I have had two classical c/s… one in 2008 and one in 2012!!! As you mentioned, I have (had major reconstructive bowel surgery) an abdominal scar that was from above the belly button to the top of my pelvic bone… so my OB just used that scar… healed up great, you would never know i’ve been opened 3 times in the same spot!!
That’s awful!
It wouldn’t have been as bad except we had our 5yo with us, and she got upset her dad was too busy texting, which is what caused the truth to come out. Poor kid had to hear her father saying pretty much a side piece was more important than her attention. That’s just a level of nonhuman I can’t believe was possible.
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Some of us just need zippers!
Non-Disney vacation: Was on a work trip in Washington DC in 2018. We were scheduled for a White House/Capital tour and I woke up with a blistering migraine. I tried - struggled through breakfast, got ready, but I threw up in the bushes before getting on the bus, so I ended up staying back and going back to bed. I missed the chance of a lifetime - the WH cancelled tours for Canadians shortly afterwards.
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Besides WDW, Sanibel Island is my other happy place. We took the kids to WDW in June. DH and I decided last summer we needed our own vacation in July. First time in 21 years we had taken a trip without the kids. First day was great…water was beautiful! Next day it was an apocalypse. Yes, the dreaded Red Tide hit. Dead sea life everyday washing up for the rest of the week. Sea snakes everywhere. But hey, I got to see a dead moray eel up close. Nothing beats taking a walk in the rain with your loved one at the beach next to piles of dead things. But we did get our alone time!
First big trip to Disney. My sister and her family, my parents and my family all drive down from Ohio. The kids liked riding together and kept switching cars. On our second night of a 7 night trip we realize that someone got headlice from their school. Now everyone and all three cars have to be treated.
We just got back from Disney this morning, and had an amazing time, but Hollywood Studios was a bit of a rough day. First we got lost walking from Beach Club so instead of arriving at 8:40 we arrived at 9:05, behind the crowd, and consequently spent our first hour in line for Woody and Jessie. Then we had dinner reservations at Sci-Fi, and spent all day hyping it up to the boys about getting to eat in a car. Checked in 5 minutes before our reservation and they said they were running about 15-20 minutes behind but “stay close because when we page you you only have a few minutes”. Played rock soccer for 25 minutes then went back to check, and were told that the kitchen had “mechanical difficulties” and there were maintenance workers on the way but they couldn’t give us any idea when they’d resume seating people. They said they could probably fit us in at Prime Time so we rushed over there, it took another 25 minutes for us to be seated, and we didn’t end up having time for the boys to meet Chewbacca and BB8. And then after all that I found Fantasmic totally underwhelming and it took 25 minutes in a giant mass of people (my worst nightmare) to get out of the theatre. The middle of the day was great but the beginning and end were rough.
Big family trip with extended family. We took three cars and the kids all wanted to ride together and kept switching cars at different stops. To make a long story short, someone got headlice at school and now on the 2nd day of our 9 day trip we had to treat the entire party of 12 and all three cars and 4 children’s car seats.
I have two pretty minor ones.
Decided to watch ROL. 30 seconds in, I realize this is not for me, but am stuck in the middle of the seating section. Regret not just riding everest.
The other is not getting to do the People Mover. This may sound weird, but the ride sounded kind of neat. The line was super backed up when I tried and I never got back.
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When I was on the college program (CP) at Disney I was 20, I turned 21 about a month after I returned to college.
I was able to return to Disney as a professional intern (PI) a year and a half later, Pleasure Island closed a month before I arrived. Sigh.
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Our first family Disney trip (DH and I had both been as kids) was early January 2014. I teach at a college campus, so vacations have to work around my semester teaching schedule, and we also wanted lower crowds/less heat so summer was out. We got to the airport here in western PA well ahead of our 4pm flight and the predicted snowstorm. 
Watched as the snow started to fall, heavier and heavier. After some delays and a lot of deicing, eventually they announced that our flight was cancelled. WORST NIGHTMARE. They could not get us on another flight to MCO for several days, but could get us on a flight the next day to Ft. Lauderdale, where we MIGHT be able to get standby on a flight to MCO, otherwise could drive it (we were planning to rent a car anyway). We took that option, stayed in a hotel near the airport that night (roads were almost impassable), got to Ft. Lauderdale the next day. We had been planning about a 9 day trip and a return late on Saturday night to recoop on Sunday before everyone had to start work/school on Monday, but we ended up extending the trip by 1 day on the other end and getting home Sunday night to have the same number of days. Crisis #1 resolved.
Made the 3 hour drive from Ft. L to Orlando and got to our hotel very late. We were staying off-site, at a place that looked great, recommended by an online friend, where we had a 2-bedroom suite for less than a Disney hotel, oh joy! We finally got there, eventually found our room (it was difficult as one elevator wasn’t working and the hotel employees were definitely not CM’s), and our hearts sank. It was yucky! 
Kitchen counter was sticky, it had a funky odor, and was definitely NOT dream vacay material!
I wanted to cry. After we got the kids in bed, I DID cry. 
It’s now almost midnight and we basically spent 2 days traveling and we were a day “behind schedule” and not a bit happy with the accomodations. Hubby and I gathered our wits about us and started talking. I had done essentially all the planning, so I felt like this was all my fault. We got on MDE and I looked up available resort rooms for our stay, that wouldn’t COMPLETELY break the bank. We found a room at Coronado Springs! It said that we could book it starting 2 days later (e.g., would have meant one additional night at yucky hotel) but I suspected that was because it was so late. We reserved it online, and then I called at 7am and got the NICEST cast member who said YES, we could check in TODAY.
