toodycat
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 4, 2008
- Messages
- 1,648
It’s been quite a while since we’ve visited Walt Disney World. My first trip was in 1983 when my boyfriend, Michael, took me for my 20th birthday. (Did I mention that he’s been my husband for almost 35 years. You can read into that as a cause and effect, and you might not be wrong.) When we had a little family---by little I mean our only son, Jake (28)---we started visiting Walt Disney World or Disneyland or a Disney cruise almost annually, beginning when Jake was 7. However, as he grew up, we started to explore other destinations as well. Our last trip to the World was in August 2018. We were celebrating our 31st anniversary as well as my recovery from breast cancer and two incidents of bilateral pulmonary embolisms, all of which impeded traveling a bit. But I’m still healthy, so yay!
This trip is composed largely of plane tickets, park passes, Disney Visa points and rented DVC points for trips to Walt Disney World planned in 2020 and 2021 that were cancelled due to COVID. If you have your own less stringent health practices, you do you, but with my medical history, none of us were taking any chances. I taught remotely for a year and then retired from teaching earlier than I would have liked to avoid COVID. Happily, Mike already worked from home, even before the pandemic. Jake was furloughed from his job when New York City construction was closed down. So the three of us have been at home since March 2020, cooking, reading, watching movies and spending a lot of time in the basement. What have we been doing down there? Well, Michael works from his office, Jake plays video games, and I use the Peloton. It’s a good thing we get along well because our family has spent a lot of time together over the past two years. When my doctor gave me the green light to travel, I had to promise to “wear a mask indoors and outdoors when in crowds ,” we were all too eager to go to Disney World.
Jane, don’t you have family in Florida? Why, yes, yes we do and some of them get miffed if you enter the state without visiting them. Truthfully, we hadn’t seen Mike’s Mom or his nieces and nephew since September 2019. We were overdue for a visit to Clearwater, where they live. Clearwater is only about two hours from the World, so we decided to combine the two destinations. I thought I would include the Clearwater part in my trip report because I often see people on Disboards asking for recommendations for a beachy area to visit and Clearwater Beach is lovely. Also, my most beloved childhood friend lives in St. Pete and she was itching to give me a tour, so we did that as well.
What follows is 8 days of family, fun, food, sightseeing, surf and our return to the magic during the 50th anniversary celebration and during the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, an event I’ve always wanted to attend, but couldn’t because it’s during the school year!
This trip is composed largely of plane tickets, park passes, Disney Visa points and rented DVC points for trips to Walt Disney World planned in 2020 and 2021 that were cancelled due to COVID. If you have your own less stringent health practices, you do you, but with my medical history, none of us were taking any chances. I taught remotely for a year and then retired from teaching earlier than I would have liked to avoid COVID. Happily, Mike already worked from home, even before the pandemic. Jake was furloughed from his job when New York City construction was closed down. So the three of us have been at home since March 2020, cooking, reading, watching movies and spending a lot of time in the basement. What have we been doing down there? Well, Michael works from his office, Jake plays video games, and I use the Peloton. It’s a good thing we get along well because our family has spent a lot of time together over the past two years. When my doctor gave me the green light to travel, I had to promise to “wear a mask indoors and outdoors when in crowds ,” we were all too eager to go to Disney World.
Jane, don’t you have family in Florida? Why, yes, yes we do and some of them get miffed if you enter the state without visiting them. Truthfully, we hadn’t seen Mike’s Mom or his nieces and nephew since September 2019. We were overdue for a visit to Clearwater, where they live. Clearwater is only about two hours from the World, so we decided to combine the two destinations. I thought I would include the Clearwater part in my trip report because I often see people on Disboards asking for recommendations for a beachy area to visit and Clearwater Beach is lovely. Also, my most beloved childhood friend lives in St. Pete and she was itching to give me a tour, so we did that as well.
What follows is 8 days of family, fun, food, sightseeing, surf and our return to the magic during the 50th anniversary celebration and during the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, an event I’ve always wanted to attend, but couldn’t because it’s during the school year!
Last edited:
