DisneyDadFaNaTic
How Do I Buy a House on Main Street?
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2002
- Messages
- 324
Okay, I know, member since 2002 and a little over 100 posts. I like to read more than post. Truth be told, by the time I think of an answer to some of your posts it has already been posted about 12 twelves times. So I read and enjoy and post every so often when the mood takes me. I guess you could say I'm a "lurker", but I rrrreeeeaaaallllllyyyyy hate that word. It just sounds so WRONG!! So I sit here ready for a pre trip listening to hours of downloaded Disney music and hoping that I will manage to be halfway witty. Who am I, you ask? My name is Roy a Disney Fanatic and father of a DS(9) and husband of "Elemusing" a DIS veteran who is as fanatical as I and (knowing her) will put in an appearance on this Trip Report at some juncture. We have been married for 11 years and had a wonderful Disney honeymoon. We started bringing DS when he was three and have brought him nearly every year since. Why no trip reports before this one? Well, that is kind of a long story, so if you will bear with me I will tell it.
We have been to Disney many, many times in the past and I've never really felt the need to post a trip report. Like I stated above, you guys are very articulate and keep records much better than I do. You promptly reply to posts and have excellent communication with your readers. While I enjoy reading and occasionally posting I'm generally way to busy to check up on posts by the hour, or have the patience to answer every question. I greatly admire those who can and do, I'm just not sure I'm one of them. BUT, then we came to October 2006. October was an okay month until the last week. We had tickets to see "The Lion King" in Nashville, TN (we live in Murray, KY) and were very excited about that. Our two dogs "Baby" and "Buddy" were going to stay home and guard the house for us. Now little Buddy has had a hard life. He is a minature Pomeranian (as is Baby) and he was the runt of the litter. He developed a cyst in his neck at a couple of months old. Developed epilepsy when he was one and began to lose his hair at age 9. He lost his sight at age 10 and always had trouble with staph infections. Despite all his medical problems he was the happiest little dog you have ever seen. He loved EVERYONE! He used to give me "The Rub". While I was laying in my chair, he would stand on my chest and rub his face across one side of my cheek and then the other. Just like a cat. Very cute!
Baby, Me, and little Buddy!
A couple of days before we left, Buddy, who was 11 at the time, became very ill. It wasn't the throwing up kind of sick, he seemed to lose all his energy. He couldn't stand very well and you literally had to carry him outside for potty breaks. We went ahead and went to see "The Lion King" and had the MIL come over and check on Buddy.
Nicolas' First Coke! Heading to see "The Lion King".
But by the next week things didn't look good. He just wasn't getting any better. He wasn't in any pain and he would eat if you brought food to him. He was going potty okay, he just didn't have any energy. I went to work on September 11th kind of dreading the day. Not because I really expected something to happen, it's just that this day has sucked ever since 2001 and it is a depressing day. About 10am my stomach began to hurt. By noon it had slipped a little lower and I felt as if I had been kicked in the man parts by a giant wearing steel shoes. By 2pm I was throwing up and in a pretty serious amount of pain. I went home and tried a hot bath and it seemed to help for a couple of minutes. When my DW came home at 4, I asked her to take me to the emergency room which really scared her because like most men I would rather suffer than actually go to a place that may help. I was bleeding pretty well at this point (I think most of you get the picture) and was pretty sure I was about to die. We go to the ER and find out I have a kidney stone, ya-hoo just what I always wanted. They dope me up and recommend I stay at the hospital. NO WAY! DW brings me home and I crash into a painless, mindless sleep. Even in my drug induced state, I get little Buddy from his day spot and bring him to bed with me. Everything is great until 11:00pm when I wake out of a solid sleep to realize that little Buddy isn't breathing any longer. He laid in his favorite spot (behind my legs) and went to sleep and never woke up. I'm one of those weird people who love their dogs like children. They mean a whole lot to me. But I also think God works in mysterious ways. That kidney stone (actually two, I'll get to that) helped distract me from facing the full force of my grief. For the next four months I would end up having six surgeries (I had a kidney stone on each side, each one about 9 mm, which really stinks!). All of that helped keep my mind from focusing to much on little Buddys loss. About the time I was getting better my Father in Law was getting sick. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and they had gotten the cancer, but had killed his immune system and EVERYTHING made him sick. He was constantly in and out of the hospital. In February of 2007 he went in with pnemonia. Every time they would get him stable, something else would go wrong. He was in the hospital for three months. They just couldn't seem to keep up with the way his body was failing. They would fix one thing and the next would fail. Just a constant battle and you could see that he was losing. He just couldn't keep up and in April he died. We were devestated. There were few men in the world as good as my FIL. Words can't describe the loss.
