Trip Reports

Summary

Cast: Dave, Husband, Active duty Air Force - 40, Jackie, has Cerebral Palsy and is in a motorized wheelchair, 8th grader - 13, David, 9th grader- 14 and me, retired Air Force currently SAHM- 39
Dates of Trip: Dec 15 - Dec 24, 99
Travel Method: Personal vehicle
First Trip to WDW (have been to Disneyland 4 times)
Resort: Shades of Green (SOG)
Accommodations: Standard room at Shades of Green with their Christmas Package - included in the price is 8 nights in the room, 7 day park hopper passes, breakfast daily and all gratuities. Turned out that it really didn't cost any more than what we would have spent had we not been on the package. Actually may have saved us money because my DH and our 14 year old ate very large breakfasts that kept them satisfied for a long time thus saving money on food
Dec 15 - Wednesday

Depart Oklahoma City for WDW at approximately 5:30pm. Dave worked until 4 and kids went to school, I packed and finished cleaning the house while waiting. We're driving the "Mammoth" our huge 1997 Ford Econoline Van. Jackie's wheelchair and all of our luggage fit with room to spare. The Mammoth seats 7 but there are only 4 of us so the back seat is our bed. The plan was to drive straight through with Dave and I swapping the driving and taking turns sleeping. We succeeded with the plan, driving for 23 hours but it went by really fast. Dave drove first for about 2 hours and then I took over. I drove for 6 hours, hoping that Dave would get some good sleep and I would be able to rest for a long time. Was not what happened, I gave the wheel to Dave around 2am and he woke me up about 5am and I drove again. Fortunately David was awake so we watched the sun rise and enjoyed the scenery together. Dave took over the driving at approx. 9am and continued the drive into WDW.

Dec 16 - Thursday

We arrived at the Shades of Green at approximately 5:30pm, it only took 23 hours (we lost an hour going from Central to Eastern Time). Our room is 216, on the main floor and a bit of a walk from the lobby but nice. As we arrived in the room we heard fireworks so we looked out the balcony and saw the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom (closing at 6pm for a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at 8pm). When planning this trip I had actually entertained the idea of attending this event either the night of our arrival or on Friday Dec 17th. I had decided the 17th would be better because we'd have slept first but by the time I finally made up my mind it was sold out. Turned out it was okay though because it started raining on the 17th and didn't stop until late Saturday. Anyway, we unpacked and decided to check out the SOG and find the Evergreen Sports Bar for a bite to eat. We had a nice relaxed dinner (Mom had two "Made in the Shade" Drinks which were very good and made her very "Happy".) We went back to the room, set up the small tree we brought with us, showered and hit the sack.

