In spite of going to bed after 1am, we both were up before 8:30. After showers and breakfast, the wheels came off on our day.

As I’ve mentioned before, both of my grandparents – but particularly my grandmother – had been acting a little strangely. Although our first couple days with them were great (the Artist Point dinner in particular), neither of them were as excited or as enthusiastic in later days than I would have expected given the build-up to this trip. Starting late in the weekend my grandmother hadn’t been feeling well, but she didn’t really think she was sick. She thought maybe she ate something that disagreed with her. This turned into her wondering if she had the flu, but she didn’t seem symptomatic in a flu-ish way.  When she came out of her bedroom on this morning, she seemed a bit worse for wear, and casually mentioned that maybe she had a bladder infection, having experienced some unusual symptoms when she had one in the past.

Hmm. My first suggestion was “do you want to get that checked out?” As experienced earlier in our trip, neither she nor my grandfather were really quick to make a decision one way or the other in answer to this question. After some prodding on my part (both out of concern for her and out of a desire to just make a decision), she consented to a trip to the Centra Care urgent care clinic.  I recalled seeing one near the second Target we visited the day before, so off the four of us went.

The Centra Care experience was…odd. The clinic was nice enough, but the decor was decidedly Seventh Day Adventist (lots of Jesus) and I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. It made me wonder…if CP or I ever had to be treated here (knock wood no), would they treat us with kindness? This is the sort of thing we have the luxury of not having to think about very much living as we do in New England.

Anyway, after forty five minutes or so my grandmother went in to see the doctor.  She emerged maybe half an hour later, looking quite glum. No bladder infection.  She apparently had put down something about a possible infection on the “reason for visit” form, but didn’t list any other symptoms or issues, so the doctor didn’t evaluate her for anything else. This seemed to upset her. I could understand her disappointment, but this moment was a lesson in why it’s wise not to self-diagnose before seeing a doctor.

ANYWAY. We spent the next hour at the Target across the street, procuring Starbucks and waiting for one of her prescriptions to be refilled. By the time we all returned to OKW it was nearly noon, and I felt a slight twinge of resentment knowing half the day was gone. But really, what can you do?  The two of them were clearly staying in for the day, so CP and I regrouped to figure out what our plan would be.

It’s also worth noting that after returning from the clinic, I asked my grandmother if she would be up for our Le Cellier reservation the next day. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal to miss this ADR, but I had booked it as part of a Candlelight Processional package, and we could be dinged to the tune of $20/pp for missing it. Somewhat defensively, she replied that she felt certain she’d be fine. Remember this for later.

Wow his eyes are creepy.

So it was off to DTD for CP and me to grab a quick lunch at Earl of Sandwich. Afterward, we headed to Hollywood Studios, hoping that a “1” rated day on the touringplans.com calendar would give us a real chance of riding Toy Story Mania! standby without a FastPass.  We made our way to Pixar Place and were confronted by HUNDREDS of Pop Warner football players and hoards of Brazilian tour groups. Curiously, the bottleneck was caused by all of these kids coming back to use their TSM FastPasses at the same time, so we decided to gamble on the standby line, which warned of a 90-minute wait. Indeed, for several minutes the standby line barely budged as Cast Members worked through the sudden onslaught of FP returners.  We kill time on our iPhones and by chatting with a lovely Southern couple who was fascinated to learn that CP was a librarian. Suddenly we’re at the standby/FP line split, and because we’re a party of two we’re pulled out of line and sent to the front! Our total time in line was 35 minutes, longer than we’d wait for any other ride, but not bad for a mid-day spin on TSM.

Contented, we head to the 50’s Prime Time Cafe (and specifically the Tune-In Lounge) to procure our favorite WDW snack, milkshakes. We sidle up to the bar and wait for our order next to another young, hip looking couple, who are clearly there to do the same thing as us. As we drink our shakes we browse the stores on Hollywood Boulevard and then grab the tram back to the car. After some TV time and catnaps, we head back to the Studios with my grandparents in tow, since my grandfather (somewhat resignedly) felt that he might as well see the Osborne lights “since they were there.”

In retrospect, the conditions that night probably didn’t add to anyone’s moods. It was cold and just starting to sprinkle as we pulled into the HS parking lot. We persevere, and the four of us head to the Tower of Terror so that my grandmother and I can have another ride.  This time the wait is much shorter and the drop sequence much better, almost too good – I end up dizzy and almost queasy afterward, something that normally doesn’t happen to me.

Afterward, the four of us fight the Fantasmic crowds and head to the Streets of America. Once again, CP and I are both awed. In spite of her undefined illness even my grandmother smiles. My grandfather took it in with a very straight face, so it’s hard to know whether he enjoyed it. While I was preoccupied that people (the grandparents in particular) weren’t enjoying themselves, I felt better once CP and I were able to find the purple cat!

FOUND IT.

And now a few more gratuitous Osborne Lights photos:

We photodocumented our accomplishment and stopped a few times to watch the lights dance, and then promptly at 7pm the lights and music went off. Suddenly Cast Members with red light-up wands made a human chain and started guiding everyone toward the exits. This was in stark contrast to our last Osborne experience, where we could easily linger for more than an hour after park closing. Apparently there was a private event happening in less than an hour, so we really didn’t have a choice.

Heading back into the wind, we walk out with the crowds in a slow moving mass of humanity. Once back at OKW, we stop at the General Store to buy some cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, which we eat with soup and wine. (An appropriate meal for a chilly Florida night.) After catching the newest Modern Family, we all turn in early – it had been a long day.