The cha cha trip or Could there be LESS magic, the trip is not ruined yet...!

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

Hi! I don't know if you remember me.............I'm the dis nut who talked to you in American Adventure!

Hi Winkers!
I do remember you! How could I forget! You were the... oops, I almost spilled the beans... I'll try to keep the most interesting parts for the right time in the TR!
I was trying to remember your exact username, and wasn't sure if it was "Winker" or "Twinker" or even something else, but I stumbled on your own TR looking for you and it looked like your family in the small pix, but I wasn't sure... Plus, not to get ahead of myself (again!), but I read about you getting in a wheelchair at the end of your last trip (am I right or am I confusing 2 TRs here? ), so I thought it couldn't be you, since unless my memory is REALLY bad, you were in a wheelchair... so I'm thinking : unless that lady has really bad luck, it just can't be her!
And I was getting really tired, but I decided I would try to look for you and search the boards for another username sounding like "twinker" another day... But I couldn't get out of my head how those small changing pix in the icon (in your sig) looked like your family!
I'm really happy you found me!
(and so fast! First post! Bravo!)

Woo-hoo! You started your trip report! I can't wait to read it...

Hey Michelle! Were you stalking me?! Catching me so soon after I posted?

(and psst, that might be the shortest post you've ever written )

Yeah, I know... I tried really hard not to scare anybody away too soon!


Thank you guys, it's heart-warming to start this not being alone!!!

As you know, especially if you made a detour through the PTR, I have a hard time "getting back", not because of Disney withdrawal, but simply because of my health... so it seems like time is limited and there's so much I want/need to do. And all those PTRs that got sooo long while I was away, and even some TRs that got started! I'm trying to catch up and it's not easy at all!


People over here often say before the holidays (usually when they panic) : Well, we'll get to Christmas at the same time as everyone else...
My birthday being June 20th, I'm telling myself : well I should get to my birthday at the same time as everyone else... (not that anyone else has their birthdays at the same time... huh, I mean, certainly there are other people, but you KWIM... And not that we're doing anything special, we never do).
Just a way of telling myself that date's gonna turn on the calendar page and I can't do anything about it, and I can just take it "zen".

So... yeah, I just lost 30min. writing about nothing instead of telling you about our departure day. I'll get there, promise!

 

[dreamer17555]

Im here! Im here! I've been wondering where you went!

-Becca-

 

[whogirl'smom]

Hi! I didn't catch your PTR, but this sounds like an interesting trip!

 

[swwake]

I'm Here! I can't wait to read how it all panned out. And I'm interested in the meaning behind the name.

 

[mom3sonstt]

I've subscribed! I'm really interested in how you do stamina-wise on this trip. I have different medical issues than you do but they do slow me down so I am interested in how you handle the heat and crowds; how your mom handles the wheelchair; and if there is a move to an ECV and if so how it works for you. I have been before so don't have the "now or never" pressure - but I absolutely love it there and although I am going knowing I will be hot and miserable , I tell myself that I will be hot and miserable here also, so I might as well be at Disney World!


As a sidenote I am in end-stage renal failure due to polycysitic kidneys. (They are just like they sound - my kidneys are full of cysts the cysts are destroying the kidney function) So I am on dialysis. Fortunately I am able to do peritoneal dialysis instead of hemodialyis. Hemo means going in to a clinic 3 days a week and being hooked up to a machine for several hours. Peritoneal means I have a tube inserted in my abdomen and (for me) I hook up to a machine over night - it drains fluid from my abdomen, fills it back up with dialysis solution, and drains again about 4 times overnight. In the morning it fills me up with 1.5 liters of solution that remains in my abdomen all day until I hook up at night and do it all over again. So I carry around in my belly an extra 1.5 liters of fluid plus whatever excess fluid it draws out of my system throughout the day - so I look very pregnant (not that I was a small girl to begin with!). Add to that that I was born with congenital hip displaysia - I am missing most of my left hip socket - so the ball of my leg does not have a hip socket to support it. So I walk with a noticeable limp. So pregnant-looking belly throws off my normal walk (I have the pregnant waddle), and bad hip means I am walking crooked anyway, so before long my hip aches, then my knees start aching as they try to take the pressure off my hip, then my back aches from the belly plus I am more sensitive to sun so I get overheated sooner........and well, let's just say, I won't be doing any marathons any time soon!!! Last year I took a cane with me and used it some but it just made my arm ache from putting more weight on it, but it did help when I felt like my leg would collapse if I took another step. So this year I'm thinking about adding a wheelchair or ECV to the mix occaisionally to give my legs a rest.

Sorry - didn't mean to hijack your thread with my own medical journal - but wanted to explain my interest in your health and how it affected your trip.

 

[Grandma Bonnie]

Hi friend,
I'm glad you're back home safely and can't wait to read more about your Magical Trip.
Please include comments re: your mother so I can relate when I go to WDW with my daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Hi A-D!
I'm glad you've started your TR I'm looking forward to all the pictures...

 

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

You wanna know? Honestly?

...I feel kinda overwhelmed!
And a little bit under pressure!

All of you guys not giving up on me, all anxious to read all about the trip and everything... First, it's very touching and inspiring. Makes you feel like you belong.


But... phew the pressure to perform, too!

And I guess I'm going to disappoint you a lot! Of course I won't be as funny as so many of the others... I won't be able to produce as much as I would like, and as much as YOU would like either!

Just for starters, I went to the hairdresser today with Mama, then we had to go to the grocery store. But I already wasn't feeling well today (glands so swollen I look like I gained 10 pounds, not lost 5!)... so I came here to say hello, but I'm already in my pajama, my right ankle in my orthesis and preparing to watch SYTYCD and then go right to bed...

A little catch up, still :

Im here! Im here! I've been wondering where you went!

Hi, dear you! I hadn't gone anywhere! Just trying to catch up on everything at the same time... I started reading your TR, but I don't really see the point in posting at the end when I'm only on page 2...

Hi! I didn't catch your PTR, but this sounds like an interesting trip!

Welcome aboard! I hope you like it!

I'm Here! I can't wait to read how it all panned out.

