It was July 10, 1980-something. My family had just moved to Atlanta, Ga. and my parents decided to buy Walt Disney World Annual Passes for the whole the family. That decision sparked a major turning point in our families history. During the course of that first year as Annual Pass holders, we became a Disney Family. And not just an average Disney family that visited once a year or every few years. We averaged 2-4 trips per year. As the years passed and my brother, sisters and myself have grown older, we have never stopped being a Disney Family. In the dozens and dozens of trips we have taken, there has been practically every variation of which family members went. Sometimes its the whole family, others have been me joining my sister or brothers family, sometimes just my wife and I, and many of the grandparents, (my parents) visiting with the younglings. We had done Disney every which way possible, .......or at least thats what I thought.
The course of events leading up to this trip started out a bit frustrating, but ended up being very exciting, and something I had never considered as an option. After several changes in the trip plans of who would be going and when, it ended up being my Mother, Father, and myself. In all the years of visiting, I have never had a trip with just myself and my parents. So before I get to the details of how this came about, I shall introduce the cast of the trip. Please pardon the quality of the pictures of my parents as my mom used her cell phone to take pictures of actual printed photos in her photo album. She apparently did not deem my PTR worthy of taking the time to scan the photos and email them, lol. So here is the cast:
Who:
Me: Keith, a 30-something Disney nerd
Ok, so thats not me, but its a good example of how much I act like a child when Im in WDW.
Here is an actual photo of me which shows my other "Disney Side", which is the self proclaimed Mayor of Drunkey Town.
For my parents photos, I will post pictures of them at Disney from waaaaay back in the day in an effort to establish their street cred in the Disney fan community, hahaha. And also just because the outfits are too awesome not too!
My Mom: Debbie
She is rockin' that faux snakeskin bathing suit tucked into those jorts. And yes, my baby sister was a little more daring and went with the bathing suit sans jorts.
My Father: Paul
If I could replicate that outfit (my dads), I would totally do it. This very well may be my endeavour leading up to our trip. And no, I will not make any effort to recreate the midriff and high cut shorts I am wearing in this photo, although I feel I did pull it off quite well back then.
Here is a more recent photo of my parents together at Disney. They are in the second row behind my sister and her son in the first row:
Where: 5 days at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House!!!
When: Shortly after Pandora opens at AK!!!
So there you go. Some of you know me from my past trip reports and now you know my awesome parents as well!
The idea for this trip was born when my wife and her mother planned a two week trip to visit Italy this fall. Yes, the real Italy, not the pavilion at Epcot. I wont be able to join them and my wife is basically using all her vacation time for the year. Ive always talked about taking a solo trip to WDW so my wife suggested that I actually do it this year since we cant go together. If your wife gives you a free pass to travel and agrees to take care of the house and animals while you are gone, YOU TAKE IT!!! So I did. A few days into my planning, my sister calls me to tell me that she booked a Disney Cruise for her family. I told her I was planning a solo trip and within minutes the plans changed to me joining them for a few days at WDW before they set sail on the Fantasy. I checked availability, (thanks @lostpro9het for the help) went back and forth with my sister on which resort, and after several days we decided and I was all ready to book the room when my sister calls to tell me they decided to visit Cape Canaveral instead.
So back to the original plan of a solo trip. Then I had the idea that bringing my youngest nephew along might be a fun adventure (he is four years old). After my family stopped laughing hysterically at the idea of me (I dont have children) being able to handle a four year old at Disney, they convinced me that it might not be the pie in the sky dream of a perfect trip I was envisioning. After my bruised ego healed, I thought asking my parents to tag along would ease the worries of my nephew joining me. I called my Dad, pitched the idea, and he said he would think about it and call me back. A few days later I get a call with a counter offer, (my Dad is an attorney so negotiating is always a factor, lol). My parents said they would like to go to Disney, but without any young children. Just me and them. My Mom explained how they have always enjoyed the pictures and stories my wife and I have of our trips together and how we take it slow and mostly eat, drink and just soak in the atmosphere and they have never had a trip like that for themselves. It has always been with us kids, or the grand kids. I had never realized that. My parents moved Heaven and Earth for us kids to have an amazing childhood and if anybody deserves a few days to relax at WDW, it is them.
