DisneySide Day # 27 - Disney The Wright Way

 

 Personal photos in this post may not be used without written permission from My Springfield Mommy
While reviewing previous stories by other lucky families who have experienced Disney, I kept tossing around how I would start off my post for your reading pleasure. No matter what you get out of my posting, simply put, there is only one way and that is the Disney way. There is no other place on earth that can make you feel the magic or make you feel the way you wished upon a star to feel when you watch all those wonderful Disney movies. Being a farm girl, I rarely stray away from my lifestyle and have a great love for being at home; however, when it comes to Disney, this is the one place that I know that I will not only feel like a kid, but will also BE a kid. With Disney, you can never go wrong. 

As a quick introduction, David and I have been married 15 years and have two beautiful daughters, Macie (7) and Isabel (1). We have been to Disney World in Florida several times since Macie’s arrival and most recently this past July to introduce Isabel to the World of Disney. David had been to Disney many years ago and my first adventure at Disney was at the same time we took Macie for her first trip. I was able to celebrate my birthday by seeing Disney through the eyes of our 1 ½ year old! We typically visit Disney between Thanksgiving and Christmas. While the Christmas season is already a magical time, it is even more so Disney style, from the castle decorated in sparkling blue tinted lights, to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade with hot chocolate and snow, it is a snow globe of beauty brought to life. 

While I could elaborate continuously about all Disney does to prepare to make your visit “magical”, I wanted to focus on one aspect of the park that not everyone experiences. While I understand each park has this area, although labeled differently for each park, I want to specifically point out City Hall at Main Street USA, located within the Magic Kingdom. 

For a brief background, Macie experienced her first seizure on June 3, 2012 and then experienced three seizures in one day on August 25, 2012. From this date, she has been on a daily dose of medicine that has thankfully kept her from having further seizures. And, as an update, we are almost three years seizure free and are now in the steps of weaning her off the medicine in hopes she has outgrown her seizures. We continue to say lots of prayers and hope we have the worst behind us! Now moving onto where this plays into our Disney experience. 

While we were spending the day at the Magic Kingdom this past summer, we needed to carry Macie’s seizure medicine with us at all times. We had the stroller for Isabel and in the stroller we were carrying Macie’s medicine. We could not be separated from her stroller and the medicine needed to be with us at all times, so we went to Guest Relations, located within City Hall and were welcomed and assisted immediately. We advised of our needs and without question we were given a tag to put on our stroller that identified the stroller (us) as needing to stay “connected” with our stroller and would be allowed to bring the stroller into all the rides and left in a particular area close to where we got on and off. If we did not have this identification tag, we would be required to leave our stroller in a location away from where one would wait in line and there are times when the strollers are in the direct sun, weather, etc., something that Macie’s medicine could not be exposed to for long periods. Once we received this tag, our journey throughout the park and on rides was without any hiccups, and we were not treated any differently. While no one ever wants his or her child to be treated differently for a medical condition, etc., Disney goes out of their way to ensure you are put first and as soon as the identification label is shown, the kindness, care and respect were unexplainable. So, for anyone who has a medical need, or even if you are not sure if your need qualifies, please remember Guest Relations within all Disney parks, and speaking specifically about City Hall at the Magic Kingdom, they go above and beyond, true Disney style. 

And, as I was typing the above, I also thought about another thing we (I, specifically) experienced while at Disney with regards to our youngest, Isabel. In July, Isabel was eight months old and was solely breastfed. While it was rather hot at the park, there is a baby changing/nursing facility located within the Magic Kingdom by the Crystal Palace. As of July, there is currently only one station such as this in the Magic Kingdom, but when I inquired, I was advised plans were in the works on adding additional stations within the park. It should also be noted that each park has a Baby Changing Station and First Aid area. The baby changing facility is a large, air conditioned room with several changing tables with papers that were disposable on top. In another room, there were tables, chairs and highchairs set up along with movies playing for the little ones, there were also accessible outlets for charging phones, etc. In a separate room is the breastfeeding room, which the door is monitored closely by Disney staff to ensure of who is entering. I will be the first to say I am very conscientious of my surroundings and privacy and felt comfortable nursing while in this room. The lights are turned down low, there are several rocking chairs facing different directions and electrical outlets as well for plugging in phones or if you needed to pump. The other room I would mention is a type of kitchen area with a sink and drinks, as well as they had items for sale (i.e. baby necessities, Tylenol, etc.). Additionally, during my time in the baby center, several children had become separated from their parents. The Disney staff kept the children calm and they allowed the children to wait in the area until family was reached. They had lost their dad whose cell phone had died and they were trying to make contact. The staff advised that as soon as their dad made contact with any Disney staff member, he would be escorted immediately to them as every single Disney staff member knew of them being missing. In addition, I noticed the children were asked repeatedly if they wanted any food or drink while they were waiting. A Disney staff person was put in charge of their care and I can say being on the outside and also being a parent, seeing the one-on-one attention was comforting. The children were older, but if it were a child of a younger age, the comforting nature of the Disney staff would most definitely make a little one feel better and make the parent know they were in good hands during such a traumatic event.

In summary, the above is a miniscule glimpse into our many Disney adventures, and while I could continue on about each detail of every minute of our trip(s), the above topics, I believe, may be the most useful to not only a first time Disney goer, but even a seasoned visitor as well.
Disney continues to change minute-by-minute, second-by-second. But, one thing will not, the experience and the memories will be cherished forever. Enjoy and we can’t wait for our next trip!

Guest post by the Wright Family

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