Hey Susan! Happy to see you again! I've been trying to catch up on your PTR too! A lot seem to have been hapenning, so many pages have been added!

And I'm interested in the meaning behind the name.

Yay! I was able to find a good title!

I've subscribed!

Hi! Glad you followed us here! I hope I'll be able to give you some insight... but since you've already been there yourself, it's not like you need a masterclass! You probably know more than I do!
I'm really sorry to hear about your health... It really mustn't be easy, but I agree, the peritoneal dyalysis must be less of a hassle than having to go to the hospital 3 days a week! (Oh, and I so get the "when my hip aches, then it's my knee, and then my back, and when I take a cane, then it's my arm"... It's like having to choose between 2 wrongs!). I'm real glad to "meet" you!

Hi friend,
I'm glad you're back home safely and can't wait to read more about your Magical Trip.
Please include comments re: your mother so I can relate when I go to WDW with my daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law.

Hi! I'm really, really happy, and touched, to be counted as one of your friends, Grandma Bonnie! Happy to see you back on the TR!
I'll try to make a point on telling Mama's side of the story, and maybe I'll even ask for some stories she'd like to share (even though I have to warn you now, she won't agree to post herself. The more I'll be able to get out of her are some memories or comments I'll transmit here...)

Hi A-D! I'm glad you've started your TR I'm looking forward to all the pictures...

Hey! Happy to see you too! (wow! how all of you were quick to find me here! Not that I was hiding or anything, but I really am surprised!)
It's a good thing you're looking forward to the pictures, because I took plenty... over 3000, in fact. Of course in those are many repeats (a true pro photographer takes a lot of shots of the same thing, to later choose the best one), and some misses too. I've chosen the best, I think, to represent the most important moments of the trip, for this TR, and uploaded them on Photobucket (which postponed a little this TR!). So I've got about 145 pix for you! I may not post them all don't worry... but I may post more!

I'm now looking at my passporter, which holds all my trip memories (well, most of them, the rest is in a small notebook... oh, and in my head of course! ), and it's busting at the seams... so I'm a little overwhelmed, as I said in the start of this post, and tired just thinking about writing about it all...

So layZboy, here I am!

 

[Princesswanabee]

I'm subscribing and very interested to hear more about your trip with your mom for 16+days!

 

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

First, I'll just step a liiiitle back in time...

Monday April 28th.

Almost finished packing, getting the last things on the list done, I get up in my room to finish the last suitcase, and what do I see?

I guess Colombine wanted to come with us!
(for those of you just joining in, Colombine is my cat, and is named after an italian commedia del'arte character. I love her a lot.)
She was kind enough to stay in the suitcase long enough for me to take the pic. (I swear, I had nothing to do with this except taking the pic!)
Altough it was quite a funny moment, it reminded me of the fact I was going to leave her for so long!!! Again, I took her in my arms and talked to her, telling her that I wasn't abandoning her, that I would come back, that I had told dad exactly what to do and she'd be fine... Would I?

So we finished packing, I had very early dinner (at about 4h30pm!), took 2 very mild sleeping pills and went to sleep at exactly the time I had planned : 5pm.
I had no trouble going to bed... the day couldn't go through fast enough!

Because we had to get up so early the next morning (morning? end of the night's more like it! 4am!) if I wanted to have a chance to stay healthy, I needed some sleep.
But even with everything under control and ready (almost everything was already in the car!) and the sleeping pills... It appears, like everytime I really need to sleep... I couldn't. It wasn't the excitement, just the fact I knew I had to get up early and really needed that sleep!
Oh, I slept. But not well, I couldn't stay asleep. Like an 1/2 hour here, an hour there... Maybe I slept about 6hrs total. At least I got some rest, because I was in bed...

Mama, on the other hand, didn't go to bed as early, maybe not until 11pm, and she had a lot of trouble going to sleep. A lot of it was because she caughed a lot.
She has had caughing fits for about a year. She went to the doctor once, but kinda forgot to mention important details (like how it could make her throw up it was so bad and it had been going on for more than 2 months at the time!), so they simply took a radio of her lungs and since they it wasn't pneumonia they stopped at that, and she didn't insist.
Of course she didn't say anything, she'd been smoking for over 30 years and had just stopped, so now she's really scared of lung cancer or something like it, so she just doesn't want any investigation. (Yeah, I know, if it was cancer or anything important to treat early, better know soon and treat it, to live, right? Well no, she prefers to hide from any health problem she could have. Remember I told you about anxiety problems? Well facing your fears isn't something she's good with).

So, a year later, she's still caughing , and I had spent, no... wasted my saliva trying to make her understand that cough could ruin her trip and she should try to do something about it... The most she did was ask the pharmacist (with not enough details of course). When the drug he suggested didn't work, she just stopped trying! After that I asked another pharmacist myself and she reluctantly tried that other medicine, but it didn't help. Of course by then it was too late and we were leaving!
She brought a bottle of the caugh medicine the 1st pharmacist suggested, because "last year, it helped" (even though it didn't help at all when she tried it a couple of months ago)...
We'd just have to wait and see if it would help in WDW (and hope).
For now, it meant she slept less than an 1h30 before getting up and getting ready to go.

Of course, her fear of planes really didn't help her sleep at all!

So on to...
Tuesday April 29th
aka THE BIG DAY

 

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

Tuesday April 29th
aka THE BIG DAY
We wake up at 4am. I had no problem whatsoever waking up at the first sound out of the radio alarm clock. Eyes wide open, fully awake, sharp as a knife.
Not 30 min. later, nausea set in, with headache, burning and itchy eyes and general malaise... I think, even would I've slept 12 hours, just the fact it wasn't my normal "wake-up" time made it hard for my body.

After small breakfast and general preparation : Magic! We got out of the house on time!

Dad proved, once again, how much of a gentleman he is while Mama was working her butt off to put the final things in the hatch... while he passed her to go sit in the car, and buckled up...

