My Disney trip report (April 19-26th)

[kerry34]

Hey everyone:) I have been back for two weeks, but I have not had computer access at home for a while, but I am finally back up and running!!!! We got home from our trip on the 27th and the week was so wonderful. We had the perfect week weatherwise, warm and sunny!!
We drove down and left from MA at 10pm thursday night April 17th and drove through the night and stopped off in Fayetteville NC the next afternoon. We were planning on leaving earlier that night, but since I cant do anything the easy way, I ended up having to get yet another blood transfusion Thursday afternoon which took me until 845pm Thursday night. When I went to the doctors that day and they told me that I needed another one, I thought to myself what a great way to start off my trip. Fortunately, for me though I had my blood checked that day, because it was really really low. Anyhow once I had the blood I felt so much better and was glad that I had it.
We checked into our house Saturday afternoon and basically just chilled for the rest of the night. We sat out by the pool and the kids swam and the rest of us just relaxed. It was so nice just to be in a warm climate. I was the happiest I have been in months.
On Sunday we got to Animal Kingdom nice and early. The crowds were very manageable and we pretty much did everything we wanted. One big thing I was hoping for was to see Devine, which finally after so many trips I got the chance. My kids were enthralled with her and how she blended in with the trees and just the gracefulness in the way she moved. So amazing. We stayed the entire day until closing which we were not planning, but everyone was having so much fun nobody wanted to leave. This is one of my families favorite parks. My kids just love the animals and really get so wrapped up in it all. When we were at conservation station they were asking one of the cast members that is in charge of animal feedings so many questions and were so interested in everything she had to say. I was just thrilled they had so much fun. I know there are alot of people that dont really care for this park, but we love it and all the little things it has to offer.

I am going to stop my report here because it is time to get my little ones ready for bed. I will post more tomorrow.:sunshine:

[Hedy]

Kerry-I can't wait for more! :sunshine2::sunshine2:

[faithhope]

thanks for posting...i love trip reports...can't wait to read more:sunshine2:

[Blessing and Miracle]

Kerry,

Glad to read your report. Can't wait to hear more! Glad you were able to get out and that you felt much better!:)

[ligrumpygirl]

YEAH a trip report!!

[Sunni]

Kerry, I am glad you are feeling better. Sounds like you all had a great time. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

[kerry34]

Kerry, I am glad you are feeling better. Sounds like you all had a great time. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

Marilyn, you have been in my thoughts and I hope things have gotten better with your counts. You are in my prayers:heart:

Okay....After my huge accomplishment of walking around all day long at AK the previous day, lets just say I woke up a bit sore the next morning:eek: After months of inactiveness my body was most likely in shock from so much activity, but I was not going to let it get to me. Today was our Epcot day and I was so looking forward to it. We ended up getting out the door a bit late that morning so we missed rope drop by 15 minutes or so....just long enough for a bit of a line to get started at Soarin. We didnt mind too much though. We grabbed a set of fast passes for everyone and jumped in the standby line which at that point was about 20 minutes or so. All of us wanted to go on twice so we didnt mind waiting. Soarin is one of my favorites so I was really looking forward to that. We went back for our second ride after going through The seas with nemo and friends, which my little ones just love. I gotta say that I love Turtle Talk myself. Crush is the best!! After our second ride we decided to get lunch at Sunshine Seasons. While we were eating a family sitting nearby us won the castle stay that night!!! I was so excited that I got to see somebody win that, but unfortunately the people that won didnt seem nearly as excited as I was. One of the woman seemed happy but the others in the group looked indifferent. If that were me, I think I probably would have cried if I have had the chance to bring my girls to sleep there. Anyway after lunch we finished up Future World with going on Spaceship Earth. We had fun on that ride and my kids played the interactive games for quite a while. DH and I were laughing at the pictures they take of you at the end of the ride. Overall I liked the new ride and it was nice that the audio was better because I always had a hard time hearing it before the ride was done over.