Dec 17 - Friday - The Magic Kingdom

I had decided a while back that while I would try to schedule some of our trip the extent of my scheduling would be which park we went to on each day - that's it. No commando mode, just play it by ear. I wanted this to be a very relaxing vacation. So, according to my schedule Friday was the Magic Kingdom. We were up and dressed by 7am. Breakfast was included in our "package" from the SOG so we headed to breakfast. The menu for breakfast (which would not change all the much over the next 8 days) was oatmeal, grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, either sausage or bacon, pancakes or french toast or waffles, cold cereal, danish or donuts, fresh fruit. After finishing breakfast we drove over to the Grand Floridian. We wanted to see the hotel, their Christmas Decorations and ride the monorail to the park. I decided that if I ever come into a lot of money this is where we are staying next time (Dave wants to stay at the Wilderness Lodge). The tree and decorations were beautiful. We boarded the monorail (note: two cars of the monorail are marked "Handicapped" and both were occupied so the CM actually told the people in the handicapped car they would have to move because the cars are reserved and wheelchairs have priority.) A short time later we arrive at the Magic Kingdom. Dave suddenly gets the feeling he forgot to lock the van so I give him two passes and he and David stay on the monorail to go back to the Grand Floridian. We brought two Motorola radios with us and I told Dave that Jackie and I would just start making our way up Main Street and to call when he got back. Jackie and I stop by City Hall and pick up the "Guidebook for Guest with Disabilities" and slowly start walking down Main Street. I decided to stop by the Baby Center to see if there was a place available for taking care of Jackie's personal hygiene needs and was told to go to First Aid. I have to say that we used the First Aid Centers in all four parks and they were all very helpful. Jackie and I found a place for me to sit near the castle and waited for the rest of our family. Dave did forget to lock the van so I'm glad he went back. He and David took one of the ferries back to the Magic Kingdom since they had already ridden the monorail. Our first stop was Alien Encounter, Dave and David went on, I knew Jackie would not enjoy it. So while they were on that Jackie and I went and got Fast Passes for Space Mountain. They guys love Alien Encounter and Dave agreed with me that it was not for Jackie. We had time to kill before our Fast Pass for SM so went on Buzz Lightyear. This was cool; Dave ended up the high scorer. We went to Space Mountain next and with the fast pass it was pretty much a straight walk on. I say pretty much because we did have to wait to be loaded because of Jackie. They have two types of cars on the ride; the older ones are more handicapped accessible so we had to wait for one of those. I always worry about Jackie going on these types of rides but she loves them and during this trip earned the nickname "Coaster Girl." The guy in the seat in front of me was video taping the ride so somewhere out there is a tape with me asking "Jackie are you okay?" over and over and Jackie laughing her head off. We wanted to do the Carousel of Progress but it wasn't open yet (starts at 11) so we walked to Toon Town and checked it out. From there we went to Fantasyland and rode Mad Tea Party, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and another of Jackie's favorites "It's a Small World", a difference between here and Disneyland, wheelchair accessible boats. This is a Godsend for my DH who is the one who has to carry Jackie on rides. By this time it was starting to rain so we got out the ponchos (various colors, picked up at Wal-Mart months ago by Mom who read on-line that this was a good idea) and decided to look for something inside to do. We went to Liberty Square and went in the Hall of Presidents. When we were done there it was really raining pretty hard and it was pretty late (3-3:30PM) and we hadn't eaten since breakfast so we headed for the Liberty Tavern and a late lunch/early dinner. We had the place to our selves. Jackie and I both had the Turkey, David had the Lobster Pasta and Dave had Salmon. We all enjoyed our dinner. It was still raining so we headed over to Carousel of Progress and went on that. I don't know why we never went on this at Disneyland but it was interesting and my husband remembered it from the World's Fair when he was a kid. It was still raining and close to 5pm now so we decided to go back to the SOG and avoid the rush because the park closed at 6PM for the MVMCP. Once back at SOG we changed our socks and watched the news but…We're at Disney World and who cares if it is raining so…we went to Epcot. We drove in the van and parked in the handicapped right near the entrance. I ran over to Guest Services and picked up the "Guidebook for Guest with Disabilities" and then we went on Spaceship Earth. My son had no idea there as a ride inside the SE so this was interesting for him. From there we went into Innoventions West and spent and hour or so in there. We sent postcards to my MIL and ourselves. We stopped at the Pin Trading booth and picked up lanyards for each of the kids and a David bought a couple of pins. David really got into the pin trading while Jackie didn't seem to be too interested. She liked the pins she had and saw no reason to trade them. She did end up trading a couple of them. Epcot was the park on the schedule for Saturday so we weren't in a big hurry to try and fit it all in. We finished up the evening with the Living Seas. By now I was getting really tired so I found a place to sit and relax while Dave and the kids explored. We left Epcot shortly after 9:30PM, drove straight back to the SOG and were all in bed by 10:30pm. It was an excellent first day - despite all the rain.

