Love, Death and New Life through the lens of Disney

I knew that I needed to take Raider to Disney World and I wanted to do it soon. Not only would this trip be Raider’s first trip, but it would also be a trip to remember Ben and celebrate the life he had lived.

I knew that I didn’t want to go by myself, especially since I knew Raider would probably still be under 2 when we went. I asked my parents to come with me and they were so excited. The last time I had been on a vacation with both my parents at the same time was when we went to Disneyland when I was going into 2nd grade. I was really looking forward to the trip.

Now enters two new characters to our list of cast members.

Nancy (my mom)
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Mark (my dad)
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The next step was to decide when we should go. I wanted to find a time that was slow in the parks and also a time that both my parents and I could get off work. Having done a little Disney research I had heard the rumor that the first week of December was the slowest week (I know this isn't really the case anymore). That week also would be an easy time for me to get off work and flights are always cheap then too. Another huge plus to that week was that Ben's birthday is December 6th and we could time it so we could be there over his birthday. The last thing was to check with my parents and make sure both of them could get that week off of work. There work schedules were clear and we were set. We decided the dates of the trip would be December 1-7. I was so happy our last full day would be Ben's birthday.

I immediately started planning. I believe I booked the trip around May of 2009. I spent the entire summer dreaming of our December Disney Trip and reading all the books I could get my hands on and researching Disney World info online. I have no clue why I never came across this board. I also just based my planning off of my honeymoon experience. I knew that I wanted the trip to be laid back again. I really didn’t even want to plan out what days we would be at what parks, but in the end I did plan that.

The one thing that I didn’t do because I didn’t realize how much things had changed since my honeymoon was make dining reservations. This turned out to be okay but really would have made life easier had I done it ahead of time.

When I went to book our trip I had to decide where we would be staying. I knew I wanted a meal plan, park hoppers and wanted to stay in a moderate resort. I really had liked the moderate resort on our honeymoon and I loved not having to worry about carrying around money for our meals. One thing I definitely knew was that I didn’t want to stay at Coronado Springs. As much as I loved the resort I just didn't think I could go back to the same hotel I had stayed at on my honeymoon. Looking at all the other moderate resorts I decided on Port Orleans Riverside. One of the reasons I chose this resort is that I liked the theme but also when Ben had been to Disney World when he was a kid his family had stayed at Dixie Landing. I thought it would be fun to have Raider stay at the same resort for his first trip. I am so glad we chose POR because we ended up loving it.
 
Well December 1st came before we even knew it and we were off to Florida. I was super nervous to be going back to Disney World. I had no clue what kind of emotions it would stir up or even if I would have a good time. I assumed I would be fine and love it, but you never know until you get there.

Traveling all the way from Spokane, WA to Florida takes forever, especially with a 22 month old child. My dad can get really stressed out being around kids while traveling so he sat in a completely different part of the plane from my mom, Raider and me. I was happy he did that because it made me less stressed about Raider's behavior. Raider and I actually have flown quite a bit and so he is pretty good when we fly, but you never know. We always fly Southwest and knew that if they had open seats we could take the car seat on the plane instead of having him sit on my lap. It turned out that Raider would have his own seat for both flights on the way to Orlando. I was so relieved that he wasn't going to be on my lap. When he is in his car seat he knows that he is stuck and can't get out. He just behaves so much better. He ended up sleeping for most of the way and then played quietly for the rest.

We left Spokane around 9am. and didn't arrive to Orlando until 10pm. We were completely exhausted when we finally got to our room at POR around 11:30pm. I had checked in online so at least check-in went really smooth and quick. When we got to the room the pac n play that I had requested was not there. We were so exhausted and had to wait for the pac n play to arrive before any of us could go to bed. As soon as it got there we turned out the light and got some rest.

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Raider finally in his PJs and pac n play after a long day of traveling.

I was noticing that I really didn't take many pictures on this trip so sorry it won't be as full of pictures as the last trip. My last trip though once again will have lots of pictures.
 
Just getting caught up with your report. I'm so sorry you had to go through that but I'm glad you are doing well now. How wonderful that your church family was so supportive with all you were going through, it is definitely important to have a strong faith in that situation, which it seems like you definitely have. Your little guy is such a cutie, looking forward to hearing about his first trip.
 