So, with the last six months being as difficult as they were we decided that a trip to the all time champion of soul lifting, Mickey Mouse, was in order. We take a trip to see Mickey nearly every year. So a trip in and of itself wasn't odd. But this trip is really, really needed. We need something that will make this year seem halfway decent. This year has sucked! I hate to say it so bluntly, but there really is no other way to say it. Please, Mickey, HELP US!
First we checked the money. The year has been tight. With extra medical bills and such we would need to be careful. We normally go and splurge for the one week a year. This year would have to be a little different. We had enough to DRIVE (about 14 hours) and stay at the AKL, OR we could FLY (my preference) and stay at the CBR. My DW has been dying to stay to the AKL, but I really hate the drive. It is hard to have a vacation where you spend the beginning and end of it driving for an entire day! I would rather fly and save a few hours. Yes, the hassle can be Fun (note the sarcasm), but I enjoy flying. After a little conversation I gave my DW the choice. Whatever you choose. She emailed later saying she had booked the flights and CBR (Thank God!). BUT, now she says I owe her (Uh-Oh), not sure what that means but it sounds bad for me!
Elemusing dancing with joy!
So now it is time. The real planning begins. What ADR's do we want. Do we have the new copy of the Unofficial Guide? Yes we do. What rides do we want to put on our schedule? Water Park or Disney Quest? What? The Teppanyaki grill will be closed? AAaarrgggghhhh. I love that place. My DS said this morning, "Dad, we have to ride Mission Space. I'm ALL About that ride". Where does a nine year old learn he's "all about" anything? Okay, I'll put it on the list. We make detailed cards that we laminate and everyone gets a copy. That way we know EXACTLY what rides and what times. I don't think we have EVER waited more than 10 minutes on any ride (not counting break downs). My DW just puts together a very good schedule!
So, the last six months have been hard. Here is an opportunity to make things at least tolerable again. They say it is "The Year of a Million Dreams" and we sure hope it is. So many things still have to be planned (like do we board Baby who is 14 and while she is in good health I don't think boarding will be good for her).
Baby in Christmas garb.
If you want to find out what happens you will just have to keep reading. I really hope you do come along. I've gotten so much joy out of reading yours and I want to return that. Don't worry the rest won't be as depressing as the first part. You just needed to know where we were coming from. Come on aboard and let's see if we can't make it better!
We have been to Disney many, many times in the past and I've never really felt the need to post a trip report. Like I stated above, you guys are very articulate and keep records much better than I do. You promptly reply to posts and have excellent communication with your readers. While I enjoy reading and occasionally posting I'm generally way to busy to check up on posts by the hour, or have the patience to answer every question. I greatly admire those who can and do, I'm just not sure I'm one of them. BUT, then we came to October 2006. October was an okay month until the last week. We had tickets to see "The Lion King" in Nashville, TN (we live in Murray, KY) and were very excited about that. Our two dogs "Baby" and "Buddy" were going to stay home and guard the house for us. Now little Buddy has had a hard life. He is a minature Pomeranian (as is Baby) and he was the runt of the litter. He developed a cyst in his neck at a couple of months old. Developed epilepsy when he was one and began to lose his hair at age 9. He lost his sight at age 10 and always had trouble with staph infections. Despite all his medical problems he was the happiest little dog you have ever seen. He loved EVERYONE! He used to give me "The Rub". While I was laying in my chair, he would stand on my chest and rub his face across one side of my cheek and then the other. Just like a cat. Very cute!
A couple of days before we left, Buddy, who was 11 at the time, became very ill. It wasn't the throwing up kind of sick, he seemed to lose all his energy. He couldn't stand very well and you literally had to carry him outside for potty breaks. We went ahead and went to see "The Lion King" and had the MIL come over and check on Buddy.
