It's Long Overdue.....Now the IIIEEEEEEEE Trip Report!! Come Find Me!

[DizNee Luver]

Hi Friends & New Friends!

My name is Laurie and it's been a while since I was able to do a Pre-Trip & Trip Report. My last one was for our 2015 WDW Family Trip. This is a trip just for my hubby Mike & I!! It's been 26 months since we got away, even for a night.....so as the title says "It's Long Overdue".

This is Mike & I:



We live in Oregon, so Disneyland is more of our home park but we love WDW......especially adult trips!! One of my sons (who I will talk about more later) did the Disney College Program 4 times and finally decided to make Orlando home. So Mike & I did a trip in 2013 to visit him (without the kids) plus the 2015 big trip with 6 of our kids. WHOA!!! Did you say 6 of your kids??? How many do we have?? We have 8.......5 adopted from foster care and our 3 grown sons.

These are the 4 adopted girls from our 2015 trip:



This is our adopted son:



These are 2 of my 3 grown/biological sons (Tyler & Nick):





Ty and Nick are super important for this trip, as they will be staying at our home to care for the kids so we can go.

And this is my 3rd son, Derek who lives in Orlando and his significant other that we will be visiting. They both work for Universal Orlando, so we will be splitting our trip between UO and WDW. We will be staying on property at Universal due to the deal we were able to get with their discounts!!



We will be staying at the Cabana Bay Resort at Universal Orlando. (These 3 photos were found on Google Images and are not mine)







As of this writing......we are 40 days out!!!! Our trip dates are April 18-25th.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Itinerary: Page 3, Post 53 https://www.disboards.com/threads/its-long-overdue-pre-trip-report.3669306/page-3#post-58967308

Updated Interary: Page 6, Post 106 https://www.disboards.com/threads/its-long-overdue-pre-trip-report-countdown-is-on-6.3669306/page-6

 

[Escape2Disney]

I love your reports! Following...

 

[CatNipRules]

Following along.

 

[kaoden39]

I’m here!! Yay!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I love your reports! Following...

Welcome Carrie!!

Following along.

Welcome Michelle!!

I’m here!! Yay!!

Welcome Michele!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

So as I mentioned in the first post, we will be staying at the Cabana Bay Resort at Universal Orlando. With both Derek and his girlfriend working for UO, we were able to get a very nice discount on our resort.....much bigger discount then when Derek was doing the Disney College Program and we stayed at the Value Resorts. It will be very weird not staying at WDW as our 2 prior trips we did. We've only been to the Universal in Hollywood and wasn't really impressed (this was prior to the Harry Potter being open) so we are going to Universal with an open mind and going to give it 3 days to really get immersed in what it offers. When we did the Universal in California, we had the kids and it was hard on them and not a lot of "kid" things for them to do. That played into our opinion of the place.....plus we met some of the rudest employees....so that didn't help either.

This was from the Universal Hollywood trip in 2014:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/23FbUYB] [/URL]



What's funny about these photos is......we're huge Simpson's fans but I don't think anyone really liked this ride. Guess where my son Derek works at Universal????

You guessed it.........The Simpson's Ride!!! lol





Derek's girlfriend, Sara works at Gringott's and a lot of overnight type shifts.....not exactly sure what she does on those shifts but hopefully we will get to know when we finally meet her in person.



Sara ALSO works at WDW, Animal Kingdom as a Safari Guide.......so we didn't have to purchase tickets to either UO or WDW.........VERY NICE!!!

 

[kelmac284]

Yay SO excited. I love your trip reports because you always put in so much detail and I love all the pics. I am so glad that you guys are getting away finally. You so deserve it. Shelby wants to do the college program but wants to do it at DL and I am really hoping she chooses DW because I think there is a lot more to do back there and I really want to be able to go visit her while she is there LOL. I am so glad you are giving Univ a second chance. We LOVE the one back there way better than Hollywood. The one in Hollywood is boring to me and we only go there once every 5 or more years but even then we are bored compared to DL. IOA is amazing and the themeing is awesome. Even if you hate Harry Potter it is really amazing how well themed it is and we were able to do the train over to UNIV this past year and do the Daigon Alley portion. Both the forbidden Journey AND Gringotts are amazing. We have been to IOA every time we go back there but only to the universal side twice. I actually enjoyed it. Not as much as IOA but it still had some fun stuff. We loved the Kong ride (similar to Indiana Jones) and MIB and a few others but def Daigon Alley. They don't have the tour part like hollywood and they were just adding a ride with Jimmy Fallon that tours through NYC. Not sure how crazy it will be. FJ is pretty crazy and not sure if that is something you do but it is def amazing if you can. Gringotts was wild but better as you are in a car again kind of like Indy.