Dec 18 - Saturday - Epcot

The alarm went off at 6:30 and we were at breakfast by 7:00. Ate a large breakfast and then loaded Jackie's chair in the van and drove to Epcot. It wasn't raining yet but it was threatening to so our first stop was Test Track. It was pretty much a walk on so we didn't even bother with the fast pass. This was a fun ride, David really liked it. From there we went to the Universe of Energy, another stay in your wheelchair ride. Dave was amazed when the cars we were in started moving. It was raining again so next was the Wonders of Life, where we did Body Wars and Cranium Command. We needed to go see the first aid center located in the Odyssey building and then did Innoventions East. We had to drag David out but his stomach was talking to him so he gave in and we went to eat. We had another late lunch at Pasta Piazza Ristorante. Jackie and I had pizza; David had the Pasta and Dave the Lasagna. Dave and David finished off what pizza Jackie and I had leftover. After lunch we stopped at the pin-trading booth again then we went to back to Innoventions West for a while and then went to Imagination. We sent more postcards. It was still raining and we were tired of getting wet so we decided to go back to our room for awhile. I took an hour nap while everyone else watched TV and dried out. We decided about 6pm to go back to Epcot. Our first stop was the Land where we did Living with the Land (another wheelchair accessible boat), Food Rocks, which Jackie loved, and the Circle of Life. We were hungry again so Dave and I had baked potatoes, Jackie had the Chicken Strips and David had a Barbecue Chicken sandwich. When we went outside we were pleased to find it had finally stopped raining. It was getting close to closing time so we had to decide between Honey I shrunk the Audience or Illuminations 2000. Since we knew we'd be coming back to do the World Showcase we picked HISTA. When we came out we could see the fireworks from Illuminations so we watched them for a few minutes and then headed for the van. We were back in the room by 10pm and in bed less than 30 minutes later.

Dec 19 - Sunday - Animal Kingdom

It was a little harder getting up this morning so when the alarm went off at 6:30 I hit the snooze. We didn't get out of bed until 7:30 and when we went to breakfast at 8:30am there was long line to get in. We found that lines for the buffet were always greater on the half-hour than on the hour, not sure why but it worked that way for the rest of the trip. We finally finished breakfast at about 9:30 and headed in the van to Animal Kingdom. Our first stop (after getting the Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities) was the Tree of Life and It's Tough to be a Bug. Jackie stayed in her chair for the show so I didn't have to worry about the "effects" bothering her too much. We all enjoyed the show. From there we went to Africa and picked up our Fast Pass for the Kilimanjaro Safari. While we waited for our time to arrive we walked through Pangani Forest Trail. By the time we finished we were in our FP window of return time so we headed over there. We saw lots of animals and got some great pictures. Asia was our next stop but before we got there we picked up some ice cream, found a bench and just enjoyed the surroundings. We picked up our FP for the Kali River Rapids and then walked over to the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Again we finished the trek right in the window for our fast pass so the Rapids were next. I don't know what it is with me and water rides but if there is one person who always gets the most wet on these types of rides it always ME. I was soaked (and just when I was really enjoying being dry after two days of rain.) Oh well, it was fun and my family had a good laugh. This is the first water ride of this type (rapids/round raft) that Jackie has been able to go on in a long time. They have special loading area for disabled guests and the raft is pulled off into that area. You can take your time loading without worrying about holding up other guests. We headed back to the Oasis and the first aid center and then headed for Camp Minnie - Mickey and the Festival of the Lion King. We got there just in time for the 12:45pm show. I was surprised by how much my husband and son enjoyed the show. I knew Jackie would because she loves singing along and dancing but I though the guys would be bored. On the way out of Camp Minnie-Mickey there a hot dog vendor, it smelled good and we were hungry so hot dogs for everyone. Our last stop in the AK was Dinoland USA. Again, we picked up FP, this time for Countdown to Extinction and then wandered around for an hour. We checked out the Dinosaur Jubilee and Fossil Preparation Lab. David found Pokemon Cards in the gift shop so he bought a theme deck. He was disappointed that all they had were decks, he'd rather have booster packs. It was time for Countdown to Extinction so we headed over there. I always worry about Jackie on rides like this and it really wasn't necessary. While it was a little rough going she has gotten so much stronger in the last year or two that she can hold on and maintain her balance. By now we are pretty tired and there was a chance that there would be a shuttle launch tonight that DH wanted to try and see. We went to the Wilderness Lodge before going back to the room because we wanted to see the decorations and check out the hotel. This is when Dave said that if he came back to WDW he wanted to stay at WL. He really liked the pool area and how the spring appears to feed into the pool. I still say if we come back it's the Grand Floridian, we'll see what happens. We headed back to the SOG where Jackie and I ordered room service (cheese burger for Jackie and Club sandwich for me - both very good) and the guys got in the van and drove east. They didn't make it all the way but got a pretty good view of the launch from the road. Jackie and I saw it on TV. By the time the guys got back Jackie and I were in bed (she was asleep) and we were all asleep by 10:30pm.