But by the next week things didn't look good. He just wasn't getting any better. He wasn't in any pain and he would eat if you brought food to him. He was going potty okay, he just didn't have any energy. I went to work on September 11th kind of dreading the day. Not because I really expected something to happen, it's just that this day has sucked ever since 2001 and it is a depressing day. About 10am my stomach began to hurt. By noon it had slipped a little lower and I felt as if I had been kicked in the man parts by a giant wearing steel shoes. By 2pm I was throwing up and in a pretty serious amount of pain. I went home and tried a hot bath and it seemed to help for a couple of minutes. When my DW came home at 4, I asked her to take me to the emergency room which really scared her because like most men I would rather suffer than actually go to a place that may help. I was bleeding pretty well at this point (I think most of you get the picture) and was pretty sure I was about to die. We go to the ER and find out I have a kidney stone, ya-hoo just what I always wanted. They dope me up and recommend I stay at the hospital. NO WAY! DW brings me home and I crash into a painless, mindless sleep. Even in my drug induced state, I get little Buddy from his day spot and bring him to bed with me. Everything is great until 11:00pm when I wake out of a solid sleep to realize that little Buddy isn't breathing any longer. He laid in his favorite spot (behind my legs) and went to sleep and never woke up. I'm one of those weird people who love their dogs like children. They mean a whole lot to me. But I also think God works in mysterious ways. That kidney stone (actually two, I'll get to that) helped distract me from facing the full force of my grief. For the next four months I would end up having six surgeries (I had a kidney stone on each side, each one about 9 mm, which really stinks!). All of that helped keep my mind from focusing to much on little Buddys loss. About the time I was getting better my Father in Law was getting sick. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and they had gotten the cancer, but had killed his immune system and EVERYTHING made him sick. He was constantly in and out of the hospital. In February of 2007 he went in with pnemonia. Every time they would get him stable, something else would go wrong. He was in the hospital for three months. They just couldn't seem to keep up with the way his body was failing. They would fix one thing and the next would fail. Just a constant battle and you could see that he was losing. He just couldn't keep up and in April he died. We were devestated. There were few men in the world as good as my FIL. Words can't describe the loss.
So, with the last six months being as difficult as they were we decided that a trip to the all time champion of soul lifting, Mickey Mouse, was in order. We take a trip to see Mickey nearly every year. So a trip in and of itself wasn't odd. But this trip is really, really needed. We need something that will make this year seem halfway decent. This year has sucked! I hate to say it so bluntly, but there really is no other way to say it. Please, Mickey, HELP US!
First we checked the money. The year has been tight. With extra medical bills and such we would need to be careful. We normally go and splurge for the one week a year. This year would have to be a little different. We had enough to DRIVE (about 14 hours) and stay at the AKL, OR we could FLY (my preference) and stay at the CBR. My DW has been dying to stay to the AKL, but I really hate the drive. It is hard to have a vacation where you spend the beginning and end of it driving for an entire day! I would rather fly and save a few hours. Yes, the hassle can be Fun (note the sarcasm), but I enjoy flying. After a little conversation I gave my DW the choice. Whatever you choose. She emailed later saying she had booked the flights and CBR (Thank God!). BUT, now she says I owe her (Uh-Oh), not sure what that means but it sounds bad for me!
So now it is time. The real planning begins. What ADR's do we want. Do we have the new copy of the Unofficial Guide? Yes we do. What rides do we want to put on our schedule? Water Park or Disney Quest? What? The Teppanyaki grill will be closed? AAaarrgggghhhh. I love that place. My DS said this morning, "Dad, we have to ride Mission Space. I'm ALL About that ride". Where does a nine year old learn he's "all about" anything? Okay, I'll put it on the list. We make detailed cards that we laminate and everyone gets a copy. That way we know EXACTLY what rides and what times. I don't think we have EVER waited more than 10 minutes on any ride (not counting break downs). My DW just puts together a very good schedule!
So, the last six months have been hard. Here is an opportunity to make things at least tolerable again. They say it is "The Year of a Million Dreams" and we sure hope it is. So many things still have to be planned (like do we board Baby who is 14 and while she is in good health I don't think boarding will be good for her).
If you want to find out what happens you will just have to keep reading. I really hope you do come along. I've gotten so much joy out of reading yours and I want to return that. Don't worry the rest won't be as depressing as the first part. You just needed to know where we were coming from. Come on aboard and let's see if we can't make it better!
Now the kidney stone--I too can relate. I had to lol because when I had one I too went in to take a bath! Isn't it funny that we think a bath is gonna cure a hurt like that! I have worked in emergency rooms for almost 20 years too!
Sounds like a Disney fix is definitely in order. My two DS have the same 
We think Locks of Love is wonderful - DD has donated twice but now that she is a teenager, she's having a harder time growing her hair out - it annoys her when it gets too long. 
