Senorita Gimpy and Crew Take on Disneyland and the Panama Canal

[ReAnSt]

Cast of Characters
Me- Becky 26 lover of all things Disney. Traveling with a fractured right foot.
Stephen- 24 my brother loves Disney especially Stitch; Nacho1337 on the Disboards
David- My Dad; he loves Disney but gets nervous before traveling; a lurker of the DISboards
Linda-My Mom; celebrating her 50th Birthday on this trip

Back when I was still living in Florida, DCL announced they were going through the Panama canal. I wanted to go. I had never been on a cruise before. I ended up moving back to Pennsylvania. I tried to convince my family to go on the Panama canal cruise. My parents were very leery of cruising. Instead we ended up going on a 4 day Wonder cruise and then to WDW. We had a great time despite the 30 foot waves from Hurricane Rita.

While the Magic was going through the Panama canal I was glued to the webcams. We really did not talk about when we would go on another Disney cruise. In January of 2006 the rumors about the Mediterranean cruises started flying, I was interested in these. But we decided not to do them. Instead around March, my brother and I ended up booking an Eastern and Western Disney cruise in September of 2007. We could not convince our parents to go. We planned on canceling one of the 7 day cruises, this never happened and we ended up doing a Back 2 Back cruise. Here is a link to that trip report.

My brother and I had a fantastic time. I said I wanted to go away from Disney and just do a trip out west. I wanted to hit California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, etc.

In January of 2008, we found out that our Dad had gotten a room for the Panama canal cruise in August of 2008. This was after being on the waiting list for awhile. This was for my Mom's 50th birthday. Her birthday is in May, but this would be her celebration. My brother and I put our names on the waiting list. As after all this was something I had originally wanted to do. Plus my Mom wanted us to be there with her to celebrate.

We waited and called DCL everyday. We checked DCL's website. January came and went, February went by, March and still no room. April not an open room. We knew that the 90 day cancellation period was approaching in May, this would be the time frame when people would cancel. May 2nd we ended up securing a room. This was my Mom's Birthday. She got her birthday wish.

I had to make sure I got time off from work. I should have asked previously, but I just never did. My manager was on vacation. We needed to pay the whole thing at 75 days out. She was getting back on the day that payment was due. We ended up paying before I knew if I could go or not. I got the approval to go.

Less then 75 days to figure out everything for the trip. Normally I am counting down for awhile. My Mom ended up being told by her job that she could not go. If she went she would be put on the sub list. Well she was going whether or not she lost her job. She did fight a bit but she still lost her job.

Summer was moving pretty quickly. Trip preparations were going pretty smoothly. We booked airfare, a hotel room for a few days ahead of time in Anaheim. We would be going to Disneyland. We booked a rental car in Florida and California.

July 26th, I found a hole in the ground. My foot landed sideways. I thought I had sprained my ankle. I went to bed. The next morning I could hardly walk. I ended up visiting urgent care in a pretty icky storm. They did x-rays. I had fractured the 5th metatarsal in my right foot. It is the bone that connects my little toe to my ankle. They splint it and gave me crutches. I had to make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.

After a whole mess of medical insurance crap. I had my appointment with the ortho doc. The first solution out of his mouth was surgery, putting a screw in my foot and a cast for 8 weeks. He said it was hard to heal. Asked about other solutions. He said they could just cast it. Asked if I could have a walking boot. He agreed and said it had a 60-75% chance of healing on its own. I was supposed to stay off it. I could swim and take it off to shower. He also said I could take it off and drive.

My Mom was like maybe we shouldn't go. I told her I was going heck or high water. Little did I know the water was going to get much higher.

 

[ReAnSt]

So time went by. I was still not driving. We ended up buying a wheelchair for the trip. So I could get around easier.

We contacted DCL and tried to get a handicapped room. Our travel agent called and was like I had no idea you needed one. Of course there were none available. So we had to explain that I just hurt myself. We also contacted all the airlines, hotels, etc to let them know.

So the Sunday before we are supposed to leave my Dad feels sick and talks about going to the Emergency room. He feels better and does not go. Monday he goes to the doctor. He orders a bunch of tests. My Dad has the tests done on Tuesday. He finds out he has diverticulitis. He still plans on going.

