So sorry for your loss and all you’ve been dealing with… and very happy to see you “back”!
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Hugs to you. As the executor for my mom when she passed from dementia, I have spent every day since I have retired trying to start leaving things in a way that my son will never have to do that. I know how hard this must have been for you.
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Needless to say, this is so, so much to deal with, especially all in succession. Give yourself some grace in that you may be processing it all some time down the line, when your body is truly out of “crisis mode.” Nothing is perfect (in fact it’s usually messy and frustrating) and this is sappy language for me, but wanted to say that it’s beautiful how you, your DW, and child support each other! Wishing your daughter the best healing and hope your new friendship solidifies into a long and rewarding one, with much geeking out over your shared interests!
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I am so glad you checked in! Last week I was wondering if I just wasn’t seeing anything from you because I wasn’t having as much time to check the forum and you were still checking in or if you’d had stuff come up. So really, very glad to see you checking in.
As for the stuff coming up.
Holy cow! I’m so glad you’re not dealing with your crazy ex-boss during all of this.
Finding a new car is not fun. Both of DH’s sisters and his parents have needed new cars in the last 3-4 years for a variety of reasons and every time it just sounds like such an ordeal. And I don’t think any of them have loved what they got either. It’s made me grateful we haven’t needed one *knock on all the wood everywhere *
I hope your daughter’s knee is healing up nicely!
And about your mom, I’m so sorry for your loss & additional grief and stress about the situation she left. Alzheimer’s is such a thief of a disease, and the end is so devastating and never easy even with all the planning. So sending all supportive thoughts for things to only look up from here. And I’m so glad you have your wonderful wife & the new friendship that you’ve developed!
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Hey! I’m mostly “checking-in” today.
Sunday is the date DD23 will have to tell me if her injured knee can go to Premium Scream Night of HHN. It’s a lot of walking. At least she doesn’t need surgery! Whew!!
I admit I’m a bit out of shape as I’ve been eating everything that people gave me after my mom passed away. Plus, I made four pies as well this month and more! I’ll need to start getting my steps in again just to not collapse!
@93111tink @lolabear_la @Jeff_AZ - I want all of you to know that when I’ve been daydreaming about theme parks lately I keep coming back to DLR. I’ve done my own day dream “tournaments and such”. DLR wins a lot of them! If I could be at any theme park today it would be DL with a hop to DCA for GotG / RSR and to draw a character. Plus do Mike & Sully one more time before it goes away… I genuinely love RSR!! I would have never guessed that before I went!
If GotG - Cosmic Rewind at EP weren’t so good I probably would only take my family to California going forward. (I might anyway, if they ever want to do theme parks again!)
Personally, I don’t know when I’ll go back to Disney until I decide to go back to work, but when I do it’ll be at DLR.
I know I’m going to FanFest again in 2026 unless something dramatic happens. If I can get DD23 to go with me I’d like to show her DLR for at least a day. She’s never been to SW:GE or ridden MMRR along with all the stuff unique to those parks.
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Me too!
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I’d love to be at Volcano Bay, but it’s August!! 
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I’ll be at BB Sunday
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I’m really excited you’ve caught the spirit! DLR truly is a special place and I am truly, truly happy you are finding ways to get back to it!
We’ve switched places for a minute, here. This weekend (starting yesterday) was the one 4 day period we could find this summer to maybe take a DLR trip and nothing (budget, schedule, desire to plan it) ended up working out to make it come together. But as soon as we cancelled the hotel (which was the only thing we had done in advance), I was able to move on to making plans for UOR which we will be doing for 2 days post-cruise in November!!!
So I may have a ton of questions for you about how to do 1 park to park day at IoA and USF once I get more in the details. 
But I’m so happy you’re checking in & glad to hear things are generally well. And I’d say you’ve earned yourself pie. You can still get steps in even full of pie.
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I’m sorry. But YAY being on full planning mode for November.
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Well… DD23’s knee isn’t going to let us go to HHN.
Doctor says it will be months until its better. I am scrambling to figure out what to do about our flights. That’s the only nonrefundable item.