By around 5pm we were halfway through World Showcase and I was really tired at that point and wishing that I had rented a wheelchair, but I decided to be stubborn about earlier in the day even though DH was somewhat insistent on getting one for me, I had to be thickheaded. I was regretting it by now. My ankles had swelled up to the size of balloons as well as my hands and I knew that was my cue to get off my feet. We decided to head back to the house. Although I didnt get to do all of what I wanted in World Showcase we had a good time that day, and I didnt want to overdo it and ruin the rest of the week either. The kids were fine with it as well because they were all hot by then and looking forward to jumping in the pool.

Well thats all for now. I will post more either later tonight or tomorrow. :)

[Hedy]

Wow-I would have been so excited to see someone win the castle.

[Magical JenK]

I was the happiest I have been in months.

Kerry-First, welcome back! Second, LOVE TRs so keep posting!! Third, this line of your post gave me chills! Brought tears to my eyes. While WDW has magic we all get, I bet you really, really savored that magic! I'm so happy you did!!

While we were eating a family sitting nearby us won the castle stay that night!!! I was so excited that I got to see somebody win that, but unfortunately the people that won didnt seem nearly as excited as I was. One of the woman seemed happy but the others in the group looked indifferent. If that were me, I think I probably would have cried if I have had the chance to bring my girls to sleep there.


:rotfl: Go figure. I would have probably jumped up & down & hurt myself on the tables if I was asked! That's pretty cool that you got to see that being awarded though! How fun!

[askomsky]

Kerry-First, welcome back! Second, LOVE TRs so keep posting!! Third, this line of your post gave me chills! Brought tears to my eyes. While WDW has magic we all get, I bet you really, really savored that magic! I'm so happy you did!!



:rotfl: Go figure. I would have probably jumped up & down & hurt myself on the tables if I was asked! That's pretty cool that you got to see that being awarded though! How fun!

LOL Somehow Jen I can picture you jumping up and hitting a table! :rotfl:

Great TR so far, glad that you've been able to keep up with the kids. I'm sure they were just as happy anyway. :hugs:

[spring]

Great TR! Sounds like you were quite the trooper! Keep it coming....:angel:

[linanglab]

Seeing someone win the castle! YEAH! Of course....the evil meanie me would have thought....man....that should have been ME! :rotfl: I mean not too many people would be as excited as me (and all of my SR Disney fans!)

Sorry you had to leave epcot early. But it sounds like everyone in your group needed the break.

Can't wait to hear more!

[Sunni]

:hugs: sweetie :hugs: Kerry, keep it coming. I love hearing all about it. It makes me so excited. I know what you mean about breaks and all. I can't believe you saw a family win the castle night. I would have been screaming for them!

[kerry34]

Day 3....finally the Magic Kingdom:mickey::minnie:.....
I have to start off by saying that this is my top favorite, as it is with many. This is the day that I focused on over the past several months if I got really down and bummed about my cancer. At last the day was here and we were up bright and early and there right in time for the opening.
The opening show started and the train came down the tracks with all the characters and right away I had to choke back tears. Thank god I had my sunglasses on because if my kids saw that they would have immediately reacted and started and we all would have been standing there crying, especially my oldest girls because they knew better than anyone how much I was looking forward to being there. We spent the last few months, when I wasnt feeling well, in my bed looking at photo albums and talking about our old trips and what we were looking forward too on the next one and I think it helped all of us tolerate my chemo. Anyway it all hit me. My little ones were wrapped around my waist with the biggest of smiles on their faces and my three other kids were all standing around me and for a second I just closed my eyes and commited that very moment to memory because I just wanted to savor it. Finally it was time and off we went to Mainstreet USA....again with the tears. My little ones had me by the hand and were anxiously pulling me towards the castle. The first place we were headed was Fantasyland and straight to Dumbo, which traditionally is how we have started our trips in the past. Since it was early and not too crowded we didnt wait in any lines for any of the rides there, which was nice. We rode Peter Pan a few times because it is impossible to get near even just an hour after. After we got done there we headed over to Mickeys Toontown Fair just in time for some characters to come out. My 8 yr old Kayley loves Donald Duck and was thrilled when she got to interact with him for a bit. After about 4 rides on Goofys Barnstormer we hopped the train to frontierland and grabbed FPs for Splash and rode BTMRR. My other 8 yr old Taylor is a future thrill seeker and took her first ride on Thunder and just loved it. Kayley is less daring, but conquered many fears this trip and went on many rides that she was terrified to go on during all our previous trips. We did everything on this end of the park except Tom Sawyers Island for the simple fact it was too much for me. When we go again I owe my kids a checker game at fort langhorn.
By the time we finished Frontierland, Adventureland, and Liberty Square it was getting to be close to late afternoon so we decided to head over to tomorrowland for a while. Traditionally DH and I always go on the TTA while the older kids are on Space Mountain, the little ones were with my mom so off we went for our "date ride" as the kids call it. The only downside is they were not letting anyone stay on so if you wanted to go again you had to get off and go back up. There was a continuous line here which was suprising as we have never encountered this on any of our other spring break trips.
The kids had done everything they wanted to do so we decided at 630 we would leave. Once again my feet started swelling up a bit and I was getting tired. So we ended the day and headed back to the house.
I sat in the hottub that night while the kids swam and it felt like heaven, but the best part off all came afterward when....are you all ready....I had two, count em, two BEERS!!!! :cooldance: :cheers: OH YEAH!!!!! Let me tell ya those cold beers tasted sooooo good. My oncologist said it was fine as long as I didnt drink a six pack or anything, so I made sure that I had some nice cold Amstel lights in the fridge. Now I am not a big drinker by any means, maybe I drink 4-5 times a year, mostly during a holiday or summer cookout, but it had been so long since I had a beer I felt like a wild woman. My kids were in the pool and when they saw all of their jaws dropped like OMG moms drinking!!! I didnt want to drink anymore than that because god knows what it would have done too me.
So that was pretty much my day. I know I wrote alot and I hope it was too much of a bore for everyone
Thats all for tonight and I will post more tomorrow. Have a great night everyone!!!