Thursday morning, my Dad is feeling worse. He hem haws around but decides he is not going on the trip. My Mom says she is not going if my Dad does not go she does not think any of use should go.

My Dad calls the doctor, the doctor tells him to go the emergency room for tests, the DR. was ordering. Dr. wanted to know what was going on. So my Mom and Dad head to the ER.

I on the other hand had only gathered stuff together. I was not packed. I did not know if any of us were going at all. My Aunt was supposed to pick us up at 1:30pm so we could head to the airport. My Mom was supposed to help me pack in my gimpy state, as it was difficult. I hate packing to begin with, so I had no desire to do so,as I had no clue if I was going.

I called my brother, to decide if we wanted to go. He was at work. He and I had no idea if we should go or not. We decided we needed to find out if Stephen could rent the car. Some rental agencies are odd about renting to people under 25. I did not think they would let me with my crutches and boot rent a car. I called and they said that, it would be $25 per day fee but he could rent.

I think it was about 12:30 pm, when my brother and I finally decided that we were definitely going. I had called my Aunt to let her know we did not know what was happening. I had also talked to my parents a few times. They were definitely not going.

My brother came and helped me finish packing. Our parents also were released from the hospital. They decided they were taking us to the airport. So I called my Aunt to let them her know we did not need them. Our parents arrived. We finished packing and then loaded up the car. It was later then we had wanted to leave. I was just hoping we had everything due to the craziness.

 

[ReAnSt]

We had a quick drive to the Lehigh valley airport. We did not hit any traffic which was good. We got there and unloaded the stuff. My Mom helped us into the airport. My Dad stayed at the van and was going to pick Mom up after she was finished helping us.

We checked in with our passports and they scanned them. We also canceled our parents flights. Then we dropped off our checked bags at the security screening. We said our goodbyes to Mom.

My brother and I found the elevator and headed downstairs to go through security. I walked through the metal detector. Since I had metal on my boot I had to be wanded down.

We got in another elevator and headed upstairs. Then in another elevator to the level of our terminal.

 

[Glynis]

So far, so good, Becky!!! I can't wait for more!

 

[ReAnSt]

Once we were on the proper level, we grabbed some dinner at Subway. Then we sat and waited some. We watched the storms roll in, lighting, thunder and pouring rain.

Sitting in the airport killing time; that chair is not comfy. Anytime I could transfer to another chair I did so.

Soon it was time to board the plane. We were flying Continental to Cleveland and then from there to Los Angeles. We got to board first since I was in the wheelchair. Backwards down the ramp I went. An airplane employee helped us down. We tossed our bags as they would not fit in the overhead compartments. Then I hobbled to the back of the plane. That was where our seats where, as we had picked them before I hurt myself. It was not too bad as it was a small plane. The crutches got collapsed and thrown overhead.

The crappy weather, before we took off.

We were not allowed out of our seats the entire flight due to the weather. It was a bumpy flight the entire time.

By the time we got to Cleveland the sun was out again

We got off the plane, their was an airport employee waiting for us. They took us through the super long tunnel, in the elevators and across the airport to where our next terminal was. He even stopped at the potty and waited for us to be finished and then took us to our terminal. Now we had almost 2 hours between flights. So we did not sit at the gate for that amount of time. We walked all over the airport.

A stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. OK so not the real thing but I want to go back to the Hall of Fame.

Chanon I may have to just take the first flight to Cleveland and come visit your some time. It was a short easy one hour flight.

A quick trip to the Cleveland Zoo

We checked the boards and noticed that lots of flights were delayed and canceled. A flight to San Francisco that was already supposed to leave was not leaving till tomorrow. They were waiting for a flight crew from Newark. The flight from Philly we were going to take was scheduled to arrive a few minutes before our connecting flight was taking off. Our flight was delayed about 15 minutes and leaving from a different gate. I guess all that bad weather on the East coast was causing havoc across the airways.

We moved to our new gate and soon boarded the plane. We got on first again, well with lots of other people in wheelchairs. We were once again in the back of the plane. Since the flight was sold out they were not moving our seats. I had no problem hobbling to the back. They were getting ready to close the doors and I noticed that our plane was very empty. I guess people from the delayed flights were supposed to be on our plane. That plane from Philly we were going to take landed right before they closed the door on our plane. Their is no way we would have made it. I was so glad we left from Allentown instead.