I will always want to go to a theme park.
However, I can see the theme park enthusiasm dimming for DD23. She stil wants to see more of the world.
I’ve told her to try to give me options for destinations. She has analysis paralysis.
All she says is that she wants to go to another aquarium. We’ve been to the ones in Atlanta, New Orleans and Chicago.
She won’t go to SeaWorld. I understand her reasoning and protesting of their practices. It would be the best option if she’d relax a little
Are there any really good aquariums in Las Vegas?
I keep try to get her to understand that this is a 24 - 36 hour trip. It’s not our usual 4 - 7 days.
We need to land somewhere, drop any bags and start having as much fun as possible for the next 12 - 18 hours. Then crash for a couple hours before going to the airport.
This is why “Premium Scream Night” was a perfect option.
That’s why I’m still trying to “push” a theme park or Vegas as a destination. They aren’t “sight seeing” leisurely places.
Personally, I would love to take her to DLR. 
However, I don’t want to “drag” her somewhere she’s not excited to go. Whenever I mention these places she doesn’t get as excited as she used to.
I think we may have reached the end of me inviting my family on theme park trips. They haven’t joined me in the last two years or so. I wish they would, but it’s a lot of frustration and disappointment to keep trying to get them to join me.
DD & I will always have our HHN trips. I’ll try to go to HHN with her as often as we can in the future, but I don’t think I’ll be planning them so far in advance or annually anymore.
I’d love to go too HHN, but without DD it would be rude. (At least this year for sure…)
Time to start checking the SW flight calendar to see where I can move these flights.
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Hope you can figure out something, Larry. I’m glad you guys will still have your HHN trips when her knee is better. My DDs are not into the theme parks trips with me anymore but I am enjoying the thought of some other destinations. DH still likes theme park trips (he loves rides!) as long as he gets pool time/downtime as well.
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DH & I really loved the Boston aquarium in 2008. I also really remember liking the Long Beach aquarium when I went, but that was even longer ago in 2003.
In SLC we have a small aquarium but with some cool features (not worth a trip on its own & most anything else to do would be outdoorsy/hiking which wouldn’t be any better than a theme park for DD’s knee). But if you’re ever in SLC for any other reason, I recommend a visit. It has a shark tunnel similar to how Sea World has, but you don’t have to rush through on the moving walkway, you can stay and linger and watch in the tunnel or the giant tank around the side. And there’s a very awesome (but hot & humid) area for South America that is like walking through a spiral of rain forest with lots of different snakes & fish & even has an aviary part with birds and some tortoises and sloths. It’s very immersive. And they have a fun area for the penguins where you can both watch them above water and below.
Anywho, don’t come to SLC with DD. Vegas would be more fun BUT in all the times we’ve visited there or heard of friends/family’s trips to Vegas specifically or on the way through to California, I’ve not once heard of an aquarium as a part of the trip. There is one in the Mandalay Bay though and it does look like it has the same shark tunnel setup which is at least one neat feature. Plus Vegas has Cirque shows which are awesome!
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Sorry you’ll have to cancel this trip, but I have sympathy for DD wanting to see the world - so many beautiful places to visit!
The National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Monterey Bay Aquarium are both awesome.
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WOW!! I just got great news. Southwest sent me an email saying they changed my flight departure by 4 hours. If the time is greater than 3 hours you are eligible to get a full credit / refund with no fees. It’s valid until Feb. 10th, 2026.
I’m glad I procrastinated a bit this morning!! I had meant to go onlne and cancel everything about an hour before I got the e-mail! That’s a bit of stress gone! 
I checked my SW account. I do have other credits that will expire this December. I guess I need to decide by then where to go.
I checked online and Universal announced FanFest in August of last year. I am going to hope to use my flight credits to go there. Maybe they will announce the 2026 dates soon!
Either that or take another December solo birthday trip!!
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I’m sorry you won’t be able to go this year @darkmite2.
I am unable to travel this year either, so I’m making up for it by planning an EPIC Epic Universe/UOR trip for December 2026. I plan to go all out on it if I can. If you do take the December trip, I look forward to hearing all about it.
