What should we try and do?

[alisonbestford]

This will be our 4th trip to WDW but, sadly, it may well be our last

DH is waiting to find out whether he will be having more neurosurgery to his, long standing, brain tumour after Easter.
The surgery, if it happens, will be very extensive and risky and, if he survives, I very much doubt whether we will be able to return to the US - travel insurance will be almost impossible for a start

Anyway, what I wanted to ask you all was 'what can we do to try and make this a holiday to remember for dd' (7)?
We're taking a three week break, just before Easter (March 23rd - April 13th). One week in Orlando, the second at New Smyrna Beach and the third back in Orlando.

We're planning on re-newing our wedding vows (at one of the small chapels - Disney is way out of our budget ), and renting a stretch limo for a few hours.
We absolutely MUST go back to Chef Mickey's (DD's favourite breakfast )

We struggle to 'do' early mornings as DH gets very tired so full day things are pretty much out of the question - unless we can take the car and he can sleep

Can anyone tell me more about leaving a legacy at Epcot or how to join in one of the parades maybe?

Any other suggestions would be fantastic

 

[eblack0409]

Just wanted to say my thoughts and prayers are with your family....I think leaving a legacy tile at EPCOT is a wonderful idea.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I just said a prayer for your husband and the rest of your family. May God bless you on your upcoming trip.

 

[sames1]

I would suggest finding the things he remembers as his favorite and making sure you do them. Then pry and find anything that he secretly wanted to do, but felt perhaps other's wouldn't enjoy them.

For example, my 76 year old mother wanted to go on the Tea Cups but was afraid to say because it seemed silly. Once we found out, we made it a point to go on them.

If you can get him to agree, rent a wheel chair and save his energy. That way you can see more and even get in line first on most attractions. It will maximize your time, but I know some people are just too proud to use wheelchairs.

Other ideas:

Buy an annual pass for him. What?? Why?? Well it's something that can be framed and kept forever. In addition you only need to use it about 8 times to break even. Unfortunately the annual passes at WDW are not as durable as the Disneyland AP's.

Dinner: Get a dinner and show at MGM and see Fantasmic. Eat at the Castle in the Magic Kingdom. Watch the fireworks from the Contemporary.

Tours: Get a Keys to the Kingdom Tour or one of the special tours that takes you in the tunnels. Pricey, but worth it.

Pictures: Let the photographers take your picture when you see them. You can decide if you want to buy the picture at the end of the day. No obligation. Sometimes you get great shots.

 

[Amy&Dan]

First of all, best of luck and prayers for your family. I think it is wonderful you are making this trip, what a special way for your family to enjoy time together. I would suggest you stay onsite (maybe you already are). Being onsite at WDW is a vacation in itself and if your husband isn't up to going to the parks there is always a lot of things to do at WDW onsite resorts. Also the transportation is such a perk and convenience and one less thing for you to worry with. If you can afford it, one of the Deluxe Monorail resorts or Epcot resorts are nice due to their proximity to MK/Epcot and the monorails.

A Wishes Cruise or Illuminations Cruise might be nice. You can post your dates on a thread and see if anyone can share one with you.

I think Leaving a Legacy sounds wonderful.

We don't do early mornings either. We are two hours behind Florida here in Colorado. Last trip we had my father in law with us who is very ill and will not be returning to WDW so it was out of the question. We found that attending the park that had EMH the day before our day helped with crowds. Also I agree, rent a scooter or wheelchair. Randy's Mobility, www.randysmobility.com was wonderful. They dropped off, picked up and were much easier to handle than the ones you rent in the parks. Also cheaper for a longer visit and always available to you. If you have a scooter, your husband always has a place to sit during parades and fireworks, which is nice. Sometimes sitting on a curb or on the ground is exhausting and just not feasible. You might want to check out the Disabilities Board here on the dis, they have many knowledgeable moderators and posters over there who know all about touring WDW with disabled concerns and issues.I would check into getting a GAC (Guest Assitance Card). Folks on the disablities board could answer your questions about that one.

When you get tired, get on a ride that lasts awhile! The train at MK is great, you can just ride it around and around as many times as you want and relax and recharge. Ditto with Spaceship Earth (they may not let you ride again without getting off but if its slow they might) and TTA. We rode TTA 3 times in a row once when my son wasn't feeling up to getting off because of a headache.

Maybe do a fun dinner show like Hoop De Doo Review. Or Cirque de Soleil. Although I will warn you Cirque is a long walk from the WDW resort bus stop! If you take the bus, be prepared for that (another time a scooter was a Godsend for us). If you have a car you can park right up close.

Good luck and God Bless. Enjoy your vacation and may you have many more!

 

[cannp123165]

I hope you have a brilliant holiday- to your family

 

[alisonbestford]

Firstly, thank you all for your prayers and good wishes

I posted on the UK board the night before we went to get DH's latest scan results and was inundated with pixie dust and prayers


I would suggest finding the things he remembers as his favorite and making sure you do them

That's an easy one He said, only the other day, that if he only got to ride Spiderman on the trip he'd be a 'happy bunny'
I bet your Mum was so surprised, and pleased, to get her ride on the Tea Cups

If you can get him to agree, rent a wheel chair and save his energy.
I'm definitely going to work on this one - I got him to agree, in principle, on our last trip but he managed to get away without using one
Thanks for the link to randysmobility

One thing I did get him to agree to last year - for the first time ever - was to let me get help on the flight. Normally, whenever we fly, he falls asleep on the plane and I have to juggle a disoriented DH, luggage and small child........! The threat (in his eyes ) of being pushed in a wheelchair through the airport was an instant adrenalin boost and the difference that using the 'priority' desks made was phenomenal

We're not staying onsite for two reasons.
One the fact that it will be peak season (ie very expensive) and two, that having more space is beneficial to us if DH is feeling ill and wants to be quiet

We take our mobile phones with us wherever we go so that DD and I can, maybe, go out in the morning and meet up with DH in the late afternoon. They're an absolute godsend

We do have friends in Orlando so DH might spend a day or two with them if he's feeling too tired to come out with us.

