Driving 6000 Miles for the Magic: A Miracle Trip

[SueM in MN]

Looks like you like your new tags

I remember how excited I was when I got my tag.

 

[Goofyluver]

Congrats on your tags ladies!

 

[jlcd]

Congrats to both of you on your tags! I doubt I will ever write anything creative enough to earn one myself so its exciting to see others get them!

 

[DisneyJo]

Whooohooo on the tags girls and such nice ones too

 

[Disfan3]

ITA with the DISNEY CM thing!! They are the BEST BEST BEST!!!!


We just returned from a trip at a midwest amusement park and needless to say...it lacked the MAGIC. FOR SURE....but we still had fun....


I am so happy you had a great time at MGM.

 

[KathyRN137]

Congratulations on your first tag!!
Congrats to Danielle, too!!

Enthusiastically awaiting your next chapter,

Kathy

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Christamae and Ellindea, all I can say is WOW!
What spirit, determination, great attitude, good humor and a lot more I can't put into words (I'm an accountant, I don't do words well, LOL).

I actually started your report a few weeks ago, but work got in the way. I spent a good while today looking for it today (it was right on page 1, duh!)

Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your report and admire your whole family's spirit. Spent my whole evening catching up, fascinating story. Glad you got some magic, sorry for the disappointments.

As a CM, I always thought Disney was so accessible friendly, I never realized how many obstacles there can be. (I am backstage, so I don't really have firsthand knowledge, that is my excuse).

Anyway, just wanted to let you know how much I loved your report, and looking forward to more.

And congrats, great tags!!

 

[burly]

Christamae, first off Tags woohooty.
And can i just say "Bonjour, how y'all doin?" Bwahahahaha. Cracked me up. still makes me giggle.
loved the last bit you wrote. And your words stand alone quite nicely girl.

 

[greenmickeyfanatic]

hey!!!! i got all caught up! im glad your feeling better! and what exactly is philarmaic or however you say it?

 

[Tanya90210]

great update!! Awesome tags you got

 

[DonaldTDuck]

Wow, I'm finally caught up! What an awesome report. So many cm's are filled with . Love the tags. One thing,

"Bonjour, how y'all doin?"

what's wrong with being from the south of France?
Can't wait for Saturday and AK. I asked on the CB if anyone had seen any good trippies lately and they pointed me here. They never let me down. This one rocks.

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

SueM in MN, Goofyluver, jlcd, DisneyJo, KathyRN137, Tanya90210: Thanks for your continued following and the congratulations on my tags.

Disfan3: Disney CMs are the best! I believe they take a class on being nice...

Backstage_Gal: Thank you for those very kind words . Disney is very accessible compared to everyone else. Nobodies perfect. I appreciate all they do. I did send some suggestions for Companion Restrooms...Maybe you could drop some hints on making wheelchair accessible ride vehicles 6-10 inches bigger Happy to have a "star behind the magic" reading my report.

burly: Thanks. That LMA comment still makes me smile-and she had a southern accent.

greenmickeyfanatic: Mickey's Philharmagic is an awesome 4D show in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom. A must see!

DonaldTDuck: Thanks for joining the journey and for your kind comments...They're talking about me on the CB

Thanks to all reading and especially those posting. AK coming right up!

--Christamae

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

Saturday July 22 we were off to Animal Kingdom.

The original plan was to be there at opening but I don’t think we got there until 11:00.

When we stopped to pay for parking, we were waved through, “The computer’s are down.” At this point, we weren’t sure what that meant except we didn’t have to pay for parking.

As always our first stop was the rest room. It was very hot! I think the hottest day yet. As the others cycled through the bathroom, Danielle and I noticed a talking Palm Tree…Wes Palm! I had read about him on the disboards. It was fun to see people’s reactions.

One teenage girl was like, “What color is my shirt?”
Wes Palm said, “Well it’s kinda reddish purple so I would say maroon.”
“How did you do that! That’s freaky!”
“What? No it’s not…Hmm, some people.”

