Back with nothing but good memories

[momto3gsds]

First, I wanted to thank all of you for the help and suggestions given to me that helped make this trip so wonderful.

As you may recall, I have Stage 4 Lung Cancer so I had a lot of concerns. I was traveling alone but felt better doing so rather than feeling I had to keep up with someone else.

I rented a scooter from Buena Vista and it was the best decision ever. Anyone on the fence (as I was) about renting one, please do yourself a favor and rent one. Getting it on and off the busses was pretty easy, but when I needed help the drivers where very helpful and would even park it for me. The drivers are amazing as where the other guests. One night I was in the upper spot, not the spot by the door, so it was a lot harder than normal. I was a bit nervous but everyone on the bus cheered me on!!! I can't tell you how good that made me feet.

On one occasion, I was hit with what I call 'the exhaustion'. It hits all the sudden and I'm not able to function. I knew where the first aid station was and I was close to it so I headed right over there. The nurses are wonderful. They put me in a room with a bed where I was able to sleep for over and hour. After that they gave me Gatorade and were in no rush to get me out of there. I drank the Gatorade and was off to see the rest of EPCOT.

I did qualify for the DAS card and that helped a lot!

I have to say I left Disney a lot cleaner than it was when I got there I sanitized everything, I used wipes and hand sanitizer constantly but I was able to avoid getting sick.

I was on the dining plan but would not recommend that for someone on chemo that has eating issues. Just one meal was more than I could eat each day and afterwards I usually felt sick. I hated to waste so much food but it really was too much. I did appreciate being able to use it for the character meals and used the meals as a chance to meet the characters without waiting in line.

I stayed at the All Star Music resort and loved every minute. I was in a preferred room at the Calypso and got my requests of 2nd or 3rd floor with a pool view. I had a lot of notes on my reservations so I didn't use the on line check in. I didn't want to loose all the notes. But check in was a breeze.

The bus system was amazing and the drivers were wonderful.

There is a lot of negativity on these boards about Disney which is one reason I'm posting here instead of the other boards. I've got to say, all the Disney Magic is still there. The CM's were great and always so helpful. There was a lot of concern over me taking this trip but I got all the pixy dust that was left here for me and it worked out perfect.

Thank you,

 

[LindaBabe]

Need the *LIKE* button for this one! I'm SO happy for you that you had a good trip and made some wonderful memories to cherish. Be well!

 

[Goofy14sure]

It's so great that you had a fun trip! Reading this has made my day!

 

[momto3gsds]

Thanks. I would like to add a few things here. First, the scooter. I rented from Buena Vista Scooters and thankfully had no problem with the scooter. They had the scooter at my resort the night before so I was able to pick it up and have it the next morning for the park. I'm not sure of their delivery schedule but it wouldn't hurt to ask if its there the night before your scheduled delivery. It was just nice being able to take off first thing in the morning and have the battery pack already stored in my room.

About operating the scooter. There are different types of scooter rentals so I can only speak of the ones from Buena Vista, but I know a lot of people rent from them so this might be helpful. When getting on and off busses make sure you are in the lowest speed possible to get you up and on the bus or off the bus. These scooters can really take off and this is no place for speed.

Another place to make sure you are in a lower speed is in crowds and keep you left hand (fingers) off the reverse button. I automatically wanted to keep my fingers on both levers (forward and reverse) but had to make myself keep my left hand off the reverse. The reason I'm saying this is when I found I needed to stop suddenly, I automatically pulled on the reverse level which through the scooter into reverse (and the possibility of hitting someone behind me). Once I focused on it, this was an easy correction.

The other thing has to do with almost hitting someone and blaming THEM. One of my first days I was in a large crowd, first the daughter darted in front of me and then the Mom suddenly stopped in front of me. I was so mad at them for a moment. But then I realized this was so not about them. I was the one that needed to take responsibility here. People dart in front of scooters, their excited as much as I am to be there and in the moment they don't look for scooters. Same with people that stop suddenly. That happens all the time and I'm sure when I was more mobile I did the same thing. It was up to me to make sure I was operating the scooter in a safe manner. From that point on I learned to slow down and discovered the tips above.

There are times when your able to dart from place to place riding the scooter- it can be a lot of fun (its own little ride without a line , just remember when you enter a crowd to slow the machine down.

The other thing has to do with worrying about what others would think. It really is time for us to worry less about what others may or may not be thinking. I frequently used the scooter to park on one place while I enjoyed walking around that area. There was nothing wrong with that and my last concern was what others might be thinking as I 'walked away from my scooter'. Honestly, I think I was the last thing on anyone's mind.

Without that scooter I never would have been able to enjoy the parks.

The other thing that concerns some is not having a food court at the All Star Music. Trust me, there are buses that go back and forth taking you to the other All Star resorts to eat. All these buses do is circulate back and forth, never did I wait more than 2 minutes.

I hope this helps others as I want everyones trip to be a magical as mine was.

 

[Minnie17]

What a wonderful post so happy you had a magical trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

Glad to hear you had a good time

 

[OurBigTrip]

So glad that you had a wonderful trip!!

 

[disneyholic family]

thanks for sharing your wonderful experience!!!

glad to hear it was so magical for you!!

i agree that the first aid people are great! and don't rush you to get out....very comforting place!!

and having to do with nothing, the first aid people at islands of adventure are also great if you have the misfortune of ending up there (when we were there, it was being staffed by moonlighting firefighter medics, who were wonderful and pretty darn gorgeous!! ha ha)..

anyway, hopefully no one will need their services, but it's good to know they're there and very helpful!!