The “Hurt So Good” TR or How You Can Feel Bad and Still Feel Good - UPDATED 10/17 COMPLETE!! About This Page:

[Nimros]

The “Hurt So Good” TR or How You Can Feel Bad and Still Feel Good.

“Hurt so good,
C’mon baby make it hurt so good,
Sometimes Disney don’t feel like it should,
You make it,,, hurt so good.”

My apologies to John Mellencamp for messing with his lyrics, but this song seemed to be running through my head each day of our vacation. I contemplated several names for this trip report (“The Disney Bootie Shoot” – you’ll understand why when you see some of our photos or the “My Life as the Seven Dwarfs” because I took turns being each one during this trip. ) But the above just seems to describe what I experienced each day better than anything. In fact, I can recount the trip by what injury/illness I was suffering from each day! In spite of it all, this was the most amazing and awesomely, magical visit to WDW than I could have dreamed of!

So let’s count down the days, shall we, with the first ‘not-feel-so-good’ experience…

~The (sniff) Cold~

We’ve never started off a vacation with most of us being sick … many of you might remember that just a week before we were scheduled to leave, Cory came down with a bad case of the sniffles. She actually took a day off and lay in bed all day and by the following morning was feeling back to normal, albeit with a very sniffly nose. I was terrified the rest of us would come down with whatever she had, and my fears manifest themselves as a few days later, Kelley woke up with a sore throat. That evening, I couldn’t deny it any longer – I wasn’t feeling good, either.

Rats! Who wants to start off a long-awaited trip to WDW by feeling terrible? I had a difficult time even finishing our last-minute trip preparations and never had the energy to give the house a quick clean before we left. By the time Friday rolled around, I wised-up and realized I needed to follow my own advice and hit this URI with all the natural remedies I always recommend for others – I took mega-doses of vitamin C, minerals and zinc, Echinacea and lots of water. By Saturday morning, I was beginning to feel better – enough to generate some enthusiasm for our upcoming departure. Kelley (thankfully!) seemed to get over the worst of it as quickly as her sister did, and just had the same extremely stuffy nose.

Kevin felt great, however – and together, we all took our dog Duncan to boarding and then over to have an oil change for the van. I decided Kevin needed to go with me for the oil change, as I am not ‘car-literate’ enough to know if something really needs to be done or if the techs are just trying to sell me something! I was thinking of Meggera (Laura) and her adventures with having a dead battery just as she was ready to leave…and lo and behold, the oil change tech told us our battery was testing low and she’d ‘suggest’ replacing it!

Had I been there alone, I probably would have panicked and purchased one, but Kevin told them we’d take care of it later.

The girls and I had already packed our bags the day before, and decided to take our showers that evening so we could be out the door and on the road by 6:00am. But even though the alarm went off at five, we didn’t actually leave the house until 7:00am – Kevin had ‘last-minute’ packing to do…and needed a cup of coffee…and decided to check his e-mail….Rrrrr! I do have to take some of the blame, as this time I had to make sure we had all necessary medication in case anyone got worse while we were away and to keep treating myself while we were there.

Our drive down to Orlando was fairly uneventful. The nice thing about driving from TN is all the beautiful scenery, particularly between Nashville and Atlanta. Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga is especially pretty in the early morning, crowned with low clouds and all misty and magical.

Atlanta was a quick drive-thru as long as you stay in the HOV lanes all the way to the end. We stopped for sandwiches at a Subway (we brought our own chips, snacks and drinks) and we were on our way again, along the pine forests of Georgia, past the peach and pecan orchards, and watching for the mileage signs that say “Lake City” so you know Florida is coming up. And then it’s across the Suwannee River, past Gainesville, Ocala and then you know the Florida Turnpike will be next!!! Yay!!!

As we approached our exit to the Turnpike, we noticed a huge bank of dark storm clouds on the horizon. “Is that over Orlando?” Kevin asked. Yep – it was. And that was not good news, as half the reason I wanted to arrive at the resort early was so we could do DTD that evening. Those clouds looked like they might put a damper on my plans.

We went through some heavy rains on the way in (and Kelley had a bit of a nosebleed with the change in pressure, but handled it nicely.) We even had another rainbow welcoming us as we approached Disney property – just like our first trip! By the time we could see that wonderful arch that lets you know you’re home once again, the rain had stopped and we were soon pulling up to Port Orleans Riverside.


I love POR – it feels welcoming and relaxing. We were so happy to get out of the van after exactly 10 hrs. of being on the road.



I had used the online check-in 10 days out from our arrival date, and was anxious to see how it would work. Inside the lobby, we found signs directing us to the Online Check-in counter where CM Roberto from Costa Rica was ready to greet us. I showed him my photo ID and he located our documents, all ready to go.

