Doing Disney Disabled

For my kids' spring break, we decided to head to Florida and spend a couple of days at Walt Disney World.  Having never been to Disney World before, this was pretty exciting stuff for my kids. After looking at maps of how huge the Disney parks are, and with the progression of my Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, I had to face the fact that there was no way I was going to be able to physically walk the parks.  I was going to have to get around and visit the sites on a scooter as a disabled person.  This realization really played havoc with my ego. But, this vacation was about my kids, not about me.  I didn't want my physical condition to hold them back from experiencing the joys of Disney, and I figured that if I was going to have to deal with a scooter, then doing Disney disabled seemed like the best, most handicapped-accessible place to be. 

 Upon our arrival at the Disney resort, we were greeted by the most helpful and lovely staff member who personally walked us through check-in and prepping us for which parks we should visit and the paths we should take to maximize the sites while taking into account my energy limitations.  She was delightful, helpful, and really made us feel welcome and at home.

Upon checking in, I asked our registrar how we were to go about renting a scooter.  She had no clue and referred us to the Concierge.  When we asked the Concierge, she told us we could rent one at each park, and if we let the park attendant know that we'd be going to another park, they'd reserve a scooter for us at the other park.  If we wanted to rent from one of their outside vendors, then we'd need to speak with Bell Services.

We decided to go with the outside vendor so we'd just have to rent one time.  We went and spoke with Bell Services and they assured us they'd have a scooter ready for us in the morning when we were ready to depart for the parks.  Satisfied we were ready for the next day, we went and visited Downtown Disney and enjoyed the shopping, food, water ferry rides, and interesting sites there. 

One thing I didn't take into consideration, Downtown Disney is a LOT of walking.  A lot.  By the time we went from one end of the pier to the other, I was exhausted. While I really needed a scooter to get around Downtown, it would've been nearly impossible to get in/out of the many shops there because the aisles aren't very wide and with the number of people there, I'd have gotten myself boxed into a corner of every store I went in.

The next morning we went and purchased our park-hopper passes and then went to Bell Services to pick up our scooter.  Well, apparently the young man we spoke with was confused and Bell Services just receives the scooter from the outside vendor, while I am responsible for calling and ordering it.  With our scooter rental fouled up, it was going to take 1-2 hours to have one delivered.  With my kids antsy to get to the park, we made the decision to just rent a Disney scooter at each park.

That was a mistake.  We should've waited the 1-2 hours for one to be delivered from the outside service.  The Disney scooter is adequate, but it sucks.  While it goes like a bat out of hell and gets you through the park in world record time, there is no happy medium to its pace.  You are either stopped, or you get whiplash and burn rubber when you push the lever.  Also, for people who may have difficulty with their hands (i.e. arthritis, or some other problem (like mine)), it uses a thumb lever action to move.  It's ok for the first few minutes, but after that it rips the skin off your thumb and makes your hands really tired.

We started off our park visits with Animal Kingdom.  The park staff there were extremely kind and helpful. My kids absolutely loved the rides there.  I couldn't ride "Dinosaur" or "Expedition Everest" because they were too rough for my physical condition, however, being able to see the look of fear and terror on my husband's face as he rode those rides was absolutely priceless!  Mr. I've-never-met-a-ride-that-scared-me met one......... and he had to sit down for a good 10 minutes afterward!

I did get to ride "Kilimanjaro Safari".  That was a lot of fun and I was very impressed that Disney created a special area for the disabled to enter and exit the safari buses.  You ride your scooter or wheelchair through the line and enter the ride through a special door, which then takes you to a loading area away from the throngs of people.  Your wheelchair or scooter is stowed right at the entry to the bus, so you're only a few short steps from entering the bus and returning to your "wheels".  If you are "not transferable" (i.e. must stay in your wheelchair), the safari bus is fully equipped to accommodate a wheelchair, so you can still participate in the ride with your family and friends and enjoy the fun together.
 

