Me and the Magic · Amanda Bauner: Solo Travel Expert, Podcaster, and Blogger

Navigating Walt Disney World While Undergoing Cancer Treatment

·1 hr 23 min·5 clips

Chewbacca hugs Dawn so long that she starts sobbing in line at Hollywood Studios.

1. Me and the Magic follows Dawn Nebeling's Walt Disney World trip while she was undergoing breast cancer treatment. 2. Amanda Bonner hosts the episode, and Dawn Nebeling returns as a listener favorite whose cancer experience drives the travel planning details. 3. The episode asks how Dawn kept a family Disney trip workable during chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and severe fatigue. 4. Dawn says she was diagnosed in February 2024 at age 43 after a first mammogram showed a huge mass and something in her lymph nodes. 5. She identifies the cancer as HER2 positive, triple positive invasive carcinoma, and says treatment started within about a week. 6. Dawn describes six rounds of chemotherapy, a port placed in her chest, a double mastectomy, and a later lymph node dissection that raised her to stage three. 7. She says radiation ran for 25 rounds and left third-degree burns on her chest, plus infections and heavy fatigue. 8. Dawn explains that she and Rob canceled a Royal Caribbean trip and moved Disney plans earlier rather than later. 9. She says the family booked Walt Disney World for November 23, 2024, just days after she rang the bell on November 19. 10. Dawn says the family had to spend carefully because she was not working and because "cancer expensive" changed the budget. 11. She says Disney denied her DAS pass twice, which she calls a "gut punch" and a "money grab." 12. She replaces some of that access with Lightning Lane single passes for Rise of the Resistance and multipasses for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. 13. Dawn says the family used wheelchairs from the parks for about $12 a day instead of bringing a scooter or their own wheelchair. 14. She describes the Epcot rope-drop morning when Remy was down, she headed to Frozen, and the cast members let her family move forward after hearing she had cancer. 15. She says they brought free water, skipped dining reservations, and relied on quick service and child meals to control costs. 16. Dawn says the family divided and conquered: Jace pushed her around, Alexa and Rob went after their own rides, and they met up later. 17. The episode sounds conversational and detailed, with Amanda prompting travel logistics while Dawn narrates specific park-day decisions. 18. Dawn's tone is candid, practical, and emotional, moving from treatment logistics to park strategy and then to tears at Chewbacca. 19. People planning Disney trips during cancer treatment will get the most out of this. 20. Listeners wanting general Disney news without health context may skip this.

As heard by us

A Disney trip shaped by treatment, tenderness, and practical planning.

This episode follows Dawn Nebeling through breast cancer treatment and the way it changed a Walt Disney World trip with her husband and kids. Amanda Bonner and Dawn talk through what got harder, what had to be adjusted, and how the family still made room for a vacation.

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Why you'd press play

For when you need Disney planning that still leaves room for real life.

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