Saving the Magic (with Cam and Luke plus Morgan) COMPLETED About This Page:

[HiddenMickey]

I could tell in some of the pictures at Chef Mickey's that you were just holding yourself together for the sake of the others. I still can't imagine how hard this trip must have been for you.

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by mamajab

Glad you posted the tissue warning. Would you mind posting a picture of the "Daughter" pin? I'm blessed to still have my DD with me, but I love the idea of celebrating her all the same.

I actually looked the other day when I was doing this post for the pin. I know I have it, but I can't remember where I've put it. But it is just the normal WDW Celebrating button pin that you can get at check in or at any of the parks for free. There is an empty box on the in under celebrating where you write in what you are celebrating. In my case it said, "My Daughter."

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

sigh..................LOVE that Pluto!!!!

Me, too!

Originally Posted by GinnyMouse

Wow. Your words are sometimes so hard to read and your photos so painful to look at and yet they are beautiful at the same time. Does that make sense? This whole TR is a tribute to Stefanie and such a powerful testament to love that binds your family together. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this on this board - but I feel like God was with you on this trip and everytime your aching peaked, He gave you a reminder that He and Stefanie were not far from you.

That is exactly how I felt about this whole trip, a tribute to the beautiful life that Stefanie lived and shared so lovingly with her Mom and Dad. You are right just when I needed a reminder it was there.

Originally Posted by debrabrown

I can see just how tough some of those meet n greets are for you. Your grief is still so raw. It took so much courage for you to continue with your plans and take that trip. I hope although there were sad and emotional moments each one helped heal the hurt if even just a little. You are a brave woman, Cam!

So glad you got so much love from Pluto.

We couldn't have not gone on this trip. It was our way to carry on the love and life we'd had with Stefanie.

Originally Posted by HiddenMickey

I could tell in some of the pictures at Chef Mickey's that you were just holding yourself together for the sake of the others. I still can't imagine how hard this trip must have been for you.

I was trying so hard not to be selfish. I did have one moment the evening of this update when I snapped at Morgan, at least that is what Luke felt I did. She took off on her own without us into a huge crowd at Epcot as we were heading toward Ann and Allen. I yelled for her to stop because she was way ahead of us. Unfortunately, yelling can totally unnerve Luke, especially when he is emotionally unsteady. His mom says he has been that way about raised voice from the time he was a baby. But most of the time, we were very good at understanding and dealing with each others' grief. Having Morgan was a blessing, but also a barrier at times to mine and/or Luke's need to grieve. We didn't want to upset her because she really is only 11 and grief is difficult.

[goofyboysmama]

I am so sorry it took so long to catch up - I just went through all of your August posts! This report is simultaneously joyous and painful, funny and terribly sad. You are so strong to write all about it - especially to complete strangers like lots of us. It must be so hard for you to try to show Morgan a good time while grieving. I hope, somehow, telling us this story helps you and Luke. (Pluto was awesome!)

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Your Chef Mickey story reminded me of the last time we were there, and Pluto played a part in that, as well. You know that my son, Christian, is in a wheelchair. When the characters all came around to do the napkin-waving parade, Pluto came and got our permission to take our son in the parade. Of course, we said yes, and it was the most awesome thing to see our son involved where he would usually just have to sit on the sidelines.

I was terribly moved by this, and was barely holding it together, and afterward a management-type CM came over and told me that SHE almost broke down because she saw how emotional I had been observing the situation.

Afterwards, when Pluto brought Christian back to the table, he gave me the biggest hug I've ever had, and kind of rocked me back an forth and patted me on the back. Not long after, we were given a card with all of the characters names inside. It was the first day of our trip, and I don't think anything topped it the entire rest of our time there!

[mdobereiner]

Oh Cam, I haven't been on the boards in months and had no idea about Stefanie. I can barely see through my tears to see my phone. I have no words. Thinking of you friend and I will have to come back to read the whole TR when I'm on a computer.