After lunch, we park-hopped over to Magic Kingdom.  We had been told that for the $70 we spent on the scooter rental at Animal Kingdom, they would call over and reserve a scooter at the next park we were attending.  That was incorrect.  They do not call and reserve a scooter - no matter if you're an on-site Disney guest or not.  When we got to Magic Kingdom, they were out of scooters.  I was given the option of having to be pushed around in a wheelchair or try and walk the park. That sucked beyond suckdom.  Talk about a major battle with my big, fat redheaded ego.  In the end, my husband had to remind me that while this situation sucked and he understood my need to still appear ambulatory, this visit was about our kids and not about how I appeared to others.  I got in the wheelchair and let my kids push me around.

We arrived inside the park just as the Princess Parade began.  My kids were extremely excited and we "parked" next to a set of stairs so we'd kind of be out of the traffic pattern.  We were approached after a few minutes by a park employee who very, very rudely told us we could neither stand nor sit where we were.  She told my husband to move me in the wheelchair to the back of the throng of people standing around the parade route.  My view of the parade was of everyone's butts.  The park employee required the wheelchair to be pushed so closely to the people in front of us, that I couldn't even get up out of the wheelchair to stand and watch the parade.  I did get to see an occasional Princess' head if they were positioned high enough on their float.  But, for the most part, my view was of butt-central.......... and it wasn't a pretty sight.

After the mix-up with the scooter and now this problem, my attitude was turning quite sour.  When the parade was over, my daughter's one wish was to see Cinderella's Castle.  She grabbed ahold of the wheelchair handles and off we flew in search of the magical kingdom of Cinderella.  Let me say this:  Magic Kingdom is absolutely and positively not wheelchair friendly.  Because of the parade they do every day, there is a train track embedded down their streets.  The wheels in a wheelchair get caught in those tracks.  Doesn't sound like that big of a deal but what happens is when that tire hits that track, you come to an abrupt halt.  This causes you to be flung from the wheelchair like you've been tossed out by a pumpkin launcher. My daughter racked up a few good scores on how far she could toss me as we tried to make our way to the castle.

Disney personnel at Magic Kingdom were resoundingly unhelpful and not very cheerful or even kind, but maybe by the afternoon during spring break they're sick of people.  The park was packed with so many people and to such a degree we could hardly move, and people absolutely refused to step out of the way of our wheelchair.  Tired of the park employee's attitudes when we tried to ask them questions, along with the rudeness of the patrons visiting the park, we  made the decision to leave.  The act of trying to depart the park took on its own dimension of entertainment.  My daughter was pushing me and she is a gentle-natured soul who is shy and very even-tempered.  We discovered her even-tempered nature apparently came to an end with the people who kept stopping in front of us and refusing to move out of the way.

We had an elderly woman who walked right in front of us and stopped.  When my daughter very politely said "excuse us please", the woman looked at us, harrumphed, and continued to stand in our way.  My normally unruffled daughter got a better grip on the handle bars of the wheelchair and said "Outta my way you old granny! I've got a wheelchair and I'm not afraid to use it!".  I was shocked, and to be honest - amused - at my daughter's personality change, but the old hag got out of our way when she saw the very real threat of having her Achilles tendon severed with the push my daughter gave the wheelchair. 

We hadn't made it another 5 feet when 3 gigantic hulks of men stepped in front of us and stopped.  These guys were big and seemed like they would have been right at home in lederhosen while standing on a Swiss Alp yodeling.  My daughter had had enough of Magic Kingdom and these people and said quite loudly "BOWLING PINS!".  The men sensed their impending doom and were surprisingly agile for their size as they deftly moved out of the way of the wheelchair. 

As we rounded the corner, we had to go back down the main street, which has that blasted embedded train track in the road.  Our only option, due to the throngs of people standing along the sides of the street and completely blocking the sidewalk, was to go down the middle of the street, inbetween the train tracks.  As we made our way down the street, a Disney Fastpass Photographer stood right in the middle of our path and was watching our approach.  My daughter called out "excuse us please".  He didn't move.  I called out "Excuse us, we are trying to get through".  He still didn't move.