We took off, the flight was not bad it was bumpy and quite stormy for about 200-300 miles across the midwest.

Lighting

I think this was Las Vegas, but am not 100% sure

Stephen was commenting about how it was dark for so long across the country. I forgot he has not really flown in the dark. He also has only flown up and down the east coast. This was both of our first trips to the west coast.

 

[geffric]

great start.. thanks for giving us the pre report so that it could put the cruie into the proper prespective..

It was great meeting you and talking to you on the cruise

 

[ReAnSt]

We arrived in Los Angeles a bit after 11pm, which was around the time we were supposed to arrive. Our delay did not cause us to land that late. An airport employee met us at the gate. They pushed me all the way to baggage claim, helped us collect our bags. Then they pushed us to where the rental car buses pick people up to take them to the car pick up places. Once again we tried to tip them but they refused.

We got on the bus and loaded our stuff. The bus took us to Hertz it was not a long ride. It was lighting here. It was also windy and chilly.

The bus drove into what looked like a deserted fenced lot of parked cars. We drove around in here for a bit and then were dropped off at the main building. By now it was probably about 12:00am. There was a long line at the pick up window. I sat on a bench outside with our bags and Stephen went inside.

I sat and sat some more. Some people came out and were pretty irritated. They were saying something about needing to 25 in order to rent a car. I was like Oh crap, we might be in the same boat. As Stephen is 24 and I doubted they would rent me a car with crutches and a boot. Then I heard them say they were trying to rent a 15 passenger van. I was still hoping that we were not going to have any problems.

It started raining and thundering and lighting. I sat some more. By now it was like 1am. Finally Stephen came out with keys. Turns out they were missing several categories of cars that people reserved and lots of people were waiting for cars to come in. Who returns a rental car at 1am??

He went to locate the car. We ended up with an SUV, a Subaru Tribeca it had less then 600 miles on it. We threw our stuff in the car and headed to get out of the parking lot. I did not care what we had I wanted to get moving.

We eventually found the road we wanted to head toward Anaheim. We started seeing signs that said road closed ahead. We were going we hope not. Turns out I-5 was closed from 12am to 5am for construction. There were signs that led a detour off the road. There were not signs on how to continue going. We followed some other cars with the hope they were taking us the correct direction. We found our way back on I-5.

We eventually made it to the Park Vue Inn. We checked in. We went to our room. Then we got in our car and went to find bottles of water to take on the ship. The first place we went, we got gas at. They only had individual bottles of water, we wanted a case. The suggested we go across the street, so we did. Eventually Stephen found a case of bottles of water but they were not easy to find. We ended up with a 12 pack of 16 oz Dasani bottles. Dasani is not my favorite brand of water, but it is what they had. It was 2am, it would do.

 

[ReAnSt]

Then we headed back to the Park Vue Inn. We ended up with a first floor handicap room. We had only requested first floor but they gave us the handicap room.

Thank you Glynis for recommending the Park Vue in to me. They were very nice, went above and beyond and it worked out very well for our trip. Let's just say someone got to know the hotel staff very well. I will have more about this later. I would definitely stay there again.

We actually called the Park Vue Inn several times ahead of time as the price had dropped, each time they lowered the rate we were paying.

We headed to bed around 2:30am as we planned on getting up at 7am to head to Disneyland.

 

[Glynis]

Thank you Glynis for recommending the Park Vue in to me. They were very nice, went above and beyond and it worked out very well for our trip. Let's just say someone got to know the hotel staff very well. I will have more about this later. I would definitely stay there again.

We actually called the Park Vue Inn several times ahead of time as the price had dropped, each time they lowered the rate we were paying.

We headed to bed around 2:30am as we planned on getting up at 7am to head to Disneyland.

I'm so glad that you liked the hotel! We just booked our rooms there for our trip in June!

Loving your TR. Can't wait to read more!

 

[ReAnSt]

great start.. thanks for giving us the pre report so that it could put the cruie into the proper prespective..

