"When I went it was all lights, and music, and Mickey doin' his magic." — Aug. '18 Disneyversary TR — Completed (Finally!!) August 20, 2021

[pkondz]

BJ's Wholesale Club. It's like another Costco/Sam's Club type wholesale store. I don't think it exists in Canada?? I don't have a membership, but I've heard the online memberships are inexpensive. I do have a Sam's Club membership for now because there's one in a city we often visit in Maine and it paid for itself when I bought all my Disney gift cards there to pay for our August trip. But most of our wholesaling happens at Costco.

Oh, okay.
Thought it was something up here where I could get GCs.

My heart sank a little, and I felt a little sick, not gonna lie. It took some time to save for it, and I'd barely even broken it in. But I felt a little better when I checked that it was still working.

Totally get that. You want that "new car smell" to last a while.

 

[piglet1979]

As an adult who has only vomited once in the last 15 years, despite having a neurological condition that causes nausea, I can definitely relate. I've been this way as long as I can remember. The thought of actually vomiting is very frightening to me. I don't know that we will ever have kids, but if we did, Nathan would definitely be the designated puke handler. He also has a bit more of a comforting/nurturing type of personality than I think I would for these types of situations, so I think it would work out well in the end.

It has been about 19 years for me. I didn't even get sick when I was pregnant with either of the kids. I will force myself to not get sick which I think is why when I do get the stomach bug I am sick much longer then most people. DH handled the puke and I handled the dirty diapers. We are a good pair.

Fun! Yeah, it's kind of addictive. The first time we started playing was shortly after the game came out, and I tired of it before too long. But when we started again more recently, there are things they'd added in that are kinda neat, and now my husband and I are kind of competitive with each other about it, who's the higher level, who has what pokemon, etc., and it keeps it interesting for us Disney is a great spot for it when you're waiting for things!

It is. I am trying to just fill my pokedex. Disney is a great place for it but we haven't been there yet since we started playing. We used to play a game called ingress before Pokemon and it was made by the same people. In that game you submit photos to be approved for portals. The people who made the games then took these portal locations to be pokestops and gyms. We used to play ingress at Disney while in lines.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I really enjoyed reading about your MNSSHP day and night!
I love the costumes!
I’m glad you got to meet the Queen of Hearts and all the other characters from Alice.
The pictures are all wonderful.
I really love the Boo to you parade and we always watch from Frontier Land. It is spooky over there and it is always a plus when the Cadaver Dans sing as you are waiting.
I have to say I am partial to Hallowishes vs the new light/fireworks.

 

[MeghanEmily]

It has been about 19 years for me. I didn't even get sick when I was pregnant with either of the kids. I will force myself to not get sick which I think is why when I do get the stomach bug I am sick much longer then most people. DH handled the puke and I handled the dirty diapers. We are a good pair.

You balance each other out! I'm with you there. I work very hard to force my body not to get sick. I've heard it said that emetophobes tend to have an excellent "continence" for not throwing up

It is. I am trying to just fill my pokedex. Disney is a great place for it but we haven't been there yet since we started playing. We used to play a game called ingress before Pokemon and it was made by the same people. In that game you submit photos to be approved for portals. The people who made the games then took these portal locations to be pokestops and gyms. We used to play ingress at Disney while in lines.

Neat! I've heard of that game. Nathan explained to me about it when Pokemon go was first developed. But I'd never played it!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Totally get that. You want that "new car smell" to last a while.

Exactly!

I really enjoyed reading about your MNSSHP day and night!
I love the costumes!
I’m glad you got to meet the Queen of Hearts and all the other characters from Alice.
The pictures are all wonderful.
I really love the Boo to you parade and we always watch from Frontier Land. It is spooky over there and it is always a plus when the Cadaver Dans sing as you are waiting.
I have to say I am partial to Hallowishes vs the new light/fireworks.

Thanks, Caroline! We had such fun with our character meets—definitely worth the wait. I agree about the Cadaver Dans! Such a great little highlight! I agree with you about HalloWishes. I didn't think the new show was terrible or anything, but I definitely did prefer HalloWishes.

 

[docsoliday1]

Wow, that looked like a fun trip. Swimming with the manatees is something I've thought of for a while now. Now that we live here, I think I need to plan on this next year. I would say we could meet up this month, but we don't drive a Mercedes, so not sure if we measure up.