My daughter's choice was to either ram him or turn and try to weave around him while hoping the wheelchair tire didn't get caught in the train track. Unfortunately, the tire got caught in the track, and to such a degree, that I was launched out of the wheelchair and did a face plant on the cement.  It took every ounce of restraint I had not to shove the photographer's camera .......... well, you can imagine.

My daughter was horrified and near tears.  She thought it was her fault.  We settled her down and then my husband helped me up and back in the wheelchair.   Then he took control of pushing the wheelchair through the throngs of people.  He'd had enough and he was no longer kindly asking people to step aside.  No, these folks were no longer getting the benefit of a verbal warning.  He nailed more Achilles tendons in the first 3 feet of moving my wheelchair than I could count.  People learned quite quickly from the string of people groaning in pain to step aside - and to be quick about it.  It was amazing how quickly the sea of people parted and allowed us passage.

After we returned the wheelchair, my kids decided they'd had enough of Disney and wanted to leave.  Their experience at Magic Kingdom was of such rudeness and callousness by the park employees, as well as the patrons, that my children expressed no desire to ever return to a Disney park. Pretty darn sad. We have had to remind them regularly of the fun and kindness we received at Animal Kingdom and that Magic Kingdom was only one bad experience out of the better part of 2 days of fun.  Still, it's sad when adults at a CHILDREN'S theme park ruin the starry-eyed wonder and fun that is to be had there for the kids.

One thing I know for certain from having visited Disney as a disabled person - Magic Kingdom is absolutely not wheelchair friendly......... unless you think you might enjoy the experience of being flung out of a wheelchair like a pumpkin to see what kind of distance you can achieve.

Written by Christie Bielss

 

Changing In An Instant

Last week while checking out at the grocery store, I had a rather unpleasant experience.  It was something so simple it should've been no big deal, and yet it became so much more.  It was an incident that made me stop and question my own way of thinking.  Most people would think it was ridiculous and so miniscule of an experience it's not worth anything more than to be a passing aggravation.  For me, it's been more than that.  How is it possible for something so simple and innocuous to change a person in an instant?



Public Domain Image

I don't really know.  What I do know is this incident has made me look inward and ask if who I am on the inside is who the world sees on the outside.  Is my perception of my behavior how I really appear to others, or is my perception skewed by my own arrogance?

As I said, the incident was nothing.  It was ridiculous.  It was simply a cashier at the grocery store who became angry when I asked her to price match a single item out of the many groceries I was purchasing.  She got quite upset and didn't want to be inconvenienced to press the few extra buttons on the cash register to over-ride the store price and she made a big show out of her aggravation.

If I had been alone and experienced this, I'd have written it off as typical, but on this trip my daughter was with me.  The woman's attitude and demeanor were such that my daughter asked me what was wrong with the woman.  She wanted to know why she got so mad if this was a normal service the store offered.

My daughter's questions and bewilderment at the cashier's behavior got me to thinking:  what are we saying to younger generations when we not only act this way, but accept this level of service as normal?  Have we become such a "me" society that even when we work or are out in society, we think it's ok to behave in any manner we choose?  Why has it become ok, or even expected, to put ourselves first and to never exercise any control over our words, actions, or emotions?

The cashier was going to be working the same number of hours at her cash register whether she had to price match an item or not.  Her salary was not reduced because the store chose to entice customers to do all of their shopping in one place by price matching.  There was no excuse for her attitude and downright rudeness.  And, as a customer, because I accepted this level of service as though it were a normal part of my transaction, I perpetuated this woman's behavior. 