Mel

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by goofyboysmama

I am so sorry it took so long to catch up - I just went through all of your August posts! This report is simultaneously joyous and painful, funny and terribly sad. You are so strong to write all about it - especially to complete strangers like lots of us. It must be so hard for you to try to show Morgan a good time while grieving. I hope, somehow, telling us this story helps you and Luke. (Pluto was awesome!)

I find writing out the TR helps me work through all the varied emotions I had on this trip.

Originally Posted by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince

Your Chef Mickey story reminded me of the last time we were there, and Pluto played a part in that, as well. You know that my son, Christian, is in a wheelchair. When the characters all came around to do the napkin-waving parade, Pluto came and got our permission to take our son in the parade. Of course, we said yes, and it was the most awesome thing to see our son involved where he would usually just have to sit on the sidelines.

I was terribly moved by this, and was barely holding it together, and afterward a management-type CM came over and told me that SHE almost broke down because she saw how emotional I had been observing the situation.

Afterwards, when Pluto brought Christian back to the table, he gave me the biggest hug I've ever had, and kind of rocked me back an forth and patted me on the back. Not long after, we were given a card with all of the characters names inside. It was the first day of our trip, and I don't think anything topped it the entire rest of our time there!

That is a very precious story! Thanks for sharing it with me.

Originally Posted by mdobereiner

Oh Cam, I haven't been on the boards in months and had no idea about Stefanie. I can barely see through my tears to see my phone. I have no words. Thinking of you friend and I will have to come back to read the whole TR when I'm on a computer.

Mel

The thoughts and prayers of others have been seeing us through this.

[Cam22]

Thursday, June 7

I slept soundly, not waking up until 6:00 AM. I got up and wrote a few notes on yesterday before the alarm sounded at 6:30 AM and the getting ready commenced.

I opened the curtains at 7:30 to see RAIN! By 8:00 when we headed out of the room it had let up. We got on the first boat of the morning, arriving at DHS a little after 8:30. The park entrance was a bit crowded but we didn’t spend too long at bag check. The line was a little longer at the ticket gate.









As soon as we went through the gates Morgan and I set off for Toy Story Midway Mania to enter the standby line as Luke had gotten waylaid by some other folks. He caught up with us at One Man’s Dream. Soon after we go in the TSMM line and I got a text from Deb (coffeechef) that she was at DHS. I told her we were, too. I was looking around and noticed a lady I thought was her, but she was facing away from me. About that time I got another text that she was in the TSMM line just inside the door. It was Deb. I sent one back telling her “Look behind you.” She did, so we were soon hugging and chatting for the remainder of our wait. Sweet soul!



She and I rode together while Morgan and Luke were behind us. I discovered what it means to have competition as Stefanie didn’t usually aim at anything I was shooting for. Luke had the best score for their vehicle.



My score is on the left and Deb’s is on the right. She skunked me.



Now to get FastPasses. The line looked long and I could tell Luke did not want to wait, but I felt Morgan deserved another ride. So I sent them off to Rock ‘n Roller Coaster while Deb and I got in line for FPs. I was surprised at how very efficient this FP line is, so even though the line was long, I was through in under 10 minutes. Deb had another FP from earlier that was now ripe so she took off for ride #3 of the day and I set off to shop a little before meeting up with my buddies. I had been told to be timely as Morgan wanted that ride photo on the PP+ card.

One current special at the shops was men’s lounge pants two for $50. I’m sure it was a Father’s Day deal, but I love these pants, too. I had looked at several stores, but I already had all the patterns available or only one pattern that was new and that I liked. Finally, at DHS I found 2 new patterns while browsing and made a mental note to return with Luke for his opinion.

Eventually, I made it to RnRC and still had a 20 minute or so wait for my buddies to disembark. I hoped to catch Morgan’s reaction as they got off.











This was the best I could do as she was moving very quickly off and out.