Granted, they wont exactly be alone since I am going, but we are planning to enjoy the best of both worlds. I will take a day or two to have my solo trip time while my parents do whatever their hearts desire. We will mix in random times to meet up and enjoy some time together as well. I am trying to convince my Mom to join the forums and participate in this PTR as well so hopefully she will and it will add another perspective. We are still in the early stages of planning so I will update this as we make progress. More to come soon!!!!! Have a great day!!!!!
The course of events leading up to this trip started out a bit frustrating, but ended up being very exciting, and something I had never considered as an option. After several changes in the trip plans of who would be going and when, it ended up being my Mother, Father, and myself. In all the years of visiting, I have never had a trip with just myself and my parents. So before I get to the details of how this came about, I shall introduce the cast of the trip. Please pardon the quality of the pictures of my parents as my mom used her cell phone to take pictures of actual printed photos in her photo album. She apparently did not deem my PTR worthy of taking the time to scan the photos and email them, lol. So here is the cast:
Who:
Me: Keith, a 30-something Disney nerd
Ok, so thats not me, but its a good example of how much I act like a child when Im in WDW.
Here is an actual photo of me which shows my other "Disney Side", which is the self proclaimed Mayor of Drunkey Town.
For my parents photos, I will post pictures of them at Disney from waaaaay back in the day in an effort to establish their street cred in the Disney fan community, hahaha. And also just because the outfits are too awesome not too!
My Mom: Debbie
She is rockin' that faux snakeskin bathing suit tucked into those jorts. And yes, my baby sister was a little more daring and went with the bathing suit sans jorts.
My Father: Paul
If I could replicate that outfit (my dads), I would totally do it. This very well may be my endeavour leading up to our trip. And no, I will not make any effort to recreate the midriff and high cut shorts I am wearing in this photo, although I feel I did pull it off quite well back then.
Here is a more recent photo of my parents together at Disney. They are in the second row behind my sister and her son in the first row:
Where: 5 days at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House!!!
When: Shortly after Pandora opens at AK!!!
So there you go. Some of you know me from my past trip reports and now you know my awesome parents as well!
The idea for this trip was born when my wife and her mother planned a two week trip to visit Italy this fall. Yes, the real Italy, not the pavilion at Epcot. I wont be able to join them and my wife is basically using all her vacation time for the year. Ive always talked about taking a solo trip to WDW so my wife suggested that I actually do it this year since we cant go together. If your wife gives you a free pass to travel and agrees to take care of the house and animals while you are gone, YOU TAKE IT!!! So I did. A few days into my planning, my sister calls me to tell me that she booked a Disney Cruise for her family. I told her I was planning a solo trip and within minutes the plans changed to me joining them for a few days at WDW before they set sail on the Fantasy. I checked availability, (thanks @lostpro9het for the help) went back and forth with my sister on which resort, and after several days we decided and I was all ready to book the room when my sister calls to tell me they decided to visit Cape Canaveral instead.
So back to the original plan of a solo trip. Then I had the idea that bringing my youngest nephew along might be a fun adventure (he is four years old). After my family stopped laughing hysterically at the idea of me (I dont have children) being able to handle a four year old at Disney, they convinced me that it might not be the pie in the sky dream of a perfect trip I was envisioning. After my bruised ego healed, I thought asking my parents to tag along would ease the worries of my nephew joining me. I called my Dad, pitched the idea, and he said he would think about it and call me back. A few days later I get a call with a counter offer, (my Dad is an attorney so negotiating is always a factor, lol). My parents said they would like to go to Disney, but without any young children. Just me and them. My Mom explained how they have always enjoyed the pictures and stories my wife and I have of our trips together and how we take it slow and mostly eat, drink and just soak in the atmosphere and they have never had a trip like that for themselves. It has always been with us kids, or the grand kids. I had never realized that. My parents moved Heaven and Earth for us kids to have an amazing childhood and if anybody deserves a few days to relax at WDW, it is them.
Granted, they wont exactly be alone since I am going, but we are planning to enjoy the best of both worlds. I will take a day or two to have my solo trip time while my parents do whatever their hearts desire. We will mix in random times to meet up and enjoy some time together as well. I am trying to convince my Mom to join the forums and participate in this PTR as well so hopefully she will and it will add another perspective. We are still in the early stages of planning so I will update this as we make progress. More to come soon!!!!! Have a great day!!!!!
That's awesome though. Got to love the 80's.
. Ill post some photos of myself at WDW during my skate boarder phase as a kid. My mom always encouraged us to be who we want and dress how we want (within reason). She allowed me to get away with some strange outfits, God Bless her.
Looking forward to reading more!