We woke up on our first morning in the World knowing that we would be heading to Animal Kingdom. We had decided that we were not going to make rope drop at any of the parks and that we would leave the hotel around 9am each day. We really didn’t want to run ourselves ragged. I really wanted Raider to get enough sleep so that I wasn’t dealing with an incredibly cranky kid in the parks. We also agreed if it ever got to a point where Raider was just done that we would just pick up and head back to the hotel.

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He is ready for his first day


We decided we would try to eat a good breakfast every morning as well so that we would have a good amount of energy for the day. We headed to the food court at POR and ate a hearty breakfast. Those Mickey waffles sure are yummy! Then we headed out to the bus stop and off to Animal Kingdom.

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I look like I am a sixteen year old with my little brother here. ha ha. I was actually about to turn 29. I have always looked young for my age but when I have my hair braided like this I feel like i look exceptionally young.

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On this trip one of my main goals was to get on Expedition Everest. Once again I was returning to a park that had a ride that I had been dreaming about for years. Every time a kid in my youth group would go to Disney World I would grill them on Expedition Everest trying to gauge how amazing it was. Because I was with my parents and son I knew that what I wanted to do would not always be the first thing we did. So instead of heading straight to EE we headed to the African Safari. We saw so many animals, I was very surprised to see so many.

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My favorite were the alligators. There were just so many of them lying out in the sun.

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We also had a really good look at the lions especially the male.

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I don't know if you can tell in this picture but his tongue is out and it looks like he is licking his nose.

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Every time I go on this safari I am so amazed at how well Disney does to disguise the barriers.



After the safari we headed over by the gorillas. We got some amazing pictures of one of the gorillas by the waterfall. There even was a photopass photographer there.

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Do you see him?

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We then headed over to the Pagani Forest Trail. Raider loved the fish and just sat at the glass watching them forever. He cried when I made him continue along the path.

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Raider is obsessed with trains just like his dad was so we figured it would be worthwhile to take the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. I had read that there really wasn’t much there and wasn’t really worth the time but I figured the train ride would make it worth it enough. Everything I read was correct. There really wasn’t much there at all. The only thing that really interested Raider was the goats. Raider loved the goats, well really he loved the brushes for the goats. He just wanted to play with the bucket that had the brushes. He would take them all out and then put them back in and if any other kid came and took one he would get upset.

Before we headed back to the hotel for Raider’s nap I really wanted to get Raider a leather bracelet to match the one that Ben had bought me on our honeymoon. We headed back towards the Kilimanjaro Safari and found the stand for the bracelets. Because Raider’s bracelet was so small I was not able to add a turtle charm to it so I just settled for his name.

I have looked back at my facebook statuses from this trip and I am going to post some of them with this report. It was fun to look back at them. When I got back to the hotel I posted this on facebook, “Spent the morning at Animal Kingdom where Raider ran everywhere. Now he is napping before we head out for the rest of our day.”

Being back at Disney wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. I just loved being there and I felt extremely happy for all the memories I had and that I was creating new ones with Raider. There were times I had wished Ben were there of course but I just felt so happy that I was fulfilling Ben's dream of Raider going to Disney World.

My Dad had received his diving certification right after Ben died and had said the only thing he really wanted to make sure happened when he went to Disney World was that he get to dive in the tank at Epcot. He scheduled the dive for the first day of our trip in the evening. He had to be to Epcot at 3pm Raider was still napping so we just told him to call us when he was going to get into the water and if Raider was awake we would head over to see him.

We got the call at 4:30pm that they were getting ready to get into the water and that we should head on over. Both my mom and I had fallen asleep and Raider was still sleeping. So we quickly woke him up got all our stuff together and ran out the door to Epcot. I don’t think I have ever walked so fast in my life. The bus for Epcot came quickly and we made it just in time to see my Dad in the water. It was so cool to see all the divers. My dad came up to the window where Raider was standing to wave. We thought he would be excited but instead freaked out and was terrified. I felt so bad, but we were able to calm him down and he was fine.

