I’ve enjoyed reading your trip report, but I am so humbled by what an amazing son you are. This is such a great thing you did for her. The memories you made will last forever. She did a great job raising such a kind and caring young man. Bravo to you both!
1 Like
I’m really enjoying reading your trip report. I like that you’re being honest because what you and your mom are going through is tough. But I’m so glad that you’re able to have this trip together and get away from every day life to experience a little magic!
3 Likes
No, not coming off as negative at all. While you are honest about the setbacks and sad things, you are also quick to show the enjoyment as well. I love that you are sharing this with us.
2 Likes
Thanks so much for sharing your story. You are a wonderful, caring son. I am arriving in WDW on Saturday with extended family, including my mom, who after chemo and heart issues, will be in a scooter for the first time. I have cried and smiled reading your story and thinking of all of my worries about my mom on this upcoming trip. I hope I will be half as patient with her as you were with your mom.
6 Likes
I am enjoying your report, it’s REAL LIFE.
we were also there the same week, and so I’m reliving all the downpours! So. Much. Rain.
On a side note, I have an extra graduation button from disneyland…do you want it? Lmk! We took my DD for the afternoon after she graduated 8th grade and she ended up with a spare “just graduated” button! I know it’s not WDW…but still.
Shoot me a PM, I’ll pop it in the mail! @Randall1028
3 Likes
Hahah thank you, but nah. Without being in the parks it kinda loses something y’know? But thank you a ton for offering! 
And I’m glad this isn’t reading off more negative than I was intending. I wanted to be sure to show that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows…or more in the line with the week, ‘singin’ in the rain,” 
even though it was a really good time.
1 Like
I’m sure all WDW vacations have their less-than-perfect moments, and it’s really about how we perceive and handle the situation that affects our experience rather than the situation itself. Your maturity and selflessness is a model for us all - thank you for the reminder that our trip is what we make of it!
5 Likes
I figured as much, and I agree, it just isn’t the same!
I actually think your trip report is amazing…because it will help someone plan who might be in a similar situation.
Disney is AMAZING, but like any fairytale, there is that ugly reality that smacks you when the cameras stop rolling.
You are an incredible person to be so thoughtful of your mom, as well as travel in such a difficult situation. I applaud you!!!
3 Likes
Oh man, ain’t that the truth. You should have heard my kids complain, complain, complain while waiting for fireworks at the beach last night. I was ready to kill them. The sunset was gorgeous and I know they didn’t even notice it they were so busy complaining. I ended up just taking a picture of it, when I really wanted a picture of them in it. Grumps! 
2 Likes
DAY 4 - Keys to the Kingdom Tour and a tactics change
Sadly, this one is going to be pretty light on pictures because I couldn’t take any or we weren’t really doing anything. Sooo hope ya like yer readin and here’s a consolation photo that I was just messing with on a different day! 
Originally, we were to start the morning off at Be Our Guest at 8AM and then head over for the Keys to the Kingdom tour at 9:30AM and then a short rest before heading back over to Animal Kingdom for dinner and Rivers of Light . However, based on yesterday, I foresaw nothing but disaster with this schedule so I knew at least one thing had to change and looking at the schedule, I saw that BOG was the most expendable(even with yesterday’s glitch). I modified the BOG reservation for a later date and then cancelled it all together to avoid any sort of penalty. This would allow mom to sleep and she’d be able to have enough energy to get through the tour.
The Keys to the Kingdom tour was of the highest priority for this trip. During preparation for the trip, anytime someone asked mom about the trip and what she would do on it, this was her go-to subject of discussion. “We’ll be going under the castle.” She would proudly declare. And then hit on some other details of the tour that I had hyped up.
So no matter what would be cut, the tour had to happen. I let mom sleep until the last possible moment then woke her up about an hour before we had to check in. It takes her a really long time to get going, which confirms to me that cancelling BOG was the smart play. Eventually, we are out the door and we get down to the park and register. After we choose our lunch, there’s still some time before the tour starts, so we pass it by watching Lady and Tramp in the lobby of Tony’s.
The tour then begins and it’s just as informative as last time, and that’s pretty impressive given that the tour starts off happening in the middle of all the opening shows and ceremonies of the Magic Kingdom, so it’s a real challenge for our tour guide, Jenny. The Trolley show, the Dapper Dans, the Welcome Show, and the mass of crowds are just making everything hard to hear and not be mobbed by crowds.
To her credit, she would more than make up for any short comings over the course of the tour. We begin on Main Street and learn about the details of the park’s conception and building and the players involved. I was a little disheartened to not hear the story of the statues this time, but, as I said, she was struggling against the crowd.
We continued onto Adventure Land and then onto the Jungle Cruise to learn the secrets. Mom struggled to get onto the boat from the wheelchair and getting back on was redlining her energy levels. But once she was back on, it was over to the backstage lot where we got to see the floats and boats of the Electrical Water Pageant.
While back there, the subject of the Maleficent Dragon came up. The investigation on what went wrong was still happening, but the interesting tidbit of Aurora now being in the parade was actually part of the original design of the parade. It was the juggernaut status of Frozen that caused her to be shelved as they had to work the sisters in, and felt that Aurora was a little out of place with Phillip fighting Maleficent elsewhere in the parade. Once the dragon was out of commission, they just put Phillip with Aurora on the gazebo and the joke for the Cast Members (and pretty much everyone else) was that Phillip finally defeated Maleficent. I get the feeling mom is finding none of this interesting though.