I'm the driver and, luckily, love driving but have been wondering about renting a sat nav system. Can anyone recommend an independant rental place?
I'm renting the car from Alamo.

I had wondered about one of the cruises so I'll be on to that
Isn't there a carriage ride you can do too?

DD and DH went to Cirque last year and thoroughly enjoyed it
I was thinking about one of the dinner shows?
Either Arabian Nights or the Dolly Parton one.
Any suggestions?

I'll look into the tours too.
Is the one in the tunnels dark though?
Silly question perhaps but I know I'll never get DD to do anything that seems 'creepy'.
She sat with her eyes shut through POTC last year and was so relieved to find Its a Small World was closed for refurbishment


Yes, I think a GAC could be very useful this year.
I have to go to Guest Services don't I?
As you suggest, I'll nip over to the Disability Board

Thank you all, once again, for everything.
I can see I'm going to have a busy time planning.................

 

[TMJR]

First of all, I am sending tons of prayers and good thoughts to your family...may you all be blessed with MANY more trips to Disney!

I love the above ideas, but I was also thinking...what about making a special scrapbook for your trip? I made one for our recent trip with my parents and in-laws, and they both carry their scrapbooks around with them! The photos are important, but adding special autographs, passes, etc and writing the details about those special family memories would make it a very special keepsake for all of you.

I hope you all have a wonderful vacation!

 

[alisonbestford]

A scapbook What a great idea.
DD will love to be in charge of that

Thank you for the idea

 

[luvfigment]

My thoughts and prayers are also with you and your family.

I would say do the Leave a Legacy but I think they only can put two people in the picture or you can do one that is like a text message.

Also get as many pictures done with your Photopass. Then you can either buy the ones you like or you can do one of the new CD's which includes all of your pictures. Or with your photopass you can make a movie type thing. This would be a great memory. If you do the movie thing if you have a digital camera you can add your own pictures also. You can go to disneyphotopass.com for more information. Sorry it is not a link for some reason I can not put them in my posts.

Good luck and hope you have a memorable trip! May God Bless.

 

[dwcrazee]

I just wanted to add have a beautiful vacation! And sending pixie dust your way!!

 

[disneyaggie]

I am sending so many thoughts and prayers your way. I do believe in miracles, so please don't think this will be your last trip. Always hold onto the fact that Disney will always be here . . . just waiting on you both to return! And something inside my heart tells me you both will!

Now regarding the suggestion of scrapbooks: I love my scrapbooks! I have receipts from stores, napkins from restaurants (the paper ones, of course ), and tons of pictures! Of course they are all in a scrapbook I purchased at WDW so the scrapbook cover is perfect.

I hope I won't offend with this next suggestion, so take it for what it's worth. Since this is such a special situation, perhaps you can let your hotel (if you stay on Disney property) know in advance a bit of what is going on and ask if they can add some special touches to make your trip even more magical. Those clever little mice will do whatever they can to make your trip even more wonderful than what you have already planned, and you both deserve that!

I also understand that with Photo Pass (those who take your pictures at the various parks, you can purchase a CD of all of your pictures taken for about $99. I read something about this on one of these threads. If that is the case, that would be a good investment, instead of paying for each picture, which does add up (ka-ching, ka-ching).

Again, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your hubby. Keep us posted, my dear, and remember, you always have us here at the Dis!

 

[julieannbabe]

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

xjx

 

[alisonbestford]

I hope I won't offend with this next suggestion, so take it for what it's worth. Since this is such a special situation, perhaps you can let your hotel (if you stay on Disney property) know in advance a bit of what is going on and ask if they can add some special touches to make your trip even more magical. Those clever little mice will do whatever they can to make your trip even more wonderful than what you have already planned, and you both deserve that!

Again, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your hubby. Keep us posted, my dear, and remember, you always have us here at the Dis!

I rang the front desk when we were staying at the Sheraton Safari last year to let them know it was DH's 1yr, post op, anniversary and we were given a complimentary evening meal, and a bottle of wine, which was lovely

I spend so much time on these boards that DH calls you all my 'Disco friends'

The photopass cd sounds a good idea.
We have a few photographs of DD, taken by the photographers last year, but I'll make sure we all 'jump in' the frame this time

I have to believe that we will get back to WDW one day - what will I do if I don't have a trip to plan...............
I'll drive everyone crackers

 

[laughinplace199]

Your DD would enjoy the Family Magic Tour. It's a 2 hr. walking tour of MK, so it would be a lot of fun if your DH was up for it. We just did it with our DD6 and DS4 and they loved it. You have to do all sorts of silly things as you go from place to place in the MK. It was the highlight of our trip! PM me if you would like more details about the tour.

I'll say a prayer that everything works out for your family. Here's some pixie dust too!

 

[lorli]

It sounds like you do this already, but having your dd and dh do things together that he likes/she likes to add experiences that they may never get again. Pixie Dust and Prayers coming your way.

 

[disneyaggie]

I have to believe that we will get back to WDW one day - what will I do if I don't have a trip to plan...............
I'll drive everyone crackers

Start planning your next trip, honey -- even if it is for one two or three years down the road. I find my trip planning almost as therapeutic as the actual trip. Trip dates can always change . . . so start that planning, young lady!

And hey, I think we are all crackers! That just proves we are crazy for Disney! Wheeeeee!