The Annual Disney Excursion

The title of this post has been usurped from my son’s blog, but since he is (a very important) part of the aforementioned Annual Disney Escursion, I don’t think he’ll mind.  You see, we’re all off to Orlando tomorrow – we’re flying south,  Brian and Nantana are driving northeast, and we’ll be meeting in Disney World sometime in the late afternoon.

We’ve been having Disney Excursions since 1988 -and we’ve had a lot of them.  After our first trip, when Brian was eight, we became so enamored of the place, we started going at least once a year.  We learned more about the ins and outs of Disney World than some of the employees -knew all the little tricks about where to stand get the best view of parades, the secret entrances to rides, the best places to eat…before long we felt as if we owned the place. 

In 1996, we decided to purchase our own little bit of Disney World – the Disney Vacation Club, an allotted number of points each year to be used at any of the Disney Resorts world wide.  It’s all paid for now, and we own this bit of Disney magic until 2045.  So come what may, we’re entitled to our Annual Disney Excursion for quite a few more years.  In 2045, I expect someone (a great-grandchild perhaps??) will be pushing me around the Magic Kingdom in a wheelchair.

We’ve had some wonderful times there, as a family, as couples (Jim and I alone, and Brian and Nantana have enjoyed mini-vacations on their own, since they live within a comfortable three hours drive away).  We’ve taken friends at varying times through the years.  When Brian was in 8th grade, we took him, and his best friend for a week and basically turned the boys loose – they had their own room and free rein in the parks and arcade.   Of course, during his teenage years, he was typically blase about the whole thing, and for about three years or so, Jim and I went on the Annual Disney Adventure alone (which was fun in its own way

Amazingly enough, Brian ended up attending college in Winter Park, Florida, just 30 minutes from the gates of Disney World.  We had annual park passes, and I have some wonderful memories of just driving over to Epcot for an afternoon of lunch, wandering, and people watching.  Once, I really splurged, and went for tea at the Grand Floridian Hotel.  All by myself.

And now, here we are once again, embarking on a Disney Adventure.  It’s become a time to relax, revisit some good times from the past, and plan for more memory making times in the future.  And we’re all looking forward to the time in years to come when there will be a new generation to introduce to the Disney Magic. 

So, I’ll see you all when I return -rested, rejuvenated, and proudly wearing my mouse ears.