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My dad waving to us.

There were many other family members and friends of the other divers standing around. I ended up talking to one lady whose husband was diving with my dad. Her husband was on his 7th time diving at Disney. She said he actually worked for the police department as a diver and his dream would be to retire and work at Disney World leading dive trips. It was fun to talk to other Disney fanatics.

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Here is the picture of them. She had not brought a camera so I took this picture for her and then e-mailed it to her later.

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I couldn't pass up taking a picture of Nemo and Dori.

While my Mom, Raider and I were waiting for my Dad to finish his dive we headed over to the Finding Nemo ride. I loved the seagulls outside the ride saying “mine” as we went by. Finding Nemo is one of my Dad’s favorite movies and he loves the seagulls so I knew he would like them too.

Raider loved the Nemo ride until the dark part, but as soon as that was over he was fine again. This was our first real ride that we had been on and it went well. So far Raider had been having so much fun. I really was concerned on how much he would really enjoy the trip. I didn’t realize that he would understand so much of what was going on around us and get excited about it.

We met up with my dad after the ride and we headed to Word Showcase to find somewhere to eat. My Dad had lived in Germany when he was in college and so he really wanted to try out the Biergarten. The wait they said was a half hour but it really only took like 15 minutes to get in. It was a lot of fun. Raider was able to eat off my plate and it was fun to watch the performance. Since it was Christmastime Raider got to go down and listen to the story of Silent Night and received a gold chocolate coin.

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Raider with his coin.

After dinner we walked around World Showcase and then settled in to find a spot to watch Illuminations. It began to rain just before Illuminations began and I was surprised to see how many people cleared out. We stayed and let Raider just play in the puddles with his Thomas the train while we watched the amazing show. It was definitely time to head back to the hotel after Illuminations but we had had an amazing first day. I really was loving showing my parents Disney World. Both of them obviously had been to Disneyland but they hadn’t really been to Disney World. My mom had been to Epcot for one afternoon when she was in Orlando for a conference but that was her only experience. I ended the day feeling like I was doing exactly what Ben wanted and that he would be so happy that Raider was experiencing Disney.

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My Facebook status updates from the day.

“Eating dinner in Germany. Amazing food. Yum!”

“So today has been great. Visited Animal Kingdom this morning, watched my Dad dive with sharks, ate dinner in Germany and closed off the evening with an amazing Disney firework display. Wish you all were here to share in these amazing memories.”
 


Great updates! Raider is adorable, what a little cutie!! Looking forward to more.


Melissa
 
I just wanted to let everyone know I will be gone all weekend with my youth from church so I won't be able to update till Sunday or Monday. Have a great weekend!!
 


I'm still reading your very moving TR. Your son is absolutely adorable. Have fun on your youth trip!
 
I'm a couple of updates behind (I had other threads to catch up on and started my PTR for our fall trip).

First, Raider is a beautiful child. I can see both you and Ben in him.

What an amazing group at your church...this must have made things so much easier for you to not have to worry about that so that you could devote your time to Ben.

I am so sorry for yours and Raider's lost...my heart truly broke as I read the updates.

I can understand why you didn't want to go back to CSR...that would have been very difficult, I am sure. We have never stayed at POR, but we visit it every other year or so just to walk around and it is a beautiful resort.

Your first day sounds to me like it was a huge success and you got quite a bit done. And I'm glad you got into Biergarten...it is one of our favorites.
 
I just stumbled on your report as I began my lunch and read all the way through - I couldn't stop. See, what you've been through is eerily similar to what my very dear friend went through. Her young, healthy husband of a couple years suddenly began having debilitating stomach pain when my friend was pregnant. Tests found that he had late-stage colon cancer that had spread. As he underwent surgeries and chemo, my friend had their baby and they spent most of their son's first year battling the cancer. Sadly, my friend's husband lost the fight and passed away when their son was 8 months old.

It's been almost 5 years since then, and I've had the privilege of being there for her as my friend grieved, rediscovered her own strength and raised their wonderful child. We've talked often about how most people are afraid to talk about "before"... the time before her husband passed. But that she wants and needs to talk about that time and about him, and that it's important for their son to know who his dad was through the words and memories of those who knew and loved him.