 

[amazingact21]

I'm not quite caught up on your MNSSHP updates, but I just read about your Tea Cups/character queue incident:

The only unfortunate moment of the night also happened to occur during our wait for these characters. As I've mentioned before in my TRs, I'm highly emetophobic, i.e. I super phobic of vomit. It sounds silly, but the anxiety I experience around seeing/hearing others puke is no laughing matter. I even turn the tv channel or ask N to screen movies for me if there are vomit scenes. My niece got a stomach bug a week ago, and I have still yet to emerge from my basement bedroom to the rest of the house.

And wanted to say that I'm an emetophobic, too!! My phobia actually reached a boiling point when I caught a stomach bug in Disney in 2016. For a few years after that I had a hard time keeping it under control, which was a hard road to travel with young kids. I have actually canceled two short weekend trips in Europe because I heard there a was a bug going around.
So I 100% know how you feel and where you're coming from. It must have taken a lot not to walk away from that line when that happened. On our last trip, a kid got sick in the HM queue, and the only reason I didn't leave right then and there was because my kids begged me not to. I've had a friend ask how I can possibly handle Disney with its germ factory, and I think it speaks to its magic and allure that people like us can still go and enjoy it with this phobia.
I also wanted to say, that I have found exercise, yoga, and proper nutrition have helped with my symptoms. I read somewhere that emetophobia stems from a control and anxiety issue, and if you work on managing those triggers they can carry over into helping with all phobias.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Did everyone go commercialism crazy today with Black Friday sales!?

Umm, that would be a yes. I went a little crazy this year and treated myself to a new pair of Uggs.

Of course, once we finally got on the monorail, we also got stuck there.

This happens all the time lately. Ugh!

We were headed to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

LOVE!

I was very proud of my homemade costume

Your costumes are adorable! Nice job!!!!

we'd had a wonderfully productive and fun Halloween party

You did get a lot done!!!! All your pics are super cute!!!

 

[piglet1979]

I read somewhere that emetophobia stems from a control and anxiety issue, and if you work on managing those triggers they can carry over into helping with all phobias.

This explains a lot. I don't the feeling of being out of control (1 reason why I don't drink) and the anxiety I get about being sick in public makes me feel sick. I do avoid certain things like speaking in front of people (another anxiety that I have) until my boss made me do presentations. I was able to avoid them for about 8 years. I refuse to eat before giving them because I feel sick just giving them then think i will be sick and it gets worse. SO if I don't eat in my mind I won't be sick. Then I am starving after and eat right away. Being on a plan is bad too. I won't eat either that day until I am done flying. My last 2 trip s for work on my flight home I went over 24 hours without eating.

 

[MeghanEmily]

And wanted to say that I'm an emetophobic, too!! My phobia actually reached a boiling point when I caught a stomach bug in Disney in 2016. For a few years after that I had a hard time keeping it under control, which was a hard road to travel with young kids. I have actually canceled two short weekend trips in Europe because I heard there a was a bug going around.
So I 100% know how you feel and where you're coming from. It must have taken a lot not to walk away from that line when that happened. On our last trip, a kid got sick in the HM queue, and the only reason I didn't leave right then and there was because my kids begged me not to. I've had a friend ask how I can possibly handle Disney with its germ factory, and I think it speaks to its magic and allure that people like us can still go and enjoy it with this phobia.

I read this ages ago when you posted it, Alicia, but am only getting back to respond now. I didn't realize you had the same phobia! I do remember reading about your stomach bug from your 2016 trip—it stuck in my mind because I thought of how horrible and anxious I would have felt in your position! It really can have a huge effect on a person's life. I've been in an internship placement these last 7 weeks in a couple of schools in our district working mainly with kids up to age 8-9 or so, and probably every other day I hear about a kid in one of their classes who's out sick, or a little one I'm working with will tell me that they were up sick the night before but their mom sent them to school today anyway, etc. It's been hard on me with my emetophobia for sure, but probably also good to help me desensitize a bit. Just the other day, my supervisor and I walked by a kid sitting in the office with her head in a garbage can, and my supervisor was like, "Nothing to see there! Just keep walking!" It definitely says something that we keep going back to Disney, despite how it can challenge those of us with phobias around sickness or germs. Most things I would say aren't worth it, but Disney always is worth the risk.

I also wanted to say, that I have found exercise, yoga, and proper nutrition have helped with my symptoms. I read somewhere that emetophobia stems from a control and anxiety issue, and if you work on managing those triggers they can carry over into helping with all phobias.

This is excellent advice! And it makes total sense. I deal with quite a lot of generalized anxiety as well, and occasional panic attacks, and germaphobia in general to a certain extent. I find that the best tools I have for keeping my anxiety levels more manageable are regular daily exercise, and a consistent sleep schedule. When those things start to slip, that's when I start noticing my anxiety creeping up again. Another thing that seems to help my mental health in the winter months—though whether it relates to managing phobias, I'm not sure—is using a therapy lamp in the mornings.