Danielle and I decided to have a little chat with Wes Palm. I was on the vent so Danielle interpreted.

“What’s your name?”
“Danielle and Christamae.”
“Where are you from?”
“California.”
“Ooh, I love California!! (singing) I wish they all could be California girls!”
“What’s your favorite thing here?”
“We love the Lion King show and the Safari.”
“What’s your favorite animal?”
Danielle said, “Lion.” (I hadn’t decided-too many!)
Wes Palm, “I don’t like giraffes…they eat my hair.”

Every time Wes Palm took a picture he said, “Trees!”

I know there was a bit more talking but that’s all I remember. I love these interactive guys! When I was 11 and on my wish trip, I met PUSH. We were in a gift shop and he started talking to me. At first I was a bit taken back. He liked my name and we talked a bit. I remember him telling me I was wearing Pooh (a t-shirt). Then he went over to my Dad who was sitting amongst stuffed animals and said,

“Excuse me, sir, but did you know you are sitting in a pile of pooh?” We still laugh over that one.

Before PUSH left he asked me for a hug. I explained that I was in a wheelchair and it was hard for me to reach. “That’s okay, I’ll help.” PUSH scooted right up to the side of my wheelchair and I was able to give him a pat/hug. That little gesture meant a lot.

So I have fond memories of those roaming friends.

We were off to Festival of the Lion King. This is one of our favorite shows. Personally, I think it’s the best daytime show. They were loading the theatre pretty quick and packing the wheelchairs pretty close. I was against the bench with Danielle on my left and Dad sitting on the bench. Mom and Grandma were on the other side of the bench. Grandma was having some trouble parking. The CM was being a bit neurotic with being perfectly aligned. Grandma was getting flustered while more and more people poured into the theatre. Mom gestured for Dad. Dad took the control and backed Grandma into place. He has lots of experience with wheelchairs and my first wheelchair was a pediatric scooter (Pony).

Then I settled in to enjoy the show. Listening to the competition between the lion,

elephant,

warthog, and giraffe sections. The costumes in this show are just amazing.

The choreography-superb.

I especially enjoy the acrobatic monkeys.

Then there’s the fire dancer and the soaring gymnasts intertwining the cloth that pulls them into the air.

About half way through the show, my bladder really started to complain. I am afraid that it detracted from the show…

I had a new perspective this time. There were Cast Members interpreting the show in ASL. They were really good at expressing the emotion. Like during the instrumental parts of ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ they held each other and gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. I found myself watching them…

I was glad when it was over because I really had to go to the bathroom!

While exiting, Grandma was visibly upset. I guess Dad helping her park embarrassed her. This upset Dad. For a bit we had some unDisney feelings. But we beat them back.

Then it was off to It’s Tough to Be a Bug. This is where the full implication of “the computer’s down” became evident. Fastpass was unavailable and no wait time was posted. The bees buzzing songs were cute. I always enjoy this show. The wheelchair seats aren’t as good as other theatres because it’s not stadium seating. We were in the very back. To combat this I used my elevation feature on my wheelchair. Better. I consider this to be the scariest 4D show. So those with young children be cautioned…If you use a wheelchair and can transfer to a seat do so. Several effects are only available in theatre seats.

After being thrown acid, stink bombed, stung, attacked by spiders, and nearly swatted, we were finished being a bug.

Now it’s time to eat. We trekked off to Pizzafari. Here are my two main complaints with AK-everything is a trek, so far apart. And the broken ‘realistic’ pavement is horrible to drive on. I was thrown around and bounced most unpleasurably. Ow. But it also has beautiful scenery.

(all those plastic bags are to cover our wheelchair controls if it rains)

Finally, we arrived at Pizzafari. Aaah-air conditioning. We settled into a colorful room and pulled out my preprinted menu to decide what to eat. While Dad went to get the food a friendly older female janitor CM talked with us, asked how we were, what we’d done, where we were from. Her eyes lingered on our pin trading lanyards at which point she excused herself. Dad arrived with the food including a frozen strawberry lemonade. Which looked oh, so good…

Should I?

