Arrrrgh...Buffalogirl's Pre-trip Report! - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I love the back stories!!! It is so much fun to hear other peoples' stories of Disney - there is always something to relate to! My youngest used to ride anything with no problem. Then he entered a phase where he worried about everything. Now, he is slowly trying things again and finding out he loves them.
WHAT?!?! Seriously?! A hanging dead guy? No. This is different than the pictures? Just look straight up and see a hanging dead guy?
At HM in the stretch room, as the lightning strikes, the room goes dark and there's a scream- just before they open the doors, look straight up to the ceiling, there will be a hanging dead guy! I thought every body knew that!
Continuing on with my background and trip history....(hope I'm not boring any of you ).....
Sept. 2003, after our 03 Disney trip, Tony was summoned to an HR seminar in all places- VEGAS!!!! Of course I just had to find a way to tag along, as neither of had ever been before. We spent 6 - yes I said 6 glorious days in Las Vegas, staying at Treasure Island. Our room was on the 26th floor facing the strip, we couldn't have had a more beautiful room, or a better view. It was just gorgeous at night with the lights and all the casinos glowing. And let me tell you- it definitely was a second honeymoon for us. We toured every hotel &casino on the strip, and walked the entire thing- in 90 degree heat, although very dry, and barable. I think my favorite of them all was the Venetian. The architecture and the gondola rides along the canal inside and outside, the Italian music in the background, were just gorgeous. So, one day, we are in New York, New York- the casino, not the city, and we get persuaded by a very good looking gentleman to go on a tour of a time share property - yes, I know, It was against our better judgement, but right on the spot he gave us tickets worth $26 to ride the roller coaster which we had planned to do that day, dinner at the MGM Grand, and tickets to La Femme which I really wanted to see! So, that afternoon we were off to the property. We had a beautiful lunch buffet there, could swim if we wanted, they took us to and from in a limo. The condos were just amazing- granite all over the place, decorated to the hilt. And the price at the time was unbelievable. So, they take you into this office, and two reps gang up on you- and working for the IRS, I am very strong minded, and could easily say NO! No matter how sweet the deal was, I was saying NO! I knew that before we set foot there, and I knew it before we went into the office. Every time they added something to the deal, TOny's face just lit up more and more. He did not have his "poker face" on at all- he really shocked me! So not !!! They offered us a limo at our disposal for the entire length of our stay in Vegas, would move us to the Casino/hotel of our choice on the strip, offered us tix to La Cage, Cirque du Soleil of our choice, in the purchase there was a booklet that gave us 6 vacations for 7 nights in places all over the world - that did not count against our timeshare stays, 8 roundtrip airfares anywhere in the US on American. Tony vetoed me, said he was purchasing with or without me- but when the reps came back in they said as a married couple both have to purchase and sign for the property. I got sucked in. Well, we chose to stay at Treasure Island for the week because we loved it so much, but they picked up the bill! We got the limo all week long which was so awesome! We saw Cirque du Soleil-Zoomanity - which was incredible, awe-striking, and very interesting, if any of you know it's basis, it's pretty risque, and I will leave it at that! La Cage was hysterical, it's a review with all Male actors/singers who dress in drag and impersonate female celebrities, and let me tell you it's fantastic, you'd never know they are men, and they look so much like the women they portray! We had the best time in Vegas, saw so much, and came home a little shocked at what we did- including the time share purchase.
Moving on....