 

[Steppesister]

Just checking in to say hi! Hope you're well!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Just checking in to say hi! Hope you're well!

Hi, Liesa! (Oh, how I'd like to get back to this report soon for more than just a "hi"...) I'm doing quite well, thanks for asking! A bit overwhelmed as of late, but learning a lot. I'm more than halfway through my last internship placement now for my master's, and working hard every evening and most of the weekends to be ready to work with the kids in my schools on their speech and language every day. They're sweet, and funny, and complicated little humans, so it makes it worth it...most of the time. I hope you're well, as well!!

 

[pkondz]

I'm doing quite well, thanks for asking! A bit overwhelmed as of late, but learning a lot. I'm more than halfway through my last internship placement now for my master's, and working hard every evening and most of the weekends to be ready to work with the kids in my schools on their speech and language every day. They're sweet, and funny, and complicated little humans, so it makes it worth it...most of the time.

I know this was addressed to Liesa, but...
Glad to hear you're learning a lot and more than halfway through is great! Hang in there! You're getting there! And it'll all be worth it in the end.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I know this was addressed to Liesa, but...
Glad to hear you're learning a lot and more than halfway through is great! Hang in there! You're getting there! And it'll all be worth it in the end.

Thanks, @pkondz! It's been a very good experience overall. Once this week is done, I'll only have four weeks left. Counting down the days till I'll be a grown-up SLP, ready to face the world...still continuing to learn, no doubt, but hopefully at least getting paid while I do it at that point

 

[pkondz]

Thanks, @pkondz! It's been a very good experience overall. Once this week is done, I'll only have four weeks left. Counting down the days till I'll be a grown-up SLP, ready to face the world...still continuing to learn, no doubt, but hopefully at least getting paid while I do it at that point

Four weeks will go by in a flash! Good luck! And yay to getting paid!

 

[Tracy161]

I echo what @pkondz has said! We're all really proud of you and will be waiting for your return to this TR when you have more time I remember those days well...

 

[MeghanEmily]

I echo what @pkondz has said! We're all really proud of you and will be waiting for your return to this TR when you have more time I remember those days well...

Thank you, Tracy!

 

[MeghanEmily]

HELLLOOOOO HUUUUMMMAAANNNSSSS!

I haven't forgotten about you, I promise. Life as a master's student, man...I had no idea it could get so busy! I feel like I've been a broken record over here, saying that I've-been-gone-but-I'm-back-now-and-I'm-gonna-make-every-effort-to-now-finish-this-report...and then I disappear again for weeks or months at a time. I doubt any of you trust me to ever finish this TR at this point, and I'm not gonna make anymore promises about the speed at which that's likely to happen, but I figured that since I've got a few hours free today, I might as well toss in a nice robust update and keep things moving around here...even if at a snail's pace.

Life update: I'm currently in the homestretch of my master's degree, with about a month to go until my last internship placement is complete. I've been working with some downright nifty kids on all kinds of speech and language goals, from learning to use certain sounds in their speech, to figuring out that tricky mystery that is grammar (How's a kid to know that "Him do" should actually be "He is doing"?? Tricky stuff, English is!), to being able to express the complex imaginative thoughts inside their brains in words, to reducing stuttering and having smoother talking, to learning to chew while eating, to using a digital device like a tablet to talk to their friends and teachers, to developing more socially appropriate ways to ask for what they need or indicate when they need a break before reaching the point of having an all-out meltdown, etc., etc. Oh, speaking of stuttering: one of the stories we sometimes read to kids who stutter is about a character called Snooky the Snail—who goes slow over the bumps in the path, just like we do with our smooth talking, obviously—and I'm beginning to think Snooky would feel right at home here on my thread with the pace this TR has been going!! So on that note...On with the show!

"So you didn't get married after one day?? Did you hear that, Anna? Nine Years!!"
Aug. 25—Part 1

So if you remember back to about four years ago when I last updated, you may recall that we'd been out at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party until the wee hours of the morning. We decided to maximize our beauty rest this morning and slept in until around 9:00. Nathan then went down to the quick service restaurant to get some gluten free waffles for breakfast, which he kindly brought back to the room.

Shortly after, it was time to get our relaxation on. We'd booked ourselves a couple's massage at the Senses Spa at the GF as an anniversary present to ourselves. I didn't take any pictures of the spa this time, but we both had good massages and left the spa feeling refreshed. This was just the kind of slow relaxing start to our day that we needed after the busyness of the day before.

