A cabin, princess audition, service dog, hurricane season, 14 days trip with a bunch of crazy people trip report!

[cinderella73 1]

Man, I hate computer viruses. Any chance the folks at Norton could give you a path to a built in DOS version of their virus killer? I remember getting hit by a virus years ago that would shut down any and all anti-virus programs. Luckily, the guy at Norton (maybe it was McAffee?) gave me the tools I needed to launch a handy little program in DOS. When I rebooted the computer, I went straight to DOS and ran that command. Left the program running all night and woke up the next morning to a clean machine. Takes a long time, but DOS only lets one executable run at once, so that anti-virus program was running like a champ.

Good luck, looking forward to the updates at some point!

I will give that a shot next. I started up Mc Afee's Stinger program and it did find the FakeAlert!grb!!! virus . Not sure if this is the same one because from what I read that one hides your files but I didnt see anything about interfering with Windows access and start up. Its still running and its been the only thing that I have even gotten to work so hopefully it will do the trick. Gosh these scans take forever!

I appreciate the advice and will definately give that a go next. Thanks!

[Keylime359 2]

Loving the TR! As a parent of a SN child your book will be a great thing for many parents and caregivers. Be sure to visit the camping with disabilities board on here. Lots-o-support! My DD is 14 and seems to suffer from that same nice one day mean the next syndrome! LOL From what I hear it is a widespread emidemic among those over the age of having their own opinion.

[cinderella73 1]

Loving the TR! As a parent of a SN child your book will be a great thing for many parents and caregivers. Be sure to visit the camping with disabilities board on here. Lots-o-support! My DD is 14 and seems to suffer from that same nice one day mean the next syndrome! LOL From what I hear it is a widespread emidemic among those over the age of having their own opinion.

Teenagers , I dont know what is tougher. Raising one or being one ! lol ( At 14 you have a lot of fun ahead still. Mine is 17 and the moods havent calmed down yet!)

I will check out the disabilities section thanks. I just started on here between sick kids and a computer virusn I havent had a chance to explore much yet , but I am loving it here.

I think I saw you started a trip report ? I will have to go check it out. I think I may actually get some time to myself today to catch up on here!

[cinderella73 1]

Im back !

Computer virus is gone! Woohoo! I was lost without my puter. My husband ( and I HATE to say this) actually figured out what to do. No more coupon sites for me! I am not meant to save money , just spend it .

Still having a rough time with my son and now we are looking at a possible hernia or LPR ( like GED but different) . We have some tests scheduled before they will get him in with a GI doc . I hate all the red tape with insurance! The tests are close before our trp and I really want him to feel better. Hes sleeping sitting up and not eating well. Last night he was grabbing his chest and crying. I slept on his floor and kept a eye on him and he did improve thankfully . Hes playing right now in fact. I know I should focus on all the things that came back fine but its hard to be thankful when he is so miserable and I dont know whats going on.

Thought of canceling our trip, but I am thinking maybe he needs a break. I thought it might help with the anxiety thats coming into all this with him as well. He does want to go and has fine moments in between everything. I know I could use a change of pace myself. Sorry for the vent. You all are so nice here and put up with my rambling on. We actually have no doctors today, so I am going to catch up on everyones posts. Its relaxing to just come on here and read away and escape all the stress!

I can finally get to my notepad and pics now also , so I will finally have the next installment up tonight. Cant believe we leave in around 30 days!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Hope he feels better soon :heart: And I'm glad you're computer is up and running. So now :popcorn:

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

:suspense:

[cinderella73 1]

Sorry I have been away so long. Been dealing with doctors and all sorts of fun stressful stuff. We have more testing just a few days before we head to the fort. My son has to get a barium swallow study done to rule out a hernia which is what we are suspecting. Last 2 days he has also been pointing to his lower stomach as well though. I am a nervous wreck. Any and all prayers appreciated. I am really coming unglued.

On top of it all boys are having a hard time sleeping tonight . The bts we felt of the earthquake which was strong enough to knock stuff off our shelves all the way here in P.A. made them a bit anxious.

