It’s hard to explain the way that Disneyland makes you feel to those that haven’t experienced it. Especially for those of us that have faced trauma and hardship in life, it is an escape from the real world and all the problems in it. Once you walk through those turnstiles you leave your worries at the gates as you are drawn into the magic of it all. Walking down main street to the tune of it’s cheery music, seeing each specially designed pristine store front, the horse drawn tram, the paddy wagon, the old style cars. The characters around each corner ready to greet you with a smile and open arms. The beautiful sparkling castle that is strategically placed to catch even the smallest ounce of sunlight. It’s the stuff dreams are made of and where your world is a fantasy! Everything is carefully created to feel as if you’ve stepped into the pages of a book or a movie, and you’ll often see grown adults with tears in their eyes as it can be overwhelming at first.
Back when Dylan came off life support he had a wish granted by Make A Wish which as some of you know was for a Disney trip. This however, was put on hold for over a year due to his health, so when we finally made it in the summer of 2017 it was like a dream come true and it reignited my love for Disney that is for sure!
Whilst in hospital Dylan was mostly bed bound and passed the time watching Disney movies, these bought him comfort during tough times and provided him the chance to dream big. Even when on life support we played his three favourites on loop to him, which we think he heard as he talks about being able to ‘hear but not see’. Bryce also was able to connect with his brother watching these movies, and try to retain some innocence whilst dealing with such an adult situation.
This is why when we visited Disney it was so emotional for us all. We never thought he would make it and to have him there with us and his then two brothers was just amazing. Seeing him react to things from his favourite movies and meeting the characters, letting him go on rides, watching Bryce smile again and act carefree.. these were just some of the things that made us realise we wanted to go back sooner rather than later!
When we planned our February 2018 trip, as I’ve written about before, it worked out most cost effective to buy annual passes and book the hotel using their discount. This meant we could also make future trips so it was a win win situation. This trip was also the first time we thought about New Years Eve.
When watching the stunt show, Dylan was devastated as Lightening McQueen wasn’t in it.. I knew from previous years that he drove down Main Street for the New Years Parade so I started researching it all. He was back in the show by our April trip but it was a much smaller segment sadly than it use to be. Cars 1 & 2 were two of Dylan’s favourite films and he quoted lines from them all the time! These were also two of the films we played to him on whilst he was on life support. We never though he would see the third installment and I actually cried when we took them to watch it at the cinema. His bedroom is all Lightening McQueen, he had a Cars bed at the time and he even requested a ‘Fabulous Lightening McQueen’ teddy for finishing treatment. His face absolutely lit up when he drove toward us on New Years and when he turned and flashed his headlights in his direction I thought he was going to explode with excitement!
The other deciding factor for a New Years trip was that I had heard through the grapevine that the characters from Big Hero 6 would be there, in fact we nearly drove across at Halloween to catch them! Big Hero 6 was Dylan’s other favourite movie at the time, and still is. He liked the fact that Baymax was made to help people ‘feel better’ and he had a Baymax soft toy that went to all his scans alongside his favourite Mickey Mouse teddy. He was very excited to see the posters as we walked into the theatre and he was fixated the whole show. The only thing that would have been even better would have been the chance to meet Baymax like you can in America. Now the series is on Disney XD there is hope though, so fingers crossed for that one!
Despite it being really busy the trip was worth it, the boys even got to meet their two favourite Star Wars characters; Chewbacca and R2D2, who aren’t usually at the park day to day. On New Years Day due to the older boys green cards (I won’t explain why Bryce now has one as it’s too personal to write online) we were waiting to board the Molly Brown riverboat first and a cast member offered them the chance to steer the boat! This was an amazing experience for them and they both got certificates which will be treasured. Later on that day we got a call from the hotel stating there was a surprise envelope for Dylan when we got back that evening. It turned out we had been chosen to receive some ‘Pixie Dust’ the next day, where a cast member personally escorted us around to meet all the characters in the Disneyland Park area. This was amazing and so invaluable to us. Even with a green card we always struggle with character meets, the queuing for the very limited time slots and then the set times to go back can be difficult for somebody whose illness can be unpredictable. There have been occasions we’ve missed our time slots due to being in the bathrooms dealing with issues or because he is too tired. Even with his wheelchair waiting can be difficult for him in the cold of December so we need to be careful. And don’t even get me started on the Lineberty app in Studios!
When people hear we’ve renewed our passes and are going again we get the inevitable comments.. ‘Your going to Disney again?’ but they don’t understand. Plus it’s not like we can jet off to Spain, Greece, Australia, America for a few weeks like other people. In total last year we spent 21 days at Disney so the equivalent of a three week holiday abroad, and because of the amazing pass discounts and tips we’ve learnt (like staying in a Disney hotel overrides any ‘black out’ days on the lower price passes) we probably haven’t spent much more either. These short trips to Disney are easy for us to control, they provide a safe environment where we know all the safety and emergency information. They have services and facilities to accommodate Dylan’s needs and we can take everything we need in our car without having to struggle. It’s our happy place, our second home, a place that brings us comfort and joy to our children so yes we will be going back in a few months and no we aren’t sorry! And if anybody else is thinking about doing it but overwhelmed with the planning or costs, speak to us and we can let you know the secrets to saving money..