Not too much traffic, we got to the airport on time too! (took us 1hr)
Sadly, the weather was soggy. Near freezing point, slight rain. Yuck.
We tried to find the nearest parking to our check-in line, trying to see inside the windows. We finally got pretty close. Dad helped us put the suitcases on a cart and in the wheelchair, and left. Yup, he didn't want to pay parking or lose any time there.
Didn't even walk us inside.
So Mama pushed and pulled the luggage cart (that dad, in his hurry, piled wrong... she would have trouble all the way... but why waste time to try and put the suitcases in a special way? that's rubbish!). I was pushing my wheelchair with as much luggage in/on it as possible.

Thing is, those carts are made for 1 person and that person's luggage. Usually, when 2 persons are together, they each use their own cart...
Mama, in an ideal world, would have had to transport 2 persons' luggage in one cart, while pushing my w/c... I said ideal world.
In an almost ideal world, she would've been able to transport the luggage of 2 persons on this cart, while I push the empty w/c... I wouldn't have been such a mess.
We got to the electronic tickets machine, we presented our electronic receipts, and what was supposed to happen is : we'd get tickets and our luggage tags. Didn't work. We got the tickets, but were asked to go to the check-in line anyways!
I'm wondering if it's maybe because of my wheelchair, but why then not just tell us to go there straight away (in my elecronic receipts)? Why make us waste our time?
At least we didn't wait for the electronic machine and the check-in line wasn't long.
In fact, there was next to no one!
There are about 5 lines marked Air Canada at the Montréal airport... only 2 had personnel.
We go to the nearest one, where there's one client having lots of trouble with their luggage. They lead her behind the counter, and then the 2 agents behind it, that don't seem to be doing anything, totally ignore us!
We start to wonder if we're at the right counter or if they're closed now, but we're starting to be furious... if we are not at the right place, just tell us and we'll wait at the other line, where for the time we've been waiting for nothing, people have been served that were not even waiting when we got in line!!!
We try to make ouserlves noticed from the other line's employees, so, if we're in the wrong line, they could say, I don't know, maybe "hey, if you want to check-in, the line's over here"...

After a good 5 min. of waiting in front of 2 (sometimes 3) employees overlooking us like we didn't exist, finally someone came from the other line and asked us if we waited for the cashier. We said no. He showed us the sign and told us, like we were stupid, that it was the cashier line (we saw the sign... but there were 2 sides to that counter, and it was pretty clear to us that the left side was for cashier and right for check-in... After all, why was the customer behind the counter trying to switch things over so she fit the luggage requirement, if she wasn't checking-in? Plus, the overhead sign where we stood was exactly like the ones on the other, regular, check-in lines... but hey, who were we to argue? They still could have told us earlier instead of simply looking through us).
At that time, too tired, I'd been sitting in the wheelchair and had some more suitcases on the luggage cart, some on my knees, and the 2 backpacks were across the w/c handles.

The Air Canada agent that "took care of us" pushed the luggage cart out of the way behind the counter, put the luggage tags on them himself (I gave Mama the DME tags so she could go put them on the suitcases herself, we didn't want any mistakes!), he made sure my w/c got a tag too so I'd get it right when I got off the plane in MCO, he offered us help to get to our gate (of course we said yes) and then he made us go behind the counter too, to wait in a small room.

After a second, I thought of that famous "more leg-room" row I had tried to get, spending so much time on the pone with Air Canada reservation and "medical services" or something like that... I had finally been told they are only available when you register 24h before the flight... but that wasn't true, as I tried to register almost exactly 24hrs before the flight, and all those seats were unavailable... Another agent had told me they were only awarded right before the flight (altough she didn't told me by whom)... So I asked that guy if it would be possible to get seats on that special row!
And he said he'd check... took our tickets... and he came back with new tickets : on that row!!! YESSSS!

Then I got my pusher!!! And a professional one, too!
The lady pushed my w/c while Mama tried to follow with most of the carry-ons (she had the Baggalini, the small roller carry-on suitcase and my laptop), since she's not used to walk fast with a lot of luggage (who is, really?), she had some trouble. Especially since she gets clumsy when stressed out... and let me say, she was, big time! Unknown environment, didn't know where we were going exactly ("just follow the leader") and just before flying a plane!

The good thing with a pusher in an airport is, everything goes really fast!
That lady knew where everything was, she knew some shortcuts too, we sped through customs and security (no line there!).
At security, my laptop was taken out of it's bag, my regular backpack was searched ("looked through very fast" would be more appropriate), I wasn't asked to remove anything (jewelry, shoes, etc), not even asked to get out of my w/c, even though I offered more than once. But, I was hand-searched pretty much all over in the wheelchair, and the w/c backpocket was searched too.
I would've vastly prefer they searched the seat of the w/c with me out of it...

Anyways... I think, from the moment we left the small waiting room to the moment we got to the boarding area, it only took 10min! We got there 1st!
The downside of all this is you see the shopping and restaurants areas from a distance or zip through them without being able to stop... and then we had almost 2hrs to wait... There was only a small snack shop near our gate.
Another downside is the tip! Since the lady was kind, had saved us a lot of time and trouble, and mostly, because it had been quite a distance (plus the small wait at security), we gave her 10$. (I had previously looked online for usual tip amounts for that kind of service).
We saw a couple of little families clearly waiting to go to WDW too, which was cute. I played a little n my DS and we talked.

We heard a couple of flight personnel talk, some time before the gate opened, and we heard them say boarding would be a little late... I guess it had something to do with cleaning or simply the previous flight had been late, I don't know.
So we got on the plane about 5min. late. Nothing huge, really.

Since I was in a wheelchair, we were first on the plane. I also got a pusher from the gate to the plane door. Mama gave that pusher a tip too, something like 2-3$.
It was not easy to bring everything in with us... those planes aisles are so narrow that each step you make with your luggage you catch a seat or bump into something (or someone!). Then it's really hard to put the heavy suitcases or backpacks in the overhead compartment!
At first we tried keeping it respectful and only putting overhead what fit in the compartment corresponding to our seats... which meant we'd both have to have a big piece of luggage between our feet and our purses on our laps... because the big pieces didn't fit under the seat before us, and with that, forget the purses!... After a few minutes, while people got in the plane, I realized I could never tolerate the whole flight in this position and we asked the flight attendant if we could use more storage room, and she said "of course, no problem"... I think she thought we were kinda crazy to not have done so already, especially since there was room!
See, that's how life is now, instead of just being nicely surprised at how great it is that there are still some people with respect in this world (because I guess that's what the look she gave us came from), we just got a "gheesh, how are some people stupid/naive" look. That's what you get from being polite, respectful and asking, instead of being rude and taking. Anyways.

