Because We're Insane: Driving & Triple Split Stay! Updated 10/23. Pg.16

[feyrerm]

Oh no!! Being sick for that drive could not have been fun I'm sure. The drive home always seems twice as long as the drive down. Its torture!

 

[JenSop]

Oh no!! Being sick for that drive could not have been fun I'm sure. The drive home always seems twice as long as the drive down. Its torture!

Oh, just wait..... it gets worse.....

 

[Disneybrenda]

Have just finished reading all your trip reports and enjoyed all of them. So sorry to hear of your problems. Best of luck in all your musical endeavors.

 

[Merida]

Oh wow, updates! So much fun stuff!

I've never been inside the China pavilion (not sure why.. I remember stopping in the store and that's it!) but it looks amazing. Definitely on my list for next trip. I always wonder why they put Marie out in France. I watched the movie constantly as a kid, but do they even show it anywhere anymore? Is it out of the vault (ugh, I hate that. Stupid vault keeping my movies away from me) even?

I've never seen inside the Wilderness Lodge Villas. They don't seem as popular? The kitchens look really old. Not really crazy about the fabrics they picked either. I hope it's up for renovations soon! I understand why they're there, but the fabric just seems like sloppy Pendleton knock-offs.

I'm sorry you were feeling ill! And being in the car always makes it worse. Yuck.

 

[JenSop]

Have just finished reading all your trip reports and enjoyed all of them. So sorry to hear of your problems. Best of luck in all your musical endeavors.

Thanks for reading - and thanks for the kind words and well-wishes.

Oh wow, updates! So much fun stuff!

I've never been inside the China pavilion (not sure why.. I remember stopping in the store and that's it!) but it looks amazing. Definitely on my list for next trip. I always wonder why they put Marie out in France. I watched the movie constantly as a kid, but do they even show it anywhere anymore? Is it out of the vault (ugh, I hate that. Stupid vault keeping my movies away from me) even?

I've never seen inside the Wilderness Lodge Villas. They don't seem as popular? The kitchens look really old. Not really crazy about the fabrics they picked either. I hope it's up for renovations soon! I understand why they're there, but the fabric just seems like sloppy Pendleton knock-offs.

I'm sorry you were feeling ill! And being in the car always makes it worse. Yuck.

Darn that vault!!!

You should explore China for sure! The thing about the VWL building is that is looks really cool in the lobby - so nice! But the rooms have such a dated feel to them. I'm just not a fan.

 

[saintstickets]

The thing about the VWL building is that is looks really cool in the lobby - so nice! But the rooms have such a dated feel to them. I'm just not a fan.

Don't give up on WL just yet. Room renovation is due to start in the next few months!

 

[ShesAPirate]

I've never seen inside the Wilderness Lodge Villas. They don't seem as popular?

Actually, from what I understand, it's pretty hard to get a room there. It's probably mostly due to location, though. The theming for me is just OK -- I'm not a big outdoorsy person

Oh, and hope you don't mind, Jen, but I'm gonna shamelessly plug my PTR here -- link is in my signature!

 

[JenSop]

Don't give up on WL just yet. Room renovation is due to start in the next few months!

That's great news!! I can't wait to see the results!

Actually, from what I understand, it's pretty hard to get a room there. It's probably mostly due to location, though. The theming for me is just OK -- I'm not a big outdoorsy person

Oh, and hope you don't mind, Jen, but I'm gonna shamelessly plug my PTR here -- link is in my signature!

Availability might be due to the small size of the resort too.

But the thing is, I AM an outdoorsy kind of person. And the decor was blah. But hopefully the renovations will fix that!

Plug away!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Loved the pictures of WL...I love that lobby almost as much as I love AKL lobby! I find them both so warm and inviting! I would love to stay there around Christmas one year

Love Cali Grill and your meal looks delicious! I have always wanted to try soft shell crab but never have Bummer that you're starting to get sick....