This incident has really made me miss Miss Manners.  I miss etiquette.  I miss social responsibility.  I miss people being held accountable by their peers.  But mostly I miss people being hospitable to their "neighbors".  I miss society having a level of expectation where cursing in public was not only frowned upon but taboo, when people dressed in nice clothing when they left their homes, when courtesy and kindness were the norm, and when people treated others as they would like to be treated.

So how has this incident affected me?  It's made me realize that I have allowed the world's view to creep in and push aside the morals and social responsibility I was brought up with.  By saying and doing nothing, I actively accepted undesirable behavior, like this woman displayed, as normal or even acceptable.  Because I have become so accustomed to this behavior, as nauseating as it makes me feel just thinking about it, I'm sure I have most likely treated people this way myself.  Having the wide-eyed innocence of my daughter question the appropriateness of this situation opened my eyes and made this a game changer.

It's wonderful that many people step out of their everyday lives to help out at soup kitchens, sort clothes at donation locations, and build homes for the needy.  But what about your everyday life?  Isn't treating all people with kindness, courtesy and respect equally as worthy?  Is it really too much effort to say please and thank you, or hold a door open for someone, or offer your seat (or maybe your place in line) to someone much older than you?

At some point, the buck has to stop somewhere.  I have presented the challenge to my children and they have chosen to accept the challenge.  From this point forward, we are going to make a concerted effort to follow Miss Manner's rules for our behavior.  We are going to work at controlling our tongues and our attitudes and truly focus on treating others as we would like to be treated.  We may not change the world, but we can change the way we touch other's lives by working to make a positive impact.

An avalanche usually begins when an outside force or sound causes an area to break free of its bonds and move with great speed.  Maybe you'll decide to join us and we can break free of the bonds of anger, disrespect, and unkindness and start an avalanche toward a better society together.  Will you pick up the gauntlet and join us in this challenge?  I hope and pray so.

Written by Christie Bielss
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"Necessity is the Mother of Invention"

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to hang pictures on the wall.  No matter which way I grabbed the nail, as soon as the tip of the nail touched the wall, it fell from my grasp.   There is nothing more frustrating than trying to do something and having it fight you every step of the way.  Trying not to mutter unladylike words under my breath, I heaved a big sigh.  "Necessity is the mother of invention"~Plato (or maybe it's Aesop - it's up for debate).  It's a phrase I find grossly annoying but so very true when it comes to dealing with physical limitations brought on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

 

Ok, to be perfectly honest, losing that ability was frustrating as hell. There is just no other way to describe being able to do something one day and then having that ability stripped away the very next day.  So how do I deal with it?  I do what any normal redhead does.  I stomp my feet, I throw a tizzy, I bite my family's heads off if they offer to perform the task for me, I go and beat the stuffing out of a pillow, and then I get back to the task at hand.

Do I feel sorry for myself?  Not generally.  Maybe it's because I vent my frustration "extraordinarily well" (LOL) at the moment something happens, which makes it easier for me to move on.  It's also because my family and friends have always pushed me with the "in a room full of people, I'll take mine" attitude since this disease reared it's ugly head over 20 years ago. 

For me, I think what keeps me pushing foward most of all, is hanging onto Isaiah 40:29-31
"He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary,And the young men shall utterly fall,
³¹ But those who wait on the LordShall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."

In the grand scheme of things, life on earth is short.  One day I will run again and maybe have races with my kids.  One day I will be able to pick up small objects again.  One day I won't have to worry about my arm twitching and causing my food or drink to spill.  One day I won't be self-conscience about how atrophied my hands look.  One day is a day I look forward to.

Until that day of wholeness arrives, I choose to try not to be frustrated at what I can't do and focus on what I can do.  Until that day arrives, I choose to live life by plastering a smile on my face even though it would be easier to fall into a deep well full of griping, moaning, and crying.  Until that day arrives, I choose to improvise and keep moving forward the best way I know how.

I put that nail in the wall all.by.myself.  After mumbling and grumbling under my breath when I dropped the nail several times, I realized that while my fingers may not be able to hold that nail anymore, my hand can hold a pair of needle-nose pliers, which can hold that nail long enough for me to pound it into the wall.  Within a minute or two, that picture was hung.......... and it never looked better.