The next entry below is a bit lenthy as I wanted to back peddle to give you a idea of the dynamics of what this trip hold based on previous ones with my mom and sister. I felt kinda bad typing anythng nagative about my mom but its nothing I wouldnt admit and I do love them both and well... where else can I vent. More coming tomorrow and then I will get onto the real nitty gritty. With 2 weeks left I will be posting live from the fort in no time at all.

I

[cinderella73 1]

Ok back on track!

Looks like since my last post so much has changed!

Some of the changes are definate and some are uncertain.

My mother and sister- They never decide on what they will do intil the last 5 minutes of that very day. I wont say much on my mom except we are not close and the words "passive aggressive" come to mind . I am at a point where I stopped trying to fix things since it takes 2, and it was time to heal and move on. I have always paid for them to vacation with with us ( they have money but my mom will never vacation unless someone else pays). I didnt mind because I liked having everyone together. I couldnt afford it this year though. My sister wanted to go really bad and I helped her a book a free dining package with everything included for 2,000. She had the money in the bank but my mom cancelled it and said she would stay with us instead , but of course you cant fit 7 people in a cabin. My sister was heartbroken but listens to everything my moms says.

They may re-book, or they may not. They say they will be moving to Orlando in the next few weeks anyway so they will use vacation money toward a move instead. They are leaving my brother and stepfather here, and renting a apt so she can work the clubs ( shes a promoter and her boss just landed them The House of Blues in DTD in Jan.) and at Disney ( she wants to re-audition for the face characters) . They say lots of things and only do them half the time. I have no idea what they will do . They are in fact selling everything they can at my house next weekend to get ready ( so are we). They also said they may be down by the time my second week rolls around down there. I doubt it would be that quick, but I never know with them. ( We are moving back down to Orlando also by spring.)

Backtrack: I took them for the first time to Disney 2 years ago. My mom called me the night before to tell me they couldnt join us. We had booked a 6 bedroom site offsite at Windsor Hills for 2 weeks. The next morning we load up and grab some food and as we were about to head for the turnpike my phone rings. ( 7 am) My mom said she wanted to go.

So we turn around and pull up and I go in to help them pack. I kid you not the woman changed her mind 4 times!!! By the time we pulled out of her driveway it was around 1 pm and my kids , husband, and myself were steaming.

We finally hit the road and thinking I can relax when I realize I am so wrong. The cell phone keeps ringing every 10 minutes with my mom telling me to tell my husband to slow down ( we dont speed). My husband was about to blow. I had the fun of trying to keep the peace. My mom also kept saying she might go back home and did this for the first 2 days we were there. I could go on but I am sure you get the point of this. She is a PITA.

All my mom did was introduce negativity and stress. Was it worth it ? Yes! Because my dingbat, then 17yr old sister had the time of her life. My mom told her they were only coming with to use the pool because Disney was dirty etc etc... Once my sister got a taste of Disney it was all over. She is now the 2nd biggest Disney nut in the family .

My sister is a bit of a free spirit. She is now 20 and doing really well with her acting and promotional work. ( lots of actors in the family) She is not afraid to break into dance and song in the middle of a grocery store isle. Last trip she was literally dancing around the lamp post outside the Great Movie ride and singing to Dancing in the Rain. lol People sometimes stare at her but shes okay with that. Very silly , goofy and nieve . But she has a heart of gold and is really great with kids. Shes very close to and protective of my mom and my mom lives her life through my sister so its a fine line I walk wth anything that involves the 2 of them.

Last years trip involved me taking her to a audition at the Animal Kingdom Rehearsal facility. I had some friends that were friends with the likes of Cinderella , and Aurora, etc. . They gave us some great tips on what to expect and so forth. I did her hair and makeup and she looked great. If anyone is interested in knowing what the process is like for face characters I will post the experience. Its basically a audition that has 3 parts and various girls were sent away at different intervals. She was in there so long ( over 3 hours) that I was worried she got lost in the bathroom or something . She came out smiling from ear to ear and handed us her "casting pool" card. She made it all the way through and they loved her but she was not local and at the time only 17. They were not looking for seasonal characters so they put her in a casting pool which stays active for 6 months and was told to let them know when she was offically moved down ( that was her plan if she got the role) . They wouldnt tell her who she was being looked at for but she really wants to be Snow White more than anything. They are super top secret at what they will even tell the applicants and they are cautioned that they can only say they work for Disney, nothing more. Also that if they had a facebook page up showing any pics stating what they did they would be fired. She thought that was awesome and loves how seriously they take everything. I think it makes her even more excited. She really wants this because she truly loves kids and wants to be part of the magic. I get tears in my eyes just thinking of how wonderful I know she would be.