So excited to see your report and I hope you have an AMAZING time!! Really missed you at the diva trip and hope you are able to go again in the future.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Yay SO excited. I love your trip reports because you always put in so much detail and I love all the pics. I am so glad that you guys are getting away finally. You so deserve it. Shelby wants to do the college program but wants to do it at DL and I am really hoping she chooses DW because I think there is a lot more to do back there and I really want to be able to go visit her while she is there LOL. I am so glad you are giving Univ a second chance. We LOVE the one back there way better than Hollywood. The one in Hollywood is boring to me and we only go there once every 5 or more years but even then we are bored compared to DL. IOA is amazing and the themeing is awesome. Even if you hate Harry Potter it is really amazing how well themed it is and we were able to do the train over to UNIV this past year and do the Daigon Alley portion. Both the forbidden Journey AND Gringotts are amazing. We have been to IOA every time we go back there but only to the universal side twice. I actually enjoyed it. Not as much as IOA but it still had some fun stuff. We loved the Kong ride (similar to Indiana Jones) and MIB and a few others but def Daigon Alley. They don't have the tour part like hollywood and they were just adding a ride with Jimmy Fallon that tours through NYC. Not sure how crazy it will be. FJ is pretty crazy and not sure if that is something you do but it is def amazing if you can. Gringotts was wild but better as you are in a car again kind of like Indy.

So excited to see your report and I hope you have an AMAZING time!! Really missed you at the diva trip and hope you are able to go again in the future.

Well thank you for the gentle push in to doing one again....it's been a while and I'm out of practice.....lol

I'm excited to do Universal.....I've been researching and watching videos and reading up on it. We are watching the Harry Potter series again so I will understand what I'm seeing. Last fall was the first time I had watched any of the movies. Kinda glad Tyler told me I'd like them......I enjoyed them but so many characters and twists to keep straight. We also borrowed Avatar to watch so Pandora and the Animal Kingdom will make sense.

 

[DizNee Luver]

So I will use this post to tell you a little about us. Mike and I will have been married 34 years on March 17th. Today is actual our 35th anniversary of our 1st date!!



Mike has worked as a meat cutter for Albertson's and Safeway, a Paramedic and now an Educational Assistant at a Middle School. So he will actually be missing work and had to beg to get the week off. In fact, we thought we might have to cancel because they kinda freaked out about him taking a week off (unpaid). Thankfully, they approved the time off.....otherwise I might have gone CRAZY!!

I for the most part have been a mom for almost 33 years. I've worked part time jobs here and there but with 4 children with special needs.....my job is caring for them. I work on-call as an Educational Assistant, so if I'm free I work, if I'm not....I don't. Works out good. I am involved with our Special Olympics program and in fact take over as the Coordinator at the end of the month. It is a volunteer position but one I am truly honored to be asked to do so. I have 2 daughters currently involved in the different sports and one that will do swimming in the fall.

This is from basketball season last year.....their regional tournament for basketball is next Saturday (so guess how we're spending our anniversary......)



My husband & I also are active with a camp called Camp Attitude. It is a camp for kids and adults with disabilities who would normally never get to experience a summer camp. They ride horses, have a lake day riding Jet Skis, Speed Boats, Pontoon, Canoes, etc, they have a Talent Show, Laser Tag, Campfires, Prom, Carnival, water fights, etc. The camp runs Sunday afternoon through Friday morning and the family comes with the "camper". It is free for the family and camper. They stay in nice cabins or yurts or they bring their own trailers. The camp is run by all volunteers and runs for 8 weeks a summer. We've attended the camp as camper families 3 times but last summer we volunteered for the entire 8 weeks. Mike cooked for the whole camp and I did a ladies gathering and helped in the gift shop. We are going back again this summer and can't wait to be at our 2nd home!!!



