We just got back from the Mouse's House.
THE MOUSE.
The M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Where dreams come true and there's no place happier on the earth.
Well, maybe for some.
You see, this picture here tells only part of our magical story.
I mean, I hate to complain. It's Disney. It's a dream vacation for some. However, it wasn't for us this time. So when people ask me, "Did you have a great time?!" I have to be honest, ya'll. It was a hot mess of a trip sprinkled throughout with fun. And while there were lots of fun times, lots to be grateful for, and the kids had a blast (because yay for not having to adult), this is the not so good account because, seriously, you can't make this stuff up.
And you just have to laugh.
Our story started with Hurricane Irma. It looked like Irma and I both thought September 10th would be a fun time to visit Florida. Apparently the "low" crowds at Disney also appealed to her. So, I did what any reasonable person would do, I called to reschedule. Who wants to wait in line for Peter Pan, with Irma? Based on the wait time over the phone, NOBODY did.
But, it's okay. I'm patient. I will listen to the Disney hold music. I know in the big scheme of life, this is no major deal. People's homes and lives were at stake and I'm just trying to reschedule our trip for the following week. I'll hold.
3 hours and LOTS of Disney music later, BAM! DONE! We were to leave the following week. Easy Peasy.
Until...
the following Tuesday, the night before we boarded the plane to the "Happiest Place on Earth," I got a call.
"Mrs. Harman, due to the hurricane, Fort Wilderness Cabins will not be open, please call us back to get a refund or see if we can move you to a different resort."
It's NEVER good to miss a call from Disney. NEVER.
(trust me, this wasn't the last time I missed their call)
Because, if you miss that call, you will have to wait, again, in an invisible "line" of other people who are listening to that same music, who are hoping for the same thing, for that music to stop and for that magical voice to speak.
Well, don't hold your breath. I beat my last record of three hours, by one more hour.
Nailed It.
That's when I met Stanley. Our conversation started well. We talked about the weather, literally. He was eager to help me. He informed me we could easily switch to the Art of Animation (one of his favs he told me).
Except....
he then informed me we could only stay there until Saturday (our plane didn't leave until Monday).
There was no other room available in ALL OF DISNEY for us to go.
That was the word on the street.
Homeless.
Fast fast forward another hour and lots of pleas to help us find a place to stay, Stanley came through.
Art of Animation for three nights, Fort Wilderness Cabins, the last two nights.
We'll take it. Thank you Stanley.
We were Disney Bound the next morning.
While, presently, our lodging issues were solved, another issue emerged. My eye. I woke up with what had to be a scratched cornea. It was a red, watery mess that cowered in the presence of any light. Hoping by the next day, our first day at the parks, it would be better, I sported my ten year old crooked red glasses to the airport (I explained to the kind lady who sat next to me on the plane that I DIDN'T have pink eye just to ease her likely uneasy mind). Even cooler, I managed to wear my sunglasses OVER my glasses to stand a fighting chance against the light that flooded into the Magical Express Bus that picked us up at the airport to take us to the Art of Animation.
I'm glad my kids aren't too cool yet to be embarrassed by their mom wearing glasses AND sunglasses at the same time.
While I couldn't see well out of my one I, I still managed to notice a sea of emergency vehicles and workers upon our arrival at the Art of Animation with my good eye. While others whispered what could be going on, I immediately returned to my conversation with Stanley the night before who had informed me the reason there was "no vacancy" in all of Disney(I still don't believe it) was because of the doctors and nurses they were housing to help with the hurricane. I assumed they must have been housing EMT workers too and policemen.
Amateurs, I have the inside scoop thanks to Stanley, I thought.
A quick message from a friend outside the Disney bubble informed me otherwise when she sent me an article about our very resort at that very moment we arrived and asked if everything was okay.
The building next to ours had been evacuated because it appeared a meth lab was being run out of it.
One man was arrested.
Awesome.
Thankfully though, we were oblivious at the time and enjoyed perhaps the most heart stopping ride of our whole trip on the Disney Bus to Disney Springs for dinner. If the driver's goal was to prepare us for Test Track the next day, job well done. We managed to arrive in one piece (I'm not going to lie, I said a prayer for safety) at Disney Springs and did not have the same driver on a much more calm ride back.
My hopes that the next day would bring a healed eye weren't fulfilled. I woke up to my eye almost swollen shut. Determined to have the most magical day EVER, I did a few eye exercises, slipped a contact in it, and donned my sunglasses and kept my head low (thankfully the meth maker was already arrested because if not, I definitely would have looked suspicious). I occasionally took the glasses off only to wipe the water that seemed to gush out....and to take a picture with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. I looked awful and vowed to keep them on, whether inside or outside.