PhotoPass Ride Photo



Even though Morgan wanted to get FPs to ride again, we couldn’t yet because of our TSMM FPs. Now we got to move to Tower of Terror. Ann had sent a text that it had a 60 minute wait but that it was moving well. By the time we got there, the stand-by time was 40 minutes, but we actually moved through it in 25 minutes. While in line, it began to rain again, so we donned our ponchos. Once in the library, Morgan had a grip on my arm, and was in rapt attention during the pre-show. She still clung to me as we entered the boiler room, but eventually relaxed, watching the elevators come and go.

On our first ride we were in Row 5. At one point when we were floating, Morgan grabbed my hand and hung on. But I could tell she loved it. When it was over, she kept asking if that was all. She needed to ride it again, so we promised we’d get FPs, which we did immediately.



I always love to get a PP photo with my favorite ride in the background.







By now we were all quite a bit hungry. Luke and I wanted fries and we knew that Rosie’s had them. Morgan got chicken nuggets and fries. We found a cozy, shady table and munched our lunch.













Afterwards, I took Luke to see the lounge pants. He liked them, too, so the purchase was made and they were shipped to the resort.



Time now to head off to another ride – The Great Movie Ride, but not before stopping for a PhotoPass picture with the Hat.











Then we were off to movie adventures with the cowboy version, but he had the worst western accent ever, sounding like a gangster cowboy. In my notes I have that we discovered a new Hidden Mickey, but I didn’t write down where.

By now our FPs were ripe for our second drop on ToT. We were quickly back to the library for the pre-show and then the boiler room. Soon we were in our elevator sitting in Row #1, having another tummy tossing ride.



In the gift shop I checked out the available ride t-shirts. I found a really cute red one, but none were in my size. I checked with a CM who even checked the back, but none were there. He did tell me to check by if I was going to be there another day as shipments came in frequently. So stay tuned!

Now our FPs to TSMM were ripe. A trip across the park was in order. Morgan rode with me this time and was fierce-some competition, beating me pretty good as she said.



My score is again on the left and Morgan’s is on the right.

Luke again had the best in our vehicle.



Luke and Morgan were thirsty, so we visited the extra-large Coke bottle kiosk beside Backlot Tours . Since we were close, we decided to ride and were able to finish our drinks while we waited in line. We had just enough time, or so we thought, to finish this before our late lunch/early supper ADR at Mama Melrose’s. Little did we know some pushy guests were in our future who would momentarily delay us. Morgan loved the water cannons and the whole water tank was probably her favorite part.

Ann and Allen were already waiting patiently for us when we arrived at Mama Melrose’s about 5 minutes before our ADR time. Our buzzer went off within minutes, and we were seated at a booth. Our waitress explained the Fantasmic package. Morgan looked over the adult menu and couldn’t find a thing so when our waitress returned I explained our little dilemma and she brought us a kid’s menu.

Since we were already paying $35 for our package, Luke and I chose the Chargrilled Steak with mac ‘n cheese. Morgan got spaghetti, which she ate about ¾ of and then declared herself full, but finished it anyway. For appetizers I chose the Caesar salad while Luke picked the Minestrone. Morgan ate a mixed green salad. On the Fantastmic package dessert is served family-style with three smaller servings of Tiramisu, Chocolate Cannoli Cake, and Chocolate Amarettini Cheesecake. The waitress also brought Ann and Allen champagne as they were celebrating their anniversary. They weren’t going to drink it so they kindly shared it with Luke and me. Very good champagne!

Once dinner was over we went to The Muppet Shop as we had promised Morgan we would. We bought a Phineas and Ferb pin in honor of Stefanie.



Ann and Allen left to use their ToT FPs, while we went to Muppet Vision 3D. Morgan loved all the corny jokes just like we do.



