We're on our way

[sparks19]

We are about to leave to start our Journey to Disney World. Hannah is still sleeping. I'm going to go in and pick her up and carry her right out to the van once we are ready to go.

The dogs are not happy. Beezer is such a mopey boy right now and he won't leave our sides. not even to go out and pee.

we packed up the van last night. just had to get the cooler packed this morning and toiletries. Now we are finishing a cup of coffee and then we are outta here :cool:

We will be back with LOTS of pics

but if you could all spare some prayers for safe travelling today we would appreciate it :)

[happylabs]

Oh my, definitely prayers for safe travel, a fun filled vacation and safe return as well.

[moosmom]

Have a great time and a SAFE trip. :love::love:

[chocolatepuppy]

Prayers for a safe trip. Have fun and we'll be waiting on pics!:D

[Alysser]

Have an amazing time! The ride there kinda bites but just think of where you'll be in a few days! :)

[sparks19]

We are already in South Carolina :). The plan is to stop in georgia. The good thoughts are working. Its been a very smooth drive.... Other than the ear infection i am getting

[Puckstop31]

We are safely at the hotel in Savannah, GA.

We have a "studio" suite. So Hannah gets to sleep on a pull out bed and she LOVES it. LOL "Oh wow, my own SPECIAL bed!" She's easy as pie.

Tanya is at a Walk In clinic getting her ear looked at. Im sure she will offer a report when she is back.

Thanks for the vibes/prayers. Props to the big Dog upstairs for the safe travel today. Asking for more tomorrow please.

[Bonny]

More safe travel thoughts & prayers being sent. Mickey & Minny Mouse are waiting for you at Disney World. :D

[mrspunkysmom]

Happy and Safe Trip wishes for you.

And have a GREAT time at Disney World!

[Puckstop31]

What a crappy turn of events....

Our house sitter is MIA. Dogs are at home by themselves. A co-worker of mine is bailing us out on that front. We hope. I'm freaking 700 miles away from home.... ONCE in a lifetime vacation that just might be the last chance to spend time with my dad.

Just heard from Co-Worker. He got to my home and the house sitter is totally MIA. ****. He will take the dogs to the kennel tomorrow. Beezer will be a freaking basket case. He was abused as a pup and has kennel issues.

What would you do? This could very well be the last chance I ever get to be with my Dad. Beezer will get over it, we hope.

Top it off... Hannah has a 100 degree fever.

God, I know you never give us more than we can handle. I know the end game here will be a good lesson, it always is. Please let this be the end of the lesson.

This is REALLY testing my ability to trust.... Ugh.

[mrspunkysmom]

I'm so sorry to hear of this. :(

Are Hannah's symptoms the same as Tanya's?

AS for the dogs, some vet techs will house sit critters. What about your vet and his/her techs? At least your co-worker is helping you.

I can understand your feelings. Sending prayers that things turn around and all are feeling healthy so that you can see your dad.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Oh no.... :( I am so sorry to hear about all of this, I can only imagine how upsetting and frustrating this is to all of you. Prayers coming your way, as well as for the pups. :(

[caseysmom]

Maybe they can give your pup something to relax and I bet Hannah will bounce right back tomorrow, nightime is always the worst for the fevers.

[Puckstop31]

Woot. It was the end of the lesson.

Crisis averted. Everyone is OK, even Hannah seems to be OK right now. Update later. Long story. :)

Thanks everybody for the prayers. As always, they worked. :love:

[sparks19]

Holy smokes. Last night couldn't have gone any worse. What an insane night.

First the dog sitter was totally Missing In Action. we could not find her, could not get a hold of her. Nothing. We were FREAKING out. Panic ensued lol. Luckily Brian called a friend and had him go over to the house to be with the dogs until we figured out what to do. We were just going ot have him drop the dogs at the kennel today (Sunday) even though that was not what we wanted to do with the dogs but it was our only choice.

Then Hannah started running a fever and her cough seemed to be getting worse.

I ended up at urgent care with a nasty ear infection. Doc says I have an upper resp infection and he's surprised I say I don't have any other symptoms lol he said I had an elevated temp, congestion when he listened to my breathing and my glands are pretty swollen and now... a very painful ear infection. The infection is in the ear canal itself and it's so swollen I can hardly hear.

but one night makes all the difference....