I applaud you for taking the time to write your story. :hug::hug::hug: I don't know you, but feel as though I do simply because I think I understand so much of what you've gone through. And having this, along with all of your memories and recollections of the time "before", will mean so much to Raider as he grows older and yearns to know his dad.

Okay, then. I'm mopping up the tears and moving on. I'm looking forward to hearing more of Raider's and your Disney experiences! :goodvibes :hug:
 
I just want to say again that I am so very sorry. :hug: I was in tears as you wrote about losing Ben but I am already beginning to feel better as you write about the memorial trip. I'm glad your parents were able to go with you. I'm sure that would have been too hard alone.

I also wanted to echo what others have said ~ Raider looks so much like his Daddy. But I see you in him too. He's a cutie!

Lastly, I happen to have been at WDW the same time as you that year! So was my friend, Trentmom, that is also following your TR. :goodvibes I hope the rain toward the end of your trip didn't ruin things too much for you! :rolleyes:
 
What a beautiful and inspirational story!! This was my first time in the 'Trip Reports' and your report was my first. I love it.

Your story and life resembles that of my great friend Tammy. You can check out her blogspot and story at lunkenlemonade.blogspot.com

Her husband of almost 20 years passed this past May after just turning 40. They have five beautiful children together, learning they were pregnant with the fifth the same week of his diagnosis of squamous cell cancer in his sinuses. Six months after giving birth, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma and they endured treatments together. Theirs is a love story with a twist of Disney Magic as well. They worked in the early years of their marriage at WDW.

I found much inspiration in her and now you too. Even when life hands you lemons...make lemonade!!

You have a beautiful boy and you will see many blessings from your husband through him!!

Lisa:hug:
 
Found your trip report by searching for stories of DISers having to deal with brain cancer as my mom was just diagnosed with that. I am sorry for your loss, but happy to see that you have found strength through it and are raising a beautiful boy.
 
I'm still reading your very moving TR. Your son is absolutely adorable. Have fun on your youth trip!

Have a great weekend!!!

Have a wonderful weekend with your youth group!!


Melissa

The weekend was great, I love the youth I get to work with each day. They are so much fun and always teach me something new.

I'm a couple of updates behind (I had other threads to catch up on and started my PTR for our fall trip).

First, Raider is a beautiful child. I can see both you and Ben in him.

What an amazing group at your church...this must have made things so much easier for you to not have to worry about that so that you could devote your time to Ben.

I am so sorry for yours and Raider's lost...my heart truly broke as I read the updates.

I can understand why you didn't want to go back to CSR...that would have been very difficult, I am sure. We have never stayed at POR, but we visit it every other year or so just to walk around and it is a beautiful resort.

Your first day sounds to me like it was a huge success and you got quite a bit done. And I'm glad you got into Biergarten...it is one of our favorites.

The surroundings at POR are just fabulous. I loved the whole atmosphere. My church has been really amazing. I am so blessed to be where I am and have some amazing people in my life.

I just stumbled on your report as I began my lunch and read all the way through - I couldn't stop. See, what you've been through is eerily similar to what my very dear friend went through. Her young, healthy husband of a couple years suddenly began having debilitating stomach pain when my friend was pregnant. Tests found that he had late-stage colon cancer that had spread. As he underwent surgeries and chemo, my friend had their baby and they spent most of their son's first year battling the cancer. Sadly, my friend's husband lost the fight and passed away when their son was 8 months old.

It's been almost 5 years since then, and I've had the privilege of being there for her as my friend grieved, rediscovered her own strength and raised their wonderful child. We've talked often about how most people are afraid to talk about "before"... the time before her husband passed. But that she wants and needs to talk about that time and about him, and that it's important for their son to know who his dad was through the words and memories of those who knew and loved him.

I applaud you for taking the time to write your story. :hug::hug::hug: I don't know you, but feel as though I do simply because I think I understand so much of what you've gone through. And having this, along with all of your memories and recollections of the time "before", will mean so much to Raider as he grows older and yearns to know his dad.

