Trip Report Pomp & Circumstance… Sunshine & Shadows… A Different Kind of Disney Trip

Hello my friends! I know. I know. I have gone MIA AGAIN with an unfinished TR from September, and as @fractal pointed out, I do owe you not 1 ½ , but 2 ½ TR’s!

And now it is soon to 3 ½ …

I know I should pick up where I left off and not skip ahead, but writing has always been therapeutic for me and the last several months have been surreal. I’m thinking maybe if I write about it, maybe I will feel a little better.

This past December, my folks came to stay with us for the holidays.

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Right after Christmas, my mom decided that she did not want to go back to my brother’s house in NJ. She decided she wanted to stay with us in NY. I think she sensed something and wanted to be close to the area she and my dad were born and raised. Since January, my dad has spent 5 weeks in and out of the hospital. Finally, he said no more trips to the hospital. He made me promise him, so we called Hospice. Sadly, my daddy passed away last week.


IMG_7084.JPG


He was at home with all of us around him. He missed his 90th birthday by just a week. I guess he knew Heaven would give him a grander party. I miss him. I don’t think I’ve really accepted it yet. It just doesn’t seem real.

This is us on my wedding day…

IMG_7163.jpg


So that’s the shadows I feel around me.

The sunshine? Well that goes with the pomp & circumstance… Julia has graduated from Full Sail University with a Bachelors of Science in 3D Computer Animation. So proud of my girl! She had a bittersweet birthday last week losing her pop-pop.

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We will be flying down to Orlando for her commencement on May 10th. And since Full Sail is only about twenty minutes from Disney, Julia asked to go to her favorite park (EPCOT) for a day. She also asked to eat at Morimoto and maybe sneak a few hours in at the Studios. We will be flying out on Tuesday and back to NY on Saturday. So many memories to make…

This will be the first time we will be staying off site. We are staying at a “good neighbor” hotel in Lake Buena Vista, but it will definitely be a different kind of trip for us. Actually, I feel a great deal of guilt leaving my mom so soon after my dad passed. My brothers will both be staying at my house with her, but she is so attached to me… I’m not sure how this is going to go. I can’t even be out of the house for more than an hour without her having one of my girls call me and make sure I’m coming home soon. My parents were married for 69 years!!! I can’t imagine the grief my mom feels.

While I feel all that guilt, I also can’t wait to board that plane, close my eyes and just BREATHE. It’s been quite a stressful four months.

So here is my attempt at journaling this time… filled with so many emotions… from joy and happiness to sorrow and pain. Our time of sunshine and shadows.
 

meggo819

Well-Known Member
Definitely try again. I understand that they’re trying to weed out the cheaters, but that’s not you. Hopefully you’ll get a more understanding CM.
That sucks that there were so many cheaters and that they could ruin this option for someone like Hope! 😡

I hope they’re able to try again fresh. (I wonder if they’ll know that Hope was already rejected.)
 

Figment Forever

Premium Member
Original Poster
Definitely try again. I understand that they’re trying to weed out the cheaters, but that’s not you. Hopefully you’ll get a more understanding CM.

I spoke with a different CM this morning and she was approved. I was happy to hear that they were revamping their system because I could see how it was abused. But it's scary to think it will be a fight to get it for Hope in the future. I wish they would use the system that Six Flags and Universal uses. I have to provide medical documentation and it's valid for a year.
 

Figment Forever

Premium Member
Original Poster
That sucks that there were so many cheaters and that they could ruin this option for someone like Hope! 😡

I hope they’re able to try again fresh. (I wonder if they’ll know that Hope was already rejected.)

I was able to get her approved this morning. Thankfully, I got a CM who saw her need right away. I know there were MANY "cheaters" and I am happy that they reworked their system, but it's sad to think I will now have to "fight" for this accommodation moving forward. I wish they used Six Flags and Universal's system.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Hello my friends! I know. I know. I have gone MIA AGAIN with an unfinished TR from September, and as @fractal pointed out, I do owe you not 1 ½ , but 2 ½ TR’s!

And now it is soon to 3 ½ …

I know I should pick up where I left off and not skip ahead, but writing has always been therapeutic for me and the last several months have been surreal. I’m thinking maybe if I write about it, maybe I will feel a little better.

This past December, my folks came to stay with us for the holidays.

View attachment 782422

Right after Christmas, my mom decided that she did not want to go back to my brother’s house in NJ. She decided she wanted to stay with us in NY. I think she sensed something and wanted to be close to the area she and my dad were born and raised. Since January, my dad has spent 5 weeks in and out of the hospital. Finally, he said no more trips to the hospital. He made me promise him, so we called Hospice. Sadly, my daddy passed away last week.


View attachment 782420

He was at home with all of us around him. He missed his 90th birthday by just a week. I guess he knew Heaven would give him a grander party. I miss him. I don’t think I’ve really accepted it yet. It just doesn’t seem real.

This is us on my wedding day…

View attachment 782421

So that’s the shadows I feel around me.

The sunshine? Well that goes with the pomp & circumstance… Julia has graduated from Full Sail University with a Bachelors of Science in 3D Computer Animation. So proud of my girl! She had a bittersweet birthday last week losing her pop-pop.

View attachment 782419

We will be flying down to Orlando for her commencement on May 10th. And since Full Sail is only about twenty minutes from Disney, Julia asked to go to her favorite park (EPCOT) for a day. She also asked to eat at Morimoto and maybe sneak a few hours in at the Studios. We will be flying out on Tuesday and back to NY on Saturday. So many memories to make…

This will be the first time we will be staying off site. We are staying at a “good neighbor” hotel in Lake Buena Vista, but it will definitely be a different kind of trip for us. Actually, I feel a great deal of guilt leaving my mom so soon after my dad passed. My brothers will both be staying at my house with her, but she is so attached to me… I’m not sure how this is going to go. I can’t even be out of the house for more than an hour without her having one of my girls call me and make sure I’m coming home soon. My parents were married for 69 years!!! I can’t imagine the grief my mom feels.

While I feel all that guilt, I also can’t wait to board that plane, close my eyes and just BREATHE. It’s been quite a stressful four months.


So here is my attempt at journaling this time… filled with so many emotions… from joy and happiness to sorrow and pain. Our time of sunshine and shadows.
I'm so sorry for your loss, and I totally get needing to escape right now. When my dad passed in 2017, I went and booked a trip to DLP because I needed an escape. I had to wait several months for it, but it was worth it, and I needed it. Did it make everything better? No. But was it a good distraction? Absolutely. And I'm sure your mom will make it. Does she know you are going?

And congratulations to Julia!! Does she know what she's going to do now? Does she have a job lined up?
 

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