DisneyWorld and back to reality ...

Bonjour les amis!

The second half of our trip was in DisneyWorld. It was a great time! I think our eyes grew bigger during our stay as there was always something new to see. Our days usually started with a big breakfast as we usually skipped lunch; too many things to visit. We would either take the monorail or the bus to our destination. Ben or Steph would plan the day, especially which rides we needed to go on. Since DisneyWorld theme parks are more or less all separate, we usually picked one to visit for the day but sometimes hopped from one park to the next. It really takes a good full day to see

each one.

The weather was mostly cool (we needed a sweatshirt or coat) but some days were quite warm. During the entire stay, there was only one morning that was a total downpour with a big thunderstorm. That just rolled in and out within 6 hours. Then sun and cloud the rest or the time. At night it would get quite cold.

The Magic Kingdom hasn't really change much. The castle at DisneyWorld is much bigger and you can walk through it easily. Of course, in Tomorrowland, the Star Wars franchise has set up shop. Lots of lightsabers swishing at night and BB-8 balloons everywhere.

Epcot was very nice. It's amazing to walk from one country to another every 20 minutes. The products and food is authentic for the most part. Makes us really want to travel!

Ben's favourite theme park was Animal Kingdom. There, we saw lots of animals and something to do or see at every turn. It was nice to see animals up close. Of course, there is the Expedition Everest ride, which both Ben and Steph were really looking forward to.

Hollywood Studios was ok. Lots of Star Wars merchandise and attractions to see. Much of this theme park was closed or renovating so we also went to Disney Springs (shopping district). There were a few things to see there and by then we were through with shopping! We ate at one of our favourite restaurants there, the T-Rex Café.

This big trip, Ben was looking forward to, was all that he expected and more. It was tiring but just what he, and we, needed. If you would like to see more photos of this trip, I have posted more at my Flickr page (here) and will continue to add more in the next few days:

The flight back was a non-stop gight from Orlando to Vancouver (6 hrs). We arrived at 1am (4am by our body clock!) on Thursday, January 21st. Of course things don't always go smoothly as one of our bags was sent to Winnipeg, for some reason. But we are learning to just go with the flow and they delivered it to us the following night.

We had a message on the answering machine saying we had a date for Ben's MRI. Right back to reality! February 18th. We had to check Ben's blood counts the next day after our arrival home, and they are low but acceptable for the start of chemo. So Ben started chemo right away on Friday. He is to take 9 pills per day for the next 5 days. The chemo dose is reduced by 25% as it was too much for his body the last time. The ejects of the chemo will start showing in 3 to 4 weeks as his counts will start going down and will likely need a transfusion or two.

Again, we'd like to thank everyone for their generous donations to make this trip possible for Ben. It has been a shining light during these dark times.

Un gros MERCI à tout le monde!

2 Comments

COLLEEN

1/28/2016 12:43:20 pm

Wow! Looks like a great trip. You all deserve it and more. Your photos are amazing too. Animal kingdom was deDnitely my favorite

too. Welcome home!

REPLY

ELIZABETH

2/10/2016 06:24:18 pm

Just checking for updates and wanting to let you know, Ben, that you are in my thoughts daily. I hope you got to have a good Family Day on Monday and that you were able to enjoy some of that sunshine yesterday. Fingers crossed for next week's MRI! :)