After the backstage part 1, it was time for lunch and we directed to Pecos Bills (which I was not expecting and why I had got nachos here last night). Today, I tried their burger and it was way better than the sandwich I had over at Tomorrowland Terrace the last time I did this tour, so I was definitely happy about that. We were seated with a solo tourer butI felt really bad for not being able to have much of a conversation with her as I was tending to Mom most of the lunch. The whole thing felt a little awkward, and probably even more so for the girl.
Mom, though, was not doing well. She only had two bites of her burger and declared she was full. Confusion is also starting to set in as she’s wondering what we’re doing and I have to reminder her a few times that we’re on the tour.
Finally, lunch is over, but mom wants out. We begin making our way over to Rapunzel’s area and mom is urging the group to go on ahead because she wants to go back to the hotel room. She begins taking off her audio equipment to hand back to the tour guide when I stop her, explaining she will miss the utilidors. At first she doesn’t care and decides we can just come back for when that is to take place. When I explain the tour doesn’t work like that and if we leave, we can’t come back, she begrudgingly agrees to continue, but makes it clear she wants to ride no more rides.
And a ride was coming up, specifically the Haunted Mansion. Once there, Jenny takes the rest of the group into the ride to explain some of the backstage stuff, and promises she’ll be back once they’re on the ride. I hang back outside with mom as I already have a pretty decent idea what is going to be said in the room(at this point very glad I had done the tour on my own last time). Mom is still pretty agitated so I run through what will happen next to try and calm her and that how if she wants to bail we can but she will miss the whole reason she wanted to come on this tour. She doesn’t really want to hear it though but says she wants to see the utilidors, “but they had better be next.”
By the time that was over, Jenny had rejoined us outside and quietly asked me if everything was OK. I gave her the brief synopsis of what was happening and how mom was only on this tour as she was excited to see the utilidors, and she completely understands. She makes an attempt to cheer mom up by saying we’ll spend extra time in the utilidors. While we wait for the ride to finish and the other tour group to catch up, Jenny entertains us be recalling her experiences working here in the park. Me being very careful to play into the “don’t reveal backstage stuff while in the parks” directive that all cast members are under and she is appreciative of it (like saying that she was Mike Wazowski’s ‘best friend’).
After the ride, indeed the next stop was the utilidors and true to her word, Jenny kept us down there for an exceptionally long time and we saw way more of it than we did the last time I was on the tour. The best part was while we were under the castle, Cindrella, in full regalia, happened to stroll past us. Obviously, CMs aren’t expected to be performing, but she took the time to wave to us in her typical princess-wave (probably because she was in full costume and it just ended up being muscle memory). I thought that was kinda cool and it would end up being a good memory anchor for mom later.
By the time the tour was done, the rain had begun moving in. While I would’ve liked to hang out for the final moments of the tour a bit longer, I felt it prudent to get mom back to the hotel ASAP, so I handed Jenny our audio equipment, conveying my thanks once more, and immediately scooted mom off to the hotel.
As we disembarked the elevator to Mickey’s declaration of “the 11th floor!” I was very thankful for where we were staying. I couldn’t imagine the issues I would have to deal with had we been staying somewhere that required a bus to get to.
Mom is in bed and sleeping within a few minutes, but this time I don’t leave. It’s raining pretty hard now and all our fast passes are slotted for Animal Kingdom tonight (Tough to be a bug, another run of the Na’vi’ River Journey, and another try at Kilimanjaro Safari). So getting anything in MK is impossible and there isn’t much point in going over just to sit in the rain.
Instead, I decide to take the time to cancel the Tusker House/ROL Dining package for tonight. While visiting AK is still a possibility for the night, there’s no way she’ll be rested enough in only 2 hours to make our 4PM reservation. I try to modify and cancel via the app but that’s a no-go and it won’t let me and wants me to call, and so I do. A very nice woman was happy to allow me to cancel without any penalty after I explained that my mom was sick and wasn’t able to go.
I then let mom then sleep and, in the meantime, I scored Fast Passes for ROL after I canceled the Na’vi and Tough to Be A Bug Fast Passes (both were scheduled for earlier than she would even be awak). I’m thinking this isn’t a total loss at all now as so long as she can check out the Safari and ROL.
I also choose to take a nap during this time. I’m not exactly tired, but there’s not much else to do and I don’t feel like dealing with the rain right now. Before I do, I write up some notes and check in with School to submit this week’s assignments (as I still am not officially done with school until September).
At around 6PM, I wake mom up and do a status check on her, but the news isn’t good. She’s still really tired, not hungry, and unwilling to do anything. To say I am legitimately concerned would be an understatement. These were all the symptoms she was displaying before she went into the hospital, but in a moment of clarity, I realize there’s a significant difference: before it was a direct result of recent chemo, but here she hasn’t been on it for weeks. So I relax and realize this is probably just legit exhaustion. As I quickly play out the week’s events in my head and all we did, this supports this conclusion.