"I Wear My Sunglasses at Night" carried a whole new meaning.
Thankfully, the next morning my eye was holding its own and I could walk without Hannah leading me by the hand. This was especially good since Friday would be our worst Disney day.
It started out great. I didn't have to wear my sunglasses indoors, it was our visit to The Magic Kingdom (my favorite), there were no complaints.
Then, while taking a joyful ride through The Haunted Mansion (figures I should get THE CALL while in here), my phone rings. The "Lake Buena Vista" under the number gave it away that it indeed was Disney. I knew right away this was not good but couldn't pick up because the noise on the ride was too loud. I should have done it anyways.
The message left resembled the one I received Tuesday. Fort Wilderness Cabins was still not opened and we would need to get a refund or they would try to place us at another resort.
Homeless again.
She said she'd call me back in two hours (she never did) or I could call Guest Services but it would be a LONG wait.
So, there, at the Magic Kingdom, we began our third time on hold with Disney. I wasn't feeling so patient this time. The music was just out right annoying and the smiling faces walking by left me bitter. So much for a happy heart. We found a place to eat where we could plug in our phone....and wait. And wait we did. After 30 minutes, the music stopped. Someone was ready to talk to me. I was elated. However, after explaining our situation AGAIN the gal informed me it didn't look like there was any place for us to go. But if ANYONE could help, it would be Guest Services but I would be on hold for awhile.
So, we waited, again.
John and I switched phone holding duties while the other took the kids on a ride. We did this for three hours.
We walked all over The Magic Kingdom listening to that same music, praying someone would JUST.PICK.UP.
And someone finally did.
"I can't help you with that," she told me. I was almost in tears. Because we were already on property this had to be handled by the resort, she had explained. I resorted to begging, explaining that the lady told us to remain on hold because they COULD help us.
"Please let me talk to someone who can help us," I begged.
She told me there was no one and that we had to go back to the resort for help.
"Have a Magical Day."
Yeah.
Thankfully, in the midst of this, John found two WONDERFUL ladies who COULD and WANTED to help us at the Magic Kingdom Guest Services. I think my almost tearful face while holding the phone to my ear and the three kids looking cute with their Disney hats, helped.
The kids and I headed to Hollywood Studios without John while he waited for a conclusion to the madness.
"It's fixed," he texted me a short bit later.
Just.Like.That.
We get to stay at the meth lab, I mean, Art of Animation.
The cast member who helped us gave us tickets to the Halloween party and a gift card for our troubles. Bright spot.
And so, our day ended on a good note.
3 different reservation numbers though and multiple changes on the computer managed to leave lingering consequences...
We received free dining with the vacation package we bought six months ago. We got a certain number of meal credits for our stay. However, with the multiple switching of reservations, we lost them (along with our bus reservation to take us back to the airport, we got that fixed finally too). We found out the hard way the following day as we went to scan those magical bands and hear "Oh you don't have any more meal credits." Thankfully the kind lady who helped us the day before was a text away and after we paid full price she credited our account and reimbursed us.
She's the true hero of our story.
As we continued to recover from the fog of the day before, John realized he needed to recover from motion sickness of the present day. Not as spry as he used to be, John fell victim to the sudden jerks, twists, and turns of many of the thrill rides from the day.
We head back to the resort for a bit of rest and some fun at the pool.
"Make sure you wear shoes," I tell them all as we prepare to head to the pool.
No one heeds my advice.
John pays dearly for it.
The bottom of his feet were burned.
Using what we had, we rubbed Chapstick over the forming blisters in hopes, maybe, just maybe, it would help ease the discomfort just enough so he could go with us to the Animal Kingdom.
Well, I'll go ahead and tell you, Chapstick won't do the trick.
So, the non thrill seeking mom, heads to The Animal Kingdom to ride Expedition Everest, again, with my thrill seeking kids (well Hannah is a semi thrill seeker) along with the other rides.
I told them as we inched up the incline AGAIN that they should never doubt my love for them.
John had remained laid out on the bed hoping tomorrow would be different. Thankfully, it was.
Sunday, our last day, was our most non eventful day. But we were tired. All of us. But we pressed on because tonight was The Halloween Party. And while we were thankful for the free tickets (they aren't cheap) it was so crowded and the lines were so long for candy and to meet characters that we decided, after everyone had half a bag full of candy, and we rode Space Mountain AGAIN to end our Disney vacation with a Dole Whip. It was on our list to do since we had never had one.
The Dole Whip was a great way to go out. It was delicious. It may have been one of my favorite things about Disney.
The Dole Whip.
It was redeeming.
That cold, sweet, MAGICAL, goodness.
It was good to us.
It was like a long refreshing hug, whereafter we breathed a long sigh of relief
because
Disney was Done.