So fast foward again and my sister is now 20 and ready to go back and audition ( the casting pool cleared out after 6 months) . This time she wants to be settled in and stable first. How fast or soon this will happen I dont know. Honestly I am posting because I do believe they will join up last minute so they can look at houses and apartments wth us down there. They will no doubt end up in the TR at some point.

Now the pics

Here we are as a group. This is my mom pre-gastric bypass . She lost 100 pounds since this pic was taken. Actually she has the surgery 2 weeks before this pic was taken. She was miserable not being able to enjoy the meal at Whispering Canyon. I gained quite a bit a couple years ago and have now signed up for gastric myself and am expecting to start the classes when we get back. I cant wait to see 130 again. Bad pic of me but its nice to see us all together.

Here are the girls checking out the competition the day before the audition.

The signs you all pass on the way to the parks ( if u go Sherberth RD anyway) and where the audition was held.

The card she got about the casting pool.

This pic was taken in my yard. My sister had a job at a expo as Snow White so I did her hair and makeup and did her pics .

Okay that wraps up the family drama portion. Next up our friends and hopefully soon to be fiends.

Check out my most prized Disney possession. My Beauty and the Beast table behind my sister. I got it from the guy who makes prototypes for Disney. They some some amazing stuff in their warehouse! you could almost make a themepark out of your house with everything they have.Sigh... I need to win the lottery. We didnt have the wig for these shots . You really need the wig to get the real Disney look. We plan on ordering one from a cosplay site. They have some great ones that are nice quality. I think she looks pretty cute though.

[cinderella73 1]

Few more just for fun then I am off to bed.

yes that Lumiere shes holding. We turned him backwards so he would look more like a candle instead but everyone noticed. lol

We all love doing the different characters myself and my daughter included. We are hoping to have some costumes done for the comicon in NYC this October. It will be cutting it close to get them done in time with the trip , but I will post pics of what we have when we are done. Its a fun way to spend time with the girls so I really hope I have the energy for it when we get back.

[polkadotsuitcase 12]

Catching up on this TR!

I am working on a book to help parents of kids with special needs at Disney. Its slow going as I have never done it before . I am going to start submitting inquirys to publishers this year sometime. Wish me luck as I have no idea what I am doing but ts a labor of love. Sort of learning as I go along.

I've traveled this road several times myself -- please give me a shout when you're ready to start pitching to publishers; I'd be very happy to answer any questions!

Below are the chitlins or children if you will.....

Adorable kids! They look like such a happy bunch! And Bobber's adorable. What a great sport he is! Can you imagine what he was thinking, with his new family, surrounded by giant characters and all the sights, sounds, and smells of Disney?!

Im back !

Computer virus is gone! Woohoo! I was lost without my puter. My husband ( and I HATE to say this) actually figured out what to do. No more coupon sites for me! I am not meant to save money , just spend it .

Still having a rough time with my son and now we are looking at a possible hernia or LPR ( like GED but different) . We have some tests scheduled before they will get him in with a GI doc . I hate all the red tape with insurance! The tests are close before our trp and I really want him to feel better. Hes sleeping sitting up and not eating well. Last night he was grabbing his chest and crying. I slept on his floor and kept a eye on him and he did improve thankfully . Hes playing right now in fact. I know I should focus on all the things that came back fine but its hard to be thankful when he is so miserable and I dont know whats going on.

Thought of canceling our trip, but I am thinking maybe he needs a break. I thought it might help with the anxiety thats coming into all this with him as well. He does want to go and has fine moments in between everything. I know I could use a change of pace myself. Sorry for the vent. You all are so nice here and put up with my rambling on. We actually have no doctors today, so I am going to catch up on everyones posts. Its relaxing to just come on here and read away and escape all the stress!

