ride roller coasters.

Day 1: DHS
The obvious choice for FP+ is TSMM but they're already all taken up for Nov 13 so I'm not feeling hopeful for our DHS day. Might just have to wait in line for that one. I'm thinking the Frozen Sing-A-Long since I know Ried will love it, Star Tours since everybody loves that and Ried is tall enough. But I'm not sure about the third one. ToT is my favorite ride of all times, ever, but I still don't know if Alex and I will be joining the party on this day. Fantasmic! is also a good option.

Day 2: Epcot
Soarin'. Has to be done. Everybody loves it. Can we do three Soarin' FP+s? Even though I doubt it will be too crowded, I might also do Turtle Talk with Crush just to guarantee that we actually do it. We've been skipping it for years but Alex and I finally did it at California Adventure when we went back in March and it was hilarious so I'm forcing everybody this year. Darn it! And then probably also Test Track as none of us have been on since before the refurb. The line was just way too long the last time Alex and I were there. I love Mission: Space and simply don't get motion sickness but last time I did it I got a wicked sinus headache. Mom won't do it, Alex won't do it, my dad is on the fence. So I think we'll skip it. Or at least not bother with FP+.

Day 3: DAK
Probably the Safari and EE (for those of us who will ride it). FotLK is a favorite but I don't think we'll need a FP+ (I taught Ried how to make an elephant noise last year and she loves doing it, loves when I do it, and cracks up every time. Since I'll be in a chair, I'm hoping we can talk our way into being seated in the elephant section so she can show off at the beginning of the show). Maybe also KRR.

Day 4: MK
Oy. This is the tough one. I really, really want to get Ried in to see Anna and Elsa (still no luck with BBB, BTW) but they're all already taken for Nov 13 so again...not hopeful. If they're not available I'll got with the Tinkerbell M&G. Also want PPF and 7DMT but they're all already taken for Nov 13 as well. Augh!

Meanwhile, Dad and Mom bought all of our tickets (except Ryan since he might be getting a job that keeps him from going on this trip) through their nearest military base and I've got them linked to our My Disney Experience page. Each ticket is a four day park hopper for $177! Thank you Dad for moving us all over the place as kids. Totally worth it!

 

[matterninhburg]

You look stunning! We arrive Nov 14th too, it's getting close!

 

[ashleydscox]

Thanks for reading matterninhburg! And thank you for the compliment! We'll just ignore that doughnut I'm eating for dinner tonight.

 

[ashleydscox]

And I've got FP+ for Day 1: DHS!

I barely remember making the FP+ reservations for our last trip, which was our first trip that we could make them. So, being on the West Coast, I desperately waiting until 9 pm to make reservations for our DHS day. But the website seemed to be down. *AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!*

This. Cannot. Be. Happening! No, I am not being dramatic! I have the happiness of nine people in my hands!

I refreshed the Disney website for eleven minutes before, "I wonder if you can do this on the app?"

What do you know, it turns out you can!

TSMM was already at a no go. Dang it! We're planning to take mid-day breaks so I wanted stuff early or late, not smack in the middle. Ryan wants RnR and ToT (still don't know if he's coming, BTW).

So I got:
Frozen Sing-A-Long from 10:35 to 10:50 am
ToT from 6 pm to 7 pm
RnR from 7 pm to 8 pm

Alex still hasn't contacted his grandmother in FL yet so this will make sure that we (read: I) still get to ride when we get back in the evening. I'm now starting to wonder if those are going to give me problems with Fantasmic! and the Osborne Family Lights.

Hmmm...

 

[ashleydscox]

Yup. No hours listed for Osborne Lights but Fantasmic! was during our RnR time so I switched it to 5 - 6 pm.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

 

[ashleydscox]

Epcot FP+:

Spaceship Earth
9:05 - 10:05 am

Turtle Talk with Crush
4:15 - 5:15 pm

Soarin'
5:20 - 6:20 pm

I don't think we'll really need the passes for SE or TTwC, but Test Track (which I would have preferred) wasn't available. We also usually do all of Future World in the morning, hitting SE on the way out for a break, then come back after break to do World Showcase, but it'll work out. We have a Soarin' FP+ - that's the important part!

DAK FP+:

Expedition Everest
10:35 - 11:35 am

Kilimanjaro Safaris
11:35 am - 12:35 pm

Kali River Rapids
1:20 - 2:20 pm

These worked out almost perfectly. Exactly the rides I wanted to get. Would have been nice if the overall time skewed a bit earlier, but still...nearly perfect.

In other great news, my brother got his job with the Charlotte Douglas Airport and will be able to go on vacation. Best possible outcome there and I'm super happy about it.

I got a walker with a seat yesterday!

It actually works as a wheelchair of sorts as well. There's a piece on the front there that pulls out to be a foot rest and then the "Drive" bar on the front moves to the back as a back rest. So we're just going to use this thing the whole time instead of checking a wheelchair and a walker at the airport.

Speaking of airports, Alex just got a raise and bonus so we upgraded to First Class for our trip back to California. Neither of us have ever flown First Class before so we're excited for that.

Four weeks to go!

 

[ashleydscox]

Magic Kingdom FP+:

Tinker Bell M&G
5:50 - 6:50 pm

Peter Pan's Flight
6:50 - 7:50 pm

7DMT
8:50 - 9:50 pm

So...super happy about which ones I got (would've preferred Elsa and Anna over Tink, but you know how it is). Not happy about how late in the day all of them are. Especially 7DMT. But we'll see if I can finagle some earlier times over the next 26 days!

 

[DMGeurts]

Hi there!

I've enjoyed reading your PTR and meeting your family.

It looks like you have had an interesting year with many great and not so great changes. But look at how far you have come in every aspect, what an amazing test of strength and determination, I am so proud of you!

It looks like we overlap trips for a day or two, but we are not in the same parks on those days. Bummer.

Our countdowns are getting so close!

D~

 

[ashleydscox]

Thanks for reading DMGeurts! Have fun on your trip! It's almost here!

 

[ashleydscox]

Why, hello Day After Halloween Disney Store sales! Got my niece a Tinker Bell dress and wings for $38 and change today!

Less than two weeks!

So my new walker can be used as a transport chair, something that was a partial selling point for my husband and I. We figured we'd just have to take that one item on the plane (we'll gate check it) with us instead of a regular wheelchair and walker.

Turns out the transport chair function is not particularly comfy, especially if I'm going to be in it all day. So! New plan! We're going to take my new walker (which kicks booty as a walker) and rent a regular wheelchair from Disney direct. And, because I love to shop but shops can be difficult to maneuver in a chair, we'll bring a travel cane to keep in our bag that I can use in shops.

Reg wheelchair for most of the parks, travel cane for cramped areas, new walker for evenings in the parks/all the other time/back in NC.

 

[cajunfan]

Sounds like you NEED this trip! Holy moly girl! What a year for you!

Have you thought of renting a scooter? It was one of the best decisions I made for my last trip. With the exception of loading and unloading on buses (but for the most part not too bad even there), it was super easy to get around with...especially if you all switch rooms with mom and dad...or get one that breaks down and is transportable.

Lynn