Ring of the bells to get Mom’s attention (on the vent), “Can I try some?”

“Sure.” And Mom spooned some of that frozen yumminess into my mouth. So good! It is a rare treat for me to find something of the right consistency for me to be able to swallow. Most things get stuck or aspirated (go in my lungs). This was the perfect consistency and marvelous. I had several bites. Yum.

The CM we were talking to earlier came back with pins! One for me, Danielle, and Mom. Thanks! I know I haven’t mentioned it but I had done quite a bit of trading. Sometimes I traded a pin that had already been traded for a better pin…I liked trading!

After lunch we were off to Pocahontas and her Forest Friends. We hadn’t seen it before. On the way I made a pin trade and was given a DVC pin-“the best kept Disney secret.”

This is me waiting for the show-don't I look hot:

You can see my ventilator tube. That purple pouch holds my drain bag for my stomach, affectionately referred to as autobarf. The bag up above my head is a venting bag for my food-you can't see my pump-it's on the back of my chair. The dark green piece is covering one of my controls in case of rain. I am wearing my lanyard. I'm sure you have noticed the LGMH on the front of my control.

The Pocahontas seats weren’t very good. There was a bench directly in front of them on the same level and the wheelchair seats were the only ones in the sun. There were some wheelchair seats down front. But those were designated for kids 10 & under.

Pocahontas had a very good voice. The animals were cute though a bit unsure of what to do. Grandmother Willow and Sprout were well done.

But I must admit I was a bit disappointed. The show was a bit over done for me. And it was hard to see…The best part was the Colors of the Wind number.

It was very hot. I stuck on one of the instant ice packs. Our next stop was Flights of Wonder. We had missed this on our last trip.

It was a bit of an adventure getting there. The parade was in progress so we had many detours. We were early (as planned). There was a glorious misting fan that I could sit under. And I could see the parade. A pleasant surprise. The best way to wait for a show.

While in the theatre and waiting for the show, a man (CM) came up to my Dad, asked if Danielle and I were his daughters and then gave him two little stuffed lions with fasten paws…I always wondered if Wes Palm was behind it. We had told him our tour plan…

Flights of Wonder was good. At the beginning of the show, this tour guide went on stage, held up his flag, and loudly announced that he had Fast Passes for Expedition Everest and they needed to go. I thought, oh boy, not again. I know I haven’t mentioned it but there were a lot of tour groups. This is exactly the kind of thing they would do. Stand up toward the end of a show wagging the flag for the followers. Stop directly in the middle of the street and wait for everyone to congregate, leaving a very small place to pass to one side. Stop in the middle of a line and block others from passing until some stragglers ran up to the group.

So I was very surprised when the host called the tour guide by name. I realized he was part of the cast.

Kinda ironic.

The tour guide had bird phobia. The show was about helping the guy overcome his fears (with a lot of cool tricks). Some of the tricks I remember was throwing grapes up to be caught and a talking parrot that carried on a little parody. The most memorable was this. An audience member held a folded dollar bill. The bird swooped down, took the money, and gave it back to the host. Then the host sent the bird back with the money saying, “money back at Disney-that’s something you don’t see every day.” Overall a cute pleasantly educational show. I recommend.

continued in next post to make room for all the Safari pictures

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

continued from above

At this point, it was a little over an hour until closing. Things had finally cooled off. We headed towards a fantastic ride and a favorite of Danielle’s and mine-Kilimanjaro Safaris. There was practically no line!

We had to wait for a wheelchair car. While we waited, we chatted with a little boy in a wheelchair and his parents. The little boy was so cute and excited. And his parents were so caring and attentive.