So glad you got rid of the virus -- I can't stand those stupid things! What a hassle -- they always take so much time out of your day to ditch 'em.

Sorry to hear about your son. Poor little dude. (And poor momma!) Sending healing vibes his way...

Love the photos of your sister -- they're fantastic!

Can't wait for your trip...

[stefa70 205]

Prayers out to your son (and you) Hope they get him fixed up and ready to enjoy the Fort. Poor little guy!

Don't worry about venting about family. I'm sure every one of us can relate at some point. There are a few of my family members that I say "I love them because they are family, but I don't necessarily like them"

I love that your sister will sing and dance anywhere! I have been know to do that, much to the dismay of the rest of my family. Hope she gets her job as a character!

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

So glad to see you back, I was wondering where you were. I'm sorry your son is sick. It's a horrible horrible feeling. Your post about your mom really hit home with me. I think I'm in denial about my relationship with my mother. She chooses to be absent from my life. She remarried after my father past away and things have totally changed. All if know, is my children will NEVER feel second to anyone in my life. Enough of that.

Your sister is adorable as well! I have a younger sister that I love dearly. We sorta have the same problem with her always trying to defend mother when there is just no sensible explanation. I know in time she will see things as I do. I'll be there for her regardless. Keep us updated! And dont be afraid to vent, if there is anywhere it can be done.. it's here!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Oh, we have momma drama too. I've found that sometimes you have to walk away.. as much as possible... because my mom feeds on the drama, the passive aggressiveness... etc.

[cinderella73 1]

Has anyone here had a barium swallow done before on their child ? I am so stressed out and mad at myself. My son who has been having various issues went in for a barium swallow today. I know he needed the test but I was horrified at the amount of xrays taken. They had him drink stuff and then while swallowing and laying in different positions they took a series of xrays. LOTS of them. I counted over 40. The guy would take one and then say " Nope, its not in his stomach yet." Then do it again in a few seconds. I had already told them I was concerned about the amount of radiation and politly asked what the amount was equal to. They seemed annoyed I had even asked , so I just shut up . My son did well , but now that I am home I just want to cry thinking about how much radiation they just put him through.

I didnt know what I could even do but ask them to stop doing so many which would not have worked out so well. But now I feel guilty like I should have said something more. The guy was really indifferent and just kept clicking away. I know its s standard test and I am hoping you all will tell me I am just being dramatic. Its been a heck of a week . The only info I found online said something about it being approx. 70 times the amount in one chest x-ray. It said the amount varied depending on the skill of the tech and so forth.

By the way we are supposed to be leaving this Saturday. My husbands workplace didnt mail him his vacation pay / bonus and that was 2 weeks ago. The payroll manager said on Friday he would fix it Tuesday but then neglected to tell us he was going to be on vacation intil the 12th!!! We almost had to cancel. We had to call coporate and they are supposed to be mailing us a check overnight tonight or tomorrow at the latest. To make it worse we have friends that booked a week just to join us so I am praying to God that it all goes well or we will be delayed and screw their trip up also! This is a big company that hires for other companies like Microsoft , Kodak etc... Last January they screwed up his paycheck and when we got it 2 weeks later it bounced and they had to send a second one. So I am just a bit nervous.

My husband said maybe we were were not meant to go and I am just about to crack from all the various things going on the last few months. I havent even done much packing yet. usually I am so over the moon happy right before the trip.

Anyway if you all have any advice or experience with a barium swallow could you tell me if you got a LOT of xrays done also?

Payroll said they will confirm once the checks been sent out. I will update tonight and get this thing going once thats set. Hopefully it will all be happy stuff from here on out. I am really looking foward to the relaxing part of this trip.