It was great meeting you and talking to you on the cruise

Thanks, it was great t meet you. It actually got crazier yet before we made it to the ship.

 

[ReAnSt]

Friday, August 15th, 2008

First Visit to Disneyland

So when we turned in for the night I set my cell phone as an alarm clock as well as the hotel room clock. So the phone starts ringing way to early in the morning I pick it up to shut it off, but I realize it is not the alarm clock ring. Someone is calling me. I answer the phone it is our Mom. She figured we would be up and getting ready to go, as she knew we were supposed to meet our Dad's cousin Diane and her daughters at 8am. She also was 3 hours ahead of our time.

We get up, get dressed and then head to breakfast. Breakfast at the Park Vue Inn is not handicap accessible. It is upstairs on a patio and inside. There is no elevator. I walked upstairs and Stephen carried the wheelchair upstairs. Part of the reason we got the one we did is because it weighed less then 20 pounds. Which was good because it was carried lots of places, it was also very narrow which made it good to fit in smaller places on the cruise ship.

We got a call from Diane, she was stuck in traffic and would be late. She would call us when she got closer. She had our tickets so we could not head to the park for opening. So we headed back to the room for a period of time.

Well I was in the room for a bit. Stephen ended up taking the rental car back to Hetz. There is a drop box at the Park Vue Inn which we planned to use. However if you drive less then 75 miles they charge you $15 for fuel unless you fill it up and show them the receipt. We called Hertz they said to not be charged the ffe, the car needs to be turned into the main office in Anaheim. There was no way with the drop box. So he took the car back to Hertz and then took the shuttle back to the hotel. I stayed in the hotel and waited for him.

She called us saying she was about 10 minutes away so we headed toward the park. It is a quick walk from the Park Vue Inn. I was uber excited as it was my first time in California and at Disneyland.

Lobby and Cold Stone Creamery at Park Vue Inn

[/IMG]

You can see this Disneyland sign from the above area

The walkway was well lit from the hotel to the Esplanade

Baggage Check

Mouse Bench

We ended up spending a bunch of time in the Esplanade as we had to wait for them to park and get to where we were so we could get our tickets

Army Men

Monorail through Golden Gate Bridge

We found Tyra Banks brick

Eventually they found us and we went inside. We have not seen them for years. So it was nice to get to spend time with them.

 

[Michelle2]

Yay, another PC trip report!
Love the pictures....it brings back so many memories!

 

[ReAnSt]

So we entered the park. We had no problems using the 3 day summer fun passed, designed for Southern CA residents. They are $99 for 3 day park hoppers. They handed us a handicap accessible guide when we entered the park.

The train was in the train station

The three girls

Main Street

I would have loved to have bought a miniature version of these gas lamps

So the tracks in the pavement were a pain as the wheelchair tires kept ending up in the space, then I either had to get out of the chair and remove the chair or had to be pushed along the track till I got up. We eventually figured out that if you push the wheelchair across the track instead of alongside it you would not end up in the track rut.

Matterhorn

Tomorrowland

Castle

They insisted we all have our picture taken in front of the castle. The Photopass photographer took our picture on our cameras. My picture on my camera turned out better then the Photopass picture.

So we headed to Adventureland
We were going to go to the Tiki room, but the show just started and we decided we did not want to wait

 

[ReAnSt]

Instead we went to the Jungle book. We entered the normal line wheelchair and all. We got to a point the wheelchair would not fit. I got up and walked with crutches. Stephen carried the wheelchair through the turnstyle. Opps! We made the mistake of not consulting the handicap guide. There was no one at the entrance of the the regular line to tell us where to go. We should have entered through the exit. They CM's were very understanding, they took the wheelchair to the exit. We got on the boat.

Our Skipper

This was very similar to WDW's Jungle Cruise. There were some differences, I will not share for those of you who have not experienced it. It seemed longer to me. I enjoyed this attraction.

We then headed to Indiana Jone's Adventure. We made sure to consult the HC guide. It said to go through the exit, so we did. This exit was pretty long. I know we missed most of the fun stuff in the line.

