DisneyWheeler
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2008
- Messages
- 76
The people who went:
Me-27 year old special-needs adult that was born with a genetic syndrome, has profound hearing loss in left ear (which I wear a hearing aid for) and uses a wheelchair due to osteoarthritis, scoliosis, developmental hip dysplasia in left hip and dystonia.
Mom-Just turned 64 years old, and who is the greatest mother in the world when it comes to advocating for my medical needs.
DH Dan-28 year old special-needs adult who has traumatic brain injury, hemiplegia CP on the right side, "functional" mental disabilities, and who is hard-of-hearing in left ear.
My godfather Morrie-64 years old, a true Disney character lover, and who is a character himself.
Lorrie-colleague of my mom and my godfather who works with computers at their work, and who loves to be funny.
Hi guys.....Sorry it took so long to post my trip report. But, it took me a while to recover from the trip. One thing I can say, is that I'm glad I took my own wheelchair. However, my mom's back was bothering her pretty bad. Even worse than when my back bothers me. And, I'm the one who has scoliosis. So, she had to use a park wheelchair at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. She ignored the stares and comments that were directed at her, as she was there to have fun besides attending meetings for her work.
Upon arrival at MCO, we got our rental car (which was a van with stow-n-go seats-perfect for my wheelchair, which we tipped back and had it resting on the stroller handle extension) and headed for Downtown Disney. We all got out while my godfather went to go park the car. Mom wanted me to walk, holding onto Dan since I'd been sitting on the plane from Portland to Chicago, then Chicago to Orlando. So, we walked around Downtown Disney for a while.
The hard part about that, was that I had to walk the entire time, wobbling.
Then, we went to the Wilderness Lodge to show Lorrie what it looked like (she had never been to Disney before). By the time dinner time came around, we headed for All-Star Movies where we would be staying. I was so happy, especially since my back was begging me to take a break from all the walking.
Day 1, Thursday: Animal Kingdom. I was anxious to ride Expedition Everest, since I had heard it was one of the newest rides. Dan didn't know about it at all. But, after we rode it the first time, he wanted to go back in line and ride it again before we left the park. Lorrie, Dan and I stayed at the park during the whole day. We rode Kilmanjaro Safari and saw "It's Tough To Be A Bug". I wish we could've gone to see Festival Of The Lion King (which is my favorite show at Animal Kingdom), but we ran out of time. Later that evening, we met up with my mom and Morrie at EPCOT for Illuminations. My mom and I both love this show. Especially the song that is played at the end of the fireworks. It brings tears to my eyes.
Day 2, Friday: Dan, Lorrie and I head for EPCOT. We spent the whole day there, riding the Figment ride, Spaceship Earth, and the new Nemo ride. It was a lot of fun being with Lorrie because she just loves to be funny. She was making Dan and me laugh with her crazy sense of humor.
Day 3, Saturday: Magic Kingdom. Dan and I headed for Magic Kingdom. We rode on all of the rides, especially "It's A Small World". We spent the whole day there, then met up with Lorrie, my mom and my godfather at Boma for the dinner buffet. My mom loves going there, and almost never wastes a chance to make reservations.
Day 4: Sunday. Dan, Lorrie and I head back to the Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom where we did all of the rides. We had a lot of fun. And, since we were on our own for dinner, we ate at one of the great restaurants.
Day 5: Monday. We all went to Hollywood Studios and saw the Disney Stars And Motor Cars parade. Alice and Pluto came up to me and hugged me. It startled me when Pluto came up to me. But, I smiled when Alice said, "Have a golden afternoon my dear."
Day 6: Tuesday: Dan and I head for Magic Kingdom for the last time before our flight. We rode "It's A Small World" and Pirates Of The Caribbean. Those were the only two we could do, since our flight back home would leave that afternoon. It was a lot of fun.
Overall, we had a great time. I was overwhelmed at how crowded the parks were, each day we went. It was a madhouse. There were many tour groups there, especially at our hotel. I was really glad that we brought my own wheelchair. And using my tray with it made my back pain-free the entire trip.
Dan and I were really surprised when we saw our old neighbor. When we were at the Magic Kingdom, we heard someone calling out, "DANIEL!!! SAMANTHA!!!" We looked at each other, wondering who would know us. We turn around and there she was. It had been a while since we'd seen here, but she was looking good.
So, that's my trip report. I'm off to bed!!