Feb 2005...the boys are now 11 and 3 1/2. This year, we decided to take advantage of our time share property and exchange it to stay in Orlando and go to DISNEY! We used our 8 free airfare tickets and invited our best friends and their 3 kids to come along with. We went the week after Presidents week- at the time our kids did not have that week off for break up here in NY. But, it was ESPN weekend, so the guys really wanted to go at that time, so that is how we chose when to go. We were very disappointed, because our whole reason for getting the time share was to use it to stay at Disney. We were assured, promised that we'd be able to stay on DIsney property when we exchanged our weeks any time we wanted. It never worked, any time I called, it was never available. It was so frustrating. We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Villas. We had a 2 bedroom villa, had a full kitchen, big living room, nice master bedroom, and queen sleeper in the living room, 2 full beds in the spare room, a nice balcony. It was okay, not something I would go out of my way to stay in again. There was a free shuttle to Disney, but the service was spotty so we hired a driver for the week because the cost of a rental van for the 9 of us with car seats for all the little ones was outrageous. The weather was not great. It rained 4 of 8 days, and it was chilly, in the 60's most days, we had a couple sunny days with highs in the 70's. Not what we were used to since we normally went in the later Spring, and when we went in November it was absolutely perfect as well. But, we made the most of it, donned our ponchos, and had as much fun as we could. My best friend's daughter is the exact same age as Matthew- and when I say that I mean they are 18 hours apart! We were due a week apart, and went into labor on the same day. Both were only in labor about 3 hours. Shared the same room in the hospital. We could not have planned it better if we tried! We had those two in a rented double stroller the entire trip, and they were like an old married couple- one minute they were giggling and holding hands, the next minute they were bickering- Matthew would say the sky was blue, Julia would say it was purple. It was too cute. We survived many potty breaks, many nap times, many melt downs - and that was just the DADS! But, it was nice to have our friends with us, just this once. After that, we decided that we are just too selfish to share our Disney vacation with anyone anymore! Are we terrible people or what? I mean, we don't want friends, family, or anyone there with us, it's something the four of us treasure, it is our time together, something we only get once a year, the only thing in our lives that we don't have to share with anyone else, and we want to keep it that way. We like to do DIsney a certain way, and we don't like to "disrupt the flow" we have when we are there. Get it? Hope so. We do spend other trips, weekend things with our friends and family- but not this!
After this trip, realizing we couldn't stay at the DVC properties with our time share, we sold it. Maybe in the future we will buy into DVC, when our finances permit.
Next up....the kids are getting older, Michael is getting braver, and Matthew wants out of the stroller!
At HM in the stretch room, as the lightning strikes, the room goes dark and there's a scream- just before they open the doors, look straight up to the ceiling, there will be a hanging dead guy! I thought every body knew that!
More great background stories! I agree with you about traveling with just your family. DH & I love traveling with the boys, or just the 2 of us as a couple. We are a perfect match when it comes to travel, and it is always a special time for us. It is especially great when all 4 of us can get away together.
Moving right along with trip & family history. The kids are getting older, Matthew has started school, and I'm still working full time days for the IRS. And, in November of 2007, a pretty funny-scary thing happens one morning on a day off....I am sitting at the dining room table ticking away at my laptop eating my lunch when all of a sudden half of my face all down into my throat goes completely numb! It lasted about fifteen minutes, and then was gone, like it never happened. I was a little confused, not sure what to make of it, and later that day I was driving my mom to our family doctor for a check up so I mentioned it to her, and she freaked out! She said she thought I had a TIA/mini stroke and that we had to tell the doctor right away. He had the same suspicion. And the very next day I was sent to a neurologist - who is one of the best in the East, and a complete Godsend in my life. He ran a complete panel that same day, 16 vials of bloodwork, MRI, scans, CT, the whole works. The next day he called me and said I need you and your husband to come in right away, I thought, Oh God, I have cancer, I have a brain tumor, a million things went through my head. I was only 32! How could this be happening?? well, it turned out that I had thrown a clot, which caused the TIA/mini stroke because I had a hole in my heart! It was something I've had since birth, and it went undetected all those years. He continued to treat me, got me on blood thinners to reduce the risk of blood clots, and also referred me to a cardiologist in the meantime to see about treatment of the hole in my heart. (there's a very technical name for all of this, but I won't confuse any of you). I found a wonderful pediatric cardiologist, as this is a congenital heart defect, and he and I decided that this should be