Dec 20 - Monday - Disney/MGM Studios

We must have gotten a good night sleep because we were all awake by 6am. We headed down to breakfast shortly by 7 and were at the Disney/MGM Studios by 8:30am. Again we drove the van. I have to say that when I originally planned the trip we did not have the Mammoth yet and I was planning on us flying and using SOG and Disney Transportation. We bought the van in August and decided then to save the money on airfare and drive. This turned out to be an excellent choice. The convenience of having the van and not having to wait for transportation with the wheelchair (especially at park closing time) made this a very enjoyable trip. This was the first park where we arrived before it was technically open. We went in and made our way up to Sunset Blvd and waited for the rope to drop. There was a pin trading booth right there so David and Jackie were checking it out while I made PS reservations for 50's Prime Time Café for 4:10pm. The rope dropped and we made our way to Tower of Terror. There was hardly any line so we passed on getting FP and just got in line. I think we waited maybe 10 minutes. Both the kids loved this and David wanted to buy the picture but you couldn't see Jackie so he passed. When we got off this we decided to get our FP for Rock n Roller Coaster and then while waiting watch the Beauty and Beast Show. By the time our FP time came up I had a terrible headache and wasn't too enthusiastic so I let Dave and David go on while Jackie and I found a place to sit and wait. Jackie loves roller coasters but has never been on one with a loop so the idea was Dave and David would ride first and see how "bad" the loop was. They came out and both were grinning ear-to-ear. They liked the photo so they stopped and purchased that (had it sent to the room). Dave convinced Jackie that she would like it so with my FP and hers they went on. Jackie loved it and when the CM asked if she wanted to ride again he got a big "Yes" so that's when Dave dubbed her "Coaster Girl." Both kids agreed it was the best ride of the trip. We headed back up Sunset and then headed for the Great Movie Ride. After that we picked up FP for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and then went on The Magic of Disney Animation Tour while we waited. We finished the tour and then watched the Little Mermaid show. We went on the Studios Backlot Tour next and it was then time for our PS at the 50's Prime Time Café. Everyone loved this place. Jackie got the meatloaf, which came with an awful lot of green beans, which she doesn't like. My DH agreed to help her with the beans but then decided he was too full so he hid them and was caught, I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face as they dragged him to the middle of the room and he was scolded for not eating his veggies. Jackie felt a little bad about it but then realized it was part of the "show". Thoroughly stuffed we made our way to "Sounds Dangerous" and then Dave and David did Star Tours. From there we went to MuppetVision 3D. We really liked the pre-show shown on the TVs in the waiting area, it was funny. By the time we came out it was dark and time to go see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. David wanted to see the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground but it was already closed. There was snow falling on New York Street as we headed for the lights. We made our way through the lights and towards the end of the display we found a CM handing out the Snowflake glasses so we picked up a pair for each of us. It was pretty neat but I can take off my glasses and have the same affect. We made our way to the Fantasmic Theater for the 8:30 showing. We were seated in the wheelchair seating in the back and only had to wait about 20 minutes for the show to start. It was starting to get chilly so pulled the jackets we had out of the backpack on Jackie's wheelchair. We enjoyed the show immensely. Having seen the one at Disneyland a couple of times I have to say the stadium seating idea works well. Everyone can see and you don't have to worry about people crowding the wheelchair. We picked up some candy (chocolate covered pretzels) at The Beverly Sunset gift shop and headed for the van. We had a great day and decided that we needed to come back (if we could squeeze it in) and see the Indiana Jones, HISTK and maybe ride the Rock N Roller Coaster again.