See part 2 1/2 for the rest of it...

 

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

So, what about that "more leg room" row?
Well first of all, I was very disappointed that I got the aisle seat, and not the window seat as I had registered for in that "less leg room" row. Also, it's the row exactly behind the "executive" section, so you get to have the frustration to see how they are treated... But you also get to use their bathroom, especially if they know you're in a w/c, because they know you can't walk a lot and the other bathroom is very far in the back... (you're not supposed to, but if you ask, they usually say yes).
You also have the "great pleasure" of having curtains (half-pulled most of the time) just in front of your face. Most of the time, it also means, if you have the aisle seat, you have the curtains fly over your knees or in your meal when the attendants walk the aisle, because they're in their way... Or if you're like me, you can't help but try to help the FA by pulling the curtains each time a FA goes passed... (I know...)
Mostly, if you're someone who likes to watch the movie (this goes for the old plane models, it's different in the newer ones), the screen is right overhead, so most of the time, it's too dark for you to see well... you spend your time trying to watch the one in executive class, overhead in the middle of the aisle... which is an obstructed view because of the curtains... and that's if they don't completely close them, of course!

Most important of all, of course : did it offer more leg room?
Not really. Maybe 1-2inches, sincerely, I couldn't feel it at all.
Also the tray is in the armrest... I've heard it's "in" the seat in front of you in the rest of the plane... I've also heard it's because of the situation of those seats in the plane, and that the fact the tray is in the armrest gives you less space. I didn't notice any "lack of space", but I certainly did not notice any more leg room either. I did notice my armrest was cracked and it was very hard to pull out.
The good thing is, I knew not to hope for too much, because the lady in "medical services" at Air Canada who told me she couldn't get me any seat with more leg room had warned me... I still wanted to try it, just in case. (especially hoping she was wrong, since so many of the other personnel I had talked to had been wrong!)

What we noticed was, on top of the movie being hard to see and the curtains bothering me some, what they call "preferred" section before you're close to the exit, is no good to us.
Of course because of the w/c we're boarding first anyways, even before executive class... so that's not worth anything. But mostly, we (mostly Mama) hate being rushed when getting off, especially because it takes Mama a whole lot of time getting everything out of the overhead compartment, and she hates doing it when people are in line waiting for her. (and if she feels rushed it will take her twice as long).
I understand her, but at the same time she makes a big deal with nothing. Anyways, that's the reason why, even though we were in the 1st row of "non-executive class", we got off dead last at MCO! We left our seats to let the man beside us leave, then looked as everyone else left, and finally got our stuff and left ouserlves!

Now, about the flight itself :
We left Montréal a little late, on top of getting on the plane late (well of course there's a link there, but we left more than 10min. late). Sadly, I don't remember exactly the time.
There weren't too many turbulences, but each one is one too much for Mama.
When we decided not to drive, I asked her many times if she was really OK with flying and she said yes. She said it wasn't a phobia, that she wouldn't start to scream or cry or anything, it was just that she really didn't like it and she would prefer another way, but we really didn't have another way, so it was all good.
Well, turns out it's not that far from a phobia. Of course, would it be a phobia, we wouldn't get her anywhere near a plane, we couldn't even talk about going on one. But she is close indeed.
Each time the plane moves, be it leaning to turn or a small bump, she's seriously convinced this is it, there's a malfunction and we are going to die.
She's got this lump in her chest, her heart beats super fast from the moment we cross the gate to the moment we land, she needs to remember to breathe, her jaw will hurt because she's so tensed, she checks the time every minute and a half hoping an hour has gone by, etc.

Combine her previous caughing with that stress, what do you get? She almost caughed non-stop the whole damm flight. She gobbed 3 packs of Halls lozenges (luckily, sugar free!), went through 2-3 packs of kleenex and was completely miserable. (yeah, she was nauseous from the Halls when we landed!)
On top of it, she would've needed the A/C right in her face to help with feeling like breathing more, but they shut it almost right away when we left, and I even think they got the heating on, to gradually acclimate us to the Florida heat... Because when we got near Florida, I was really not feeling well, too hot!
Seeing Mama like that I really felt bad, since it was because of me we were in that plane... we were supposed to drive!
Of course, at the same time, I'm thinking : why didn't she go to the doctor for that caugh? Why didn't she go to a psychologist for that fear of planes?
I know, it's easier said than done, but still...
But I've seen worst... she was able to talk with me (most of the time!), she saw some of the movie (screen being too close or too far didn't help). But it was one of the worst part of the trip and THE worst part of the day for her.

For my part, I didn't remember a flight so long and boring... But I must be wrong, because on my first trip to the Bahamas with my then-best friend, she was sick (meaning throwing up...) because she has severe motion sickness and on my second, I was with dad, and in my souvenir, we simply didn't talk much and I didn't watch the movie either... I guess I just listened to my iPod!
I guess what made this one so bad was feeling guilty combined with hearing Mama caugh all the time, plus not feeling so well myself (being too tired caused a flare-up of many symptoms) and thus I wasn't able to play my DS, read or do much anything. I had refused the headphones to watch the movie, so I was stuck with my iPod, which is usually well enough for me, but the noise level was so high that I had to push the sound pretty high to hear anything or block the noise... I was in pain before the end of the flight, especially in my lower back and knees, so I couldn't wait to land.