surgically closed. About a month later I was driving somewhere, and I had another event, this time a full-blown stroke, went numb down my entire left side, and lost some hearing and vision as a result. In the meantime, this was a wakeup call for me, and I got even more militant on my diet and workout regimen. I lost another 25 pounds from November to February and was in the best shape of my life. They did not put any restrictions on my activities, and they said since I was under so much stress, it was the best thing for me. We all decided that the best thing for me was to go on disability at work, and to focus on my healthcare and my family until I was well again, and thankfully the IRS is a family and healthcare friendly place to work, so it didn't take long at all to get my leave approved. By the end of February, we had a game plan in place, and on St.Patrick's Day, March 17th 2007, I had my procedure done to close the hole in my heart. My cardiologist is the foremost expert in cardiac catheterization procedures, and thankfully that meant no open heart surgery for me-which is normally how they would have to close a hole in my heart! So, much like an angioplasty, they went through a blood vessel in my leg, fed the catheter, installed a device the size of a quarter in the hole in my heart, and boom it was done. The procedure took about two hours, and they did a complete angiogram while they were in there to look for other defects as well. I got a clean bill of health. I was in the PICU at Children's Hospital in Buffalo overnight, and sent home the next afternoon. It was a little scary at first, but my recovery only took 3 weeks, and I was encouraged to ease back in to the gym right away! I was back up to speed at the gym in no time, doing my 45 minutes on the treadmill, lifting lighter weights, and had my follow up with my doctors. They were so pleased with the outcome, and so was I! Now, it's the first week of May, I've been cleared to resume all normal activities, lifting normal amounts of weight, housework, flying! Even riding rollercoasters...so where do you think we're going to celebrate my rebirth, my new lease on life? Disney ofcourse! By then, I'd lost a total of 50 pounds, and was sooo happy with myself!!! Through my whole ordeal, this whole scary months of turmoil and uncertainty, the waiting and wondering if I'd have another stroke, end up in a wheel chair or worse, the one thing ,other than my wonderful husband, that got me through was the thought that once this was all over we would escape to our happy place as a family, and all my dreams would come true!
My next post.....May2008 Pop Century, 9 days, preferred room, 60's building, deluxe dining, 9 day MYW base tickets....
__________________
~Amy~
Last edited by Buffalogirl18; 01-24-2010 at 10:10 AM..
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About This Page: 
My youngest used to ride anything with no problem. Then he entered a phase where he worried about everything. 
Now, he is slowly trying things again and finding out he loves them. 
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
).....
!!! They offered us a limo at our disposal for the entire length of our stay in Vegas, would move us to the Casino/hotel of our choice on the strip, offered us tix to La Cage, Cirque du Soleil of our choice, in the purchase there was a booklet that gave us 6 vacations for 7 nights in places all over the world - that did not count against our timeshare stays, 8 roundtrip airfares anywhere in the US on American. Tony vetoed me, said he was purchasing with or without me- but when the reps came back in they said as a married couple both have to purchase and sign for the property. I got sucked in. Well, we chose to stay at Treasure Island for the week because we loved it so much, but they picked up the bill! We got the limo all week long which was so awesome! We saw Cirque du Soleil-Zoomanity - which was incredible, awe-striking, and very interesting, if any of you know it's basis, it's pretty risque, and I will leave it at that! 
We used our 8 free airfare tickets and invited our best friends and their 3 kids to come along with. We went the week after Presidents week- at the time our kids did not have that week off for break up here in NY. But, it was ESPN weekend, so the guys really wanted to go at that time, so that is how we chose when to go. 
We were very disappointed, because our whole reason for getting the time share was to use it to stay at Disney. We were assured, promised that we'd be able to stay on DIsney property when we exchanged our weeks any time we wanted. It never worked, any time I called, it was never available. It was so frustrating. We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Villas. We had a 2 bedroom villa, had a full kitchen, big living room, nice master bedroom, and queen sleeper in the living room, 2 full beds in the spare room, a nice balcony. It was okay, not something I would go out of my way to stay in again. 
There was a free shuttle to Disney, but the service was spotty 
so we hired a driver for the week because the cost of a rental van for the 9 of us with car seats for all the little ones was outrageous. 
I had no idea!
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
Susan
He ran a complete panel that same day, 16 vials of bloodwork, MRI, scans, CT, the whole works. The next day he called me and said I need you and your husband to come in right away, I thought, Oh God, I have cancer, I have a brain tumor, a million things went through my head.
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