So we ate breakfast, checked out of yucky and drove to Coronado Springs, and were checked in there by about 11am. When we walked into the lobby, I felt this huge “shift” and all the anxiety of those prior 48 hours just melted away… NOW we can start our dream vacation! 
It was an amazing time, even though I was a Disney newbie (didn’t really understand about ADR’s so didn’t book any until about 3 weeks before the trip - but we got some good ones!).
Vacation saved, and I don’t think we will ever stay off-property again. We went again in March 2017 (I actually WON the trip in a raffle my kids’ school did!! 
) and stayed at POFQ. For our trip in Jan 2020 we are branching out and rented through David’s DVC so will get our first experience at a villa (Kidani) so I can HARDLY WAIT!! 
That trip will be the same travel time, early January, so really hoping no weather issues! BUT we did get trip insurance this time. After that first bumpy start, nothing but #goodDisneykarma for me! 
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That’s a…uh…great bad story! Thanks for sharing it. I love that you didn’t give up and made it into a good time despite the bad beginnings.
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My dad hadn’t been to WDW since the late 80s. He loved the rides, including Space Mountain. So when he went back for his 77th birthday, he wanted to go on SM with his grandkids. Well, he did and he was woozy all day. We managed to get him on Pirates of the Caribbean, thinking a nice dark ride would help, but that little motion and bump to get into the ride was even too much for him.
So what was supposed to be a wonderful day with the grandkids was a day spent moving from bench to bench. He was able to enjoy lunch, but that’s about it.
Since then, he’s not been back (and is in rough shape now, so won’t be travelling anywhere again). So I have always felt guilty for putting SM on the TP.
There was one good thing… since it was his birthday and that was the one year they gave out a free park entrance on your birthday, he hadn’t actually paid to go to MK.
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I have a pretty disappointing vacation story - non Disney. I had planned a long desired trip to Italy with my sister for over a year. I didn’t use a tour/travel company, I booked all stuff individually after extensive research. (Sort of a Liners-like approach!) Anyway, 3 days before we were supposed to leave, my husband’s brother dies unexpectedly. My sister and I assume we will have to reschedule and of course I am disappointed but I am also really upset and saddened by the death and worried for my husband. Well, my husband’s family insists we go - said they’d never talk to me again if I didn’t still go - so with our grown sons home to support my husband and his sisters staying at our house too for support, we decide we will go to Italy. Well, that was a mistake. We land in Rome at 7:30AM local time, get to hotel, too early to check in so we go out and sight see for 3 hours - beautiful weather, see a few cool sites then head back to hotel. I fail to see a step in the hotel lobby and fall flat on my face, no time to break my fall. l shatter my shoulder - FIVE HOURS after landing in Rome. The medical care was absolutely horrendous, it was actually scary. When they told me my shoulder was so shattered I needed immediate surgery, both my sister and I responded with a, “No way is that being done here.” I was allowed to fly home the next day as long as I went directly to the US hospital for surgery. (I could share a ton of the awful stuff we encountered, but I will spare you. I truly love Italians - just not the ones at that horror-show of a hospital!) That flight home was incredibly painful, but I was so relieved to be back in the US…
My experience was so bad that I never want to go back to Italy. It had been a dream of mine for a long time, but it’s been almost 2 years since it happened and I still have no desire… hearing an Italian accent makes me sick to my stomach 
Oh - and Pod is so right - we paid ~$275 for travel insurance and ended up getting back every penny we would have lost - over $7,000. You better believe I have travel insurance for our Disney trip this October!
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Oh that’s terrible, you poor thing!
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UGH… how awful!
We never used to buy travel insurance, but did so on our last trip and our upcoming one, mostly because we both have elderly parents (my dad is almost 86, MIL will be 93 in Sept), both have severe dementia and are in nursing care, so we recognize that something could happen to them at any time.
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So sorry you had that experience! Years ago I went on a whirl wind tour of Europe (12 countries in 21 days) and to be honest Italy was not my favorite (I liked aspects, but overall I was meh). The south of France and Spain were the standouts of the tour for me, so in my humble opinion, you are not missing out. I did have strep throat the entire trip and could not find a store (or had the time) to get medicine. I came back with a horrible infection and an immense appreciation for our medical care!
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Back in 2013 our best friends moved from NY to OR. We were heartbroken. In 2015 we decided we’d drive out to see them.
We realize that with just a little bit of effort we could visit some of our bucket list locations.
After visiting with our friends it was so hard to get back in the car for the long drive home. We did not enjoy Yellowstone but that’s another story. As we inched closer to Mount Rushmore I realized how ridiculously excited I was getting. I was commenting to my husband and children how special this was going to be for me.
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I like this thread, because I like camaraderie.
Worst vacation things:
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The time in Disney where we were shoved out of our parade spots that we waited in for almost an hour by a group of very organized, terrible guests. This story was so bizarre and I have told it before, so I will just say briefly that this was completely planned, with two adults with a stroller (empty, no small child) and 2 teenage children approaching us all at once from the back and the Main Street angle, and physically leaning on our bodies until we moved, and hitting my daughter with their stroller. We ended up moving (onto Main Street) because I wasn’t going to fight or get kicked out of WDW for fighting. A cast member saw the entire thing, came over, we told the story. The people just said “They were saving our spots but now wouldn’t move so we had to take our spots back” and that was that. The cast member just walked away. It was fine, we went on some rides, but I (still) haven’t seen a parade since 2010 and I was pretty bummed. One of a long list of things that makes me think we won’t be returning to WDW for quite some time.
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When I was a teenager, Mom, Grandma, Sister and I went to the beach, as we did every year. Mom started getting chest pains, spent 7 hours in the hospital. None of us could drive except her so there was no option but to just sit for the entire day. She didn’t have a heart attack and was fine (no one really knows what it was) but it was very scary.
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