The Log Dog Blog: Summer Disney Adventure: Day 1

After the craziness two days ago, I'm happy to report that we successfully made it to WDW!

B1 drove us to the airport for our 7:45am flight. We went early, because my mom needs extra time, so we arrived at 5:15am. We didn't get to the gate until 7:05am. Why? Well, the Southwest area was utter chaos (apparently they are still recovering from three days of grounded flights), but TSA was also a nightmare. We had gotten a wheelchair so I could push my mom through the airport, and when we got to security, I pushed her to the point of the x-ray machines and then a TSA person took her while I had to go back through the regular line. No problem. Except when I finally got through the line, they were giving my mom the most rough and thorough pat down I've ever witnessed. They swabbed almost every surface. It was unbelievably ridiculous. And it was not done in a private area - it was right where everyone walked by as they were quickly passed through. I was so angry on her behalf and the only reason I kept my mouth shut was because I just wanted us to get to Florida. But boy, was I mad at how she was treated. So between the check in area and TSA, we made it to the gate with less than ten minutes before we boarded.

Thankfully, things went well after that! We were allowed to preboard, the flight attendants were great, and the flight was quick.We waited until everyone else had deplaned before we got off so that my mom could take as much time as she needed to get up the jetway. This is seriously one of my biggest pet peeves whenever I travel. If you were able to preboard, then you wait to get off at the end of the flight. You needed more time to get on the plane? Well then you can just wait to get off the plane. I don't care if it's someone with a cast on their leg or a family with small children, or WHATEVER. If you got special treatment and were given priority boarding, stay in your seat until everyone else is off the plane. This goes for every single time I fly, regardless of whether I'm by myself, with C, we have bags in the overhead bins, I'm with my mom with an oxygen concentrator...I don't care! If you were the first on because you required preferential treatment, you GET OFF LAST.

When my mom and I finally did get up the jetway, I got a wheelchair for her and we made our way to the main concourse area. Flying is very taxing on her lungs, so we decided to find a place for her to rest - and charge her concentrator - while I went to baggage claim to get our bags. When she felt ready, we made our way to the Magical Express area, and I'm sure we were a bit of a sight between the wheelchair, the oxygen concentrator, two backpacks, and two medium wheeled suitcases! The Magical Express dropped us off at Art of Animation and we checked in, then went to the food court for a bite to eat, and then dropped our bags off at Bell Services before heading to Animal Kingdom.

After a few hours, I got a text that our room was ready, so we decided to head back to the resort. Unfortunately we had a terrible experience with the buses. Evidently, WDW does not have enough bus drivers, so they've had to contract with a charter bus company to handle some of the routes. That's fine if you don't have a wheelchair or scooter, but if you do, you cannot ride. After two charter buses came to the AoA stop and we were left waiting, a Disney bus finally showed up. The driver opened both doors, got off the bus, looked right at us (and the family behind us who were also working with a wheelchair situation), shut the doors and drove off. I wish I were exaggerating, but that is exactly what happened. This resulted in me flagging down a bus driver, explaining the situation and our frustration, and getting the number for transportation from him. I ended up making not one, but two phone calls to transportation as we sat through the arrival, loading, and departure of two additional charter buses. For the second time today, I was extremely mad. Not for me having to wait, but for my mom and for the person behind us who was also in a wheelchair. I don't know what their situation was, but as far as my mom goes, we have to plan our time carefully and make sure we have enough battery power and/or oxygen everywhere we go, not just when we are at WDW. Ridiculous, unnecessary, and unanticipated waits/delays can truly have dire consequences for her.

Thankfully, a Disney bus finally pulled up, and guess who the driver was? The cast member I flagged down who gave me the number for transportation. He was so bothered by the situation that he went and got a bus and drove to our stop to take us to our resort. As he was loading my mom, as well as the wheelchair party behind us, he kept apologizing profusely. What?!? It had nothing to do with him, but he was upset that guests were unhappy. What a lovely and amazing man! It's cast members like that who make the Disney experience so incredible. His kindness and concern really made our day!

Once we were back at the resort, we went straight to our room so my mom could recharge her machine. I went to Bell Services to pick up our luggage and most of her medical equipment, and it was a bit of a struggle to get move everything myself. I wish I'd taken a pic, but I was just focused on not letting anything fall off the luggage cart!

After such an early start, we were both pretty worn out, so we decided just to hang our at the resort for the rest of the night. Before grabbing some dinner, we picked up the final item on my mom's list - her scooter. Seeing everything in our room, was a stark reminder of how hard my mom is working just to be on this trip with me. I am in awe of her. We're staying in a Lion King family suite, which has much more space than a regular room and is something I'm really thankful for.