 

[JenSop]

Loved the pictures of WL...I love that lobby almost as much as I love AKL lobby! I find them both so warm and inviting! I would love to stay there around Christmas one year

Love Cali Grill and your meal looks delicious! I have always wanted to try soft shell crab but never have Bummer that you're starting to get sick....

Thanks!! Yes - the lobby is great! (And I agree that it's almost as good as AKL - but AKL is always best!) I have heard wonderful things about the WL lobby during Christmas! I would always recommend the Cali Grill to anyone - SO good!

Oh wait.... I'll try to get my next update up soon.... things get worse!

 

[JenSop]

Okay folks - I'm hoping to get my next update done tonight! Crossing my fingers that the stars align and help me to make it happen!

 

[JenSop]

Okay - let's do this!

But I warn you..... the pixie dust is clearing and the harshness of the real world is about to overtake you!

Be afraid - be very afraid. (Perfect for the Halloween season! haha!)

So - that last day at Disney.....

When I woke up, I felt sick. Straight up sick. Sore throat, fever, overall crappity-crap-crap.

But add to that... Brian was throwing up.

So we had to cancel our Chefs de France lunch. I was SO upset about that. I had been dreaming about that French Onion Soup for ages!!!!! And I was hoping that maybe the soup would help me feel better. But it would have been rude to go by myself.

Sad face.....

After packing up, we headed to the lobby, checked out, and got some gifts at the store. I also grabbed a turkey sandwich at Roaring Forks. But while in the gift shop, we also inquired about the infirmary situation, since neither of us was doing too well.

I walked around one last time to take in some sunshine.

We left, but first had to head over to the Boardwalk, as we still had some filming to do, plus we had to grab some extra Epcot brochures from the International Gateway, so I'd have lots on hand to give to clients who book through me. (We had tons of brochures from all the parks except Epcot.)


After filming the footage we needed, we got some drinks at the Boardwalk gift shop, and headed to the car to get going.

We decided that I would drive, since even though I felt sick, I at least wasn't about to throw up at any time.



But about two hours into the drive, my fever was REALLY intense. My skin was on fire and my whole body hurt - my arms hurt just to hold the steering wheel. It was bad. I felt like curling into a ball and passing out - while crying.

So Brian took over driving. But he still felt really bad and only lasted about two hours as well.

Then - oh yeah - what could make this even better? Well, it was so hot out, that the AC was having trouble keeping up. It was getting bad while Brian was driving, though, so I was okay with it.

Of all the good times for the AC to not work, it's when you have a fever, right? I mean I felt freezing since my fever was so bad, that the heat in the car didn't actually bother me.

In the meantime, I had called my mom to ask her what we should do. (She's a nurse.) At this point, Brian was not as bad, but my situation seemed to be getting worse. We didn't have a thermometer, but it kind of felt like the worst fever I had ever had. My skin was seriously hot. Really hot. She suggested going to a rest stop with an info desk and finding out if there was an emergency care place nearby.

We did ask somewhere, but they weren't really helpful. And I didn't want to waste a whole bunch of time at a health center, let alone trying to find one. So my sick brain decided we should just keep going. Push through it!

The rest of the drive consisted of us trading off about every two hours the whole way home. I was posting regularly to Facebook about where we were, as I honestly was concerned about us making it home in one piece. At least that way, people would have an idea of where we were and when if we disappeared. A little morbid? Maybe. But that's really how sick I felt.

Once we got over the Virginia border, we did pull into the rest stop and parked the car. We slept in the car for a few hours, as neither of us could keep going.

We finally got home around 10am. Brian slept for several hours. My notes say that I did laundry and went through the mail, but I honestly have no recollection of any of that. I did end up going to the doctor and got put on a course of antibiotics because they thought I might have strep.

But the strep test did come back negative - apparantely there was something going around that resembled strep but wasn't.

Anyway, there you have it. A not happy ending to the Disney trip.

But I guess in all the years I've been going, I had never been sick before. So I guess that's a good ratio.