Dec 21 - Tuesday - Epcot World Showcase

We slept in today because the plan calls for going to the World Showcase and it doesn't open until 11, yeah!! We got to breakfast around 9:30 and had to wait to be seated again. The plan called for driving to the Boardwalk Hotel and going into Epcot through the International Gateway. I really loved the decorations at the Boardwalk. They had garlands decorated with those handblown ornaments and they were beautiful. The garlands had so many ornaments I actually wondered how heavy they were. We walked around the boardwalk and David wanted to rent one of the bikes but I couldn't see how we could do it with Jackie so I had to say no. We then took a boat over to Epcot. Meet a woman who was on her 10th (or so) trip to WDW and she commented on how new everything must seem to us. It did seem new to us but for me having spent so much time planning and researching it almost seemed familiar too. It's kind of hard to explain but for Dave and the kids is certainly was all new. Our first stop was France (and with the family name Lamoureux I don't think I need to explain why). The next showing of Impressions De France was not for another 20 minutes so we walked over to the Boulangerie Patisserie and David got a piece of cheesecake and Dave got a Coconut Macaroon. Jackie has had two quarters of French in middle school so she got a chance to practice. The CM was very nice and was impressed by Jackie's French. We went back to see the film, it was beautiful. From there we explored Morocco and Japan and then headed over to the American Adventure. I picked up an Epcot passport for the kids and then spent the next half-hour trying to separate the stickers from the paper they were on. Geez, what causes them to be so difficult to remove? We saw the Voices of Liberty and they watched the film. Okay now we have the passport so we have get it stamped in each country but we already passed three, what to do? We decided we'd get those stamps on our way out later. Onward to Italy where we watched the telling of La Befana by the holiday storyteller, Germany, and the Outpost. We watched the Wonders of China film in China and then decided a trip to the Odyssey Center was in order so we headed there. While there David asks if he can go on Test Track again so we head over there to see what the line is like. It was about 3:30pm in the afternoon and FP was gone for the day so we let David go in the singles line. I decide to sit and wait for David while Dave and Jackie go check out MouseGear. We hook back up and head for Mexico. We went on the boat ride (another stay in wheelchair ride) and then head over to Norway. We rode the Maelstrom but skipped the film because it was almost time for last Tapestry of Nations parade. We found a good viewing spot and enjoyed the parade. Jackie got a lot of attention from the puppets and David took a lot of pictures. We backtracked up to the International Gateway so we could get stamps from Japan, Morocco and France and then crossed the bridge into the United Kingdom. We were stationed in England (RAF Lakenheath) when both the kids were born so this was kind of interesting for them. They enjoyed telling the CMs that they were born in England. It was getting late and I wanted to get to the handicapped seating area for Illuminations so we found the area right there in the United Kingdom and waited. Dave went and got himself a pint and then wandered over to the Millenium Village to check it out. The area we were in started to fill up pretty quickly and the CMs did an excellent job of keeping it restricted to "Disabled and their parties" despite them saying it was the hardest job in the whole park. People get very upset when they are told that they can't sit or stand somewhere and I think it's hard to be polite when someone is yelling at you. I think the CMs handled it very professionally. At first my husband did not understand why we needed to find a spot so early but as the evening progressed he appreciated my foresight. Illuminations 2000 was by far the best show we saw during the whole trip. Dave mentioned it was the first light/fireworks show he'd seen so in sync with the music. It was excellent. We walked back to the Boardwalk because the line for the boats was very long.