The rain had returned and it was NOT letting up, so we decided to head home. Ann sent a text that they were going to do the same. Unfortunately, no Fantasmic this night or this trip. But as we came to Star Tours, Luke looked back and asked if I’d on it if the line was short. It looked short so we got in line before we realized that it was actually pretty long and at least 20 minutes of it would be outside in the rain. I’ll do lots of things at WDW that I’d say forget it to at home. Inside we removed our ponchos and in another 10 or 15 minutes we were traveling to the Wooki planet and Jar Jar Binks home, our best trip with Star Tours yet. In Tatooine traders, we each built our own droid, unnamed even today. I picked up the Star Wars Racers for Luke that came in a Darth Vader carrying case for Father’s Day. I didn’t realize as I was checking out that my DWCF pin from The Land had fallen off. A precious little girl had noticed and returned it to me. I thanked her profusely, telling her how important that pin was to me. She smiled so big.







Leaving the other galaxy, we traveled to the shops. Morgan picked out coffee mugs for her Mom and Dad. Our shopping finished up at 7:20, and as I looked at my watch, I realized we had FPs to RnRC for 7:30. I gave Luke and Morgan the option of using them and I’d shop a little more or going back to BWI. Guess what they chose? Soon after they left, I realized my feet were killing me. Not finding an indoor seat, I got a table in the Market Place. I had an umbrella table and with my poncho remained relatively dry, though my feet were already soaked. I played on my iPhone and talked to Stefanie until my buddies returned. Now it was absolutely time to go home.

We took a Friendship Boat to BWI. Morgan spotted a funnel cake kiosk so I picked up one for her to share, paying with three $2 bills, amazing the CM whom I paid. This had been given to Stefanie to use on the trip, so it was a bit of Stefanie magic for me and the CM both. I headed into the General Store next to get ice cream and Minnie cookies. As the CM was scanning my credit card, I noticed two pins on the counter that I needed: DWCF pin with Mickey and Terk and a DVC pin with Chip and Dale. Both reminded me of Stefanie.



I realized when I went to take pin pictures that I accidentally posted this DVC pin which I bought on this day in an early update when I should have posted this one.







Our next stop was the lobby to ask about getting to AK early the next day for our Wild Africa Trek. The CM suggestion was to be at the bus stop at 6:15 even though our trek was not until 8:45. Luke told me we could just take a taxi instead, so we wouldn’t have to get up so early. While we were at concierge, Morgan found a magician. Luke agree to stay with her but my feet needed to be dry.

They actually arrived just minutes after me as they had caught only the final act. So great to finally be dry again. I took a few notes on yesterday and started on today before I had to give up and to sleep.

Next: Walking on the Wild Side

[JaimeandChad]

Wow!! I'm tired just reading how busy you were!! And so much fun!! I'm glad that you had a good day, I love the Phineas and Ferb pin!

[bsblady01]

more please

[omd]

Wow you certainly had a very busy day! Morgan looked like she was having lots of fun and enjoying all the rides. I love all of your pins, you have quite a collection. Looking forward to the next installment.

[nght10gale]

Great day at DHS and darn if I don't have pixie dust in my eyes again...

[Wolfy6688]

What a busy day!!

I love your pictures, but can't read what the neon sign in RnRC says?

I hate when my feet get soaked. They take forever to dry out and it makes you feel icky all over. Glad you dried out in comfort, but sorry you missed Fantasmic. However I guess it's good that it was canceled or your feet may have been even worse.

I'm VERY excited to read about your Wild Africa Trek. In two years we're hoping to surprise my dad with a Disney trip for one of the Big Number Birthdays and the WAT is a consideration. He says when I graduate pharmacy school he's taking me to Africa on safari, but this'll be a nice preview

[TuffyCO]

Looks like you had a full day at DHS! Sad you weren't able to see Fantasmic! We are planning to do the Fantasmic! dining package on our next trip and I'm afraid it would get rained out the night we pick (we seem to have bad luck that way). Morgan looks like she is having a great time. Can't wait to hear about the Wild Africa Trek, sounds like fun!

[Nemo125]

Great update Cam! You all got alot accomplished and some great purchases too! DHS is my favorite park and I'm glad you all enjoyed it!

[ilovedisney247]

Great day--I love the Photopass photos from in front of Tower of Terror!