Okay, then. I'm mopping up the tears and moving on. I'm looking forward to hearing more of Raider's and your Disney experiences! :goodvibes :hug:

I am so sorry to hear about your friends loss. You really do seem to understand a lot of what I have gone through. You really hit it on the head when you wrote about the need to still talk about the person who has died. For me it is really important not only for Raider but for myself.


I just want to say again that I am so very sorry. :hug: I was in tears as you wrote about losing Ben but I am already beginning to feel better as you write about the memorial trip. I'm glad your parents were able to go with you. I'm sure that would have been too hard alone.

I also wanted to echo what others have said ~ Raider looks so much like his Daddy. But I see you in him too. He's a cutie!

Lastly, I happen to have been at WDW the same time as you that year! So was my friend, Trentmom, that is also following your TR. :goodvibes I hope the rain toward the end of your trip didn't ruin things too much for you! :rolleyes:

I love hearing about people who were in the parks the same time as me. I always wonder about people in the back of my pictures. I always wonder what there life is like and where they are from and what their story is. It would be so fun to meet someone who was in the background of a picture I have. I also think about all the pictures I probably am in the back of. ha ha

What a beautiful and inspirational story!! This was my first time in the 'Trip Reports' and your report was my first. I love it.

Your story and life resembles that of my great friend Tammy. You can check out her blogspot and story at lunkenlemonade.blogspot.com

Her husband of almost 20 years passed this past May after just turning 40. They have five beautiful children together, learning they were pregnant with the fifth the same week of his diagnosis of squamous cell cancer in his sinuses. Six months after giving birth, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma and they endured treatments together. Theirs is a love story with a twist of Disney Magic as well. They worked in the early years of their marriage at WDW.

I found much inspiration in her and now you too. Even when life hands you lemons...make lemonade!!

You have a beautiful boy and you will see many blessings from your husband through him!!

Lisa:hug:

I am so sorry to hear about your friends battle with cancer and the loss of her husband. I can't even imagine going through all of that. I hope that you continue to read trip reports besides mine. Most of them are just really happy stories of amazing trips to Disney.

Found your trip report by searching for stories of DISers having to deal with brain cancer as my mom was just diagnosed with that. I am sorry for your loss, but happy to see that you have found strength through it and are raising a beautiful boy.

I am so sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis. If you ever want to talk or have any questions please feel free to PM me. It really helps to talk to others who have been through similar stuff. I had a friend who's dad had brain cancer and that really helped me and even now talking to other people who are dealing with brain cancer helps me.


Thanks everyone for the wonderful compliments about Raider being so handsome. He really does look a lot like his Dad. It is crazy because his mouth and chin are totally his Dad so his expressions are so similar to Ben. The shape of his head and his eyes are more me so sometimes he will give a look that looks just like me. His body is exactly like Ben. I feel like I am looking at a Ben's miniature body everyday. His personality is very much a mix between Ben and I too. He is very quirky and silly like his Dad and people are drawn to him just like people were drawn to Ben. He has my outgoing nature though and loves talking nonstop just like me. Ben and I used to always say we wanted him to have the like-ability factor of Ben and the outgoing nature of me and it seems that is exactly what he got.
 
We had another lazy morning and were planning to leave for Epcot at 9am but that all changed after breakfast. We had gone to the food court for breakfast and when we got back to the room I could not find my Key to the World card. I usually carry it in my back pocket but it was not there. It was nowhere, and then I remembered I had put it on the tray after paying for my meal. I realized that I never picked it back up so I had thrown it away. I panicked. I had no clue that you could get a replacement card. I just was so scared that we were going to have to pay for a replacement or buy new tickets. My Dad and I headed straight to the concierge while my mom stayed with Raider in the room. The concierge was so wonderful and told me that this happens a lot but usually it is with people half my age. It lightened the mood since he was joking around and the panicky feelings began to fade.

I got my new card and we were off. The first thing I wanted to do was figure out where my Leave a Legacy tile was. Right before the trip I tried to find the card that they had sent us with the location on it but was unsuccessful. I looked through all our Disney trip memorabilia and it wasn’t there. Turns out when I found it yesterday it was with a bunch of other souvenirs from non-Disney trips. That is when I also found the golf scorecard and our checkout envelope. I have no clue how those things got in the box they were in but I am glad I found them. Anyway we went straight to the Kodak store where they had cast members that could help you find your tile.