So as I mentioned we have 8 kids: 4 boys and 4 girls. Three of the boys are our biological sons. Nick is 32 and married. He lives about 2 hours away. No children....so I have ZERO grandchildren (and at 55 you would think I'd have a few by now). Tyler (age 31) who is actually in the picture above from camp, lives with us and works as a full-time caregiver for our twins. He's employed and paid through Developmental Disabilities. He is actually going to move to Florida....probably in May. Derek is 28 and is the one we're visiting in Florida. Derek got to experience the Disney College Program 4 times....which is probably unusual for most. First time he worked food service at the All Stars Movies Resort.....he hated it but loved his roommates. Second time he was a boat captain on the boats that went between Port Orleans and Disney Springs (also the Disney Springs back and forth).......he loved the job but hated the roommates. The third he was a lifeguard at the Contemporary Resort. He originally was assigned to one of the Water Parks, but something happened with a group of the lifeguards at the Contemporary and so he got moved. He thought the job was ok (he was afraid of someone drowning on his watch) and the roommates were so-so. The fourth time he got assigned again at a Water Park but not as a lifeguard. He didn't live in the program housing and seemed much happier with life. Derek enjoyed Orlando and so he actually drove across country with his stuff before the 4th program started and relocated. When the program ended he was able to find employment at Universal and he seems to really like working for them. Sounds like Universal treats their employees much better than Disney but I'm not saying this to start an argument or controversy. That is what he told me and I don't have an opinion either way since I haven't worked for either company.

When Derek was 12, we started doing Foster Care. Anthony was our 2nd placement and came to us at 13mths. He went home a couple times before being adopted in 2005. (he was 4). Shortly before Anthony's adoption, we got Addy, who was 2mths. She went home once before her adoption in 2009. (she was 4). The twins we actually started with at the NICU. They were born 6 weeks early and had some medical issues. Shyann & Michayla's adoption finalized on our 25th Anniversary in 2009. We thought we were done but we found out years later that the twins older sister was still floating in the system and so we adopted Jasmin in 2016. (she had been in the foster care system since 7mths.....3727 days as a foster child).



I stay busy with IEP's, appointments, sports, activities, etc. Michayla is probably our most complex kiddo. She has Pierre-Robin Sequence which is a syndrome that happens while in the womb. Her chin didn't grow out properly, which kept her tongue short and gave her cleft palate. They also have heart defects. She had her palate repaired at a year and open heart surgery when she was 5. She is a non-verbal autistic and intellectually delayed. She's almost 11 but her cognative abilities puts her at about a 12-18mth old. She's also g-tube fed and does nothing by mouth. She's self injurious but not nearly as bad once we figured out she was having migraines. Shyann (the twin) has some of the same issues but minor. She has a heart defect but nothing to be concerned about, she has a soft palate, she's verbal and eats just fine. She's also autistic and intellectually delayed (probably at about a 5-6yr old) Addy (age 12) is neuro typical but deals with anxiety and ADHD. Jasmin (also age 12.....11 days older than Addy) is also autistic and intellectually delayed (probably about 3-4yrs behind). Anthony (will be 17 on Friday) has fetal alcohol affects, ADHD, anxiety and learning disabilities. He unfortunately became violent (lots of uncontrolled emotions and anger) and we had to place him into a Developmental Disabilities Foster Home. We still have full custody but he needed to live away from the girls for their safety.

So that's us in a nutshell I guess. I feel blessed with every child we were gifted with.....even on the hard days. I love being their mom!!

 

[jchurch0409]

Following!!

 

[CatNipRules]

Wow...knowing your backstory I just have to say you are amazing. It takes a special person to work in foster care and an even more special person to adopt. Loving this so far...

 

[DizNee Luver]

Following!!

Welcome!!

Wow...knowing your backstory I just have to say you are amazing. It takes a special person to work in foster care and an even more special person to adopt. Loving this so far...

Thank you so much!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Our family is known as a Disney loving family. Our home is decorated with Disney and last year, Mike & I got tattoos that have Mickey heads.

I love mine.....it's a heart with the thing that mean so much to me: Disney, Autism Awareness (twins), Music (I sing) and my Faith. It also has 8 stars for 8 kids.



Mike went with a Mickey head made up with Autism Awareness puzzle pieces.

 

[jchurch0409]

I love both of your tattoos!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I love both of your tattoos!!

Thank You!

