In February, 1989 our family decided that a Disney Cruise would be the ideal family vacation. Our sons were 10 and 12 years old so we knew they would just love the interaction with the Disney Characters at Disney World and Epcot Center. But what we did not realize was how much “we — mom & dad” would love this vacation.
I called our local travel agent to find out what packages were available and how much it would cost for a family of 4. Back in 1989, the cost was $2,500 – $3,000 for a 7 day family package that included either 4 days at the Disney/Epcot location and 3 days on the cruise ship …. or 3 days at Disney and 4 days on the cruise ship. We decided to add an extra day which gave us 4 days on land and 4 days at sea. We also chose to stay at Disney’s Hotel on the premises at Disney World.
We did not have the money to go immediately so we picked December, 1989 as our departure date and started saving every penny we could. This was one of those instances when we charged the balance to a 0% credit card and paid it off when our tax refund came in.
December came quickly. We flew to Orlando, FL and checked into the elegant Disney hotel — the room at that time cost us $199/night. Had we stayed off premises, all four nights would have cost much less. What I had not thought about was the simple fact that we were gone from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm every day. We wanted to see everything we could so we only came back to the room to sleep. But that’s okay because the beds were luxurious! But let’s get back to the vacation … we had such a marvelous time. Our package included four days of rides, Epcot
Center with “It’s a Small World” and the Presidents’ Wax Museum, great food and terrific exercise! We never walked so much! We did this leg of the trip first so that “mom & dad” could relax on the cruise. There was a ride where you actually went nowhere. I believe it was called a virtual ride – you sat in a seat for four people, a bar went across your lap to “hold you in”, the lights went out and then the movie started. We were in San Francisco in a car that was out of control going down steep streets and making sharp turns, just missing pedestrians and children in strollers. I screamed so loud from sheer fright, felt like I had experienced every turn and nearly hyper-ventilated. When the lights went on, I was still in the same place. Amazing how our minds can control our emotions!
When we boarded the cruise ship, we had our pictures taken and were then escorted to our room. It was not a balcony view but it was fine — once again, we only slept in the room.
During the day, the boys swam, I laid out in the sun and dad enjoyed the casino. We attended a broadway show, played bingo and saw a movie. Our youngest son, Denver, auditioned for “Star Search” and made us so proud when he sang “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In.” He thought he was auditioning for Ed McMahon’s Star Search Program so he was a little disappointed. But to our amazement, he sang in front of all those strangers in a nightclub setting, and did a great job!
Delicious food, food, food — even at midnight we could get food! No diets here! We marveled as the talented artist carved a dolphin from a block of ice. We enjoyed snorkling and swimming at the private island and took rolls and rolls of pictures. We have 8×10’s, 4×6’s and 3×5’s … enough to wallpaper a 8×10 room!
We have so many wonderful memories … perhaps the neatest one is of Tigger and Denver. We were walking along just enjoying everything in sight when we noticed Tigger coming toward us. He was motioning to Denver as he was getting closer to him. We didn’t understand at first what he was trying to say. Well, when he finally reached Denver, he pointed to Denver’s shorts … they were exactly like his Tigger outfit. Dusty, his “older” brother, thought it would be fun to have Tigger throw Denver in a garbage can … so he did! We all laughed and took pictures, of course!
This vacation cost us $5,000. We could have built our 2-car garage that year instead of waiting but the memories we made were worth every penny.
Make a memory with your family while you can … God bless!
I did a little looking around to see what sort of trip deals are available, and you may want to look here
