DopeyDonald
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2011
First I feel the need to give you some background for this trip. We normally go in September and have been once at Christmas, but this time of year was a first for us.
I'm lazy and didn't want to type all this again, so I copied and pasted from my pre-trip report that I didn't finish.... I promise that I will finish this, however and that I will not pretend to ever do a PTR again.
The Dates for our trip were as follows:
Drive to Minneapolis on Saturday, Feb 22nd. Fly from MSP to MCO on Sunday, Feb 23rd. Return home on Monday, March 3rd. We were booked in at the Fort Wilderness Cabins with the Free Dining promo.
My name is Emily. This is going to be a very special trip for our family. Our last annual trip in September didn't quite go as planned and this is going to be our, in your face, you cant get US down, make up trip.
You see, on our trip in September, which by the way, was supposed to be THE GREATEST TRIP EVER!!! (my first mistake was calling it that lol), my littlest daughter, Cassidy (4 almost 5) got very sick.
We thought she had the stomach flu. After 36 hrs of throwing up and one in-room Dr. Visit, we took her to the E.R. We assumed she was just dehydrated and needed some I.V. fluids. A CT Scan revealed she had a 15cm mass in her abdomen. After an ambulance ride and an overnight stay at Florida Childrens for her, myself and my husband, we flew home to Minneapolis to seek treatment. My other kiddos and my parents stayed in Florida to finish out our vacation.
In Minneapolis, it was found that she has a very rare condition called Lymphatic Malformation. It is a congenital birth defect of sorts. The condition itself is benign, but complications can arise in the locale of the cystic masses. Hers is/was located in her abdomen. She had a successful (for now) surgery in September and is recovering very well. This is something that can return and be a bother or become more serious. If you would like to read more about our saga I did write a trip report about our experience. It's called the Short But Not Sweet Trip Report. It is linked in my signature.
Pretty much from the moment we left Florida, we were determined that we would get my Cassidy back. This was her 5th birthday trip. The kid is lucky enough to have spent her 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthday at WDW. This was supposed to be extra special since she was turning 5. We had her actual birthday meal with cake planned for Cinderellas Royal Table. We had Pirates League appointments for all 5 of us to become Jack and his Skeleton Crew for the MNSSHP planned. We had Teas and Lunches with Imagineers and all kinds of amazing things to do. We began our trip on a Thursday and she was sick by Sunday. We did get many fun things accomplished, but still had so many yet to do.
I struggle with the feelings we have regarding this. Cassidys health and well being is so much more important than any vacation could ever be to us. We were focused solely on her and her surgery and recovery. In fact for quite a few weeks I was angry at Disney World lol. I got a bad feeling every time I so much as thought about it. I especially couldn't picture staying at VWL ever again. It's where her illness stared and where I spent 2 days with a throwing up kid.
That being said, the success of her surgery was so amazing and she is doing so well. Our hospital bills were much lower than anticipated also, due to my husbands amazing insurance policy. We started kicking around heading back to finish what we started. I know most of those who are reading this will understand. WDW is so much more to us than a theme park. Sure we love the rides and the characters and the million things to do. But its more than that.
For those days there are no phones, emails, IPods. No more Daddy being gone all week for work. No more exhausted, frustrated mommy from Daddy being gone all week at work. Its just us. And we kinda like each other. Disney is our time to remember that. And we sorely missed it. Especially now, after all that we went through in September.
Also, while my daughters condition is well and stable now, its possible that she could have a flare at any time. This is probably the negativity in my mommy personality coming out I'm sure, but we just don't' know. From what little is known about this condition, she more than likely WILL deal with it again at some point in her life. So we are going to LIVE every day and make all the awesome memories that we can. She very well likely could be just fine for a long, long time, but a Disney Trip will never be regretted! Lol. She is also taking some heavy duty meds right now that have some long term worries, so again, were gonna get while the getting is good.
Here is a pic to show just what she had in her tiny body and how successful the surgery was. Large Areas of White = BAD.