The dog sitter called at 11:30 apologizing profusely. She was out of town this past week with her family (which I knew) and she had a bad reaction to medication and her face swelled up and she was rushed to the hospital and kept there for a few days and she didn't have a way to get a hold of me. but she is OK and she was at the house and the dogs were very happy to see her and everything is back to normal on that front.

Hannah's fever has been down all night. back to normal temp and she didn't cough once all night so hopefully she will be fine.

I got antibiotics and hopefully they will start kicking in ASAP because my ear is KILLING me.

But in the end.... we arrive at DISNEY today all's well that ends well

[wombat2u2004]

Phew.....what a drama. I bet yer glad that's all over.
Have a good time you 3.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

What a relief! Sorry to hear about your dogistter- poor thing, and of course poor YOU! I'm glad little Hannah, and yourself are feeling better! Keep your head up, because nothing will matter when you are in DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!:D:D:D

[lvpets2002]

:eek: WoW what a Trip with the Trip.. So glad all is going good now.. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.. Keep posting updates ok..

[mrspunkysmom]

Glad you are okay and that the dogs and dogsitter are okay too.

[gini]

And I hope the rest of your vacation is going extremely well with everyone healthy and happy. Safe travels - no more drama o.k.?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

What a great time to be at Disney, tomorrow is Disney World's 40th birthday. And we have a cold front coming through tonight dropping our temperature. The high is in the low 80's tomorrow!

Hope you're having a great vacation!

[Lady's Human]

Glad to see the crisis has been averted, med reactions SUCK! been there, done that, but because I didn't see a doc when I had a nasty reaction to an antibiotic they wouldn't put it in my med records as an allergy, only as a "sensitivity". :rolleyes:

Puck, stop by the German restaurant at Epcot for me, will ya? Planning on going in about a year, love Epcot, and the kids will be old enough to enjoy it without getting burned out. :p

[sparks19]

We are on our way home today :( sad day. I have the Disney Blues. How do you go back to reality after a magical week like the one we had. Hannah goes to preschool on Monday so I will post a trip report complete with photos... we only have about 1000 between our camera and the photopass photos lol. don't worry I'll only post the best ones LOL

I hate leaving Disney :(:(:(

[happylabs]

We are on our way home today :( sad day. I have the Disney Blues. How do you go back to reality after a magical week like the one we had. Hannah goes to preschool on Monday so I will post a trip report complete with photos... we only have about 1000 between our camera and the photopass photos lol. don't worry I'll only post the best ones LOL

I hate leaving Disney :(:(:(

The worst thing about vacations is coming home. The memories are great though!

[pomtzu]

The worst thing about vacations is coming home.

Nope - I disagree. The worst thing about coming home from vacation, is that you now need another vacation to rest up and recuperate from the first vacation. :p :)

[lizbud]

Nope - I disagree. The worst thing about coming home from vacation, is that you now need another vacation to rest up and recuperate from the first vacation. :p :)


Exactly.:) Then there is unpacking the car, doing tons of laundry, etc.

[sparks19]

Definitely dont feel like we need a vacation from this vacation. We want to go back to our vacation lol. We have the "leaving disney blues". The beauty is we had a washer and dryer in our room at the resort so we are going home with all clean clothes other than what we are currently wearing so no heaping
Piles of laundry when we get home lol woohoo

We are already planning the next disney trip haha

[caseysmom]

So glad you guys had such a great time! Look at the bright side you have all the holidays and the fun days of fall ahead.

[Puckstop31]

Glad to see the crisis has been averted, med reactions SUCK! been there, done that, but because I didn't see a doc when I had a nasty reaction to an antibiotic they wouldn't put it in my med records as an allergy, only as a "sensitivity". :rolleyes:

Puck, stop by the German restaurant at Epcot for me, will ya? Planning on going in about a year, love Epcot, and the kids will be old enough to enjoy it without getting burned out. :p

Done. Lol. We "drank around the world" on tuesday night as grammy watched hannah. I had a tall Pils (cannot remember which one) from the biergarten. I even ordered it in German. Lol. I think I did ok, i got what i thought i asked for.