[Magical JenK]

Sounds like a fabulous day & I'm so happy for you. The tears are running down my cheeks for you...no need for sunglasses here!

[ligrumpygirl]

Excuse me while I slip away for a tissue...anybody else need one?? I am so happy for you...amazing what that castle can do to people!

[linanglab]

Yeah Janet....pass me a tissue too! A beautiful day! Funny how sometimes the little things are so glorious! The beer....so glad you were able to enjoy that!

[askomsky]

I'll take one too Janet.

Kerry that sounds just awesome! Your also such a great story teller!

[3dog2kidmom]

Kerry, what an amazing time you are having! I am loving your TR :)

(pass the tissues over here, too!)

[kerry34]

I am so happy my trip report is okay so far, I was afraid I would bore everyone by rambling on and on lol.

Day 4 (wed) Magic Kingdom again:)

We always do two days here because it is everyones top pick. At this point we were halfway through the week and of course it has flown by so fast. When I got up that morning DH finally convinced me to get a wheelchair. I had done as much long distance walking as I was able to and felt that I had done great, but honestly when I woke up that morning I was tired. I knew it was time.
When we got to MK, we headed to Fantasyland and did some attractions there. We didnt go on It's a Small World the day before, so we went on that morning. This ride is not one of my favorites, I will confess, largely due to the fact that when my oldest daughter was five I was forced to ride this over and over again because it was her absolute favorite. I rode it so much that it took me days to get the song out of my head. This time we only rode it once and that was fine with me.
We went to Mickeys Philharmagic after that and this is one show that I could watch over and over again. I just love it. My little ones still reach up and try to touch the 3-D objects in the movie and it made me think back to my other kids who did the very same thing when they were small. It occured to me that I never noticed when they stopped reaching up, but it made me wonder if my younger ones would do it again the next time we went.
Kayley (my 8 yr old that loves Donald) laughed so hard through the entire show and I think I loved watching just to listen to her laugh as much as I love the movie itself.
We finished up Fantasyland and decided to head down to Liberty square to go on the Haunted Mansion, hopefully at least twice. The day before, the queue line was snaked all through the courtyard, but today it just under the canopy and the wait was short both times we went on. I have to say that I was impressed with the overall changes made, especially the addition of the staircases, which really changed the whole atmosphere of that area of the ride. It also amazes me that no matter how many times you go on this attraction you still manage to see something that you missed before.
At this point my older daughters, my aunt, and cousin went off by themselves for a while and we took the three other kids over to POTC just in time to watch the Pirate Tutorial which we loved.
We met up after that in tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear. This is where things get heated, we are all fierce in competing for the best score and it wasnt me who got top score. I did awful this time and I wonder now if i need glasses lol. Taylor who was the reigning champ of the last trip with 999,999 was bummed because she was unable to keep her title. My cousin Elizabeth was top scorer this time with 999,999. I have never gotten that high and I think I must not have a great aim.
By this time people were starting to filter in for the Princess and Pirate party being held that night. Originally we had talked about going, but unfortunately with everything going on with me, my DH lost a substantial amount of overtime which would have paid for tickets for the 7 of us,so we didnt have it in our budget to spend all that extra on tickets. The kids didnt seem to mind too much anyway. I loved seeing all the little girls dressed up in their princess dresses though.
By 6pm my youngest kids were ready to go, so DH and I took them and left and my mom and aunt stayed with the older girls until 7pm when the park closed.
That night after my mom got back DH and I got the chance to go out to eat so we went up to Giordanos for dinner which is right on 192. It was elimination night on American Idol so we watched that and chatted while we ate. It was nice for the two of us just to get out for a bit.
We had yet another great day and when I went to bed that night I thanked god for helping me get through everything. The fact that despite the anemia and side effects from the chemo I was able to go and have fun, make great memories and just watch my kids smiling was something that I truly treasured. I went to bed that night feeling blessed.

