I am new here and wanted to share the surprise trip I gave my grandparents.
I was in an accident when I was 18, and ended up receiving a bit of a nest egg. I turned my wind fall into a surprise 50th anniversary trip for my grandparents in 1991.
They never had much of a vacation before and lived most of their lives on a farm in PA, and I decided they needed their first plane trip topped off with eight days in Disney.
I kept it a secret until the last moment. I thought my grandfather was going to back out! But two rolls of film of clouds going past the airplane window, we landed and made our way to the Caribbean Beach Resort.
With some preplanned help, they were treated like royalty. They were even Grand Marshals of a parade. I had never seen them so happy. Some of my best memories still. They rode everything and took everything in like they were teenagers again.
He road Space Mountain with my grandmother digging her nails into him from behind and trying to hold together a camera case that was rapidly falling to pieces. He kept telling her to hold on to comfort her, but he didn't sound so comforting screaming it!
They went to several shows, and ate things they never tried before. My grandmother thought you sat in Coral Reef and ordered out of the tank. She told the horrified server she wanted a piece of a fish that turned out to have a name (Norman), and of course my grandfather never let her live it down!
He actually blushed when Snow White blew him a kiss. That moment alone was worth every penny.
Every one was so very nice to them. Everyone was kind and patient. I know it is our vacation, but it is their job. I know I am not always happy at my work place, but I never met a single employee of any kind who was less than fantastic.
When we returned we put the videos on VCR tape and then years later on DVD. My grandfather watched them over and over. Everyone knew what he would say at what point in the tape. It never got old.
He was diagnosed with dementia several years ago, and it was a slippery slope downward. Eventually he would watch the tapes and not remember the details, which progressed to eventually asking who those people were we were watching. When he could no longer speak, we would still watch, sometimes he had flickers of recognition.
Disney gave him plastic coins to toss during the parade. He kept one and had it in his treasured possessions when he died.
Long I know, sorry...but Disney has been such a huge part of my relationship with him and I wanted to share what an impact it made. It was so much more than just those days in the part. It was truly magical.
We are trying to plan a trip to take our children in January. I want to show them all those places they have only seen in pictures. Thank you in advance for all the help I will receive from your posts and suggestions from the questions I will have. Hoping to pull it off as a surprise for them!
Thanks for letting me share our trip.
I was in an accident when I was 18, and ended up receiving a bit of a nest egg. I turned my wind fall into a surprise 50th anniversary trip for my grandparents in 1991.
They never had much of a vacation before and lived most of their lives on a farm in PA, and I decided they needed their first plane trip topped off with eight days in Disney.
I kept it a secret until the last moment. I thought my grandfather was going to back out! But two rolls of film of clouds going past the airplane window, we landed and made our way to the Caribbean Beach Resort.
With some preplanned help, they were treated like royalty. They were even Grand Marshals of a parade. I had never seen them so happy. Some of my best memories still. They rode everything and took everything in like they were teenagers again.
He road Space Mountain with my grandmother digging her nails into him from behind and trying to hold together a camera case that was rapidly falling to pieces. He kept telling her to hold on to comfort her, but he didn't sound so comforting screaming it!
They went to several shows, and ate things they never tried before. My grandmother thought you sat in Coral Reef and ordered out of the tank. She told the horrified server she wanted a piece of a fish that turned out to have a name (Norman), and of course my grandfather never let her live it down!
He actually blushed when Snow White blew him a kiss. That moment alone was worth every penny.
Every one was so very nice to them. Everyone was kind and patient. I know it is our vacation, but it is their job. I know I am not always happy at my work place, but I never met a single employee of any kind who was less than fantastic.
When we returned we put the videos on VCR tape and then years later on DVD. My grandfather watched them over and over. Everyone knew what he would say at what point in the tape. It never got old.
He was diagnosed with dementia several years ago, and it was a slippery slope downward. Eventually he would watch the tapes and not remember the details, which progressed to eventually asking who those people were we were watching. When he could no longer speak, we would still watch, sometimes he had flickers of recognition.
Disney gave him plastic coins to toss during the parade. He kept one and had it in his treasured possessions when he died.
Long I know, sorry...but Disney has been such a huge part of my relationship with him and I wanted to share what an impact it made. It was so much more than just those days in the part. It was truly magical.
We are trying to plan a trip to take our children in January. I want to show them all those places they have only seen in pictures. Thank you in advance for all the help I will receive from your posts and suggestions from the questions I will have. Hoping to pull it off as a surprise for them!
Thanks for letting me share our trip.