But our first challenge was ahead of us. Roberto got out the resort map to show us where our room was located, pointing out our location at the Mansions at Magnolia Bend ; I stopped him and explained that we had requested Alligator Bayou as we wanted to stay in the same section we had previously. Cory’s face was already registering her dismay and I was preparing for a complete melt-down on her part. Roberto was very understanding, and we waited while he went to check and see if they could move us.

In the meantime, Kevin and I talked to Cory. “Hey, we’ve never stayed at the Mansions – how about we try something new this time? It might be fun…You might discover you really like it…and Roberto said it’s really much closer to the big pool and a bus stop…what do you think?” Cory’s eyes were already filled with tears (if she has her heart set on something, it’s really hard for her to change.) But she suddenly took a big swallow and said, “Okay, I don’t care - let’s try it this time.” I was so proud of her!!!!

When Roberto got back, we told him we’d go ahead and stay at the Mansions – but he had already moved us to Alligator Bayou! Not a problem, he went back and switched us again to our original location and told us if we didn’t like it, he would make sure we found a suitable room, and showed us a few other locations around the resort that we could try. I apologized for causing so much trouble, but he assured me it was no trouble at all. (We gave him a CM Appreciation card.)

With check-in accomplished, the plan was to go and get a bite to eat at Downtown Disney and look for a t-shirt for me to wear to MK tomorrow. I had previously purchased a cute Mickey Mouse tee from our local Disney Store – but decided I needed a different size. By the time I took it back, they were out of those particular shirts, so I thought I’d just buy something when we got to WDW – and I did not pack an extra shirt, so I really needed to get something.

But as we turned away from the check-in desk, we saw a wall of water coming down outside the windows! It was absolutely pouring rain! Our alternative was to head over to Fulton’s General Store; the girls needed lanyards for their pins and maybe I could find a tee that I liked. Kelley and Cory each chose a Tinkerbell lanyard (each a different design I tried on a few tees but none of them were exactly what I was looking for. Sigh. That meant I would have to switch outfits tomorrow and try and find a shirt when we got to MK.

The rain stopped, and we needed to move our car and find our room. Our room was located at Acadian House – just across the Sassagoula River and not far from Ol’ Man Island swimming pool, and from there just a short walk to the Main Building. We also had a bus stop nearby (it took 2.5 minutes to walk there – I timed it!)

The look and feel of the Mansions is a lot different than Alligator Bayou. The designers of Port Orleans French Quarter/Riverside wanted the look and feel of the architecture to reflect the transition from city to country life – so that you move from the colorful vibrancy of New Orleans to the stately manor life of the plantation, and then to the rustic cabins along the bayous and backwaters of Louisiana.

Acadian House was a beautiful white-columned manor, complete with a graceful fountain and lush landscaping.






Inside, we found more elegant furnishings – and a Mickey towel on the bed!






As soon as we toted in the luggage and supplies, we realized how late it was and how hungry we were. The sky looked pretty threatening again, so we decided against taking the boat to DTD and opted to eat at Riverside Mill food court.

I love this big, open-air mill setting – and all of us headed for the carving board for roast beef, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables and cornbread….everyone except Kelley who decided on a personal pizza instead. Kelley was especially excited this trip to be old enough for the adult dining plan and all the great choices she could make. Cory was still on the kids’ plan and wasn’t too pleased – but I promised to share a lot of my good stuff with her.

We had a great time at the food court; laughing, talking, spilling things and just generally being slap-happy from finally being at WDW! But it was getting late and we had a very early morning planned. Back to Acadian house we hiked, enjoying the warm evening breeze and the splashing of the families in the pool as we passed by. And when we got back to our room, I realized that I was feeling much, much better. I didn’t even feel like I had a cold at all! It must have been that Disney Magic at work already.

The girls got their trading pins on their lanyards, everyone laid out their clothes for the next day and we hopped into bed. But no one slept well that evening – we were too anxious to step under the train station arch and catch our first glimpse of the Castle in the morning…

Up Next : The Magically (Hot) Kingdom

[bsblady01]

more please

[mcc0313]

Cathy I am so excited to see the start of your TR. This trip was so deserved by your family after you having to cancel last years that I have been thinking of you all week wondering howmuch fun you were having. I am sorry to hear that you were not feeling totally up to par but reading how amazing this vacation was for you has me feeling very positive and looking foward to hearing more.

I love the look of the manisons at POR, we love us our AB which is our only choice when we travel with 5 but I am holding out hope that we will be able to try to manisons soon on a trip with just me and the girls. Love your pictures...they really are so beautiful and very different from the AB section. Can't wait to hear more.

[ilovedisney247]

Hope the gets better!

[DawnK]

can't wait to read more

[chezp]

What a great start, although I'm not sure I like the references to illnesses and injuries...