To that end, I opt to “have a night in.” Well, at least for her. I talk it over with her real quick and she agrees. We’ll get dinner in the room and then she’ll go to bed relatively early and while she does that I’ll head out to Animal Kingdom and check out Pandora at night (which she didn’t care at all about ).
Once the plan was set, there’s a quick debate on what to get for dinner and I have a look at the Room Service menu and I read off the options to her. However, with none of them seemingly enticing to her, I decide to go down to the Contempo Cafe and get something from there.
I had been hesitant to go this route with the memory of the bad pizza still very fresh in my head, but as she didn’t want to go to the Wave of American flavors and we didn’t have the money (or more specifically the reservations) for California Grill, my options were pretty limited. I get to the menu and look over the options and saw the pizza. I was about to make the call when the screen changed and a grilled chicken platter appeared. That looked pretty good, and it was the same cost as the pizza so I went with that. The fact that it was a full meal also helped sell me on it as I wanted to make sure she had as balanced a meal as possible.
After a bit of a wait, which I spent in the gift shop and taking a photo of the brilliant rainbow that has formed from the ending of the storm, I get the dinners and head back up to the room. I sliced up mom’s dinner for easy consumption and then sat down and carved up mine and began eating.
The dinner was surprisingly very good. Circumstances aside, I think it was one of my favorite meals I had on this trip. The sauce that covered the chicken was delicious and the chicken itself was well cooked and seasoned. The rice that came with it was a little underdone, but not bad. All of this was accentuated by the fiery sunset that was taking place outside.
Unfortunately, mom only finished a few bites of the chicken before declaring she was full and then putting it to the side. After a few unsuccessful attempts to get her to eat more, I took her plate and set it on the nightstand by the bed, reminding her that she can pick at it through the night(but knowing full well that wasn’t going to happen).
She then crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep and I woofed down the rest of my platter and readied myself to head out. I was really excited to see Animal Kingdom at night but I tried my best to hide that enthusiasm so she wouldn’t feel she was missing out on anything.
It’s around 8:40 when I reach the Contemporary Bus station and about 9:20 when I pass through the Animal Kingdom gates. After a quick pause at the lit Tree of Life (which looked amazing), I head straight for the Rivers of Light theater and arrive in the Fast Pass line. However, as I’m standing there I realize that the park is closing at 10 and I need to make a choice on what to see: the Park at night or ONLY Rivers of Light.
After mulling it over for a few minutes, I decide the park in general wins out as we have another Rivers of LIght dining package scheduled for later in the week and I get out line.
Now free of the schedule of Rivers of Light and able to move as fast as one does when touring solo, I stroll through Animal Kingdom heading toward Pandora. On my to the new land, I stop by Creature Comforts and grab a Frappuccino.
With beverage in hand, I cross into Pandora and it’s pretty impressive to behold. The ground glows with UV reactive paint and the big red glowing…uh…pod(?) spews mist into the air at the start of everything. While I still think it would have been better for this land to be based on earth-bound fictional creatures, the effort alone is worth it.
Unfortunately, the effects and their sources are a little too obvious compared to that of other parks. It’s easy to spot the source of the black lights as well as the lights that are making the foliage glow various exotic hues. I looks impressive from afar, but I think they could have done a better job of hiding the “magical effect”.
I continue deeper into the land, just taking it all in. It’s very…blue, but very pretty. I stroll down to the main waterfall of the floating mountains (that’s what they’re called, right?) and notice the crowds are pretty low and I’m able to maneuver quite easily. Suddenly inspiration hits me: I might be able to snag a ride on FOP. So I start searching out where the ride is and head that way.
I make it easy enough but my hopes are dashed at a 60 minute wait time. There’s too much more Animal Kingdom to see for me to use up the rest of the night just waiting in line (and I wasn’t done with my drink yet). So with that, I start looking for the exit of the land and to go check out the other parts of the park, especially as the rain has held off.
I make it back to the Tree Of Life just in time to watch hippo come alive off the bark. I know it’s just an effect, but man does that look impressive. It doesn’t even do anything but sit up, “yawn”, and then goes back to “sleep”, but it looked like the actual bark of the tree was doing these moves.
As travel over to Asia, with the glowing lanterns of the lands illuminating the pathways in warm soft light, I am decidedly liking this park a lot more at night. It feels more mysterious and exotic (and certainly not as hot) than it does in the day. It also helps that the sense of “wonder” is back as I have not been here at night yet.
The downside, however, is things are closed or asleep. I was hoping to check out the walking paths around the tree, but they’ve all been closed for the night or refurbishment (I’m not really sure which). And as most animals have gone to bed, looking into paddocks was a study in the flora instead of the fauna.
As I pass into Africa, inspiration strikes again that I may be able to ride Dinosaur so I immediately orient myself to head toward the ride and check my watch. Once again my hopes are dashed as I see the park has officially closed, so that means no more rides.
I’m actually not too terribly bothered by this as it gives me more time to focus on exploring that it does riding things. So, finishing the last of my drink, I continue on and eventually find myself back in front of the Tree of Life.
This time, I stop to watch a few more projections. Oddly enough, I actually find the random animals coming alive to be more impressive, but these certainly aren’t terrible. I catch two of the “shows” before I decide it’s time to leave and start making my way toward the buses.