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

oh honey, when it rains it pours right? I do believe that your son will be fine. I know having faith that doctors know best is hard but maybe just to ease your mind give a real doc a call and tell him your concerns. Maybe it will put your mind to rest. That's just crazy about your husbands check, I'd be furious, but take a deep breath, I believe it's all going to be ok. Soon you'll be on vacation and all this will be water under the bridge :wiz:

[disney4dan 68]

Has anyone here had a barium swallow done before on their child ? I am so stressed out and mad at myself. My son who has been having various issues went in for a barium swallow today. I know he needed the test but I was horrified at the amount of xrays taken. They had him drink stuff and then while swallowing and laying in different positions they took a series of xrays. LOTS of them. I counted over 40. The guy would take one and then say " Nope, its not in his stomach yet." Then do it again in a few seconds. I had already told them I was concerned about the amount of radiation and politly asked what the amount was equal to. They seemed annoyed I had even asked , so I just shut up . My son did well , but now that I am home I just want to cry thinking about how much radiation they just put him through.

I didnt know what I could even do but ask them to stop doing so many which would not have worked out so well. But now I feel guilty like I should have said something more. The guy was really indifferent and just kept clicking away. I know its s standard test and I am hoping you all will tell me I am just being dramatic. Its been a heck of a week . The only info I found online said something about it being approx. 70 times the amount in one chest x-ray. It said the amount varied depending on the skill of the tech and so forth.

.

Sorry to hear this, and while we have no experience with barium swallow, I can say we've had a lot of experience with x-rays and radiation. The newer x-ray machines are much more sensitive and use much lower doses of radiation than before, so you should be safe. I work in the environmental field, and have had experience trying to explain "risk" of exposure to various chemicals. As a parent of a child with medical needs, I am only offering this up to try and help alleviate your concerns, not to discount them or say they are unfounded. It's only natural to be concerned for our kids. But we have to think of things in terms of "relative risk".

Example, every day we have to walk outside to go to work, shop, pick up the kids, etc. and expose ourselves to radiation that occurs naturally. We accept that risk for the benefits that outweigh the risks. I live in an area of the country known to have higher levels of radon gas due to naturally occurring radioactive materials in the rock near our house and there are areas of the country with "safer" levels of radon gas. But I choose to stay in this area for a better income and a quality of life (including close access to high quality medical facilities only an hour away).

We had to make a choice for our son 4 years ago about radioactive iodine treatment to ablate remaining cancerous cells in his body. This is a salt that is ingested and travels throughout the body and emits extremely high gamma radiation with the goal being that remaining thyroid cells absorb that iodine (that is the only cell in the body that uses iodine) and the gamma radiation destroys the chromosomes of the thyroid cells so that they die off eventually. He was so radioactive that the radiation meter I rented to clean verify how well we cleaned his room afterwards was "maxed out" on it;s highest setting anywhere in or near the house when we returned home. Both my son and I had severe headaches by the time we got home from the hospital. It made me very nervous and I find myself second guessing the decision. But we seldom consider the risks associated with the surgery, the risk of accidents traveling to/from the hospital, etc.

For what it's worth, it appears that our decision was a good one. Our son has 8 or 9 nodules in his lungs being monitored and it appears that the radioactive iodine managed to kill some thyroid cells at a very critical stage of disease progression. Once thyroid cancer spreads to the lungs or bones, the longterm survival rate decreases dramatically and the quality of that time left can become unpleasant very quickly. Had we waited or put off our decision, things might be very different today.

Our son now gets an annual full body scan that involves ingestion of a very low dose of radioactive iodine that has a short half-life, and also receives annual CT scans of his lungs. He also gets dental xrays and frequent exposure to radiation while walking around outside (something he needs to do more of!).

Additionally, there are millions of people living in the eastern PA, northern NJ and metro NY City area who receive elevated levels of radiation from permitted discharges from nuclear power plants. I would imagine most of these people are not aware of this, or the fact that the thyroid cancer incidence rate for counties in this area is as much as 3 times the nationwide average. However, this electricity provides one of the items needed to power the economy in the area and allow a better quality of life in other ways.