Next, it was time for a little Afternoon Tea. We settled ourselves in at the Garden View Tea Room to partake in a "Cherished Tradition of Refinement." (At least that's what the Disney website says it is. ) I'm quite sure that we ordered the Befordshire Tea, or whichever one it was at the time that was the simplest tea service without any add-ons. That basically meant: a cup of tea, finger sandwiches and fruit, a biscuit with some fixin's, and a choice of a dessert-type-thing, for around $35 per person.

I'm also quite sure that I chose the Golden Caramel Rooibos tea that was available at the time, as any caramel or vanilla rooibos would always be my tea of choice. I'm not sure what Nathan ended up choosing. He's a bit more adventurous than me in general, and he loves tea fiercely and indiscriminately, so it really could have been anything. For some reason, I feel it may have been Nutty Chocolate, or perhaps Zanzibar Chai. Our tea was nestled on the table, looking as cozy under its cozy as we'd felt that morning after our lazy start and peaceful massage.

There were certainly some differences between my gluten free plates and Nathan's gluten-filled ones. His tended to look and taste better overall—shocking, I know—but I found some things I liked as well.

We enjoyed our experience at the Garden View Tea Room, and had a very classy server taking care of us. I even got a rose, which we took back to the room to brighten the last bit of our stay. (They must have forgotten Nathan's rose, but he didn't complain. I offered to share mine with him so we would both feel like the special guests of honour that we were. ) I felt a bit underdressed since I'd just shown up in a tank top and shorts, but there were a few others wearing casual park attire like mine, so I didn't let it concern me much. I think that, as long as I continue to have dietary restrictions, this will probably be a one-and-done for us. It was a nice experience, but the food was definitely better for Nathan than it was for me. Nathan enjoyed it, and he likes tea, but he was partaking in this for my benefit rather than his own interest, so I don't think he'd ever ask to go back unless I had a change in dietary restrictions and wanted to try it again.

After our afternoon tea, we dropped off my rose at the room and gathered our things, then hit the road for EPCOT. I swear, I just have to enter that park and I immediately feel like life is just that little extra bit better. I don't know how all the construction and changes will affect this, but I hope EPCOT always has this effect on me no matter how it transforms over the years.

I went pin shopping, yet again, and then we headed to the World Showcase. Our first stop was Norway...

Suddenly, with little warning, it began to pour outside. (August, though, amirite?) Our world travels momentarily interrupted, we decided to duck in to Anna and Elsa's Royal Sommerhus to keep dry and chat with a couple of royal friends.

There was only one family ahead of us when we arrived, and nobody in line behind us. This ended up being an unexpectedly wonderful character meet that I will always remember well. First, I told Anna about being given a piece of chocolate at the spa, and how I'd thought it would have made a wonderful gift for her, but I just couldn't help myself and I ate it before we arrived to see her. She didn't blame me and said she would have done the same. She asked us if the spa was like Wandering Oaken's, and we talked about the potential similarities and differences. Anna seemed a little tired, probably because she was sick of being cooped up inside in the rain and wanted to go on adventures outside, but she had a wonderful chat with us all the same.

The real fun, however, began when we went to meet Elsa...

Caption this:

Elsa noticed our buttons and asked how long we'd been married. I told her we were celebrating our one "ear" anniversary, but that we'd actually been together for nine years prior to getting married. Elsa, ever the big sister, then decided to make this a lesson for Anna, calling out loudly enough for her to overhear: "So you didn't get married after one day? Did you hear that, Anna? NINE YEARS!!" Then Anna got in on the fun. She borrowed our sharpie that we had with us for autographs, and began pretending to take notes on her hand as Elsa instructed her on how long you should get to know somebody before you decided you wanted to marry them, and we peppered in bits of relationship advice here and there.

We managed to get some crazy eyes from Elsa...

*shudder*

...and then headed out, only to find that the rain had mostly stopped. Score! Now it was time for a ride on Frozen Ever After.

Continuing around the World Showcase, the ground looked like a mirror after the short-lived downpour. We went to China, and N happily downed a Tipsy Ducks in Love. (He will ever be grateful to @fallonkendra's husband, Luke, for recommending this drink!)

The beautiful places in EPCOT always warrant stopping for a photo...