That aside, we were lucky with our "row partner", the lucky one who got the window seat (and not even using it that much!). Seemed a calm businessman, didn't seem to like the plane that much either... We didn't talk and he didn't bother us at all.
On the other hand, it was a totally different story for the young guy on the other side of the aisle. I'd say about 25y.o., and it was hard to say if he knew the lady about his age sitting on the window seat (they had the empty seat between them), he talked to her, she sometimes answered, but maybe she was just being polite...
He was sooo annoying! Seemed like a rich daddy's boy who thinks the world owes him everything and he can do what he wants. Really, most of the time, I at least try not to judge people on their looks. But that guy, just the way he moved, acted and his face, I couldn't bear him. (I mean, if I'd just seen him in a picture, I couldn't have an idea. It's the faces he made, the way he looked at people, some moves he made, etc. KWIM? They say there is body language and some psychologist even study it... well it's true. I'm sure it can't be true 100% of the time, but in this case, he proved me right!)
No respect for anyone and no patience whatsoever...

If I ask any of you what would you do if a kid sitting behind you in a plane might do, you'll all answer : maybe he'll poke my back once or twice, maybe he'll jug my seat a couple of times. Of course he'll cry and whine and maybe even scream. You know it can happen, it won't even surprise you!
And most of you, I'm sure, won't react to any of this unless a certain normal/respectful point isn't reached... Like unless the poking becomes constant, or the parent's not even trying to stop the whining, or whatever, you know? And of course, you would try to simply state calmly to the parent that the kid's bothering you and please do something... and all with a smile, I'm sure...

Well that young guy got mad at this woman because her kid (a 4-5y.o. little girl) supposedly was rocking and kicking in his seat "non-stop"... First of all, I would've seen that, and it wasn't true. Second, the way he talked to that woman, it's not a way to make her want to ask her child to stop!
After not even a minute of the woman trying to make him understand the child didn't do all he accused her of, and he had to understand it was a kid, he called her a b***!!! In front of her kids! I couldn't believe it! And with so much agressivity! And he had such an attitude like : I don't care!
In fact, I didn't hear the whole thing, I sooo didn't want him to include me in any of it, but I heard him say "I don't care what you think, I don't care what you want", etc. He was so arrogant I couldn't believe it! But not just arrogant, agressive too! Not physically (or at least, he was able to contain himself!), but in his manners and the way he talked!
All the rest of the flight, each time the little girl moved his seat, he looked around, mostly at me, trying to maybe get me on his side as a witness or something... You know "you see? She did it again!?" I did my best to look the other way and ignore him.
On top of it, each time the kid behind me moved my seat or made some noise, he looked at me in disbelief that I didn't make a scene! And with a look of disgust at those child without education and those parents not able to hold them, I imagine... Or maybe at me, that didn't have a spine enough to react? I made a point to smile with a look of "ah, those darn kids!"

I don't know, but I couldn't believe it. He really must not know children, because how can you expect a child to not move a muscle on a 3hrs + flight? (unless you drug them of course... haha!)
I would be the first one to ask a parent to do something if the child was going overboard, but some things are just normal...

That guy proved how stupid he was when, in reaction to the message that "please everyone stay seated and wait until the seatbelt sign is turned off before turning cellphones on", he unlocked his seatbelt and opened his cellphone immediatly, but mostly said out loud "I can do what I want! No one's gonna tell me what to do!". Like, come on, do whatever you like, but who cares? So arrogant and teen-like... I simply couldn't believe it.
Just the tension and energy this guy was oozing made me want to leave the plane (or wish he left it) ASAP.

We finally landed at about 12h10 (about 25min. late), but wouldn't be able to leave the plane until around 12h30 (not only did we arrive late, but it was a while on the runway).

Next, Part 3 : What a way to start the trip!

 

[whogirl'smom]

Glad you and your mom finally got started on your trip! I hope your mom's cough gets better as the trip goes along, and your stamina holds up.

 

[dreamer17555]

Flying is no fun. Ever. Trust me my dad works for an airline and I have been flying since I was a tiny baby and by myself since I was Cat's age and it is NEVER any fun at all. Can't wait to hear more!

-Becca-

P.S. Cat decided against the tap team. The director mildly freaked, saying a little too loudly that there was not another child they could use (talent wise). Other parents heard and I hear that they arent too happy.

 

[michellem1118]

waiting (not so) patiently for the next installment...

hope you're feeling OK

 

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

Sorry for the delay... seems I have so much to do, and I've been feeling pretty down health-wise lately... I told you there would be delays, but I'll never let you down!
--------------------------------------------

Yay! Finally we were in Orlando!
...But we didn't feel like we were on vacation at all...
After letting everyone get off the plane before taking our stuff, so we didn't feel rushed, we stepped out of the plane and there was all the flight crew waiting after us... including a pusher, with my wheelchair.
So Mama tried to put all the luggage together in a way she could handle it (of course, with all the stress, she didn't do a very good job and would have a lot of trouble following us afterwards) and we realized my wheelchair cushion wasn't there. Finally they localized it in the corner behind everyone, and they gave it to me.
It was sooo cold! Now, this cushion is the ergonomic kind, all squishy, made of foam and gel, put in a pillowcase to protect it... I knew the underbelly of a plane was cold (everyone has heard at least once of sad stories of ireegulars trying to imigrate by hiding there and dying...), but I could feel it! So I spent that first part in MCO with my w/c cushion on my knees along with some luggage, because there was NO WAY I would sit on that!

So after feeling rushed, I was pushed along with another woman through MCO (the young guy pushing me and the old lady was very good! Handling 2 w/c at once! Kinda cute too! ...But he was so fast Mama had lots of trouble keeping up!)
One problem was the old lady wasn't going to the same place we were... so the guy had us all go to one carousel and told us we'd have to wait for her luggage, then... I don't quite know what was the plan... I mean he couldn't push EVERYTHING?! I think someone was supposed to come pickup the lady... But anyways, we wanted to go to the bathroom and didn't want to have that guy waste too much time... nor did we! So we told him it would be OK and we'd try to get by without him from there, gave him his tip and went to the bathroom (which was just across from the carousel).
The guy had told Mama he would be happy to help us after our bathroom break if we wanted to and he would be sticking around. And Mama had so much trouble just turning me out outside the bathroom with all the luggage that she was real happy to see him standing near and we called him back... We decided, literally "we're too tired, we'll just tip him".
And it was a good thing he helped us again, because the directions he gave us as to where to go for DME were wrong and we would've been lost!