So the above is the reason for our trip, next up I will introduce you to my amazing family. One that, thank goodness, is just as Disney Crazy as I am.
Chapter Links
INTRODUCTIONS
TRAVEL DAY ONE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND
TRAVEL DAY TWO SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD
SWIMMING, DINNER AND EMH AT MK SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD
ANIMAL KINGDOM MORNING AND AFTERNOON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH
BBB AND DINNER AT AKERSHUS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH
MK MORNING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH
CRT CASSIDY'S BDAY CELEBRATION TUESDAY NIGHT, FEBRUARY 25TH
OHANA'S BREAKFAST WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 26TH
EPCOT EVENING & NANA ARRIVES WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 26TH
DTD FOR LUNCH AND SHOPPING THURSDAY LATE MORNING, FEBRUARY 27TH
ANIMAL KINGDOM AFTERNOON, FEBRUARY 27TH
1900 PARK FARE DINNER, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27TH
1900 PF DINNER CONTINUED
HOLLYWOOD & VINE BREAKFAST WITH DOC, FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 28TH
DHS AFTERNOON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH
BOG DINNER/EPCOT FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28TH
PIRATES LEAGUE SATURDAY MORNING MARCH 1ST
EPCOT AFTERNOON/EVENING MARCH 1ST
EPCOT EVENING & SWIMMING MARCH 1ST
LAZY MORNING & EPCOT MORNING AFTERNOON SUNDAY MARCH 2ND
AFTERNOON ADVENTURES AND TEA MARCH 2ND
CHEF MICKEY'S LATE DINNER AND EMH AT MK MARCH 2ND
DEPARTURE DAY LUNCH WITH AN IMAGINEER AND AIRPORT
VIDEO FOR THE FEB/MARCH TRIP
Pre-Trip Report Sidebars
PRE TRIP REPORT RAMBLINGS: DAY 1-4
PRE TRIP REPORT RAMBLINGS: DAY 5-9
4 DAYS TO GO AND A CASSIDY MEDICAL UPDATE
I'm lazy and didn't want to type all this again, so I copied and pasted from my pre-trip report that I didn't finish.... I promise that I will finish this, however and that I will not pretend to ever do a PTR again.
The Dates for our trip were as follows:
Drive to Minneapolis on Saturday, Feb 22nd. Fly from MSP to MCO on Sunday, Feb 23rd. Return home on Monday, March 3rd. We were booked in at the Fort Wilderness Cabins with the Free Dining promo.
My name is Emily. This is going to be a very special trip for our family. Our last annual trip in September didn't quite go as planned and this is going to be our, in your face, you cant get US down, make up trip.
You see, on our trip in September, which by the way, was supposed to be THE GREATEST TRIP EVER!!! (my first mistake was calling it that lol), my littlest daughter, Cassidy (4 almost 5) got very sick.
We thought she had the stomach flu. After 36 hrs of throwing up and one in-room Dr. Visit, we took her to the E.R. We assumed she was just dehydrated and needed some I.V. fluids. A CT Scan revealed she had a 15cm mass in her abdomen. After an ambulance ride and an overnight stay at Florida Childrens for her, myself and my husband, we flew home to Minneapolis to seek treatment. My other kiddos and my parents stayed in Florida to finish out our vacation.
In Minneapolis, it was found that she has a very rare condition called Lymphatic Malformation. It is a congenital birth defect of sorts. The condition itself is benign, but complications can arise in the locale of the cystic masses. Hers is/was located in her abdomen. She had a successful (for now) surgery in September and is recovering very well. This is something that can return and be a bother or become more serious. If you would like to read more about our saga I did write a trip report about our experience. It's called the Short But Not Sweet Trip Report. It is linked in my signature.