As I leave, I must’ve had a huge smile on my face, as a Cast Member noticed me and said “Hey, Batman!” I was wearing the appropriate t-shirt at the time, “I take it you had a great day? Did you get my signal?”
To which I replied “Sorry, no… was having too much fun!” And through a small chuckle (probably a pity chuckle as my response was pretty awful) he bid me a good night and I continued onto the bus lot to see the contemporary bus…getting ready to take off!
As the last passengers were entering, I launched into a sprint and the driver saw me and reopened the door as I approached. Bounding onto the, very full, bus, I gave him my thanks for waiting. With a response “no problem” we began departing and heading toward the gate, stopping short for a frog who chose a very unfortunate time to hop across the road way. Once the frog was safely to the other side (there’s a joke in here somewhere), we rolled out.
I make it back into the room and mom is asleep and the sound of the Disney music is softly filling the room. I check on everything and the batteries that I had plugged in are now fully charged, so I switch out to charge the secondaries, happily knowing we’ll have a full complement of batteries tomorrow morning.
I climb into bed feeling pretty good. Tomorrow is Chef Mickey’s and I can’t wait to get some more Mickey Waffles.
15 Likes
You made such great decisions every day of this trip. I’m amazed at how you managed things. It’s very hard to be an adult in charge of another adult’s safety and enjoyment. Well done.
4 Likes
Awwwwww yeah!! Guess what showed today??
BA-BAM!
Annual pass magic band! I’m still a little saddened that the box they come in now is kinda meh, but the overall origami of the presentation is still pretty impressive.
But wait! There’s more! My Shutterfly photobook showed too! I have to say, I was a little skeptical when @Jedilogray suggested it, but with free pages, and 40% off, I felt it was worth the experiment.
The quality is amazing!! I’m very picky when it comes to the quality of my prints and this just knocked it out of the park. I plan on giving it to mom tomorrow to thumb through while she’s in her next chemo treatment. Thanks a ton for the suggestion @Jedilogray!
20 Likes
Yay for AP magic band!
LOVE the photo book!
Good heavens. I really need to do this. I have like 100k photos just sitting. I’m so bad. Maybe all our Disney trips and all y’all on here will inspire me.
I just want to say, you are an INCREDIBLE son. As a mother, I could only hope for one of my boys to be so thoughtful when I am older. It really makes my heart happy.
8 Likes
I an so happy that you are happy with the shutterfly book. That is a treasure for ever.
Now when you are done with your trip report -which i am loving so much btw - print it up and keep a copy with your book.
It is truly beautiful, heartwarming and pixie dust teary eyed on just how much you care for your mom. And how much you did for her by taking her.
And just how awrsome you have these memories now. Simply beautiful.
Keep going, I cannot wait for the next installment.
8 Likes
Thank you for another report! That sunset photo is beautiful! Congrats on the AP MB! Is that an AP slider? Your book looks great!
3 Likes
You are absolutely going to cherish that photo book, I promise. I lost my father to cancer 5 years ago next week. I wish we had done a trip like this before he was gone. The memories you have made are so precious. You are an amazing young man.
3 Likes
‘Tis indeed!
Absolutely no real benefit to it other than braggin’ rights. Lol
1 Like
It is a beauty!
1 Like
this is an amazing trip report! thanks for sharing and good luck to you and your mom with her treatment.
1 Like
Day 5 - The UNforgettable Morning
The day starts off rather early with a 7:30AM reservation at Chef Mickey’s. Even with yesterday marking the end of the “intense schedule” for the trip, I was concerned we had still scheduled too much so I had considered cancelling this breakfast. However, the possibility of recreating some of the reactions mom displayed on Day 1 kept me from cancelling.
We get down to Chef Mickey’s and check in. The cast member there gives us the reminder that we can take a photo, but the lounge is pretty full and the line is a bit long. Not that it matter as we only had about enough time to make it to the edge of the lounge before our little device began buzzing and it was time to eat.
This time, we were lead back and into just off the main thoroughfare and seated at a half bench/half seat (no slack jawed high schooler this time!). The hostess tells us that we’ll be last in line for the characters and she hopes that’s ok. We, of course, don’t mind at all and thank her and she departs. Almost immediately after, our waiter arrives and we place our drink orders and then I wheel mom over to pick out her choices. She doesn’t deviate much from her normal choices, but I’m ok with whatever so long as she wants to eat.
Once she finishes choosing, I wheel her back over to the table and then head back to get what she wanted. I, once again, load up on mickey waffles, eggs, and various other fares. By the time I’m back to the table, our drinks have arrived and I take the opportunity to take a quick selfie with mom.
The food is good, but the atmosphere is once again the star of the show. It’s energetic and kids of all ages are bustling about, waiting for the Fab 5. Mom slowly munches on her mickey waffle while I feel like I’m inhaling plate after plate. Soon the theme song starts and the gang comes out.
As they come out I take note of how much mom has eaten and it’s sadly not that much. I could feel a bit annoyed given the cost of this breakfast, but once I see her interaction with the characters, the thought is the farthest thing from my mind. As they come out and make their rounds, each character says hi to her and mom enthusiastically returns their greetings with energy I just haven’t seen in years from her, maybe even ever. Mom also seems to get how to “talk” to the characters better than I do as she is able to go onto have conversations with Donald, who asked how she was doing; and Goofy, who was telling her good luck and keep her energy up (I really don’t know, these were just what I was getting from the responses mom was giving them)?