Just a side note (there will be a test later) : I finally was able to use my w/c cushion after the bathroom break... still cold, but tolerable... I was very relieved not to have to hold it anymore... I already felt pretty much like a mule (a recurring theme in this trip) with luggage up to my chin...
But not only my cushion was cold... the whole airport was freezing! It's another thing I was happy to have time to do at the bathroom break.... when you're pushed at what feels like 30miles/hour across the airport , you don't have time to stop for anything, and it's impossible to put a vest on when you have luggage on you...

We finally arrived at the DME desk around 1pm and gave the guy another tip (we gave him at least 15$ total!... After all, he had waited for us and had pushed me for a pretty long distance.)
The DME line was LONG! Mama left me in the waiting area across the hall and got in line... It took at least 10min. Then we waited about as long in the bus line...
They folded my chair under the bus and put it with most of our luggage... we kept our purses and the 2 backpacks... especially hoping I could catch a good "entering WDW" pic with my camera. But I didn't have a great seat in the bus so I wasn't able to get a great pic of the WDW gates. I got one, which I'll keep for my own sake, but you know... blah.

The whole rush and stress part, being in the wheelchair and mostly, the fatigue, were starting to make all magic dimmed... I didn't feel I was on vacation, I didn't feel very excited nor emotional... I simply couldn't wait to be in our room and rest... but thinking about that simply brought to mind all the trouble we still had to go through in order to get to that and didn't help at all...

The trip from the airport felt like forever, and we were really happy to learn POFQ was the 1st stop.


Next : what way did the trip start? (what a way to start the trip, part 3 1/2)

 

[dreamer17555]

An Update! Happy Dance of joy! Sorry you got off to such a rough start. I hope the trip rest of the trip was more magical.

-Becca-

 

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

Suite? I know, I like to put french sometimes ... For those wondering, it means "sequel". Or simply : next part.
-------------------------------------

What happened when we finally got to WDW, crossed the gates and all?
... Nothing. Well OK, not nothing. I tried to convince myself I should feel something and it was really happening, that thing I had dreamed of for so long and planned for almost a year... I looked at Mama and we kinda of looked, excited, at each other, saying "it's really real" or something like that...
But I must admit I faked most of it... or forced it out of me, if you will. I didn't feel what I thought I would feel. Maybe it's having done everything to ban any emotion about it for so long so I wouldn't burst... or maybe it simply was the fatigue. Or maybe it's just that it had been too long a wait, too much expectations, and after all, it's just going through a gate? I can't pin point it.
I think I was a lot disappointed by my lack of emotion at that point. I had expected a flood of emotions, hard to handle and all, either crying like a baby or wanting to jump around... but nothing like either of those things came out. I still felt pretty much empty and just wanting to rest in a calm room.
Of course I was happy and couldn't wait on discovering the resort and the parks, and couldn't wait for all we had planned, but it wasn't happening like I had thought it would. I didn't have anything particular in mind, but especially not... nothing!

Anyways... We got in POFQ, got out of the bus, and got my w/c and the luggage. It was a whirlwind! Not everyone was getting off, so we had to be quick... thinking of my cane, all our bags, bumping into everyone and catching into every seat while getting off, and then trying to get out of the way while the bus was leaving... pfff!
When the girls from the bell services asked us if we'd like some help with our luggage, saying our room probably wasn't ready, etc., we were so disoriented and tired we of course said yes. I was in no shape to put luggage in the w/c and push it, and Mama was too overwhelmed and tired to carry luggage and push me at the same time! So we gave her most of our carry-ons... not thinking clearly... so we gave her my camera bag (meaning I wasn't able to take pics entering our room and things like that) and of course... gave her a tip!

We then went to check-in... lucky us, there was no line!
The old lady checking us in was polite, but not very friendly. She was very slow and kinda hard to understand.

She was the one who told us the Disney system has a pretty stupid way of working (hum, she didn't say it like that)... it can't combine your reservations... More clearly, it means if you have 2 successive ressies, even if they're all on the same credit card, to the same name and for the same resort, they still count as 2 separate ressies and you'll need to check-out and check-in for each one!

Since, to get the AP rate, we had to divide our 1st 15-nights ressie into a 14-nights + a 1-night... and then added 2 nights (by then, we couldn't just modifiy the 1-night into 3-nights because the rate wasn't available anymore), we litterally had to check-in for 14 nights, then for 1 night, and then for 2 nights! The system couldn't do it otherwise. We had to return our KTTW cards each time, so they would deliver us new ones and we had to give them the registered credit card and sign for it each time... even if it was already in the system!!! Stupid I tell you!
...At least, they didn't give us the documentation each time...

So even though there was no line and we got through immediatly, check-in took us at least 10min. Everything that CM did took her lots of time...typing on the computer, taking a paper off a shelf...
She finally gave us the documentation and we were off to our room... Because, yes, it was ready! (it was already 2pm after all!)

Getting to our room took us a while, more than 5 min... because the plan of POFQ we had, combined with the directions the CM gave us, weren't clear and made us take the long way.
For those who don't know POFQ, it's made of 7 buildings (not counting the amenities), each of those made of 3 wings. We were in building 4, which is one of the closest to both the bus stop and food court. But we were on a corner, facing building 7 (floor, room 4148).
The way the CM made us go meant going along all the faces of the 3 wings, including all the inside corners... we soon learned there was a short-cut if you took between the wings... But I guess they can't explain it that way because people get lost? I don't know...
At the time, we couldn't believe how far our room was, for one supposed to be "close to most amenities".
In fact, it could've been closer, there are rooms in that building that are closer (to both bus stop and food court). But I'm not sure they are as peaceful and I know they don't have bathroom railings, as I had asked for.
Still, when you think about it... if someone asks for bathroom railings, don't you think they need to be closer than anyone else to the amenities?
Anyways.

Our first impression of the room was : I have a towel animal!!!