Dec 22 - Wednesday - Magic Kingdom

Time to go back to the Magic Kingdom and see everything we missed. We had breakfast and then drove over to the Poly since visiting the hotels was almost as much fun as the parks. We parked and then walked around a bit. We found the pool area and then came across some boat rentals. David wanted to rent a Watermouse, so feeling bad about yesterday and the bike thing I said yes. He and Dave rented one and drove around for 30 minutes. Jackie and I went and found the snack bar and someplace to sit and wait. They had fun and explored the whole lagoon. We took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We headed straight for Adventureland. We went to The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management and then went on the Jungle Cruise. From there we headed for Pirates of the Caribbean (on Sunday night I fell asleep watching Vault Disney, which was about the new attraction at Disneyland - Pirates.) We went on Splash Mountain next and I didn't get wet! We went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad next and then went and saw the Country Bear Jamboree. We went to the Haunted Mansion next and after that went to the Handicapped Viewing area for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade. The CMs at Epcot did a much better job of policing the reserved area. I didn't enjoy the parade because there was a woman who kept pushing up against Jackie and her chair; I kept having to reclaim my space. Our package deal at the SOG included one buffet dinner and tonight was the night so we headed back to the hotel. We had a nice dinner and then headed back to the Magic Kingdom. This time we parked at the Grand Floridian. We got back to the MK right at 7pm so we immediately found a spot for the Main Street Electrical Parade. We followed the last float up Main Street so we could find a spot for the Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks. We found a spot right near the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and while Jackie and I saved the seats Dave and David went to ride Space Mountain. We saw Tinkerbell fly across the sky and watched the fireworks. We went and saw the last showing of The Timekeeper and Dave and David managed one last ride on Alien Encounters. We slowly worked our way back of Main Street, enjoying the sites and sounds of the Magic Kingdom for the last time on our trip. We got back to the Grand Floridian and Dave decided it was time to buy his souvenir - the Monorail set. We got back to the SOG and the first thing he did was put it together and play with it.

Dec 23 - Thursday - All others!

We decided before we went to bed last night, that on Thursday morning I would go back to the Magic Kingdom to purchase an ornament and have it personalized. I'd tried to do this twice but both times they were booked for the day so this was my last chance (or so I thought, turns out you can have the same thing done at Downtown Disney). Dave and kids would head to Disney/MGM and I'd meet them there. So I took the SOG bus over to the TTC and rode the monorail to the Magic Kingdom it was Early Entry day so I got there around 8am. Dave and the kids would have breakfast and then drive over to the MGM. I should have known that Liberty Square is not part of EE but I didn't so I had time to kill before it opened at 8:50am. I wandered around a couple of gift shops that were open and then I went on Peter Pan's Flight. I skipped breakfast so I found a cart selling coffee and pastries. I got a huge cinnamon roll (which I could not finish) and coffee and sat and watched people on Dumbo. I was the first customer in the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe and the first personalized ornament of the day. Since no one was waiting the artist did a little more work than I paid for. He was very nice and it turned out beautifully. I then left the MK for the TTC where I caught a bus to the Studios. I saw the van in the parking lot so I put my packages in it and headed for Indiana Jones to find the family. I failed to mention that we had purchased 2 Motorola family radios for this trip and we used them whenever we were separated. We rarely experienced interference and they were nice to have. The show was just about over so I only had to wait a few minutes. They had already done HISTK playground so we decided to do Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster once more. Jackie got to ride twice again, once with Dave and once with her brother. She certainly was living up to the "Coaster Girl" label. The picture of the two of them on the RNR coaster was precious so I bought it. We left the Studios and went to Epcot. I knew when I planned this trip that we would spend a lot of time at Epcot but this was even more than I thought. We went to Innoventions East and saw the House of Tomorrow tour. During this tour we meet a young man also in a wheelchair who then proceeded to try and hit on our daughter. He thought she was 16 or 18 years old instead of only 13. We went over to Test Track and got FP and then went on Spaceship Earth while waiting for our FP time. When we got back to Test Track the FP line was out the door and longer than the standby line. They had a problem with one of the cars and had to shut down for awhile. The kids really wanted to ride again so we waited. We left Epcot after Test Track and went to Downtown Disney. We got there shortly after 7pm and the first thing David wanted to do was DisneyQuest but I had already explained that I was not paying for him to do DQ with less than 3 hours to play. He was a little miffed and spent the rest of the night moping. We walked through Pleasure Island where the CM immediately noted David was under 18 but had to ask about Jackie. Tell you, this trip has me looking at Jackie a whole new way first some guy hits on her and then the CM thinks she's 18 too. Scary, not sure I am ready for this. We did some shopping at the World of Disney store, checked out the other stores, Lego, Disney at Home, etc. We were getting tired and David was still moping so we went back to the hotel.

