A June Joyride...*****COMPLETED!!! 7/9***** About This Page:

[piratefreak]

Welcome back....can't believe it has already come and gone. I am sure you are feeling the same. Can't wait to hear all about your magical moments.

[lexiemom]

Welcome back! Can't wait to read all about it!

[CountryTink]

Just caught up on your Pre-TR and truly looking forward to hearing all about the trip. I just love how your reveal went over. It gave me chills.

Hurry back with more please!!!!!!

[DrDolphin]

Can't believe you are home already - but can't wait to read all about it!!!

[Disney_Scarlett]

Just caught up on your Pre-TR. I know you were waiting around on me to start the full report. Great plans, and what a fantastic reveal! Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

[disneydani]

Saturday, June 7th


I was fairly certain no one in the house would sleep much the night before….I mean come on; we just told the kids a few hours ago we were jetting down to WDW for a long weekend! Well, we were all had a very restful night of sleep and awoke to a beautiful day. Up, showered, dressed, grabbed breakfast closed up the carry-on and out the door we went. Uneventful drive to the airport, breezed through security, made our way to the gate.
The kids kept busy re-reading Kingdom Keepers...



The flight? Ugh running half hour late as the pilots for our flight were delayed on some other flight coming in. While we were waiting, I received a lovely text from Eileen who was enjoying the coffee in the lounge at the AKL.

We boarded soon enough although by the time we took off, we were 45 minutes behind schedule. Thankfully, the flight was smooth and the pilots made up some time so that we landed only about 15 minutes later than planned. The kids were fabulously independent during the flight which allowed me to relax and read a bit.




As soon as we landed, Paul zoomed to pick up the rental while the kids and I waited for Izzy’s stroller. By the time I reached the rental car area, Paul had already picked it up, cooled it off and installed Izzy’s car seat! A half an hour later, we saw a familiar and lovely sight.



Shortly thereafter…another wonderful sight.




The guard welcomed us home. Even though we are not DVC members, it was a lovely sentiment. We were met at the curb by a very sweet concierge CM who welcomed us to the AKL. As we entered the lobby and were taking it all in, I spotted Eileen out of the corner of my eye. I called her over and gave her a hug and quickly introduced her to the family. We all hopped into the elevator and up to the sixth floor, concierge lounge. Paul was acting a bit strange and at the time I couldn’t figure why he was such a grouch. I went about checking in and another concierge CM was going over all the details with me. Our room was not quite ready as they were doing a special allergy cleaning and the rugs were not quite dry. No matter, Paul and Andrew had a snack while I went over Izzy’s allergy needs with the concierge. To my surprise, the CM then came back and told us the rugs were in fact dry and we could check in to our room.

We happily found our room on Zebra Trail, room 4509. The room was so warm and inviting. We had a few lovely surprises awaiting us.








The best surprise, though, was the breathtaking view from our balcony!




Our luggage, which we shipped, was on its way up. I finally asked Paul why he was in a bit of a funk…apparently, he thought Eileen just followed us up in the elevator. (As if!) I assured him Eileen (and a few other PP) were all staying concierge for their trip. . We quickly unpacked and headed to the pool. The pool was beautiful and the water temperature was delightful. It was a wonderful way to relax and refresh after our travels down to WDW.




After the swim, the kids were hungry, so Andrew and I headed up to the lounge while Paul and Izzy relaxed in the room. On our way, we ran into Tanya (Eeyoresmom) and her family. It was nice to chat a bit and see adorable baby V. In the lounge, Eileen was still relaxing and working on her TR. We chatted a bit and even though I had been following the live CLT thread, it was nice to hear a bit about it in person. I have to take a moment here and say it was really meaningful to meet Eileen in person.



SAPPY BACKSTORY: As karma would have it, I came across a post of Eileen’s in the Special Needs Forum right after I was diagnosed with MS. I immediately PM’d her and asked her if she wouldn’t mind sharing her MS experiences with me. What followed were some amazingly supportive and empathetic PMs. At the time, she was the only person who had MS that I “knew”….she even spent about an hour on the phone with me the evening before her big WDW GG trip in December 2006. Over the past 18 months, Eileen has been a great source of kindness and support as well as an inspiration….she is about 10 years ahead of me in her diagnosis and for the most part, she lives her life with a level of grace and humor that I hope one day I can come to. Thank you, Eileen.

While in the lounge, I was thrilled that the bakery had sent up some of Izzy’s favorite, safe snacks which I would bring back to the room. Andrew was happily munching on some wonderful cookies and I had to stop him at three. After all, we had an early ADR at Spoodles coming up!

UP NEXT….We are so not going commando….how much can we accomplish at Epcot in one evening???

[lexiemom]

Great start!

[sweetyface77]

I can't believe you are already back! I was getting wrapped up in your Pretrip Report. Andrew's reaction was priceless and almos thad me in tears! I can't wait to hear all about your trip!

[disneydani]

Just an FYI....I am having technical difficulties with the photo size (this should come as no surprise, I am so not computer literate). Marnie is trying to help me through it so I apologize if some of the pics are ginormous!

danielle

[piratefreak]

How awesome that passporters was able to help connect you with Eileen at a time in your life when you really needed her advice. Can't wait to hear more.

[DrDolphin]

Eileen is such a graceful lady that we are truly blessed to have here as part of our community!! I am so glad that the two of you could connect and forge a friendship -

Your first WDW moments sound wonderful! Hurry back with more!

[MickeyMAC]

Great update to your trip and what a beautiful story about Eileen, thanks for sharing with all of us. PassPorters are so like family, that's what makes us so unique and special.

[mcc0313]

Even with the delay it seems that you made great time and befor you knew it you were headed to your room at the AKL....

Glad that your room was ready quickly and that they were all prepared for Izzy. How great that you got to finally meet and spend some time with Eileen...

Sometimes it amazes me how we find someone to help us through a difficult time in a place we would never have imagined...I am so glad that she was able to help you when you truly needed someone who could understand....

Can't wait to hear all about Epcot....

[buzzspal2]

Looking forward to the rest of the story.

[KandJluvdisney]

glad you are enjoying the akl so far - you do have a truly great view
can't wait to hear all about epcot
hurry back with more please