[BelmontBelle]

Great start Cathy! Can't wait to hear more!

[oldmom]

can't wait for more

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Cathy!

[Nimros]

Originally Posted by bsblady01

more please

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

Hope the gets better!

Originally Posted by DawnK

can't wait to read more

Originally Posted by BelmontBelle

Great start Cathy! Can't wait to hear more!

Originally Posted by oldmom

can't wait for more

Thanks - I'm working on my Photopass photos today and hopefully I'll have another update soon.

Originally Posted by mcc0313

Cathy I am so excited to see the start of your TR. This trip was so deserved by your family after you having to cancel last years that I have been thinking of you all week wondering howmuch fun you were having. I am sorry to hear that you were not feeling totally up to par but reading how amazing this vacation was for you has me feeling very positive and looking foward to hearing more.

I love the look of the manisons at POR, we love us our AB which is our only choice when we travel with 5 but I am holding out hope that we will be able to try to manisons soon on a trip with just me and the girls. Love your pictures...they really are so beautiful and very different from the AB section. Can't wait to hear more.

We were very happy to get back - and even more sad to leave. There's just never enough time to spend there... and we did have such a wonderful time, despite everything.

I haven't decided whether I like the Mansions or Alligator Bayou best yet...maybe best two out of three?

Originally Posted by chezp

What a great start, although I'm not sure I like the references to illnesses and injuries...

Don't worry - it all turns out great! Disney Magic at its best.

[vfair]

Great start - looking forward to more!

[KMB733]

Great Start!!! More please

[goofysdtr]

Great start, Cathy! I've never stayed there, but I think your resort looked lovely.

[Nimros]

~ My Tummy Hurts ~

9/14 Six AM the next morning, we were awakened by the phone ringing; Mickey and Stitch were calling to wake us up and start our day. As I jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, I was amazed that all my cold symptoms were virtually gone – and also noticed that I had a slight pain in my stomach. By the time I was finished with my shower, my stomach ache had increased to a stomach pain – and steadily grew worse.

This could NOT be happening. I must have looked pretty pale as I got out to dry my hair, because even Kevin noticed. And when I told him I might need him to run down to Fulton’s and see if they had any Pepto or Tums or something similar, he took me very seriously. He knows I am rarely sick and it takes a herd of wild elephants to make me ask for drugs.

He and the girls (who were already up, dressed and finished with breakfast) took off for the store – but came back empty-handed several minutes later as Fulton’s didn’t open until 8:00am. Since we needed to be on the bus to MK for RD by then, I told him we’d just look for something at the Emporium when we arrived – but I secretly wondered if I was even going to make it that far.

Bleh! No matter what I tried, the intense pain in my midsection would not go away. I tried getting some fresh air and walking around, but felt worse; lying across the bed didn’t help, either.

I told them I didn’t know if I was going to be able to go that morning and that they might have to go on without me…but the little girls were begging, “Please Mom – you can do it! You’ll be okay – just try!” I barely felt like standing, let alone walking, but we headed outside to walk that 2.5 min. to the bus stop. Suddenly I felt like I couldn’t take another step; luckily there was a horse-head tying post in the courtyard for me to bend down and hang on to.

My family was looking at me with concern; I told Kevin, “You’re going to have to take the girls and go on. I’ll catch the next bus as soon as I start feeling better.”

“I can’t do that,” he replied. “I have no idea what to do or where to go.” Kelley and Cory grabbed me by the hands and kept cajoling me “C’mon Mom – you’ll be okay.”

I have no idea how I found the strength to do it, but I continued on down to the bus stop (slowly but surely.) There were no other guests waiting and the girls and I plopped down on a waiting bench. I told Kevin to get out the camera and take my photo so I could remember– “This is how I feel right now.” (And yes – that ‘face’ is for the camera!)



As soon as he snapped the photo, the first bus for MK arrived – and on we hopped. No one else was aboard and it was ccc-old! I pulled my knees up to my chin and Kelley snuggled up close beside me for the ride. The closer we got to the Magic Kingdom, the happier and more excited I began to feel… and slowly the better my stomach began to feel – so that when we finally stepped off the bus and into the beautiful Florida morning at the baggage check, there was only the slightest of irritation left!!! I was so happy I listened to my girls!!!

My little red Baggallini! It has so many zips and compartments that it made getting through security LOTS of fun. The CM at MK just did a quick once-over of the main compartment and sent me through. (That was not to be the case at every park, however.)