Thanks for hanging around everyone. I wish I had a better ending for you.

But the happy part is that next year's trip will be AMAZING with my nieces! I can't wait for them to experience it all!

After that, I'm not sure that I'll be able to go every year on my points - looks like Brian wants to share them after all. But I recently found out that the travel agent discount for Disney hotels is pretty good, so if we alternate years with DVC, I can probably stay at moderates when I'm paying cash on my off years.



Stay tuned - I'm sure I'll do a Pre Trip Report when we get closer. But for those of you who want to keep up with my singing and other travel stuff, I'm going to be blogging frequently during my seven weeks in Europe in the winter. I don't want to get in trouble by posting a link, but I'm on Wordpress as JenSop.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Ugh, that definitely sounds like it was a miserable trip home! I'm glad that you made it back safely though!

 

[Merida]

That doesn't sound fun! Though I'm very impressed you pushed through and drove home - I would have lobbied for an extra night in a hotel somewhere.

I will admit, I'm kind of leery of getting DVC because I want to stay at all of the hotels (I know, rent out points and use the money to stay elsewhere but that seems like it's defeating the point of having DVC) so - I think - it's neat that you'll be able to stay other places!

 

[7165red]

Great TR, your photos are great. Love the V&A photos. I was there last xmas and I can say WL,AKL & GF are beautiful. Disney goes all out at xmas time.

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

That is a horrible ending to your trip. I can't remember how long you said the drive takes. We just got back from a trip to Disneyland, 3 families, 2 mini vans, 6 kids, 20 hours each way. This was our second straight shot drive to Disneyland and I think this could have been our last!!!!!!

 

[MEK]

Jen - I actually can't believe you guys continued to drive and didn't sleep until you hit Virginia. And you slept at a rest stop. That sounds so terrible. Ughhhhhh!

I just got back from HHI and we drove from Delaware - 11 hours. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be so I am almost considering taking the plung and driving in June. However, I am not an up all night driver so we would probably stop.

Can't wait to hear about the planning for the next trip. And I hope your singing career continues to go well!

 

[JenSop]

Ugh, that definitely sounds like it was a miserable trip home! I'm glad that you made it back safely though!

That doesn't sound fun! Though I'm very impressed you pushed through and drove home - I would have lobbied for an extra night in a hotel somewhere.

I will admit, I'm kind of leery of getting DVC because I want to stay at all of the hotels (I know, rent out points and use the money to stay elsewhere but that seems like it's defeating the point of having DVC) so - I think - it's neat that you'll be able to stay other places!

Great TR, your photos are great. Love the V&A photos. I was there last xmas and I can say WL,AKL & GF are beautiful. Disney goes all out at xmas time.

That is a horrible ending to your trip. I can't remember how long you said the drive takes. We just got back from a trip to Disneyland, 3 families, 2 mini vans, 6 kids, 20 hours each way. This was our second straight shot drive to Disneyland and I think this could have been our last!!!!!!

Jen - I actually can't believe you guys continued to drive and didn't sleep until you hit Virginia. And you slept at a rest stop. That sounds so terrible. Ughhhhhh!

I just got back from HHI and we drove from Delaware - 11 hours. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be so I am almost considering taking the plung and driving in June. However, I am not an up all night driver so we would probably stop.

Can't wait to hear about the planning for the next trip. And I hope your singing career continues to go well!

Thanks everybody!

It was a horrible horrible horrible drive. That's all I can say. HORRIBLE!

Right now we're working on planning next year's trip. Having to help explain the dining plan to my sister. I know this trip will be a challenge - I'm just going to leave it at that. But I want to make it just super awesome for my nieces, so that will be my motivating factor.

Right now we're in the midst of opening weekend for the operetta "Patience" by Gilbert and Sullivan - in the suburban Philly area. I'm playing the role of Patience!

Well, gotta leave for the theatre soon, so I best be going! Thanks for reading everyone!