Now, while mom has lit up when all the characters come around, it’s Minnie Mouse that garners the best reaction. As Minnie nears, my mom is transformed with the innocence of a child. Her eyes widen and her left arm starts shaking with excitement as she begins fidgeting in her chair, her eyes fixed on Minnie as she approaches. By the time Minnie arrives to say hi, mom looks like an excited toddler waiting to open a Christmas present, with the biggest smile I’ve seen this entire trip. Minnie blows her a kiss and mom returns it enthusiastically. This time, my camera was completely ready and I was able to get a photo of it.
As before, I decide whatever this breakfast was going to cost, it was at basement bargain prices. This was the definition of “magic.” Every photo on this vacation required a prompting from me to mom to “smile!” This, however, required no prompting and was as genuine as it gets. As such, the photo ends up being my favorite of the whole trip, though showing it to mom she is not a fan of it at all.
Once the characters finished interacting with her, they turn their attention to me. Obviously, I’m not sure what they’re actually saying, but if I was forced to guess, they each were understanding of the situation and responding not unlike the responses here :). This time, however, I asked if I could take a picture and of course they agreed. Giving the camera to their assistants though yielded kinda lame photographs. You would think since they probably take photos day in and out, it would be a tad better, still… they were useable for the most part.
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t realize that mom wasn’t in any of the photos with me (other than being seemingly ignored behind me) until Minnie showed up. Once I realized that, I made sure to do a group shot…despite mom’s lack of smile.
After Minnie left, we finished up breakfast we headed back up to the hotel room to grab our gear and then it was off to MK.
Once we’re at MK, the plan is pretty simple to tour the park a little bit, and then head back to the hotel so mom can rest up for tonight’s Fantasmic second try. We begin heading down Main Street and the sun is already high in the sky and no current threat of rain. I’m very glad I brought our sunglasses and we sun screened before we set out.
As we make our way down the street, I notice the Cast Members handing out buttons and I see a face that I recognize that brings a huge smile to my face. “Hang on," I tell mom, "I gotta do something,” and I wheel us over to the button kiosk.
This was the cast member who was passing out buttons the last time I was here! I walk up and she is about to give me a pen, but before she has a chance to say anything, I tell her that while I know that she likely doesn’t remember me(3 days is impressive, but almost 2 years has gotta be pushing it), but she had a huge impact on my vacation last time I was here and I thanked her for such a great memory. I then asked if I could get a picture with her.
With a few words of thanks she agreed.
Mom looks on confused, but says nothing. I take the opportunity to introduce my mom and Marisa (ah ha! Now I know her name! Couldn’t remember it last time). With a quick hug and few more words of thanks from me, we depart and head deeper into the park. With a few more shots in front of the castle.
As we progress, Mom is now looking for a shirt she saw in earlier in the trip but is having trouble remembering the details, so we begin checking out several shops hoping to hit paydirt. After several tries, and even an attempt at using the Shop Disney app, we are unable to locate it. I start to suspect its a shirt unique to Epcot as everything else has been found.
While we’re exploring and searching, my fast pass window for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opens up. It had been down for refurbishment on my last trip and I hoped to get a ride in on this trip even though I’m not a coaster guy. I’m kinda nervous, but from all accounts this is supposed to a pretty tame coaster and only one step up from Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (which I enjoyed last trip), so I shouldn’t have a problem. Additionally, given the grim circumstances even surrounding this trip, I saw no reason to resist riding it.
Of course, mom has no interest in it (I had scheduled her a fast pass for her too just in case she wanted to ride it) and I think it’s probably a good idea that she doesn’t. Her pain pills aren’t doing their job and she’s a fairly sore already, so her getting onto a roller coaster probably wouldn’t be the best idea ever. I contemplate skipping the ride and just continue to tour the park with her, and float the idea toward her, but she’s against that. She suggests to just park her somewhere so I can go ride. Reluctantly, I agree and I find a shady spot in the stroller area that we both feel is acceptable that she can hang out and then take my place in the fast pass line.
The queue is obviously one of the more rustic I’ve seen, and very well themed. I particularly enjoyed the “pay window” that the miners would visit upon a complete days work. As we “descend into the mine” I am assigned a car with just me at about the middle of the train.
The ride begins and it’s quite a bit more violent that I was expecting. I use the safety bar to keep from sliding around the car with only moderate success. Still, overall I really enjoyed the ride.
I exit the ride, feeling very accomplished and head over to find mom. Apparently, while I was on the ride, another family had chosen the same spot as she to take a breather and had struck up a conversation with her. I wait for the conversation to wrap up and then I withdraw with mom and we tour a bit more.
After about another half hour or so of touring, more shopping (without luck), and a stop in the Big Top Souvenirs tent to grab a peanut butter and chocolate brownie…thing (that was delicious), mom’s feeling pretty spent and wants to head back to the hotel. I nod in understanding and agree and make our way out of the park and back toward the Contemporary.