Alright, so remember that time I said the rain had stopped? Yeah, that didn't last long. We'd only made it as far as the African Outpost when it picked up again. We ducked under cover....and I have in my notes that I got a hot dog in a paper wrapper there?? They must have had hot dogs that were gluten free, but no gluten free buns? I have no memory of this and no pictures to support it, so it may or may not be true. You can decide. This TR is becoming a bit of a Choose Your Own Adventure story these days. You're welcome.

As the rain began to let up again, we continued our tour of the World Showcase. As we moseyed from one country to the next, I was playing one of my favourite games at Disney. You may already know that I can't "Drink Around the World" due to my neurological condition—it ends up being that I basically tend skip straight to all the nastiness of drinking without any of the good bits—but something I CAN do is "Pin Trade Around the World." I took photos of each pin I traded for, then would usually trade it away for something new at the next country. (I'll include my pin pictures below this update.) Along with pin trading, we also stopped in Italy so I could pick out a few of my favourite chocolates. We also stopped in America for an order of french fries, our long-forgotten tea (and possible bunless hotdog?) no longer satisfying our bellies. I'm sure we did some browsing in Japan, Nathan's favourite pavilion, before moving along to Morocco, where I was approached by a kind stranger who saw my pin lanyard, and I made my first pin trade ever with a non-Cast-Member-human-being. (I've since gotten much more into pin trading, and often trade with people in person or in online groups through the mail, but this was the beginning of it all for me!) I got a cute Cheshire Cat pin out of the trade, thanked her, and we continued on our way.

When we arrived in the France pavilion, we spoke with a French cast member—I attempted a bit of French, myself—who asked us if we'd ever met his cousin. I had no idea what he was talking about, so he ushered us inside to where his "cousin," was standing all alone, doing her meet and greet inside out of the damp weather...

There was nobody else around, so Belle spent lots of time with us. She's always been a favourite princess of mine, and we chatted about what kinds of books we like to read.

When we got to the Canada pavilion, the cast member there offered to show us their pin board, but only if we played a "lightning round" of trivia with him. He was VERY enthusiastic about trivia! But we managed to answer enough questions to see the board and get a wonderfully adorable Sulley Hidden Mickey pin for my collection. We also picked up a Larry Dotson art print of the pavilion to commemorate that we were celebrating one year of marriage back in our beautiful wedding location. This began a collection of Larry Dotson prints for us, which now includes the Canada Pavilion, two different Animal Kingdom prints, the Beach Club, and EPCOT's Illuminations, each one related somehow to a trip we've taken.

We did some shopping on our way out, then drove over to Disney Springs to replenish our supply of Erin McKenna's treats. Then it was nearing time for our dinner ADR, so we drove over to Animal Kingdom Lodge and checked in at Sanaa.

This is where something else happened that was really cool, and I wish I'd been nerdy enough to ask to take a picture to show you, but, alas, I'll just have to tell you about it: While we were waiting for our table at Sanaa—it was a fairly long wait this particular night—I noticed a small group of adults standing in the waiting area chatting, and I thought I might recognize one of them. I told Nathan that I thought one of the women was someone who writes a website that I follow very religiously for dining with dietary restrictions at Disney. Shyly, I went up to her and asked her if she was, by chance, Sarah from Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW...and she was! I was very psyched to have met someone I consider be a low-level internet celebrity in the dietary restriction world. Her website has made a huge difference in how I'm able to get the most out of Disney dining. I thanked her for writing her reviews and for all the restaurants that I've checked out over the years because of her site. We chatted for a minute, and then I left her to her friends and returned to hang out with Nathan. While we continued to wait, a cast member also came over to show us an elephant tusk and talk with us about conservation efforts. He asked us about what we'd done in the parks that day, and really helped to pass the time while we waited.

Eventually, we were seated. At this point, I'd been starting to feel a bit unwell. I was likely dehydrated, and maybe still a bit run down from the busy previous day and all the walking around World Showcase. We decided to split one order of bread service and one entree between us since I wasn't up to eating much. So we got the bread service with a couple of pieces of gluten free naan, and the Braaivleis (my favourite, a South African sampler plate with meats and seasonal accompaniments.)

After Sanaa, we were both feeling a little zonked. We headed back to the GF for the night, watched some Mickey cartoons, and went to bed.​

 

[MeghanEmily]

As mentioned in my previous update, these are the photos of my "Pin Trading Around the World" finds. Most of them ended up being traded away at the next country, but a few of them made it home to my pin board, including the adorable little Big Foot Sulley pin.

 

[cindianne320]

What a relaxing morning! I love the Tea, but it's not something I feel the need to do over and over again. Sorry that it rained a bit in Epcot- but it looks like you made the best of it! Love all your pins!