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Daisy was right outside the store and I had to get a picture for my sister who has been a diehard Daisy fan since she was little.

There were three computers set up for finding tile locations and three cast members looking up the locations. We approached one of the computers and a wonderful cast member began to ask us some questions in order to find the location. I figured it would just be by name but they actually a zip code as well. It had been over four years since we had been and I struggled to even remember the zip code from Minnesota. But in the end she found the picture. As she was writing down the location she asked me where the guy was. (I think she thought he was in the bathroom or back at the hotel or maybe at home and not with us). I told her that actually he had passed away and this trip was in memory of his life. I got the typical reaction of just shock and then guilt for asking me without knowing. I always feel horrible telling people about Ben. I feel like I just bring sadness to anyone I meet. I always feel so bad for them too because I know they feel guilty for bringing it up. I feel like they feel bad, like they have all of a sudden made me think about Ben and that it makes me sad. The opposite is actually true. I love thinking and talking about Ben. I also like to share him with other people, I feel like it keeps his memory alive. Honestly every moment of every day I am thinking about Ben and when I get to actually talk about him I feel like somebody is actually acknowledging that there is so much more to me than just what is on the outside. Anyway, she gave me the location and then asked if I wanted to come around the counter and see the actual picture. The picture on the computer is in color where as the actual tile is just a black and white sketch. As soon as I saw the computer screen I began to cry. I realized in that moment that Ben really had left his legacy in Epcot. I knew that forever our love would be inside that park, even if it was only in a 1” tile. The two cast members at the other computer noticed my parents and I were crying so they came over to see what was going on. We explained to all of them Ben’s story. I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the place.

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We headed out the door on a mission to find the tile. It was really fun looking for it. When we found the actual tile, tears were shed again. We took some pictures and then we continued our day at Epcot.

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First stop was Spaceship Earth.

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Ben and I did not ride this on our honeymoon so I was really looking forward to it. The line was about 15 minutes and I worried Raider would get bored. Instead he thought it was the best game in the world to stand in line. He loved waiting and then moving forward when the line moved. When the line would stop he would stop as well and then look back at me with the proudest look on his face ever. Spaceship earth was fun. I especially liked the part where you are in the dark and there are all the little lights mimicking the stars. Raider did really well on the ride. I thought he might not like it because of the dark. It was fun to send postcards from the future at the end.

After Spaceship earth we headed straight to Soarin’ to get our fast passes. I knew that the line would be crazy and I wanted my parents to ride it so badly. My mom didn’t want to go on Soarin’ because she is not a huge ride fan. I tried to explain to her how amazing it was and that she had to at least just try it. She said we would see so I got her a fastpass too. Since we were over in the Land we decided to take the Living with the Land tour. I knew it wouldn’t be too exciting for Raider but it is so fascinating to me and I knew my parent’s would love it. As I expected they did. I love seeing all the ways that they are learning to grow food. I actually live in a pretty dry area and we have to use irrigation to grow any crops. So the stuff where they are learning to grow plants without any soil and with little water is really amazing to me.

Because we had such a late start to the day it was already lunchtime. We decided we would just eat at Sunshine Seasons. This was probably my favorite counter service meal. I just remember it being stressful finding a table. This was one of the only times we actually ate at noon and it was crowded.

After lunch we headed over to Mission: Space. My Dad really wanted to go on this ride. My mom of course had not interest and I really didn’t have a strong desire to ride but didn’t want my dad to go by himself. So we got in line and then the cast member approached us to find out if we wanted a green or orange card. I debated what to take and settled on green. I actually get motion sick pretty easy so I just felt green was better, even though I know my dad really wanted orange. Boy am I glad we took the green card because I felt sick after getting of the ride. I couldn’t imagine how I would have felt if we had taken the orange. I did not like this ride at all. It made me claustrophobic and I got motion sickness. I don’t think I will go on it again, but hey everything is worth a try at least once right.

