Happy Wednesday Everyone! It’s time to catch up, and like usual, it’s been a busy week, but for different purposes. It’s always something, isn’t it? In the past week we went through our first real hurricane, saw Disney World close, and watched our last Main Street Electrical Parade. First things first….. Lets talk Hurricane Matthew, shall we?
So Hurricane Matthew was the big worry for a lot of us last week. Being from Michigan, we are so not familiar with hurricanes and what it entails to prepare for one. By mid week, things were getting a bit more scary. The news was warning everyone in Florida to prepare, and to not take this impending storm lightly. Wednesday evening we went to the store and got water, baggies for extra ice, batteries, snacks and candles. I didn’t want to not be prepared. The schools were cancelled for Thursday and Friday, so I needed to be ready. Thursday morning when we woke up and turned on the television, things looked even worse. The Governor was on, and he was warning people to evacuate certain areas and to not ignore said warnings. I started to cry. I’ve never seen such warnings. Granted, we went through many snow storms in Michigan, but all we needed to do was have enough food for a couple days in case we got snowed in, there was no real danger per say. It’s a whole new ballgame down here. The news said we had till evening to get last minute supplies and take extra precaution. By mid morning, the BIG news hit….. they were closing down Disney World. They NEVER close Disney as you know, so we knew thing just got even more real. Now what?
Sitting on the news that Disney World was closing for the first time in a LONG time was not only scary, but perplexing. Do I put out the info before Disney does? I usually don’t, but we discussed it and knew the announcement was coming. Yes, we had the info out before the major media outlets, and people sort of flipped out a little. The Halloween parties were cancelled, the Parks were closing at 5pm and staying closed till Saturday, and people were worried and confused. We were too. The news was telling people to get what they needed and get back home by evening, then “hunker down” as they kept saying, to ride this storm out. That’s exactly what we did. We boarded up our sliding glass doors, blew up the air mattress (here is the list of some of the best duvets for allergy that can be preferred by allergy patients to sleep better) so the boys could sleep in my room that night so I knew they were ok, and we did our best to prepare for whatever happens. I barely slept that night. The wind was whistling outside, and my little guy woke up and said “Mommy what was that?” at ever single noise he heard. It was so dark out, you could hear the weather but you couldn’t actually see it. I was praying for daylight to hit quickly, so at least we could see.
Once the sun did come up, we could see how windy it was, and I felt a little more relieved. There was no regular programming on tv, it was all storm coverage all day, and yes we watched it. Hurricane Matthew made enough of a turn to where it didn’t become a direct hit. Thank God for that. Yes, Florida had damage on the coast, power outages, etc… but Central Florida fared much better than they thought we would. We can handle rain and wind, and we did. My heart hurt for areas who got it worse, especially in places like Haiti where there was so much devastation. Yes we got lucky, but some did not. All in all, the whole ordeal was a learning experience. Now that we’ve dipped our toes in the hurricane pool so to speak, we’ll know how to handle the situation in the future. On Saturday morning Disney World was back to regular operating hours, the sun came out, and you’d hardly know that a hurricane was recently upon us. What an experience.
We had been in the house for a couple of days, so we were ready to get outside as soon as we could. It’s been so hectic around here lately, so we haven’t gotten in a lot of “fun” time. Plus the weather has been pretty rainy. In all the excitement of Hurricane Matthew, I had forgotten that last weekend was the final weekend for the Main Street Electrical Parade. I don’t want to rehash what I wrote last night, but yes it was sad to see it for the last time. Sometimes we take things for granted when they’re at our convenience all of the time. I think I did that a little with the Electrical Parade. There were plenty of nights we didn’t watch the parade, we went on rides or got a snack instead. But Saturday was our last chance to see the parade before it headed back to Disneyland, so it was a must see. The park was very busy, and there were more people than usual on the parade route for both shows. It was emotional to see, but I’m so thankful I was able to see the Main Street Electrical Parade one final time. Sure, it will be in Disneyland, but I’m not sure if or when I’ll be able to go there, so I said my goodbyes while I could. People keep asking me what is replacing the electrical parade, and as of right now, nothing. I hope Disney comes up with another nighttime show for guests, as there will certainly be guests who will miss seeing something in addition to Wishes and Celebrate the Magic at night. Time will tell.
Wow. What a week it’s been. Actually, it’s been a crazy few weeks. But busy is good, yes? I’m so thankful for all the messages and such we received last weekend regarding my family and I, checking to see if we were ok in the midst of rough weather. We did just fine, and my heart goes out to those who hard it harder. I wanted to mention something that’s not Disney related, but still important to me. This weekend, on October 15th, it’s Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. Different organizations are asking for people who suffered a loss, to light a candle at 7:00. If you read our magazine, then you know we suffered this same loss in May. I’m trying to do my part by talking about a hard issue, because so many women are afraid to do so. One in four women suffer a pregnancy or infant loss in their lifetime, that’s a lot. If you have, please know you aren’t alone, and together we can break the silence and bring comfort to those who need it. As always, thank you for reading my ramblings each week, it means the world to me, truly. One month from today, on November 12th, I’ll be at the Magic Kingdom for our yearly meet up, and I can’t wait to see some of you again, friends old and new! Details on our Facebook page! Thanks again everyone! Till next week, sending you hugs, blessings and pixie dust. See ya real soon! ~M
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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I so appreciate all the things you share. I am so sad we missed the Osborne family lights & now the Electric Parade (at least we have seen the parade a few times) One of my wishes was to see the Christmas lights & we booked our trip last year before anyone knew they would be gone. There are many things to see at Disney World & we will have the time of our life there celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary.
On another note Michelle, we have many local “Walks to Remember” here for those who suffered such a loss. I have been blessed but have many friends who suffered that loss over & over. I pray for all who have & you are certainly among those who I will remember with my prayers.
Thanks for everything you do for us Disney friends.