Written by Christie Bielss

The New Sexy

How do you define sexy?  I used to think sexy was a good looking man, built well, dressed nicely, and being more attentive to me than to his own reflection in any mirrored surface he came in contact with.  I'm not sure when it happened or even why, but as I've gotten older my idea of what is sexy has changed dramatically.

Last night our children, in the course of washing the dinner dishes, threw the leftover broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots down the garbage disposal. Our disposal hasn't been working really well lately and we're putting off replacing it until we remodel that side of the kitchen.  Anyway, the sink became so clogged it shot water a good 6-7 feet across the kitchen.  You can read about the whole entertaining incident on The Redhead Sez Facebook page here.

It came to me this morning as my husband tackled disassembling the pipes under the sink to unclog the drain:  muscles and good lucks are no longer a requirement to being thought of as sexy in my book.  Nope.  Pulling nasty, stinky gunk out of the sink drain so I can have a working kitchen sink is the new sexy.  Cleaning the dishes, vacuuming the floors, helping the kids with their homework, doing laundry, and cooking dinner are the new sexy.

Picking up the kids from school, stopping at the grocery store to pick up some needed food item without complaining, making up the bed, and straightening the sofa cushions are the new sexy.  While that well-built physique is nice to begin with, it doesn't hold a candle to the man with a little more meat-on-his-bones physique with a receding and/or graying hairline that is handling household chores and keeping the kids in order so I can have a few minutes, or even an evening off, to rest.  Yes, now that is the new sexy.

Finding Grocery Savings

This past Friday, I spent half the morning preparing my taxes for 2013.  I finished them on Saturday morning and e-filed them.  SUCCESS, I thought!  Then, it dawned on me that for 2014 to be a successful year for my family, I needed to work on a project from Dave Ramsey that I vowed I would do this year.  I wanted to see how much of our money was going to groceries, as well as dining out at restaurants and frequenting fast food drive-thru's.


Public Domain image courtesy of Junior Libby

For this project I took all of our bank statements from last year and would need to highlight each expenditure listed and categorize it so I could see where our money was/is going.  Because Dave Ramsey is a proponent of children being involved in budgetary issues, and because I could see this could easily take me several days if I did it myself, I gave each of my kids a different colored highlighter and a specific category.  I then handed them each half of the statements, and we all got to work.

I have to say that it was quite the eye-opening experience.  We had our successes, like cutting our "eating out" expenses in half, but we also discovered a money-gobbler:  grocery store expenses.  Over $13,000 worth of grocery store expenses.  And yes, we did do a little bit of clothing and Christmas shopping at Walmart and Target, but only to the tune of $138 for 2013 (yes, I keep every single receipt for a period of time).

I haven't figured out yet whether the huge increase in grocery expenses has been because of the increase in the price of groceries, or if I'm having to buy more food because my kids have gotten older and are starting to eat a lot more as they begin growth spurts.  One thing is for sure, it is time to try and cut that expense.  The only problem with this idea is that I'm already shopping at Walmart and Sam's Club, so I'm getting some pretty good prices and am out of ideas.

I need some fresh ideas on what you, or someone you know, does to save money.  I used to live debt-free before I got married and after 24+ years of marriage, I'm sick of owing people money.  Being in debt restricts my ability to do things for my family and for other people, and that drives me batty.  Not to mention the strangle-hold it feels like it places on me when my children want to participate in a sport or activity.

As a first step, we have decided to build our own vegetable garden this year in an effort to save money on the produce aisle.  We eat a lot of vegetables and my kids like to garden, so I'm hoping to make this a win-win proposition.  My debt snowball will hopefully get reduced while my children learn about growing their own food and being self-sufficient.