It was now time to get back to the hotel and let Raider take a nice nap. I was bummed that I had missed Expedition Everest the day before so my dad and I decided to head over to Animal Kingdom while my mom took a nap with Raider. We got to Animal Kingdom and just headed straight for EE.

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I was so excited to finally be riding a rollercoaster that I had seen surrounded by scaffolding. I had been anticipating this moment from the day I booked our trip. On the way we stopped when we spotted a photopass photographer to get our picture in front of the mountain.

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We also stopped again when I saw a vendor with the Mickey head ice cream bars. I had been craving one of these and thought I would eat it while in line.

Turns out the line was super short and I almost didn’t finish my ice cream before it was our turn. I could barely contain my excitement for this ride. I had heard so much but still didn’t know what to expect. I wondered if it would be anything like the Matterhorn. This rollercoaster lived up to all the hype and then some. It is just an amazing ride that is like no other ride out there. I love the torn up tracks and the shadow of the Yeti on the wall. The only thing I missed out on was seeing the Yeti towards the end. My dad saw it but I guess my eyes were just shut or something because I totally missed it.

After riding EE we headed back to the hotel to meet up with my mom and Raider so we could head back to Epcot to do World Showcase and Soarin’. When we returned to the park our first stop was off at Soarin’. We utilized the child swap. I was so excited to use this. You feel like you are getting away with something you shouldn’t be doing. My mom came off the ride with the biggest smile in the world. She loved it. She said it was the best ride she had ever been on and was so glad I convinced her to go. My Dad was the lucky one though because he got to go twice. Once with me and once with my mom.

The other ride at Epcot that I did not want to miss out on was the Norway ride. I was hoping my parents would have the same reaction that I had the first time I rode it. I really thought we were going to go over the cliff and down a hill. I wasn’t scared because I like that sort of thing but I was shocked when the boat started heading back the other direction. It was dark outside by the time we got on the ride and it just doesn’t have the same affect when the door opens up and you look outside and think you are going to head down the hill. When it is daylight you are in the dark and the door opens and bright light floods in. But in the dark you barely even notice the doors opening, especially if you aren’t looking for it. My parents liked the ride but weren’t as impressed as I had been on my honeymoon. It was getting late and we hadn’t eaten so we decided we would eat at Nine Dragons in China. The wait was about 20 minutes. It seemed like an hour when you have a tired and hungry two year old. There wasn’t really anything on the menu that Raider would eat so I was thankful that we had some goldfish in our bag for him to snack on. We also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but I didn’t want to give him that in the restaurant, so I waited until we left.

We saw the very end of the Candlelight processional after dinner. The narrator was John O’Hurley. His voice is so calming and perfect as the narrator. We continued to walk around the World Showcase. We stopped off at the bridge between France and the UK and watched Illuminations before heading back to the hotel to go to bed.

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Here are my facebook status updates from the day.
“Found a picture of Ben and I on our honeymoon on the Leave a Legacy walls in Epcot today.”

“Just found my new favorite rollercoaster. Expedition Everest! Best hands down.”

“How come Disney always makes you feel like life is grand. I want to stay forever!”
 
Great update!! I cannot even imagine what it felt like to see your legacy tile for the first time, I would have cried too! Looking forward to reading more.


Melissa
 
I love your 'LOVE' story and although Ben may not be here to finish it with you, it's still YOUR love story with him.

I am glad you shared your story with the CM's and everyone on here as it brings people together. Your family came together to take this trip to remember Ben. The CM's went home that night and shared your story with their loved ones. I think this makes people put life into perspective and they re-think their priorities.

Priorities are not laptops, cars, nice homes, iPhones and such; it's the love we have and had. It's the life we make. I recently read a story about coffee. It's not the cup it's in, it's the coffee that makes us enjoy the moment.

Again, thank you for your story and continue to have a good time at Disney and all it's healing powers it has to offer you as you remember the times you were there with Ben. You can share these stories now with Raider and as he gets older about his father when you visit.

Your heart will only grow bigger!!!

Enjoy your stay!!

Lisa
 
Wow...I have just read your 1st entry, but I am hooked. Look forward to catching up over the weekend.:)
 

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