 

[kelmac284]

Love the tats. Very cool! I am glad you watched the HP movies. It def helps to make sense of the parks and once you have watched them you will be amazed at just how intricately detailed the parks truly are. I LOVE Disney as you know but those parks are right up there with their themeing. We just missed Avatar when we were there last year. It always seems to work that way LOL. It seems like there is always something new coming and we JUST miss it. I am glad we got to see the Great Movie Ride one last time and I am still bummed it is leaving. The new ride sounds ok but to me it won't be the same. I am not a huge star wars fan but I am looking forward to the themeing of it. I just hope that the new rides aren't too wild. I get motion sickness and I have to take dramamine to ride on FJ and even then I can only do it once. I am excited to see the flight of passage but admit I am a bit nervous about that as well. I am thinking that the new star wars rides may be the same way :/ I will def try them at least once though and hope they are not so bad that I can experience them. I loved Avatar. Both the story but how beautiful it was. I am anxious to see if the land translates as well. Unfortunately I have NO idea when we will get back there. It took us 6 years last time although now that both girls are almost in college mom and I may make a trip alone or wait and if Shelby gets into the college program may go then. Anywho loving this as always and can't wait to read the next installment!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Love the tats. Very cool! I am glad you watched the HP movies. It def helps to make sense of the parks and once you have watched them you will be amazed at just how intricately detailed the parks truly are. I LOVE Disney as you know but those parks are right up there with their themeing. We just missed Avatar when we were there last year. It always seems to work that way LOL. It seems like there is always something new coming and we JUST miss it. I am glad we got to see the Great Movie Ride one last time and I am still bummed it is leaving. The new ride sounds ok but to me it won't be the same. I am not a huge star wars fan but I am looking forward to the themeing of it. I just hope that the new rides aren't too wild. I get motion sickness and I have to take dramamine to ride on FJ and even then I can only do it once. I am excited to see the flight of passage but admit I am a bit nervous about that as well. I am thinking that the new star wars rides may be the same way :/ I will def try them at least once though and hope they are not so bad that I can experience them. I loved Avatar. Both the story but how beautiful it was. I am anxious to see if the land translates as well. Unfortunately I have NO idea when we will get back there. It took us 6 years last time although now that both girls are almost in college mom and I may make a trip alone or wait and if Shelby gets into the college program may go then. Anywho loving this as always and can't wait to read the next installment!

Yeah, the new Pixar ride is opening up a few months after we're there in Hollywood Studios....but to be honest I'd prefer to miss out on those kind of crowds. Mike can't do the motion simulation rides.....he gets horribly nauseous. ANY TIPS READERS??????

I have never seen Avatar, we borrowed it but with the Olympics and now the ParaOlympics......doesn't leave much more time. I also want to finish up the Harry Potter series before introducing a whole new story for me to keep straight.

Maybe you, me and your mom could do a trip!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

APRIL 18-25​

I think I mentioned that earlier as our trip dates. We're leaving Portland Oregon on Wednesday April 18, flying Alaska Airlines non-stop to Orlando.



We will get in around 6pm. Derek and Sara will pick us up at the airport and drive us to our home for the week at Cabana Bay Resort.



Thursday, Friday & Saturday will be Universal Orlando days.



Sunday, Monday & Tuesday will be Walt Disney World days.



We will fly back out of Orlando around 5:30pm.....so we will have some time on Wednesday to either do one of the parks or hang out in CityWalk or Disney Springs. We'll get back to Portland around 8:48pm (pacific time.....so 11:48pm Orlando time)

(ALL OF THESE PHOTOS WERE FOUND ON GOOGLE IMAGES AND ARE NOT MINE, NOR DO I CLAIM THESE AS MY PERSONAL PHOTOS......CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE MY OWN THOUGH)

 

[CatNipRules]

Love your Disney tats. I have 5 myself. LOL!

For the motion sickness, has he tried the bands that he can wear on his wrists? My son has horrible motion sickness. Whenever he's in the car he can't look at his phone or play his game systems because he gets sick. However, when he uses them, it makes it to where he can at least use his phone. He also said that it was easier to do the motion rides.

I don't think you really need to see Avatar before you go. I saw it once. I say saw, it was more like I kinda listened to it while my son watched it. It just wasn't my type of movie. That being said, I loved Pandora. It was amazing. Especially at night. My son and his friend loved it.I could take it or leave it. LOL!! I was exhausted by that time of night and just wanted to go back to the hotel quite honestly. LOL!!