So you go to nearby where the track is. I thought you would load from the opposite side of the track, instead they have an elevator. You get in the elevator go up then go across over top of the track, then you get in another elevator to take you back down to the loading level. The system works well except when there are a large number of people needing this. You must repeat this in reverse when you leave the attraction.

I really enjoyed this attraction. I wish they would add something similar to this at WDW. It bounced around some, I was afraid it might be an issue with my foot it was not. The issue I had was I was sitting with this wheel at my knees I kept bumping into it.

Tarzan's Treehouse- I did not experience this. Too many steps, plus there were other things I wanted to do

We then headed to Pirates of the Caribbean. I loved this ride even more then the one at WDW.

So in order to enter this ride in a wheelchair, you have to enter to the left of the Blue Bayou. This is not anywhere near the entrance, it is not well marked as being Pirate's exit. . We actually tried to enter into a closet. Which is directly to the left of the Blue Bayou.This is my one complaint there were not always cast members at the normal entrance to direct us, the instructions in the pamphlet were not always the best, and the signs were not that great.

One of these days I will eat at the Blue Bayou

Wheelchair users load from the opposite side everyone else does. I also should point out as a wheelchair user your party can total 6, including the person in a wheelchair to use the wheelchair entrance. We had exactly 6 people.

The one thing that made no sense is some rides made me take the crutches with others did not.

Pirate's Lair

We split up at this point Stephen and I rode the Haunted Mansion, the rest found lunch. I was warned that this ride was bad for those with walking issues due to the moving walkway. I had no issues with the moving walkway. However it still caused issues.

First of all you leave your wheelchair outside and have to walk inside to the stretching room, you have to stand in the stretching room, from here you have to walk through the hall of statues, then you have to get in the que, then you have the moving walkway. It is a lot of walking for someone who can not walk much. They warn you that you have to walk so many yards. None of this was really the issue. The real issue was at the end of the ride. You get onto the moving walkway alongside the ride, this was still not an issue. The big issue, the normally moving ramp walkway was broken down. It is bouncy and at a pretty good angle. I made it up but it hurt. I rode this the next day it was still broken down. Not sure when or if they plan on fixing it. I was glad I had my crutches on this ride. You then had to walk back outside to claim your wheelchair.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Becky,

I'm enjoying your in depth details of DL. Sorry you found the handicapped accessibility difficult. I guess because I have used them so much, our neighbors DD is mobility challenged, I never thought of your issues. DL was built way before any American Disibilities Act, that is why it may seem awkward and inconsistent in the loading process on many of the attractions.

Can't wait for more report.

 

[ReAnSt]

Becky,

I'm enjoying your in depth details of DL. Sorry you found the handicapped accessibility difficult. I guess because I have used them so much, our neighbors DD is mobility challenged, I never thought of your issues. DL was built way before any American Disibilities Act, that is why it may seem awkward and inconsistent in the loading process on many of the attractions.

Can't wait for more report.

I totally understand the fact it was built before ADA, and that things were not designed for this accessibility. It was finding these entrances that was the tricky part, the guide was confusing at times, there were not always signs, and sometimes Cast members did not always know where to send us and we ended up in the wrong place. The worst was going down a ramp that specifically said do not run wheelchairs and strollers down this ramp. But I will get to that later.

 

[Glynis]

Becky! I can't believe I forgot to help you with the wheelchair stuff! Blame it on the pregnancy brain! We always do Disneyland with my mother in a wheelchair. I should have given you all the info. Bad friend! Sorry!

 

[ReAnSt]

Becky! I can't believe I forgot to help you with the wheelchair stuff! Blame it on the pregnancy brain! We always do Disneyland with my mother in a wheelchair. I should have given you all the info. Bad friend! Sorry!

Please do not feel bad. I did not really think about it much till we got there. Plus we had a crazy start to the trip. We were with people who knew Disneyland, they just had not dealt with the wheelchair thing before.

 

[nikkistevej]

Loving your trip report, you write very well, I like all of the details you are giving. Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Hi Becky
I was reminiscing about my Halloween cruise last year & headed over to find a cruise trippie to read & there was yours.
So far it seems you were off to a very rocky start. I hate that your parents didn't get to go.......did they get to come on the cruise at least?
Love the DL part so far........we are going to DL in Dec.
Keep it coming.