Disney World

My travel roots run pretty deep. In early childhood in upstate NY there were family vacations to the Adirondacks, Alleghenies, & 1000 Islands. My father bought a travel trailer for a trip out West, but cancer took him so he never lived that dream. Later my mother, brother, & I, often with my Aunt Jessie, took some family trips: Florida, Boston, Montreal, Quebec. My first big travel after childhood, perhaps living my father’s dream, was a whirlwind Western trip with my friend Carl in college: 6500 miles, 16 states (plus Ontario), in 12 days! Inspired by the very detailed trip diaries of our mother, a long-time secretary, my brother and I both write up our trips. Though my journals began some years after Marjorie and I began our travels, accounts here will also include synopses of our early trips.

As I write this I'm brand-new to blogging, and still just feeling my way in setting things up. For my very first post I thought I'd start with something "magical": a trip to Disney World with our grandsons.

A “Magical” Disney Thanksgiving

November 2014

            We’ve done Disney before: Disneyland in CA twice and Disney World twice w/ son Matt (1985 & 1991, when he was 9 & 15). For the earlier trips I had not yet developed my trip journal routine, so I'll put in some summary info. We were joined in Jan. ’85 by Marjorie’s Mom & Uncle Bill. It turned rather chilly, Disney did a brisk business in hats and mittens.  

We did Magic Kingdom (Matt posed w/ Mickey & Donald and later with Figment) 

and Epcot 

Also rented a car to tour around central Florida: Kennedy Space Center,  Busch Gardens, 

Cypress Gardens w/ spectacular flowers and waterski show, 

 Bok Singing Tower,

and, of course, Florida oranges!  

         

In ’91 we thought maybe this would be our last chance to travel w/ Matt in the summer, given his music camp interests and generally growing up, and he was then old enough to do some wandering on his own w/in the security of the complex (we stayed on-site at Caribbean Beach Resort, making it easy to get around via bus and monorail service). 

Plenty of nearby shops and entertainment. 

We pretty much did it all (at that time, anyway)!: Magic Kingdom 

including the pretty night parade w/ lighted floats & fireworks,

MGM Studios (where Matt got called up to be part of a performance, like in Bermuda), 

                               Epcot, 

Typhoon Lagoon, River Country, 

 

and Pleasure Island (more “adult” entertainment, at least by Disney standards).

We also were joined for a dinner by Marjorie's cousin Ann & husband Mel.