After a bit of a wait, a wheelchair accessible safari vehicle pulled in. Danielle and Grandma got in. About ten minutes later a second wheelchair accessible safari vehicle pulled in and Dad and I got in. My driver was nice. She had worked at Disney for five years. Started out in the summer college program and never left. She spotted my button/pin and said, “So you’re the best kept Disney secret .”

The ride was a bit bumpier than I remembered. Dad helped stabilize my wheelchair. The CM was very in character and fun. She kept glancing at me to make sure I was okay and I know she went slower through the chase scene.

And the animals! They were everywhere and very active! Wonderful! Right before park closing is a great time to ride…When Dad and I returned to base, Danielle and Grandma were there and Mom was taking her turn. We waited about another ten minutes for Mom. She came off smiling and with lotsa pictures.

This last one is a lion. Mom said that the lion turned and glared as they passed like, "This is my turf."

Before we left the park I had to buy some pins. These are in my collection to stay.

This one is identical to a picture in the Mickey room and I love the patriotism:

The next part of the day was a bit of a bummer. We went to the store. We needed to get some food for the drive back…a very sad thought. And Grandma needed some stuff for the meal she was cooking her brother the next day. I admit that I was a bit glum being at a grocery store in Orlando.

Looking back on Animal Kingdom, we did a lot of fun stuff and had some special moments. At the time it didn’t seem as wonderful. It had been so hot and I was sore from driving over the bumpy roads in the park. Grandma being upset had tainted the day a bit.

I wanted to return to check out Rafiki’s Planet Watch and see Lion King again. But alas, it was not to be. We considered the idea of going for part of the day and park hopping. But ultimately decided against it…

Still, Animal Kingdom was good to us and we had a great time!

Next up on Saturday, July 7- Seaworld and a very special visit from Uncle Bill

Sea World and a special visit- Page 23, Post #337 and #338
--Christamae

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Backstage_Gal: Thank you for those very kind words . Disney is very accessible compared to everyone else. Nobodies perfect. I appreciate all they do. I did send some suggestions for Companion Restrooms...Maybe you could drop some hints on making wheelchair accessible ride vehicles 6-10 inches bigger Happy to have a "star behind the magic" reading my report.

--Christamae

Done, I sent an email to SR VP of Operations. She and I went on a business trip back in the 80's. Anyway, I am sure they can do nothing about current situation, much too expensive, but hopefully for future rides..

Off to read your update now!

 

[tokyodisneydad]

Glad your back and continuing your adventure. AK is my wife's favorite park. I'm also glad to see some pics of pins.

 

[SueM in MN]

Done, I sent an email to SR VP of Operations. She and I went on a business trip back in the 80's. Anyway, I am sure they can do nothing about current situation, much too expensive, but hopefully for future rides..

Off to read your update now!

Even if it can't be done now, I know it is something that would be really helpful in the future.

The Pocahontas seats weren’t very good. There was a bench directly in front of them on the same level and the wheelchair seats were the only ones in the sun. There were some wheelchair seats down front. But those were designated for kids 10 & under.

We found that too. My DD couldn't see anything at all because the people in the bench in front of her completely blocked her view.

AK has some of our favorite shows and the best theming (although lots of people besides you found the themed pathways to be really bumpy).

 

[Goofyluver]

Christamae---wonderful update! AK is probably my 2nd favorite park next to MK of course! You need to make it back and see Nemo---just as good as Lion King! Loving your TR---and please...it can't end soon!!!

 

[KathyRN137]

I remember him telling me I was wearing Pooh (a t-shirt). Then he went over to my Dad who was sitting amongst stuffed animals and said,

“Excuse me, sir, but did you know you are sitting in a pile of pooh?” We still laugh over that one.

Ba-dum-ching!

So very glad to find an update from you tonight! I'm enjoying your report thoroughly.

Kathy

 

[jlcd]

Another great installment Christamae! You continue to inspire me with your positive attitiude and spirit. I am looking forward to your Sea World report. It is on my list of things to do for our next trip. Now I just have to figure out when that next trip will be!!