[linanglab]

You are definitely not boring us NOR are you rambling! We could all listening to someone talk about WDW all day long and wouldn't have a problem with it. But there is something special about your report. A celebration week.....An appreciation of WDW, your family, and time spent together. It touches me to read your report. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the rest.

[pbhall13]

Kerry

I just found your trip report and you have brought me back down to Earth. I have had a crummy day (not feeling very well) and then I decide to check this out and realize that having a fever and not feeling that great is NOTHING compared to what you have had to go thru lately. thank you for making me stop whining about my 'little' fever.

I absolutely love your TR! I can just picture the smile on all of your faces! Those memories that you took 'mental snapshots' of will sustain you thru anything you need to overcome!

Those 2 beers must have been unbelievably delicious! Were they super cold too?!

Cannot wait to hear more.....and glad that you got to see Devine.....isn't she something else. In November I got some of the best pictures of her......she is so elegant in the way that she moves!

Keep it coming if there is more!!!!!

Pamela

[lmroyea]

You are definitely not boring us NOR are you rambling! We could all listening to someone talk about WDW all day long and wouldn't have a problem with it. But there is something special about your report. A celebration week.....An appreciation of WDW, your family, and time spent together. It touches me to read your report. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the rest.

I agree with Angela completely! I'm really enjoying the TR so far. And I'm quite a rambler myself so I don't mind long posts at all. I think it's wonderful that you all are having such a memorable time together. It's especially great when you get multiple generations together on a Disney trip. One of my favorite memories is of myself, my Mom, Aunt, Cousin, and...yes we got Grandma to go! (There were other family members with us, but we happened to share a special moment together that I'll never forget :)) I wasn't quite 21 at the time so no drinks for me, but I remember my Dad telling us how, when a few of us were budging up front for Illuminations, he and my uncle stayed back with Grandma (cause they had a good spot to sit) He could see she was really exhausted and had been such a trooper that day and asked if she would like a nice cold beer. She is NOT a drinker at all, but she gladly accepted the offer. When we met up with them after the show we couldn't stop raving about what we had seen, and saying how could you miss the fireworks and music? And my Dad just said no show mattered as much as the moment he shared with Grandma. :) THAT is what I love about WDW, the little moments that aren't "Disney created", it's about family and seeing your loved ones happy. Sorry, see what I said about rambling, I get started and I just can't stop! :rotfl: I didn't mean to take over your TR, I only wanted you to know that I enjoy hearing about the special moments and blessings that you had. It made me think back to a very special trip of my own and I can't wait to hear more!

[Magical JenK]

Still loving the TR!! And Lisa-Disney makes the most magical memories for everyone don't they?

[eaglesdare]

great trip report. can't wait for more.

[kerry34]

Oh my gosh.....I was lying in bed last night, randomly thinking of things and it came to me that I had never finished up my TR because I had all that computer trouble:computer: I am going to go back and read where it was I left off so I can finish it up!!!

