Late November / Early December 2005
Pre-stroke for DA
Participants:
Dznyknitter – me, 40 yrs old, self-proclaimed Disney World nut
Wall-E – DH, also 40 yrs old, not as much of a WDW nut, but he’s nutty about me
DA – Dear Aunt, 73 yrs old, only been to WDW & gone into parks once in 1971
Original Plan: Take DA to WDW with us in November 2004. We started making plans and talking about different ideas with DA, we wanted to tailor the experience to her interests and her abilities. I bought a 6 day Park Hopper & got 2 rooms at POFQ well in advance. As autumn got into gear, DA decided not to go this year, 2004 (I can’t remember exactly why). Turns out it was just as well, about 10 days before our original planned departure, DA ended up in the ER and then intensive care with intestinal bleeding of unknown origin. She lost > 70% of her blood — we came very near to losing her. In the long-run (long for her, everyone else thought it was pretty quick given her age & other health conditions) she was fine. NOTE: DA’s health issues — she’s 73 & she gets tired but she doesn’t have enough sense to realize it <grin>, she has congestive heart failure & has had a couple of spinal repair surgeries in the last few years, all in all she’s in good health & does quite well; also, she made a promise to God years ago that she’d never ride another roller coaster
New Plan: Aim for November 2005! And add some driving along the Florida panhandle (DA and Wall-E LOVE to drive and ride). DA says “plan it all, I’m along for the ride (literally & figuratively)”
List
We made of things we
either REALLY wanted to do and/or things that
we thought DA would REALLY want
to do…
Magic Kingdom
eating = Cosmic
Ray’s, Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace
attractions =
Space Mountain (for us), Pirates of Caribbean, Tiki Room, Hall of Presidents,
Haunted Mansion, It’s A Small World, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Wishes!,
Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Carousel of Progress, Timekeeper
photo = Railroad
Station
MGM-Studios (update: It’s now called “Disney Hollywood Studios”)
eating = Brown
Derby
attractions =
Tower of Terror (for us), Rock’n'RollerCoaster (for us), Great Movie Ride, Car
Stunt show, Muppets 3D, One Man’s Dream, Osborne
Lights
photos = Donald
Duck and Mickey Mouse in the backlot area
Epcot: Future World
eating = Sunshine
Food Fair, Fountain View
attractions = Test
Track (later removed from list as possibility), Universe of Energy (also later
removed), Spaceship Earth, Soarin’, Living with the Land, Mission Space (for
us)
photos = Odyssey
area w/ Spaceship Earth & Monorail in background
Epcot: World Showcase
eating = Germany
(DA lived in Germany for many years), Japan, Morocco
attractions =
China movie, American Adventure, Holiday Storytellers, Illuminations, Chinese
Acrobats, Off Kilter
photos =
Characters on Holiday
Other
Downtown Disney =
Fulton’s, Earl of Sandwich, World of Disney
Port Orleans Riverside
= butterfly garden
Boardwalk = scotch
@ Belle Vue Room, ice cream @ Dolphin
California Grill =
sunset, Wishes!
Christmas Decorations
= Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk Inn (our top deluxe for
Christmas decorations), Coronado Springs (our top
moderate for Christmas
decorations)
Monorail = ride it
from MK to Epcot
General:
I wasn’t able to get us rooms w/ AP discount at
Port Orleans French Quarter (blah!), but got
rooms with discount at Port
Orleans Riverside (okay). Already have DA’s pass & we’ve had the talks over
and over about getting tired & open communications & all the other
stuff that you need
for good groundwork when you haven’t taken a trip with
someone…