Well, I honestly hope that helps. I also hope that you can find medical people who are better at listening to your concerns and don't make you feel uncomfortable asking those questions. When we met the medical team at Boston Children's Hospital, it was like a whole new experience. We were not rushed through appointments. Doctors took the time to involve our son as well as us (ever notice that most doctors talk only to the parent and not the kid? Our son's first biopsies were performed by a local doctor who did not even explain the procedure and performed the biopsies while we were reading the consent form in a different room). Our son needed a CT Scan that required an injection of fluid at Children's hospital. The radiation technician knew my wife is a nurse and that we knew a lot about intravenous injections, how they are done. When the RN on call tried to insert the needle, it was not going well and not being done well. The radiation tech spoke up and asked the nurse to leave and brought in a nurse who did a much better job. Because they know medical procedures are difficult and anxiety laden, they do what they can to make it better for the families.

Sorry for the long winded reply/hijack! Next time I'll drink decaf before responding and I hope all your medical tests have a positive outcome. And that your son gets to enjoy many days in the sun.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

About Nuclear Power plant permitted discharges: Civilians living within 50 miles (80 km) of a nuclear power plant typically receive about 0.1 μSv per year. For comparison, the average person living at or above sea level receives at least 260 μSv from cosmic radiation. Basically, it's nothing to worry about. 260.1 μSv vs. 260 μSv If that was a fossil fuel plant, there would be far more discharges into the air and water for you to worry about.

[cinderella73 1]

Just got on , havent had a chance to read any replys yet. I will get a chance tonight. We have had such a crazy crazy time of things. I will update everything later. Got into the fort at about 4 am this morning ( 2 day car trip from H@!!) and have been going since. Headed to Epcot ( havent eaten today and starved) . I took a ton of pics. LOVE IT HERE! We have had some great experiences so far. Had a gold cart fiasco . YOu can read about that on the cart rental page. Ok be back on tonight to catch up and post stuff.

[disney4dan 68]

Looking forward to more! I understand how hectic it is, I went with plans to do live trip report writing while down there and only did a few posts. Poor cell service made it difficult, the only place I got good reception was in the park, and I was not going to be distracted while there. Enjoy!

[cinderella73 1]

Looking forward to more! I understand how hectic it is, I went with plans to do live trip report writing while down there and only did a few posts. Poor cell service made it difficult, the only place I got good reception was in the park, and I was not going to be distracted while there. Enjoy!

Dan, You are so right about that. It does get hectic and I havent had as much time with the computer as I thought I would. Heck I didnt even know I would be able to keep this reservation intil the day before I left. ( more on that to come)

Had trouble connecting to the internet here. Just did a system restore and everything is working fine. Have so many thoughts on the fort I want to share. Hitting the shower and going to sit down tonight and get some serious posting in.

That being all said... I LOVE IT HERE. I love how the deer and bunnies , which are abundant dont seem the least bit phased by your presence. Tonight was the second night while riding the golf cart around we saw a deer over by the marina . He looked at us like " Oh , tourists again." and just went back to nibbling on whatever he had in front of him and we were really close !

We had a magical moment the minute we pulled up to the cabin. Cant wait to get the pics uploaded. I have so much I want to share.

I love the trees, the beachy sand , the pinecones, rising around on the cart at night with the beautiful full moon. This place is just so peaceful. It has been over 15 years since I was last here and I doubt I will ever stay anywhere else again.

[cinderella73 1]

Oh I found some fiends. I might sneak up on them tomorrow.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I love the trees, the beachy sand , the pinecones, rising around on the cart at night with the beautiful full moon. This place is just so peaceful. It has been over 15 years since I was last here and I doubt I will ever stay anywhere else again.

I'm glad to hear that you "get it."

If you get a chance, try to go out the back exit of the 300 loop at sunrise one morning. Go to the shore of Bay Lake and take it all in.

TCD

[cinderella73 1]

TCD - I am just now seeing your post. I wish I had seen it before we left. I would have certainly done just that. It was the craziest and most nonstop trip ever with everyone getting sick and all. One night my daughter and I snuck out and just drove around til 2 am going around every loop once , or 10 times. lol It was heaven. So peaceful and my favorite thing we did on the trip.

Whenever we came back from the parks we hardly ever went straight to the cabin. BTW I have a LOT to say ( all good) about our cabin stay , coming up)

I did finally toward the end of my stay, get a better feel for the layout and where the heck I was. You all would have laughed at just how lost I got the first week and how many circles I went it trying to get back to the cabin.