We get back to the room around 11AM and mom climbs into bed. Making sure she’s all set to go, I then plug the Oxygen concentrator batteries back in and then let her know that I’ll be going back out to the Magic Kingdom. She sleepily acknowledges it and I tell her when she’s up and moving, to give me a call and I’ll come straight back.
Then I’m out the door and back on Main Street within 20 minutes (including security). I find myself soon ordering yet another dole whip and enjoy while I leisurely wander around. Soon the time ticks down to my 1:15 Fast Pass for another first for me: Space Mountain. However, before I can take advantage of it, my phone rings and it’s mom. She’s up and is ready to go, so I head back to the hotel immediately. Slightly disappointed I won’t get a chance to use my fast pass, but glad that she’s already feeling rested.
I enter the room around 1PM and I start discussing lunch with mom. We have a reservation for the Edison over in Disney Springs, but with the way mom’s been eating and my current lack of hunger, I figure it’d be a waste so I modify and cancel it all together. Mom, however, is in great spirits and is eager to do things so I’m delighted about that.
Our plan has us going to Disney Springs so that’s our next stop. We get down to the bus stop in record time and as we’re waiting for the next bus, I get a message on my phone that my Space Mountain fastpass just became an “anytime” fastpass. I guess the ride had gone down. While I know it’s a bad thing that it has gone down, I’m rather happy I might get another chance at Space Mountain later today.
Soon the bus arrives and we’re off to Disney Springs. Mom has never been before and was quite excited to check it all out, even if it was just an outside mall. We disembark and I recall my first time experience here and how different it was. On my first night here in 2016, it was pouring down rain and being there was a total backup plan. Today, however, the weather was clear and sunny with a light breeze that made everything pleasant. Even still, it might be pushing 80 degrees, but mom is wearing her sweatshirt and is a little chilly.
We wheel past several shops, destined for “World of Disney,” and happened to notice and stop in “Disney Corner”, I haven’t a clue what this store is at first but it seems to be an extension of the proper “World of Disney” store. The first floor yields really nothing of interest and while there’s a second floor, I can’t seem to locate a way to get the chair up to it, so we depart and continue on our way.
We soon find ourselves in “World of Disney” and slowly make our way around. Mom is still looking for that elusive shirt and we take some extra time to view all the clothing offerings. Still no luck as we finish touring the store. It’s then I realize that this store is much smaller than I remember and the ceiling decorations are missing. It dawns on me that “Disney Corner” is likely the place where all that merchandise from that room resides now. It wasn’t an extension, but rather a reassignment.
After we’re done with “World of Disney” we visit a few of the other stores, still looking for that shirt. Being here in Disney Springs, I am reminded that I too am looking for something I have yet to see: the Mickey French Coffee Press. It was everywhere the last time I was here but I haven’t see a single one yet. The only one I’ve seen is an Alice in Wonderland version that is focused on tea, which I’m not interested in. So with now two objectives, we visit various stores to hopefully locate our prizes.
Unfortunately, it looks like the French Press is a nonstarter. A visit to the kitchen-focused store (can’t remember the name) yields the information that it’s no longer sold. Slightly dejected, we browsed several other stores in Disney Springs. A second visit in the “Tren-D” store rewards mom with the shirt she thinks she saw. It was a teal Ariel shirt. In my mind, I’m thinking this isn’t right because mom has mentioned before she is not a fan of the Little Mermaid, so a sudden change doesn’t make sense for a shirt. Still, she seems to really like the shirt so I’m all for it. However, we can’t seem to locate one in the size she wants so it takes the help of a Cast Member who leads us around the store looking for it.
Sadly, it looks like the shirt she wants doesn’t exist in her size anywhere in the parks currently (she wants an Extra Large) and so the Cast Member leads us to another shirt that is similar. Mom seems to like this one just as much and we get that.
With newly procured shirt in hand, we head out and it’s off to Star Bucks so I can score some free frappuccinos (thank you, rewards!). The fact that the Triple Mocha frap (my favorite one that they discontinued for like a year) has returned during this time has been a wonderful addition to the trip. Mom’s all about the iced Caramel Macchiato and we take our drinks and continue on.
Feeling we’ve covered Disney Springs rather well, we make our ways to the buses just in time to see their Contemporary one roll out. A flash of annoyance goes through me as I realize I could have made the bus as I did last night at Animal Kingdom had I been solo touring and not had to worry about the wheelchair. Ugh, F*** cancer.
With the bus rolling away, we get into the queue and wait. With the heat of the day now bearing down on us (even under the shade of the queue), the wait feels even longer than it was (and it was a significant wait). Noticing we’re right by the the Polynesian and Grand Floridian bus stop, which had now begun to gather people, I decide whichever bus arrives next, we’ll get on it and just monorail back over to the Contemporary.
Soon, exactly that happens and the Poly/GF bus arrives and we get over into their wheelchair access queue. I think this annoyed a few of the people cause we did it last minute and suddenly everyone who was waiting had to wait even longer because we were to board first.
Once onboard, the driver noticed that we were in the Contemporary queue and asked for clarification of what we’re looking to do. Explaining my plan, he nodded.
“Which stop do you want to get off at?” He asked as he finished strapping mom in.