While this is a good start, we need to find additional ways to save money.  So, if you have a way you grocery shop which helps save your family money, even if it's just how you organize or meal plan, I'd be thrilled if you'd share your successes with me.  If you have a favorite grocery store that you've found has great prices, or if you have a great way to get grocery coupons or bargains, please share.  Thank you in advance to everyone who shares their advice, tips, bargain places, and any other information which will be of help!

Written by:  Christie Bielss

Shooting Cupid

Are you a man-made, store-created-holiday hater?  Do you despise Valentine's Day and wish you could shoot Cupid in the derriere' with his little bow and "love" arrows?  I know many people who really don't care for this holiday.  While I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate these holidays, they do get me to thinking..... which is almost always dangerous.  The more I have thought about it, the more I think these for-profit store-created holidays could be used to do a lot of good.

What if  we turned the tables on this greeting card industry marketing ploy and took this day to not only show some love to our family and friends, but to neighbors and strangers as well?  What if we all did one thing out of the ordinary for a stranger on this one day?  Would this then still be day to enrich the coffers of industry, or a day to enrich the hearts of people who would cherish and remember that one kind act for a lifetime?

What if we all did something on this day which didn't involve whipping out our credit cards?  What if you scraped the ice off of a stranger's (or even a neighbor's) windshield?  What if you helped out at your child's school?  What if you brought a plate of cookies to share with co-workers or neighbors (FYI:  I like peanut-free chocolate chip)?  What if you made a bouquet out of holly and other evergreens you clip from your own yard and gave it to a stranger?  What if you took some note paper and handed out handcrafted cards to strangers wishing them a happy day?

WHAT IF we all took a moment to do this for someone outside of our inner circle?  What if we made Valentine's Day a for-profit venture of the heart and soul?  What could you do for someone else? Please share some of your ideas of ways to show others some kindness on Valentine's Day and let's see if we can truly spread some love on this day.

Christie Bielss

10 Interesting Valentine's Day Gifts

Valentine's Day is in a few days and I've been looking for something a little less traditional to give my husband this year.  As I've searched high and low for the perfect non-traditional gift, I thought I'd share with you some of the more interesting Valentine's Day gifts which truly say "I Love You".

1.  A back wax in the shape of a heart.  This is a viable option for all those wanting to get tattoos for their loved ones but are afraid of needles.  Also good for those who want eligible Sasquatches to know this Sasquatch is taken.

 

2. His and Her dental floss.  The family that flosses together doesn't have to share dentures together.  Also great for the bacon lover in your life.

 

3. The Inflatable Husband.  The ideal gift for those who like companionship but have husbands that get in the way of their shopping or for the woman who likes having her man watch chick-flicks with her without complaint.

4. The Inflatable Wife.  The perfect gift for the husband who likes to watch televised sports without female interruption.  This version also comes without the dreaded Honey-Do list.

5. A Bacon Scarf.  The quickest way to the love of your life's heart is by putting bacon around their neck???  Well, you'd certainly have a lot of people following your light-of-love ......... as well as all the neighborhood dogs.

 

6. Farting Mug.  A coffee cup that farts every time you pick it up.  The best way to wake your loved one up on Valentine's morning is with breakfast in bed and a cup of farts to go with that cup of joe.

7. Brief Jerky.  For the survivalist in the family.  Great for those long outdoor hikes or multi-day hunting expeditions.  It can feed you and clothe you at the same time.  And, for the ladies, they have the blinged out version.

 

8. Dynamic Life T-Shirts.  T-shirts that measure your proximity to your loved one and display it by the number of hearts that light up.  You'll be the talk of the town dressed as this dynamic duo!

 

9. His/Hers Control Your Spouse Talking Remote. Features 18 phrases and sounds at the touch of a button so you don't have to interrupt your reading or tv watching to respond.

10. A Pre-Planned Funeral.  Ummmm............ a great gift if you want to meet your maker.......... earlier than expected.  If you are thinking of giving this gift, you may want to consider a gift with a plug from the housewares department instead.......