Than we looked around and thought : wow! It's kinda pretty and big enough. We should be good for 17 days here. And we were. There was enough space to put the w/c by my bed and still move around, for example.
We liked the wooden bed boards, and I liked the bed spreads with the cats looking just like Colombine...
I wasn't happy about the different room layout though... I don't know why the rooms with bathroom railings are different... but they are : instead of a curtain separating the vanity area, and a door separating the bathroom per se from that area, there was nothing to separate the bathroom from the vanity area, but a door to divide the whole bathroom/vanity area from the room. Which meant we couldn't go to the bathroom while the other was getting ready in the morning... I knew about the curtain layout in the POFQ (and most Disney rooms, if I'm right), and had been in hotel rooms separated that way and found it was so useful! So we found that to be a shame and often found ourselves losing time because of that.

I had asked for an extra special cleaning for medical reasons (hoping it would help a little not to get sick, since I have a weak immune system), but I realized there was no way to really be sure it had been done. I still gave a higher tip the next day, thinking it was deserved if they'd done it, and if they didn't do it, maybe I'd get good service...
Looking around, it seemed clean, with no hair, soap scum or anything, but with a closer look you could tell it's no deluxe and it's pretty old too. The carpetting was showing signs of time, and the bathroom especially showed sign of age... the bathtub was greyish, and so were the tiles on the floor... there even was an old drop of paint on it!

As soon as we set foot in the room, or almost, we called bell services to get our carry-ons, so we could start unpacking. Of course we didn't know we could go get our things ourselves... Altough I'm not sure we would've, we were so tired!
More tip then, since of course it was a different CM who came to give us our luggage back...
So we unpacked and set out to get something to eat.

That's when I realized my w/c cushion wasn't in my w/c... Where could it be? We stepped back in time... : The guy had given it to me, freezing, when we got off the plane, so I had it then. I remembered finally sitting on it, still cold, after the bathroom break at MCO, so I still had it then too... And then... DME put my w/c, with the cushion, under the bus with all the luggage... and we didn't remember the cushion being in the w/c when they gave it back to us... But we didn't notice a thing in the whirlwind of too many luggage, the cane, bell services offering to help and having to hurry to get out of the way... I didn't sit in the w/c right away and didn't notice the cushion was missing when I did either... I don't usually sit in that wheelchair every day, and only had that cushion for about a month...

So it was obvious, the cushion fell in the luggage compartment under the DME bus. So Mama went to the front desk (check-in side) right away. The CM told her DME wasn't Disney, but Mears operated (which I knew, but what were we supposed to do?), he still called Mears, and gave her a claim # and told her it would take a long time before they could check the buses (maybe not until 1am!) and they would call if they found the cushion. They took her cell # and her name. Then the CM gave her Mears # and told her to call them if we didn't have news the next day.
I really hoped they'd find it, because even if we had insurance for that type of thing, my butt would hurt without it!
Mama really didn't have a good feeling about it, because of the way the CM at the front desk handled the situation... nonchalant and not really showing any will to solve the problem. She was sure we would have to call Mears the following day.

...What a way to start the trip! We're not even fully settled in and "they" lose one the most important thing to me for that trip, one of the only things I can't easily replace, and don't even seem to care, don't even seem to want to help!

We had woken up at 4am... eaten breakfast around 4h30. Mama, being too stressed out didn't want to eat anything before leaving (only drank a cup of coffee at the airport while waiting). I ate half a sandwich while on the plane, around 10h30am. We didn't eat anything until that first meal at POFQ's counter service place : Sassagoula food court... at 3h30pm!!!
Yup, we were HUNGRY! But nauseous at the same time... too tired and too hungry.
We found Sassagoula to lack choices...
The place was almost empty, which was nice after all the chaos.
But apart from the peace and quiet, we didn't like the place. It was way too cold and the decoration is too much. In particular we hated the "big faces". I'm sure something else could've been possivble to communicate the mardi gras feeling.

Of course the first thing we set to do is buy the refillable mugs!
Let me tell you, both were paid for that same day!
I didn't have what I wanted for "lunch", because the CM didn't understand Mama... She asked for a chicken quesadilla... and I got a chicken caesar salad... I don't care how often and how weird you say it, I can't see how you can mix those 2! The funniest thing is, Mama got a turkey sandwich, and when she got the plate to where we were sitting, I saw that and said "That's a chicken quesadilla?"... How could I know the CM messed up so bad? I simply thought they fraudulently called a chicken sandwich with some cheese in it a "chicken quesadilla"... (hey, you never know!) Mama, not knowing what a chicken quesadilla was supposed to look like and not having noticed the picture on the board, didn't say anything to the CM...
I didn't even eat 1/8 of the salad... because I was nauseous from being too tired and too hungry, but mostly because it wasn't very good at all. I ate some of Mama's "chips" (home-made), which we liked a lot... Mama adds she didn't like them a lot, she LOVED them.

While I was eating, my ears finally de-clogged, 4 hours after landing!

Our first impression of POFQ was really good. It's so peaceful and very beautiful. We loved the design, the styling... the wrought-iron, the flowers, the abundance of trees... Most of all it was the fact that you didn't feel in a very popular them park. Of course we hadn't set foot in any park yet, but we felt secluded and shut from all the bustle and anything that could be everyday life too. We really loved the surroundings.

When we got back to the room, honestly, I felt like going to sleep for the night. But I knew it wouldn't be a good idea, that would mess up my whole week.

So... you'll have to wait for the next installment to know what happened then!

 

[dreamer17555]

Oh not a good start at all! I get the whole gates thing. I got happy when I saw them but not HAPPY like I expected. I think all the planning and waiting sometimes builds up a trip too much. Also traveling can take a lot out of someone. I think sometime Disney magic takes time to grow. I hope you ended up with lots of it... and that you got your cushion back!

-Becca-

 

[AnnieDan_Artlover]

Well I waited for that day for months, but I was so tired by then I simply couldn't wait for it to end so I could rest.

When we got in the room, DME had delivered our luggage, so we unpacked. It didn't take long and since we had a counter in the bathroom (the upside of not having the curtains/door separations I guess), we were able to line up a lot on it.
I must say, that counter was a good thing when putting the contacts on in the morning!