I just uploaded all my photos and registered my photopass pics a second ago. I wanted to add in a quick update though. As some of you know we have been having ongoing issues with my sons health . We just got the results back from the barium swallow test. It showed a "prominent aortic arch " . Which is no doubt what is causing that feeling in his neck.

We had a scary incident at Downtown Disney with one kid breaking out in hives and the other one ( the one with all the health issues) saying his heart was funny, his legs were weak , and he felt like everything was tilting. This went on for 2 days.. All the way home in fact. Took us 2 days to get home . We had terrible terrible storms from GA to NC . Tornado touched down a few miles down the road ahead of us. Longest trip home ever! ( drove from PA)

So we have been home a few days now and tonight my son says his throat hurts again. I had to tell him it was just dryness , get him a drink , then lock myself in the bathroom with the water running and cry . I know its the main artery in his neck and thats what scares me. So we have this one doc that wants to do a MRI but our primary says insurance wont approve it yet intil we see more doctors. So now I have a nurse working on our behalf to try to see if we can get him in sooner and or get the darn MRI done. My son is claustraphobic so I am not relishing how this will go. But I know we need to get answers.

To top this all off I had nightmares that started a year ago warning me about my son and to make it sound nicer lets say , things not going well. So even though I know negativity can try to trick us and hurt us its in the back of my mind worrying me more. I am really scared.

Especially since I also had a dream about my best friend that came true a month later. It warned me my friend had cancer and a month later she was diagnosed with it . They havent given her very long . Its been one thing after another .

So between stupid insurance , bad dreams , and my little boy being sick I am really thinking I just have a major nervous breakdown coming on. Any prayers for my soon badly needed and very appreciated. ( spelling?)

While I go type up our arrival day ( for the TR) I just wanted to add that despite the craziness we all had a great time. I had as much fun just hanging out at the resort as I did in the parks. There was so much I wanted to do and didnt get the chance to. I am hoping for a super quick trip back in early December but of not for sure in Jan/ Feb . That way I can scout out houses as we plan to make the move down by spring anyway. ( looking in Windermere area if anyone has any advice) .

[cinderella73 1]

BTW I never did find the hammocks I have seen in others photos.. They do have some somewhere dont they? We only ever made it to the main section of the beach.

[cinderella73 1]

Okay I gotta get this this thing rolling. Even though I intended to do a live and streaming report .. and didn't , I did realize that when traveling with lots of people NOTHING will go as planned. So basically a lot of things that were planned didn't happen , and a lot that were not expected.. did. I took some notes and lots of pics so I better start typing because my memory is not so great these days.

First of all to explain the start of this trip you have to know I had to cancel and reschedule 3 times in the week we were due to leave. A big mix up with my husbands bonus check ( that was never resolved til we got home) that we were relying on ,caused us to doubt we could even go after all . After finally squaring things away with literally less than 24 hours before we were due to leave , and calling Disney back to see that fate was on our side and that they did indeed have 12 of our 14 days still available , I set off in a flurry to pack.

Now I dont know how you all pack. When I pack its a a crazy and long process. Packing for 5 people ( 2 females and one of whom is a teenager) and a service dog is a usually a week long process. I have my lists and usually pack it all in labeled totes and stack them up so we are ready by the end of the week. Having just found out we could go "offically" still go on the evening of the 10th I spent the entire night and into the 11th packing everything. Of course I had 8 loads of laundry going all night and didnt get to bed til 7 am the next morning..

Here is a picture of how packed up the back of the van was. This is very important because it will become a MAJOR issue later . Of course this pic was taken before the dogs crate was even packed in .

Here are the kids waiting to get on the road . Of course I was still waiting on 2 loads of laundry to finish! They were really excited but getting a bit impatient at this point.

Did I mention our "plan" was to leave at 4 am on the 11th? Driving from PA we found its the only way we can get a good distance in. We used to drive straight through with good weather , but we came to realize this trip we are indeed getting older and we may need to plan for 1 or even 2 nights down. Especially with everyones health issues lately.