Samantha
Me-27 year old special-needs adult that was born with a genetic syndrome, has profound hearing loss in left ear (which I wear a hearing aid for) and uses a wheelchair due to osteoarthritis, scoliosis, developmental hip dysplasia in left hip and dystonia.
Mom-Just turned 64 years old, and who is the greatest mother in the world when it comes to advocating for my medical needs.
DH Dan-28 year old special-needs adult who has traumatic brain injury, hemiplegia CP on the right side, "functional" mental disabilities, and who is hard-of-hearing in left ear.
My godfather Morrie-64 years old, a true Disney character lover, and who is a character himself.
Lorrie-colleague of my mom and my godfather who works with computers at their work, and who loves to be funny.
Hi guys.....Sorry it took so long to post my trip report. But, it took me a while to recover from the trip. One thing I can say, is that I'm glad I took my own wheelchair. However, my mom's back was bothering her pretty bad. Even worse than when my back bothers me. And, I'm the one who has scoliosis. So, she had to use a park wheelchair at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. She ignored the stares and comments that were directed at her, as she was there to have fun besides attending meetings for her work.
Upon arrival at MCO, we got our rental car (which was a van with stow-n-go seats-perfect for my wheelchair, which we tipped back and had it resting on the stroller handle extension) and headed for Downtown Disney. We all got out while my godfather went to go park the car. Mom wanted me to walk, holding onto Dan since I'd been sitting on the plane from Portland to Chicago, then Chicago to Orlando. So, we walked around Downtown Disney for a while.
The hard part about that, was that I had to walk the entire time, wobbling.
Then, we went to the Wilderness Lodge to show Lorrie what it looked like (she had never been to Disney before). By the time dinner time came around, we headed for All-Star Movies where we would be staying. I was so happy, especially since my back was begging me to take a break from all the walking.
Day 1, Thursday: Animal Kingdom. I was anxious to ride Expedition Everest, since I had heard it was one of the newest rides. Dan didn't know about it at all. But, after we rode it the first time, he wanted to go back in line and ride it again before we left the park. Lorrie, Dan and I stayed at the park during the whole day. We rode Kilmanjaro Safari and saw "It's Tough To Be A Bug". I wish we could've gone to see Festival Of The Lion King (which is my favorite show at Animal Kingdom), but we ran out of time. Later that evening, we met up with my mom and Morrie at EPCOT for Illuminations. My mom and I both love this show. Especially the song that is played at the end of the fireworks. It brings tears to my eyes.
Day 2, Friday: Dan, Lorrie and I head for EPCOT. We spent the whole day there, riding the Figment ride, Spaceship Earth, and the new Nemo ride. It was a lot of fun being with Lorrie because she just loves to be funny. She was making Dan and me laugh with her crazy sense of humor.
Day 3, Saturday: Magic Kingdom. Dan and I headed for Magic Kingdom. We rode on all of the rides, especially "It's A Small World". We spent the whole day there, then met up with Lorrie, my mom and my godfather at Boma for the dinner buffet. My mom loves going there, and almost never wastes a chance to make reservations.
Day 4: Sunday. Dan, Lorrie and I head back to the Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom where we did all of the rides. We had a lot of fun. And, since we were on our own for dinner, we ate at one of the great restaurants.
Day 5: Monday. We all went to Hollywood Studios and saw the Disney Stars And Motor Cars parade. Alice and Pluto came up to me and hugged me. It startled me when Pluto came up to me. But, I smiled when Alice said, "Have a golden afternoon my dear."
Day 6: Tuesday: Dan and I head for Magic Kingdom for the last time before our flight. We rode "It's A Small World" and Pirates Of The Caribbean. Those were the only two we could do, since our flight back home would leave that afternoon. It was a lot of fun.
Overall, we had a great time. I was overwhelmed at how crowded the parks were, each day we went. It was a madhouse. There were many tour groups there, especially at our hotel. I was really glad that we brought my own wheelchair. And using my tray with it made my back pain-free the entire trip.
Dan and I were really surprised when we saw our old neighbor. When we were at the Magic Kingdom, we heard someone calling out, "DANIEL!!! SAMANTHA!!!" We looked at each other, wondering who would know us. We turn around and there she was. It had been a while since we'd seen here, but she was looking good.
So, that's my trip report. I'm off to bed!!
Samantha