[linanglab]

Oh my gosh.....I was lying in bed last night, randomly thinking of things and it came to me that I had never finished up my TR because I had all that computer trouble:computer: I am going to go back and read where it was I left off so I can finish it up!!!

Yeah!!!!!

[kerry34]

Okay so it looks like we are at Day 5 which was Thursday.
When I woke up that morning, my feet were still swollen to the size of balloons. We decided to take the day for me to rest and just sat by the pool for the afternoon. Keeping my feet up all day helped alot and the swelling went down substantially by late afternoon.

After dinner we decided to bring the kids to Downtown Disney so they could do a bit of shopping. My older girls and my cousin Liz who is my oldest daughter Jessica's age were all excited. They got dressed up in cute dresses and did their hair and makeup. Up until now my older girls had not really spent much money yet, so they were looking forward to some shopping. It was pretty crowded when we got there and I was suprised at the number of people in The World of Disney store. I had never seen it so crowded before, it was chaotic to say the least. I had been looking forward to having a ice cream sundae at Ghiradelli, but to my dismay the ice cream counter was closed due to renovations:confused:

After a couple hours I was starting to get tired again so DH took the twins and my son and headed back to the house. My older girls stayed with my mom and aunt to do more shopping. I didnt want to push it too much because I wanted to get one more day in at the parks on Friday before we had to come back home.

Day 6-Friday

This was our last full day of our vacation:( The original plan was for all of us to go to Disney Studios. However, the twins convinced DH and I to let the three older kids go with my aunt to DS and for us to bring them back to MK. I was a bit hesitant at first because I really like being all together, but my older kids reassured me it was no problem whatsoever with them. So we went our separate ways for the day and DH and I took off for another day at the MK. It was wierd just having two of my kids there for a change, but it ended up being nice for them. We focused on meeting characters for a good portion of the day, and they got to choose what rides we would do. DH rode Goofys barnstormer four times in a row with them.
We revisted Haunted Mansion and Pirates, rode Magic Carpets of Alladin, watched the Country Bears, and ate lunch at Pecos Bills. We finished up our day watching the afternoon parade. By that time, the girls were getting a bit tired and wanted to go swimming so we sadly, said our goodbyes to the MK.

After we got back to our house, I called the other kids to see how their day was going and they were having a great time. They were planning on staying at DS until closing time. I was glad they were having fun.

The twins swam for a good portion of the rest of the day and we relaxed before we had to start packing and cleaning up the house. We were planning on leaving early the next morning.

I couldnt believe how fast that week flew by. My overall observations were this: it was definately more crowded than past spring breaks, but manageable if you have a plan. Again, I think getting to rope drop is paramount in avoiding lines. I had wished we had made an ADR for a character meal, but we never did. Next time I plan on going to Crystal Palace or Chef Mickeys. I missed not going to one this time around.

We stayed at Emerald Island Resort which was nice, but I have to say that I like Windsor Hills better. Staying at a house definately has its perks, i.e. more room, privacy, private pool, etc, but I think next time I am going to splurge and stay onsite again. I dont mind having to grocery shop, cook, and clean the house, but I think next time I want the full vacation experience and a break from all of that. Also with our large party, staying onsite is nice if some of the group wants to go back to the hotel but others dont, everybody wins.

We had a great week and this trip was definately bittersweet for me. It renewed my opinion that making memories with family is without a doubt one of the most important things in life. I was greatful to have had the chance to go, despite everything else that happened throughout the year. My only regret is that we were not able to get many photopass pictures. Next time, I am scheduling a sitting for all of us and having a photoshoot done. Out of all our trips I got the least pictures and that bothered me. I have a Walt Disney World photo album that I started back when my oldest daughters were 5 and 3 for their first visit. It goes in order of years and I just recently filled it with this last trip. We have watched our family grow and change through each trip and every time we pull the album out to look at it, we talk about all the fun times we have experienced over the year, and laugh about the times that maybe werent so fun. I think back to the first time my daugters spotted Cinderellas Castle, met a favorite princess, or woke tinkerbelle...or the priceless look on my sons face the first time he plunged down Splash Mountain and for me, all of those experiences are priceless. For me it is why Disney will always be my favorite place on earth.