When you are ready to plan, let sparks know. She is a expert Disney planner. We can sell you some of our DVC points. You can get the DVC experience and save a ton of $$$.

[sparks19]

We have reached our destination for the night. Going to relax for a bit and then start the last leg of our drive first thing in the morning. :)

Planning our next trip for the end of january hopefully

[Karen]

Welcome almost home! It'll feel god to be back and I am sure certain canines will be hysterically glad to see you!

[Roxyluvsme13]

Can't wait to see the pictures from your trip. I've been following this thread, just didn't really have anything to say until now.

I'm going to live vicariously through your pictures since I've never been to Disney and I am DYING to go! lol

Have a safe journey home! :)

[Puckstop31]

Welcome almost home! It'll feel god to be back and I am sure certain canines will be hysterically glad to see you!

For sure. LOL Beezer won't want me to go back out to the van to unload. He will be my second skin for a few days. Ill be sure to give him plenty of back scratches and belly rubs. :)

BUT... He was indeed comfortable, eventually, with the house sitter. She sent us a pic of him lying on his back, in all his "glory". It took him a few days to do it, so that means he is OK.

As for Belle, she will be happy to let someone else feed her now. LOL Coondogs.... :rolleyes: :p

[Puckstop31]

Too all who will enjoy sharing our trip via the pics, but have never had a Disney magic experience...

PM Sparks. It does not have to be as expensive as you think it is. And I promise you that you will not be disappointed. I'd bet a great deal on it. Together, Sparks and I have visited Walt Disney World probably over 30 times. 4 trips together as a couple, 3 with Hannah. (I used to live 2.5 hours away, so we would do day trips twice a year or so during my high school and a few college years.) If you can really let go and BE a part of the magic that the place is.... You will never forget it.

Its all about the Disney cast. (They are not employees, they are ALL 'cast members'. You'll see what we mean when you get there.) I tried hard and I cannot think of ONE negative experience with a cast member, ever. They just hire GREAT people. Sparks will tell you all about the EXTRA special ones in the coming, gigantic, thread. IMO, the 'winners' will be the cast members who played Daisy Duck on day one and 'pink' Minnie Mouse on day 4. Priceless memories were created by those two.... And we got it on motion and still video. :)

Oy. I could go on and on. You'll see. :) If you have never gone and you want to, let us know.

[caseysmom]

When our kids were small we went twice a year, had the deals down pat. That was disneyland of course, I am looking forward to taking my granddaughters now. My youngest lives an hour and a half from disneyland now but hasn't got to go yet but she still loves it.

We stayed at the residence inn and they fed us breakfast and dinner and shuttled us back and forth to disney and gave me a good discount from my job.

[sparks19]

When our kids were small we went twice a year, had the deals down pat. That was disneyland of course, I am looking forward to taking my granddaughters now. My youngest lives an hour and a half from disneyland now but hasn't got to go yet but she still loves it.

We stayed at the residence inn and they fed us breakfast and dinner and shuttled us back and forth to disney and gave me a good discount from my job.

We stay on site at Disney world. It's made us snobs lol it's ruined regular motels/hotels for us LOL. Staying on Disney property is an experience all on it's own. constant bus/monorail service to all the parks all day long (every 20 minutes to and from the parks from 6 am to midnight). The atmosphere and little touches are awesome. The cleanliness can't be beat AND there is always a little touch of magic. For example... during this trip we celebrated Hannah's 4th birthday (I know... 4 years old. how did that happen lol) and we came back from the parks on the day of her birthday and there was a birthday card from Mickey, a cinderella trading pin (which we of course did NOT use for trading... it's special lol) and a voicemail from mickey and minnie singing happy birthday.

The resort we stayed at this time had a Magic Kingdom view so we woke up and went to bed with a beautiful view of cinderellas castle and got to watch the fireworks over the castle every single night (and of course they had a channel on the TV set up to pipe in the music for the fireworks show right to your room)

I think we are going to try The Boardwalk Villas this time around :)

[caseysmom]

I always wanted to stay at the disney hotels but it was always the difference of 79 a night to 250 a night...