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Sounds like a plan! I’m sorry about DDs knee and hope she’s better soon. Sad when they don’t want to go to theme parks–my wallet wishes I felt that way!
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I also really love the New England (Boston) Aquarium - not everyone does, but I think it is fantastic - they redid it in 2013, so @lolabear_la , you’ll have to make another trip.
@darkmite2 I don’t know if you’re big into driving…but you could do the New England Aquarium and the Mystic Aquarium in a little road trip (it’s about a 2.5 hour drive between the two). I have never been to the Mystic Aquarium, but people love it.
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Thanks! The biggest criteria / “obstacle” for this trip was only one night in a hotel maximum. Preferably not sleeping at all! Just land, party all day & night then leave.
At this point, I have almost given up. I’m banging my head against the same issues that made me start traveling solo…
I’ve never ever had anyone ever offer me a 100% free trip ANYWHERE I wanted to go. My only stipulation is just tell me exactly where you want to go. 
I would have a dozen ideas and specific locations. All I ever get is l, “I don’t know… 
”
It was such a pain to even get her to say “aquarium.”
At this point, I am hoping USH announces FanFest Nights 2026 next week. (It was announced Aug 20, 2024 the first time)
I’m going to book my tickets for a solo trip yo FanFest Nights and she’ll have 5+ months to figure out IF she wants to use the flight credits somewhere…
I’ll invite her to FanFest, of course. I’m just not going to invest the energy to worry about it. If my parents had ever taken me on any trips I would have been ecstatic! 
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Hey!
This thread has become more of a way for me to chit-chat with all my Liner friends more than anything else these days!! I really appreciate it! 
In good news, my life is getting back in a rhythm. As everyone knows, after celebrating leaving a toxic job for a few weeks my mom passed away. I’ve gone from the highest peaks of happiness to complete grief.
It’s been about a month now. Thanks to going back to therapy to deal with my mom’s death I am a soooo much better!!
One of the things I crave is structure… I’ve gone a bit stir crazy all alone in the house all day. It was really unhealthy while I was grieving! I ate soooo much. I put on 10 pounds in a month. I spazz out like a puppy when DW gets home!!
I made myself a “schedule” last week. It’s really been helping. I have “office hours” to look for a job. (I’ve had multiple calls already and an interview tomorrow)
All of this to say that a BIG part of my life and “schedule” for 10 - 13 years has been hanging out here!! I do miss being on here every day. I can’t do a full nine hours each day any more as I actually have to do stuff now. I may not be able to be here every day, but I’m trying!
I’ll never find another job that paid me a full wage for 90 minutes of work each day and 6.5 hours hanging out there while watching YT!! 
(My DW likes to point out all the nightmare fuel I endured for that “cushy” job - including a permanent disability! )
I’m going to make more of a concerted effort to get back to being a Universal Addict ASAP!
(Don’t tell UOR, but I went to WDW and DLR more in the last 2 years!! 
)
I’m not going to HHN out of respect for my kid. Plus, until I get back to work I feel a bit guilty doing trips. I already get to stay home all day!!
No reason to burn money! 
My new “plan” is to focus on FanFest Nights 2026 at USH. Maybe I can go to Orlando for my birthday again in December, but I’ve done it enough that I’ll be fine this year.
I doubt I’ll ever beat visiting all four Club 33 locations on my 50th anyway!! I framed a photo of me from that day! I rarely smile with a big open grin. My mouth was open like the Joker that day!
My OG plan was to get to Epic in 2026 when APs become available. I’ve been trying to fill the time with “possible” trips.
I do know unless I get hurt or something bad happens I WILL be at Fanfest 2026. (Maybe if they don’t have any IP I want to participate in I will stay. I will still go even if it’s exactly the same stuff. It was that cool!)
I will be making a FanFest 2026 thread. I may still be one of the few here to go, but I like talking about it! Feel free to come over there to continue hanging out with me. You can always reply here too. I’m not “closing” this thread, but I’m trying to not bump it up in the topics too much since it’s not about my recent trip anymore…
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