So here it is 7 am , 3 hours after we were due to leave and I am exhausted and needing a shower and a nap. We decided even though we were not night drivers to hit the road at 9 pm and get as far as we could... We stopped for the night at 4 am. We hadnt gotten very far, and we all tired and in crappy moods. This was not in the plan at all. We had somehow stepped into a time warp and had only made it as far as Stafford VA.

We found a little Comfort Inn just in time as we were starting to fall asleep . It was a little older but passed the clean test , no smells , etc. . The front desk manager was a disabled and now retired cop and very nice about our service dog. He even told us he had one at home as well. Its always nice when the hotels are friendly about it. You wouldnt believe the issues we get sometimes. I always carry paperwork just in case.

The next morning again "we planned" on getting a early start. Since we didnt get to bed til 5 am that didnt happen. We ended up leaving the hotel around 12 on the dot. Here are the kids excited to go. My little guy Link had his backpack on and was ready to roll before any of us. His brother was still waking up. Being a little wisecracker he also had to remark how us girls take to long to get ready! lol Must be nice to be a guy and slip on your shoes and go !

We made a pit stop in Daytona ( my old hometown) around 2 am because we were out of our minds with exhaustion at that point. We found a Checkers which I hadnt had in forever ! The hamburgers there were way better than Mc D's or BK ( which I never wanna see again in my life). Once we rolled down the windows and smelled the salty air I felt back at home again. It was kind of surreal . We drove around International Speedway and even though a lot was new, it all pretty ,much looked the same to me.

After our quick break we were wide away we made it to Fort Wilderness around 4 am . We had gone from being exhausted to super energized. Even the dog was wagging his tail. Its like he knew our vacation was about to start. We were waiting on our friend who was camping in the 100 loop to come down to meet us. We got out looked up at the moon through the mossy trees , breathed in the cool humid Florida night air and sat on the bench listening to the music being piped in while we waited on our friend.

Check in was easy . Kids sat outside and my son and his service dog came in and joined me. I love seeing the kids all excited and everyone smiling and looking foward to everything. Now I had only been to the Fort one time before 20 years ago... But I tell you its crazy but I could remember every details as if I was there every day. It didnt feel new to me , but like home. I was really hoping the family would "get it" because everyone was pretty against the whole cabin thing , wanting a more resort experience ( their words). We stayed at the Contemporary the year before and they had their hearts set on it again. But I pretty much refused to compromise on this and had to force them to try something new. I was betting my teen would like golf cart , the boys the frogs and lizards , and my husband the ability to get the dog out and unpack easier. Me I just wanted to that old Florida feeling , and nothing give that to me like the Fort.

Random shots

So we get our key and papers and I was a bit nervous wth all the special requests and needs we had that there would be a problem. We had a real nightmare at the Contemporary last year and I was really disapointed with how things went.

As we pull up I start squeeling and I think scared the crap out of everyone because I saw in our window the one thing I have always wanted ( but never gotten) was a Disney towel animal. In our cabin windows was not 1 not 2 but 4 visible towel animals!!! 2 large bunnies and 2 swans!!! I told the kids about these but told them not to expect anything so they were also really excited to see them. Seems like we only took one crappy pic of just the bunnies , but I have better pics coming later on.

A quick tidbit.. I had made several special requests due to health reasons and some just because.. I didnt expect them to all be met. I was thrilled to see upon pulling up we got the exact location we requested. We backed up literally to the quiet pool . I had also requested a intense cleaning and for the comforters, pillows ( health issues)and dining chairs to be removed (for accessability reasons) We had 2 service dogs coming in and out and a disabled friend in the 100 loop. Not only did Disney not balk at this but they offered to wash the linens in a special detergent. I was prepared tp pay extra but was told all of this was no charge.. THIS is why ( one of the many reasons why) I only vacation at Disney. So many things I would have to stress over other places are taken care of for me there. And its never a issue. This really means a lot to all of us. Especially when it comes to all our needs with food issues and such. But more on that later.

What did we find when we went in? Had they meet all our needs and requests or would I be up all night setting things up? Will the family like everything ? What are the cabins like inside? Details coming up !