“Which stop is your first stop?” I replied, figuring he knew where this was going.
“The Polynesian will be our first stop. The the Floridian, which one do you want?” I was wrong.
“The Polynesian will be just fine.Thanks!” I said and he nodded and headed back to the front of the bus to let everyone else in.
As the people filed in, I stayed standing, making sure not to take up a seat as a bit of an apology for making them wait even longer for the bus.
Soon, everyone is in and we’re off to the Poly and I keep my eye out as we depart looking for the Contemporary bus, preparing to kick myself if it showed up just as we were leaving. It didn’t (thankfully).
We get to the poly and depart and I wheel us into the lobby. As we start to make our way to the Monorail station, I do a quick mental inventory of our gear and realize there’s nothing we really need at the Contemporary, we’re only going to relax for about an hour or so and then head over to Hollywood Studios.
With that realization, I pitch the idea to mom that we can just hang out here if she wants. I suggest that, if she’s tired, she can take a nap on the very comfortable chairs in the lobby. She nods in agreement and after a quick tour of the lobby and shops, we steak out two seats and mom transitions out of the wheelchair and into a plush lobby one.
Mom doesn’t seem all that sleepy so she doesn’t even close her eyes and instead we go through tonight’s plans. I also take this opportunity to get a dole whip float. True enough, this place gyps you on the dole whip way more than the Magic Kingdom. Still, it’s delicious so I can’t really complain too much. We spend the remainder of the time just relaxing in the hotel lobby. Once it’s time to leave, it’s off to the bus stop and onto Hollywood Studios!
We get to the park and the line for entry is long until I see the Annual Pass line. Patting my pocket (and the wallet inside that housed my AP card) like a pooch that performed a good deed, we fast-lane’d right through and were in just in time for our reservation.
Our reservation had us at 50s Prime Time cafe and if I’m honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to it. The food looked meh in pictures, I’m not huge on the “1950s” thing and I would rather eat at Hollywood Brown Derby or somewhere else. Still, mom really wanted to check this out so here we are.
I’m glad Mom called the shots on this one. Walking in, it became immediately apparent that this was going to be a different experience from any of the other dining we’ve done so far. We step into the check in area as a woman yelled out “CAAAAARRRRL! DINNER!!”
The Cast Member behind a counter asked for my reservation name and I gave it to her and she took our information and then instructed us to go wait in the living room until dinner. I nodded and headed in the direction she indicated.
Walking into the “living room” was surreal. Obviously it wasn’t identical because of the size and exact layouts, but it looked very much like how my grandparents had kept their living room for years growing up. We chose one of the smaller, emptier, “rooms” that was playing The Dick Van Dyke Show and I parked mom in there.
Soon, I hear someone yell “RANNNNDALLLLL! DINNER!!!” And instinctively I responded “Right, comin!” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I smiled with memories of mom yelling for us to come to dinner as my brother and I played in the creek that was behind our house.
I wheel mom back to the table and park her there and sit down. Unlike the living room, my grandparents’ houses never had kitchens like this so while parts of it looked familiar, the overall feel wasn’t the same. Mom-mom and Pop-pop certainly didn’t have TVs everywhere in their kitchen. I also note that the seating has one critical flaw: there’s no cracks or tears in this vinyl upholstery, how am I supposed to get that authentic paper-cut experience from sitting at the table when everything is pristine and new?!
I pull the silverware from the basket and unfold it for mom and then proceed to do the same thing myself. I then sat down and took in the atmosphere, the place was bustling with servers moving to and fro bringing out meals and clearing tables. Easily one of the more busier restaurants we’ve been in. A short distance away, I hear other names being called for dinner. Off the side, a kid is admonished by a server for “having that walkie-talkie at the table” that looked suspiciously like a cell phone.
Our server eventually came around “Welcome to the Prime Time Cafe,” he started, “I’m cousin Glenn, Aunt Becky has been working real hard all day making dinner tonight and you’re in for a treat.” Then, looking over the table, “Well I see you’ve been here before, so I guess I don’t need to tell you the rest,” he said with a bit of disappointment in his voice.
When I confessed that we hadn’t he looked a bit confused. “Oh, but you had set the table?” At this, I was starting to catch on to the gimmick and realized the theming this restaurant was on par with Be Our Guest, if not more so. The yelling for dinner, the introduction as a ‘family member’, and now the emphasis on setting the table; this was my childhood. I half expected next to be told to sit up straight, don’t talk with your mouth full, don’t chew with your mouth open, and no elbows on the table. I just smiled and mentioned I had just done the act out of habit. He nodded and launched into the presentation of the menu and noted the first two rules of the restaurant: “Set the table and no elbows on the table.”
Well… looks like I got at least one of them right.
He goes through the rest of the menu and leaves us to make our selection. After a bit of indecision, I just opt for the general sampler while mom elects the pot roast. While we wait for the food, we mostly watch the clips that play on the TVs. I especially pay attention to when the Disneyland Opening Day broadcast begins. Unfortunately, it’s only on for a minute or so before the channel changes to the Dick Van Dyke show. My attention is drawn away from the TVs when another party sits down at their table and the server (Cousin Annie) tells them to set the table. What was interesting to me was the entire party thought she was kidding, and that they really didn’t have to do anything. It wasn’t until Annie said she was serious and she wasn’t leaving until they do that they started doing the task, all the while looking around like they were waiting for the punch line of a practical joke.
