So we got back from our trip the other night. It was pretty fun overall, despite some bumps and setbacks. Literally. On our first day there, we were going to our hotel room to drop off our bags and head out to MGM-Studios when my mom, riding in a rented ECV cart, didn't have enough room to pass a vehicle parked on the sidewalk, and fell over in the cart itself. A bunch of helpful Disney employees came over to assist and call 911 for us. My mom and I spent most of Friday afternoon in the hospital awaiting her x-ray results. Luckily, nothing was broken, but we'd missed out on the park that day. Mom was sore that evening, and couldn't make the Epcot Illuminations dessert and viewing party we'd been invited to as part of the package. She encouraged me to go out though, and to attend that party, so I did. Since Epcot was open extra hours for resort guests that evening, I was able to walk around and see some of the sights and go on a ride or two that night before heading back.
The next morning, I participated in my first 5k run. I walked a lot of the way, being really tired from the previous day, but it was a lot of fun. Along the route, people were always encouraging each other, and I got to hear a few stories of how some of these women came to participate in this run. For some, like me, it was their first time. for others, it was their second or third. One woman had lost 40 pounds between races. There were many stories shared and we all got to see the faces behind them.
We spent Saturday at Epcot together, and I was able to introduce Mom to my favorite park. We had a delicious lunch together at the Italy Pavilion in the World Showcase, shared some Rice Cream, and even went on The Seas together. We'd planned to go to Downtown Disney that night, but by the time we got back to our hotel, we were both really tired. When I ran that morning, my feet already hurt some from the previous night. By Saturday night, they were so blistered. Mom and I stayed in that evening instead of going out as planned. I did drain my blisters and put something on them, and after I got us something to eat from the hotel restaurant (The Artist's Palette), I considered going out, but was just too tired.
On Sunday, we spent the day at Magic Kingdom. It rained in mid-afternoon, and I left the park for a couple of hours in order to go get my first massage (it was great), but overall we had a really fun day. There were extra hours that night, and so we wound up leaving shortly before midnight. It was cold and damp when we left, and we encountered our first not so friendly bus driver. This woman let a bunch of passengers on first instead of letting my mom on the bus first (as they're supposed to do when it comes to disabled passengers) and then claimed she couldn't allow anyone else to stand up (there were about three people standing already). I pleaded with her to let just three more people stand (the number of passengers that would have to get up in order to fit one wheelchair person), but she basically shut the door in my face. Buses there come every 15-20 minutes, and it was freezing that night. I'd given my mom my sweater and was in this tank top and we were both cold.
The 'not allowed to let people stand' line was clearly an excuse as the next bus came and we got on, and there were about fifteen standees for the ride.
The next morning, we went to the spa and picked out a lovely gift set with some products to take home in order to use the balance of our gift certificate. Then my mom's cart ran out of power and we had to push her to the bus stop. The rental company would bring the replacement to Animal Kingdom. Once at the bus stop, the first bus to Animal Kingdom had a driver that did exactly what the previous woman did to us the night before. She let everyone else on, ignored my mother, then claimed she couldn't let any more people stand. I pleaded with her and mentioned that the bus we'd ridden on the night before had about fifteen people standing but she'd have none of it. I also mentioned we had the same thing happen to us the night before. And I told her she was supposed to let my mother on first. All she did was close the door in my face and leave. So we had to wait 20 more minutes for another bus. I burst into tears at people's laziness. They subsided quickly, but honestly, my mom was just trying to get around, and these drivers aren't supposed to shaft the disabled like that.
Anyway, on a happier note, we did get to spend at least some time at Animal Kingdom before we had to leave Florida. We got to go on a couple trails, but missed the safari and Expedition Everest due to time constraints. I did have a chance to go on Kali River Rapids right before heading to the gates.
All in all, we had a good time. Wish we had some more time to do things together, and had had a chance to get to MGM and Downtown Disney (we'd intended to shop and go to the House of Blues on Friday night), but maybe next time.