***Photo Disclaimer*** I just have to add this in – just so you know…I am growing my bangs out. If anyone has ever done that, you know it’s a long, slow painful process. Your hair hits a certain stage where it’s either hanging in your face or it looks totally horrible pinned out of the way. My bangs happened to be at this stage while we were at Disney – so please be kind and remember I don’t always look like a shaggy dog! ***Disclaimer Over***



Now that I was feeling better, I could focus and revisit our ‘game plan’ for the day. As a TourGuideMike ‘trainee’, we knew that MK was not the optimal park to be at this morning - but Kelley and Cory had their hearts set on going to MK first, so we were prepared to deal with a bit of a crowd. Plus, back when we were planning our itinerary, this was the only evening SpectroMagic was going to be shown – and we didn’t want to miss it this trip.

After hearing all the stories of the 60-90 minute waits to see the fairies, Pixie Hollow was definitely our main focus of the morning, especially since I had two little girls who were going to be Tinkerbell and Silvermist for MNSSHP the following evening – they couldn’t miss meeting their namesakes.

We are not a family of waiters (and no, I don’t mean the kind who work in restaurants! ) Both girls (and their dad) are not patient enough to wait in line for a long time, no matter how much they want to see or do something. True, I often had them at RD waiting for 30 -40 minutes for the parks to open, but after that we were gold if we followed ‘the plan.’ So as soon as Toontown opened at 10, we’d be right there to visit our favorite pixie and her friends.

Secondly, we wanted to get over to Frontierland and the Big Two Mountains so Kelley and Kevin could have their first ride on BTMRR – and Kevin could test his new VitaMotion-S for motion sickness!

Lots of other guests were already at the train station that morning – no glitter Mickeys on the ground but there were hula hoop Mickeys on the pavement – but not for long! Lots of kids were taking turns with them. Everyone there seemed to be in the best of moods.

Now here’s where I have to mention the weather. We like going to WDW in September because it still feels like summer, but most of the bad heat and humidity are gone. Plus, you have those little afternoon showers that cool things off to look forward to. But that morning, at about 8:30am, already you could feel the humidity building up. We had watched the Weather Channel and knew they were predicting 90s all this week – something we had not planned on! (And here I always wondered how all you people who vacation at Disney during the summer could stand it. Little did I know we were about to find out first-hand!)

Since we weren’t in a crazy-hurry to be one of the first people at the ropes, we decided to stand back and watch the train arrive with Mickey, Minnie and all the characters.



I knew I was going to have to fight back the tears as soon as I heard the train whistle blow and the music start, but this time, the slight stomach pain that still remained helped take my mind off of it and I only shed one or two tears. Cory, however, began to cry with happiness the moment we stepped through the tunnel and onto Main Street. I had to stop and hug her for a bit.

We weren’t off to Space Mountain this morning because of the refurb, so we took our time walking down Main Street and looking in all the shop windows, making notes about where we wanted to come back later on. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and even though there were lots of people already speeding past us as we entered Tomorrowland, we knew it’d be a walk-on – and it was.


The sisters had decided to be ride partners this trip, which left Kevin and I to enjoy the attractions together. No sooner had our cars arrived in the depths of space to help defeat the Emperor Zurg, than our mission was ‘delayed.’ (I’m thinking of all the PPers in June who were stuck on this ride for a long time after their Wishes Meet…) As luck would have it, our car was positioned right at the entrance to one of the rooms, and Kevin’s gun could reach one of the targets. He continued to fire until he maxed out (Galactic Hero!) and our cars began to move again. Not fair!

After Buzz, it was still pretty early – we had a least 45 minutes before Toontown opened, plenty of time to do some other attractions. But ‘overly anxious me’ had read a tip in another forum about using the path by the train tracks to reach Toontown and be closest to Pixie Hollow when the ropes dropped – presumably 15 minutes early if it was crowded. We walked down the path, only to be to informed by a CM at the end that RD was indeed at 10am.

Back down the path we headed and into Fantasyland. We could see the rope at the Toontown entrance; already there were several families waiting. Since the Teacups were right there, we sent Kelley and Cory off to ride while we kept an eye on the people lining up.


I took the camera and walked around the other side of the Teacups to get some photos, when I noticed Alice walking up, holding the hands of a little boy and a little girl. She marched right up to the Teacups and she and the children sat down in a cup to ride together – so sweet!


More and more people were beginning to gather over by Toontown, so we decided to line up along with them and watch the CMs and kids blow bubbles. So many little girls were in their Princess gowns and a few dressed as the fairies. As ten o’clock approached, the CMs carefully lowered the ropes, and had all of us calmly follow them back to Toontown, each CM ‘walking’ a group to the various attractions. We followed our CM to the Toontown Hall of Fame and were soon standing in a very short line to enter Pixie Hollow!!!

UP NEXT : No More Birthdays and Tackling the “Mountains”

[dsnytina]

So glad you're there, your tummy feels better and you are all ready to enjoy Pixie Hollow with such a short wait. At DL, we waited about an hour to see them. It was so adorable!
Can't wait to read more!