Pretty much from the moment we left Florida, we were determined that we would get my Cassidy back. This was her 5th birthday trip. The kid is lucky enough to have spent her 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthday at WDW. This was supposed to be extra special since she was turning 5. We had her actual birthday meal with cake planned for Cinderellas Royal Table. We had Pirates League appointments for all 5 of us to become Jack and his Skeleton Crew for the MNSSHP planned. We had Teas and Lunches with Imagineers and all kinds of amazing things to do. We began our trip on a Thursday and she was sick by Sunday. We did get many fun things accomplished, but still had so many yet to do.
I struggle with the feelings we have regarding this. Cassidys health and well being is so much more important than any vacation could ever be to us. We were focused solely on her and her surgery and recovery. In fact for quite a few weeks I was angry at Disney World lol. I got a bad feeling every time I so much as thought about it. I especially couldn't picture staying at VWL ever again. It's where her illness stared and where I spent 2 days with a throwing up kid.
That being said, the success of her surgery was so amazing and she is doing so well. Our hospital bills were much lower than anticipated also, due to my husbands amazing insurance policy. We started kicking around heading back to finish what we started. I know most of those who are reading this will understand. WDW is so much more to us than a theme park. Sure we love the rides and the characters and the million things to do. But its more than that.
For those days there are no phones, emails, IPods. No more Daddy being gone all week for work. No more exhausted, frustrated mommy from Daddy being gone all week at work. Its just us. And we kinda like each other. Disney is our time to remember that. And we sorely missed it. Especially now, after all that we went through in September.
Also, while my daughters condition is well and stable now, its possible that she could have a flare at any time. This is probably the negativity in my mommy personality coming out I'm sure, but we just don't' know. From what little is known about this condition, she more than likely WILL deal with it again at some point in her life. So we are going to LIVE every day and make all the awesome memories that we can. She very well likely could be just fine for a long, long time, but a Disney Trip will never be regretted! Lol. She is also taking some heavy duty meds right now that have some long term worries, so again, were gonna get while the getting is good.
Here is a pic to show just what she had in her tiny body and how successful the surgery was. Large Areas of White = BAD.
So the above is the reason for our trip, next up I will introduce you to my amazing family. One that, thank goodness, is just as Disney Crazy as I am.
Chapter Links
INTRODUCTIONS
TRAVEL DAY ONE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND
TRAVEL DAY TWO SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD
SWIMMING, DINNER AND EMH AT MK SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD
ANIMAL KINGDOM MORNING AND AFTERNOON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH
BBB AND DINNER AT AKERSHUS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH
MK MORNING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH
CRT CASSIDY'S BDAY CELEBRATION TUESDAY NIGHT, FEBRUARY 25TH
OHANA'S BREAKFAST WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 26TH
EPCOT EVENING & NANA ARRIVES WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 26TH
DTD FOR LUNCH AND SHOPPING THURSDAY LATE MORNING, FEBRUARY 27TH
ANIMAL KINGDOM AFTERNOON, FEBRUARY 27TH
1900 PARK FARE DINNER, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27TH
1900 PF DINNER CONTINUED
HOLLYWOOD & VINE BREAKFAST WITH DOC, FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 28TH
DHS AFTERNOON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH
BOG DINNER/EPCOT FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28TH
PIRATES LEAGUE SATURDAY MORNING MARCH 1ST
EPCOT AFTERNOON/EVENING MARCH 1ST
EPCOT EVENING & SWIMMING MARCH 1ST
LAZY MORNING & EPCOT MORNING AFTERNOON SUNDAY MARCH 2ND
AFTERNOON ADVENTURES AND TEA MARCH 2ND
CHEF MICKEY'S LATE DINNER AND EMH AT MK MARCH 2ND
DEPARTURE DAY LUNCH WITH AN IMAGINEER AND AIRPORT
VIDEO FOR THE FEB/MARCH TRIP
Pre-Trip Report Sidebars
PRE TRIP REPORT RAMBLINGS: DAY 1-4
PRE TRIP REPORT RAMBLINGS: DAY 5-9
4 DAYS TO GO AND A CASSIDY MEDICAL UPDATE