Our food comes out and it looks pretty decent, but nothing I would consider stellar. Mom, however, has a completely different opinion. She dives into the food and makes really decent headway. In the past few days she has been eating a few bites and then declaring she is full, however it looks like I finally found the right combo of food so today she makes up for lost time and I am thrilled. I taste my samplings and I am delighted it tastes even better than it looked.
Mom tries, but only gets about three quarters of her plate down before she has to declare she’s full. This time I truly believe she is full and am happy she got down as much as she did. But then she looks at me and says “we need a box.”
I laughed and shook my head “No, we aren’t doing doggie bags here in Disney World.” I hate the idea of carrying a doggie bag around the park for the rest of the night. “They don’t even do doggie bags here.” I lie, I have no idea.
But mom is adamant. “This is good,” she says, referring to the pot roast, “I want it for later.”
Before I can object any further, Glenn comes around and asks if we need anything and mom asks for a box. Of course, he says “sure thing!” And vanishes for a moment to retrieve one. Shortly, he’s back and we’re loading what’s left of the pot roast into the container. Happy enough that she’s eating normally again, I don’t complain about it any further and soon we’re on our way out, with mom holding the doggie bag on her lap.
It looks like the rain is going to hold off tonight, so I wheel mom over to the Fantasmic theater to see if our tickets from earlier in the week are still good. The Cast Member there says they are and instructs me when to show up. Saying my thanks, we go and tour Hollywood Studios a bit more.
As we are walking back, I notice a Cast Member doing a water craft drawing on Sunset Blvd. I don’t think mom has seen one of these before so I stop to watch the guy do his thing. He’s drawing Mickey and I am personally fascinated by his technique of how to do it. I’m about to get an art degree and I still can’t draw worth a lick, so watching someone who can always impresses me.
He finishes up a particularly impressive Mickey and I get a picture with mom in front of it and then we go shop a bit.
After we pass through a few shops, mom suddenly doesn’t feel well and wants to head back to the hotel. Confused, and a little shocked (we were only about an hour away from lining up for Fantasmic) I ask if she’s sure and explain the situation. We won’t be able to make it back for fantasmic again, and this is our last shot at it. But she says she just doesn’t feel good at all and is practically pleading, so I agree and soon we’re back on the bus and heading for the contemporary.
We get back to the room and mom heads for the restroom and after a few minutes comes out and climbs into bed. Clearly, she’s done for the night, but it’s still very salvageable from my perspective. On the way back, I remembered I had that anytime fast pass for Space Mountain and this would be the perfect opportunity to use it. I tell her that I’m going to go use my anytime-pass =real quick and I should be back in time to watch Happily Ever After from the balcony. She says OK and crawls under covers and I put the HEA soundtrack channel on so if I should not make it back in time, she will still get to see and hear the show.
To zip through security, I leave my park gear in the room and depart for the Kingdom with only my phone and my wallet (that has my AP card in it). The walk is rather uneventful, but I’m hauling as I want to get in and back before the show starts. A family is on the walkway and upon noticing me coming up fast, move to the right and as I blast pass I nod in thanks.
The weather is cool and delightful and I kinda wish I woulda dragged mom out with me, but I want her to rest now. Zipping through security with no bag I get into Kingdom and already people are staking out spots for the show. I make my way to Tomorrowland and Space Mountain and get into the EXTREMELY long Fast Pass line for the ride. Overhearing a few of those in line, it seems Space Mountain has been down for most of the day and as such, they are letting everyone on now, so FPP line is about as half as fast as normal. The standby queue is clocking in at 120 minutes where as I have a 15-20 minute wait ahead of me.
I get into the queue and I’m taking everything in. I’ve never rode this ride before and to say I’m a bit nervous would be very accurate. This ride is iconic for Disney World and I’ve always wanted to ride it but when we were here when I was 10, my parents forbid it. On my last trip, I bailed on it because some of that old childhood fear creeped in and kept me off. This time, after already concurring Big Thunder Mountain, I’m sure I can handle this. Just… a little nervous yet. I’m still not good with heights, but supposedly there are none on this ride as everything is pitch black?
The line goes pretty quick up until one point where it just comes to a dead stop. The little touches of the queue are cute, but their novelty wears of quickly. One of the final parts of the queue, the video with the 3 teenagers “enjoying their trip” makes me nearly bust out laughing. In that typical “90s Hollywood cheese fashion”, the teens are swaying back and forth independently of each other, with the girl in front looking back to the two behind her with the look “oh isn’t this fun?!” I suddenly question the ride’s quality based on this video alone.
Eventually, I get to board and get a front seat in the second car. The ride begins and we’re off! Due to my fear of coasters, I had researched this ride on youtube, so I had a rough idea of what to expect. No major drops, no loops, nothing more terrifying that I’ve faced on a highway as I ride a motorcycle at 70MPH. But what I wasn’t expecting was the projected star field. Ths ride isn’t pitch black at all! I’m always amazed at Disney for being able to utilize the limited space they have and this had to be the absolute crown jewel I’ve seen them pull off to date.
10 Likes