The plan was to spend the evening at Epcot, to see BJ Thomas show, eat dinner there and come back early. We decided to go along with the plan, got ready and... just as we were by the door, pulling the w/c to get out... we realized we were sooo tired! We changed our minds. We decided to go with just a Downtown Disney dinner.

I called bell services to check on my grocery delivery. I had ordered from Garden Grocers about 2 weeks prior (from the web) and paid in full, plus tip, and the agreement was the delievery was supposed to be between 3-6pm, and they would call Mama's cell about 30min. before the delivery to know if we were there or if they let it with bell services... It was then 6h15pm and I still didn't get any call!
So I called bell services to check if they had my delivery... and they said yup, it had been delivered more than 1hr before! It didn't make me happy that they didn't call (we checked and Mama never received a call, it's not like we simply didn't hear). Lucky we didn't make a point on staying in our room or on the grounds in case the delivery arrived, because we'd lost our time!
We had to wait 30min. for bell services to show up... and pay more tip!
Of course we could've got down and take the delivery to our room ourselves... but it was way too heavy, even using the w/c.
Honestly, I strongly feel that Garden Grocer have an arrangement with bell services so that when it's prepaid, they don't call and deliver it directly to them, so they have a chance to get a tip.

2 cases of 32-bottles of water, 16 bottles of Gatorade, a pack of Wet-ones singles, a pack of Boost supplement bottles and 2 quarts of milk.
...I only ordered on case of water bottles... They didn't charge me for the 2nd one, it wasn't even on the packing slip... seemed to be a mistake. But Mama decided we should shut up about it... We probably would need it and it would probably mean more trouble to try and return it... I didn't like the idea, but agreed, especially for the trouble it could mean just trying to be honest... I could see it already, losing time contacting Garden Grocers, and then wasting forever waiting for them to come and pick it up, because you only have that to do while you're on a trip... So I simply forgot about it.
All of that laying around didn't make the room pretty... But those things saved us a lot of money and helped us a lot, especially me.

While we waited for bell services to bring us the grocery, we looked at our dinner options in DTD... Mama wanted table service, but without too much noise, and we didn't have an ADR... which meant we couldn't go anywhere... None of the counter services seemed tempting and the more we thought about it, the more we realized DTD meant going to bed later... we were sooo tired! So we ditched that plan too!
The Boatwright's menu wasn't inspiring either... I would've liked pizza delivery, but Mama wasn't inspired much by that, especially because of the price... she had seen that it was Sassagoula's pizza, so for the small distance, she preferred to go, or even to go take it and bring it back if I didn't want to eat it there. We finally decided to go... but we were so tired we almost skipped dinner altogether!

At about 7pm we shared a peperonni pizza and a Mickey rice crispie treat. We didn't like much any of it. We ate outside and it was better than the cranked up A/C inside... We could also enjoy the beauty of the grounds. Once again, we were so tired that we had trouble eating anything...

Too tired to even try the pool or hot tub. Went straight back to our room after we were done eating.

When I got back into the room, I wanted to go to the front desk to ask if there was any package waiting for me, because I was supposed to have 2 packages waiting, and Mama offered to go.
Before I left I had ordered 2 TFW lanyard and since I was too late, I had made them deliver to POFQ. Plus, my dear friend Becca had told me she'd sent me a welcoming gift, a small thing to "get me in Disney mood". I couldn't believe how kind of her that was and couldn't wait to see what it was!
So imagine my disbelief when Mama told me the CM told her there was nothing waiting for me! And then I understood... when she repeated exactly the words of the CM, which were : there is nothing for this room. Of course there wasn't, I didn't know which room I'd get, so none of the packages I was waiting for had the room # on them! But of course Mama didn't think about that and didn't feel comfortable enough about the matter to contradict the CM. That's what happens when you don't do things yourself... but that night, I simply couldn't.

All along this trip, many times Mama offered to help me by doing things in my place, and almost every time these kind of things happened... she didn't know all the infos or mispoke and it either caused a misunderstanding or made us lose time... But most of the time, if the CMs would've have tried a little harder and used their heads instead of acting like robots, it wouldn't have been a problem! So it's not her fault, she was just trying to help.

So Mama had just made a trip to the front desk and lost 15-20min. for absolutely nothing, because the CM didn't listen to her question, didn't think the matter through and simply looked at the room number and didn't find any package. Thus, we would need to go back the next day.

We finally were able to take a shower/bath and get ready for bed... I wrote my first end-of-day notes, completed my first PassPorter pocket and Daily highlight sheet and closed the lights at about 9h30pm, with my whole body aching, swollen feet, burning eyes, etc.

I was a little sad about missing the BJ Thomas show (he was one of the Flower Power concerts I most wanted to see, and one of my goals had been to see all of those shows), but the most important thing was to stay healthy and be in top shape the next day for Magic Kingdom!

Talking before falling asleep, we realized it still didn't feel real.
Especially not leaving the resort at all. Even with some theming, it's not much Disney except at the pool, where we almost didn't set foot, so we were not particularly excited to be there. Of course most of that had to do with the fatigue, but also because we could've been at any hotel, anywhere in the world!

Oh, yeah, another sad thing... I wasn't able to do the trip with Faolan, the plush croc from the exchange thread, after all.
I was supposed to get him by mail, with time to spare before I'd leave, but the girl supposed to send him did it later than she was supposed to, so not only didn't I get him "with time to spare", I didn't even get him in time! I even called the post office, the day before I left, hoping he got there, but just had not been delivered yet (so I could go get him), but he didn't.
So I left my dad the info about the package (so he'd be sure it's the right one), the complete POFQ address (well he already had it, but now it would be on a post-it he could bring to the post office!) and what kind of shipping to use... It would cost him about 25$, but maybe I'd get Faolan before the end of the week, so I could at least have him for a whole week and for the trip back... I must admit I was surprised : he didn't even blink and agreed to do it.
It made me pretty mad, especially because the girl had agreed to sent him by UPS overnight, and finally used USPS, which she knew would take at least a week, and sent it only a week before I left... How could she think I'd get him in time? Did she just want to spare some money?
This whole thing put a lot more stress on the last days before the trip...

Next, Part 5 : Our REAL first day!