[caseysmom]

Its funny because my girls were never into the princess stuff, it was all about the rides, we even put tissue in my youngest daughters tennis shoes when she was four to get her in indiana jones. I think she was under a year when we took her on her first splash mountain haha

I found it interesting following your journey on fb, i can drive hours and hours and still be in california but you were zipping through the states.

[sparks19]

I always wanted to stay at the disney hotels but it was always the difference of 79 a night to 250 a night...

Yeah I know what you mean. That's where having the Disney Vacation Club comes in really handy for us. We basically own a piece of property and now we just use "points" to stay on property. we pay our annual dues and we bought in for 150 points a year. for us to stay in a studio room at Old key west or Boardwalk for example will cost us 50 pts in the value season (september, first two weeks of december, January) for sunday through friday. that's not per night... that's for the whole 5 nights. so it really helps us out and makes it manageable for us to stay on property without totally blowing the budget.

it's worth it for us since we go so often. We are also thinking of getting annual passes. If we are going to go twice a year it is definitely worth it... expensive but it pays for itself in two visits and will save us money on what it would cost us for 4 day tickets twice a year.

[sparks19]

Its funny because my girls were never into the princess stuff, it was all about the rides, we even put tissue in my youngest daughters tennis shoes when she was four to get her in indiana jones. I think she was under a year when we took her on her first splash mountain haha

I found it interesting following your journey on fb, i can drive hours and hours and still be in california but you were zipping through the states.

hannah is a princess so she's WAY into the princesses lol but this year for the first time she was really into meeting other characters too like Minnie and daisy ( we met daisy FOUR times this trip hahaha. silly girl) Me I've always been a character lover. I went in 1999 with my dad and siblings (so I was 18 years old lol) and I have photos of me with just about every character available. so I'm thrilled that Hannah is getting more and more into the characters and the characters just ADORED her. Daisy even motioned for us to WAIT so she could spend a little more time with Hannah and do some special poses for the photos... just her and daisy.

yeah we cover 7 states to get from PA to FL lol. Georgia is by far the shortest. only 116 miles from one end to the other lol. SC is only about 195 or something like that

[Puckstop31]

I always wanted to stay at the disney hotels but it was always the difference of 79 a night to 250 a night...

Im the money guy. :)

You are only factoring in the "hotel". Think about travel time (i'm in the IT business.... Time IS money,) and the VALUE in using the Disney transportation system. Plus, on property, you get the Disney Magic at all times. Remember, on Disney property you get CAST members, not just simple employees of gigantic chain hotels who could care less. I mean it when I say it, cast members CARE that you have that 'pixie dust' experience.


Wait till Tanya tells you about the simple, yet MAGIC moment "Joe", a concierge from Bay Lake Tower gave to Hannah. It brought a tear to my eye. (Yes, I, Puckstop31 the evil, CRIED many times on this trip. Sometimes for my daughter <positive cries>, sometimes for my dad.... Another story.....)

Yes, in pure $$$ terms, staying at Disney properties (especially in California. Ugh. Crazy points/night for Disneyland stays) is expensive. But, IMO, its worth it. Period. Disney delivers on the value you expect for what you pay. Also, being DVC cuts the retail costs you see on the main website at least in half.

Like I always say.... Do your own homework. :) There is usually a better way than that mainstream thought.

[caseysmom]

I'm not knocking staying at disney just sayen, we got like family with the people at our hotel also, the shuttle drivers all knew us by name and they were very nice. One time even after we had checked out the shuttle driver insisted we go in for the free happy hour since we had gotten rained on.

I will definetely look into staying at a disney hotel with the grandkids my neighbors have always loved it. I'm in IT too....lol, for the state of ca...

[Puckstop31]

I'm not knocking staying at disney just sayen, we got like family with the people at our hotel also, the shuttle drivers all knew us by name and they were very nice. One time even after we had checked out the shuttle driver insisted we go in for the free happy hour since we had gotten rained on.

I will definetely look into staying at a disney hotel with the grandkids my neighbors have always loved it. I'm in IT too....lol, for the state of ca...

Sorry. Lol. I get excited about these things. Im sure there are other great accomodations out there for Disney stuff. But we will never know. Lol

Maybe I should get a side job in DVC sales. :)