Conquering the Mountains with MS: Space, Big Thunder, Splash...

I'm not the first person with multiple sclerosis to visit Disneyland and California Adventure, and I certainly won't be the last. But just as MS is a unique experience for every person who has it, a visit to the Happiest Place on Earth is equally unique for every MSer because there are so many variables involved. Having a plan of attack for each day at a theme park when you have two young children is challenging enough; but we're masochists, so we wanted to throw a mom with a scooter and sensitivity to heat into the mix!

Fortunately, Americans would be hard-pressed to find a more accessible place than a Disney park. There was a lot of controversy about a year ago when Disney changed the rules for people in wheelchairs or scooters who wanted to go on rides because so many people were cheating the system. Can you believe people were actually hiring disabled individuals to travel with them at the parks so they could all get on rides faster?? Unbelievable. Anyway, it used to be that if you were in a wheelchair or scooter, you would enter the ride through the exit and more or less get on the ride right away. For many of the older rides, that's still the case, simply because of space limitations and the way the ride works. But for the bigger and newer rides, disabled riders and their families now get their tickets scanned at the ride exits and are given a return time--usually within an hour or less, which is actually pretty nice because it doesn't interfere with the FastPass system. For other rides, we waited in the normal line for part of the time, then got diverted to an elevator or wheelchair ramp in a back hallway.

Using this system--essentially a combination of waiting in line, not waiting in line at all, getting scanned at the exit, and using the regular FastPass tickets, we never waited in line for more than 30 minutes despite the fact that Disneyland was PACKED all three days that we were there. It was hot with a bit of humidity, but definitely not Arizona hot, and the cool breeze off the Pacific Ocean was absolute heaven in the shade. This, along with drinking cold water and finding shade whenever possible--even if that meant sharing a tight space under a tree with a large Malaysian family--made the heat quite tolerable.

So on to the fun stuff! In the space of three days, the four of us went on 30 rides and saw several shows. I was able to get on every ride, with varying levels of ease and difficulty. By far the easiest was the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh because I was able to stay in the wheelchair I had to transfer into from my scooter. By far the hardest--and most embarrassing--was Space Mountain. I tried four different ways to get my right leg to bend (which it refuses to do when I feel nervous under pressure) with no luck. The very kind and patient attendant finally brought out a padded slide, believe it or not! This finally worked, and getting out of all the rides was much easier than getting in. We weren't sure how the boys (ages 6 and 4) were going to do on the "scary" rides with drops, but they loved them all, including all the Mountain rides. I thought our youngest would freak out during that huge drop on Splash Mountain, but it looks like he's going to be our adrenaline junkie. And then, there was the meet-and-greet with Captain America. This picture pretty much says it all.

In addition to the rides, we did a lot of great stuff. Our youngest son is a natural comedian and performer, so we weren't surprised that he was falling out of his seat and had his head on a swivel throughout the entire Aladdin Broadway-style show at California Adventure, as well as during the Mickey's Soundsational parade at Disneyland (or any other musical performance in either park). Our older son loves to build, so we spent what felt like hours in the Star Wars store in Tomorrowland building light sabers and R2-D2 figures. We went to a character breakfast at the Plaza Inn during our second morning at the parks, and took lots of great pictures. I highly recommend the Mickey-shaped waffles with banana caramel sauce.

Like any trip to a theme park, we had a few challenges and mishaps, but we overcame all of them. The hotel was a mess, even though it was a Radisson and we had high expectations because of the chain's reputation (and past experience at other Radissons). Poor management, poor room quality, a broken lift system on the accessible shuttle, horrible food at the restaurant...the list goes on. But we managed, and it's hard to complain when the room is free (we used my husband's points). By the third day, the boys started having meltdowns before we even reached the parks from being off their normal sleep schedule, but we alternated carrying them and distracting them with rides, and they (and we) survived. My husband accidentally left his backpack (with the car keys in it) on Main Street after we watched the parade, but a cast member turned it in right away to lost and found and we got it back intact.

Trust me when I tell you we were ready to come home after three days at the Happiest Place on Earth. For our next trip, we will definitely stay at a hotel across or down the street from the park entrance so we can take a mid-day break for naps/rest. We couldn't do that this time since our free hotel required us to take a 20-minute shuttle ride, and they didn't do mid-day pickups or drop-offs. We will also get a room with bunk beds, ha ha! Our sleeping arrangements were terrible, but we did the best we could with the hand we were dealt. We made the mistake of buying the boys toys (like unwieldy plastic swords; blaming that one on Daddy) at the beginning of the day instead of the end, so it was a constant battle over who was going to carry them, making sure they didn't get left behind on a ride, etc.

Overall, Disneyland and California Adventure was a great experience, and I really felt like my MS wasn't a big impediment to our level of enjoyment. We did everything we wanted to do, and if I didn't feel like going through the hassle of getting on a ride, I just waited in the cool shade for my boys and people watched. When the time comes for our next visit (in a couple of years at least), we'll be ready!