Dec 24 - Friday - Check out and Downtown Disney

We had been trying to decide whether to try and find a hotel and stay for one more day. We were thinking of trying to squeeze in a trip to Islands of Adventure but decided against that. We did ask the desk at SOG if they had a room available for one night (if they did we probably would have stayed) but all they had was the single suite for $180 a night. So we got up, had breakfast, checked out and then loaded up the van for the trip back to Oklahoma City. We did decide to go check out DisneyQuest. I asked at the cashier if there was reduced rate for disabled guests (I figured there might be because a guest in a wheelchair would not be able to fully participate) and the CM (Daniel) said "yes, just go over to guest services." So I went over and asked, was promptly and kind of rudely told no. We went back to the cashier window and Daniel asked "What happen?" I told him and he said "Hold on." He went and got his manager and then came back and gave us a complimentary ticket for Jackie. He said that the CM in guest services was new and did not know the policies. I was very happy. We arrived at DQ shortly after they opened and ended up staying until 5pm. David was very happy. He and Dave did all the "rides" while Jackie and I spent a lot of time playing games and working in the Creative Zone. There was one "artist board" on which the screen and buttons are lower. Each time we went to the Zone the CM would (if possible) move the guest on that board to another so Jackie could use it. I thought it was very sweet of them. We enjoyed it and are glad we decided to go. We hit the road around 5:30pm and drove straight through to Oklahoma City. It took us an hour more to get back but that could be because we stopped at IHOP for breakfast on Christmas morning and took our time. It was a pleasant drive and totally uneventful. We were glad to pull into our driveway and our cats were excited to see us.

Final Thoughts

We had been to Disneyland 4 times when the kids were younger and Jackie's handicap was not as noticeable (her wheelchair looked like a stroller). Having read the boards for the last two years or so, I was a little nervous about how things would go at WDW. My fears were totally unfounded. The CMs were always helpful; considerate and even eager to make Jackie's visit memorable. We didn't have any problems on any of the rides.

I'm glad we had the van. Since this was our first trip it was helpful to be able to come and go as we pleased and not have to wait for transportation or change buses, etc.

Shades of Green is a great hotel. We loved how spacious are room was, especially because of the wheelchair. The staff was great. The food at the buffet was tasty and plentiful. The location is super. I'd highly recommend it to military or DOD families. One thing I did notice though was that while the AAFES store does sell Disney items, none of the items said "Walt Disney World" or anything that was park related. They were the kind of Disney items you would find at a Disney store or maybe even a K-Mart. Even the postcards, while having pictures of Mickey and Minnie did not say "WDW".

We stayed under budget and actually came home with money which I immediately put "away" for our next trip.

Thanks for reading and to all who post here -- thanks for all the help in planning.

Tori Lamoureux

April2460@aol.com

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