Parental Unit Arrival

Mum cried when she saw me at Orlando airport. That was to be expected. I am rather miss-able so I can’t say that I blame her. It would be impossible filling the void I left when I moved away way back in June of 2009. I can’t imagine what it would be like not having all that extra laundry to wash and iron, no special dinners to cook, one less bed to make and bedroom to clean… really, I can tell why she had those tears rolling down her cheeks when we hugged for the first time in ten months. Yep, she missed me! We were like one big happy family again, minus Darren and Chris…

I had only one objective while mum and dad were in town, and that was to show them the time of their lives; after all, they had done a pretty neat job putting up with me for the last 24 years, so I felt as though this was my one chance to give back and show my appreciation, and that, I think I successfully did (well, at least that is what they led me to believe).

Mum and dad stayed at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. This resort is mainly used for Disney Vacation Club members but non members are also able to make reservations there. Apart from the Grand Floridian, I had not yet had the chance to check out any of Disney’s other Deluxe Resorts; Saratoga Springs fell under this deluxe category and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The grounds of the resort were absolutely gorgeous and perfect to a tee.

We had the basic studio room which was simply adorable. There was a double bed, a fold out couch bed, balcony, bathroom and a cute little kitchenette which kept mum extremely happy. Both mum and dad were very impressed with the room, as was I. If this was  just the basic studio room, then the one, two and three bedroom options must be ridiculously amazing!

The Turf Club Bar & Grill restaurant at the Saratoga Springs Resort also deserves a notable mention. We ate here on two separate occasions, both times for dinner and the service and food were exceptional! I should also mention that on neither occasion did we have reservations, but they managed to seat us extremely quickly, even on Mother’s Day! On our first night Claude was our host and on the second night, Linda was our hostess. Both were amazing and very accommodating to any of our requests. The food was amongst the best I’ve had at any on-property restaurant whether it be Disney owned or third party. I recommend the Onion Rings for appetizers and the New York Strip Steak for main. it was incredibly delicious.  The Angus Chuck Burger was also one of the best I have yet to find anywhere at Disney!

With my complimentary admissions, I was able to get mum and dad into all four parks for free which was pretty awesome. We did Epcot for mum and dads 30th Wedding Anniversary…

Magic Kingdom so mum could feel like a little girl again…

Animal Kingdom for Mother’s Day and because they mentioned something about wanting another baby…

And Hollywood Studios because no Disney trip would be complete without it…

Our mornings were early, our days, long, and our nights, late, but we had so much to fit into the ten shorts days that mum and dad would be  with me at Disney before embarking on the rest of their big U.S.A. adventure. The humidity had arrived just in time and although the temperature only hit the low 90’s, on our day at Epcot, with the humidity taken into account, the temperature sweltered to a lovely 103 Fahrenheit. Despite this ridiculous heat, Epcot was by far their favorite of all four parks. At the time the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival was still on so the garden beds were looking all pretty and more colorful than usual; of course this made dad love it all the more.

Ten days went by way too fast, and before I knew it, mum and dad were off to New York City. Although their time here with me was short, I am so happy that they enjoyed themselves. I know they’ve never really had the opportunity to travel and  see all the amazing things that I’ve been blessed enough to see so I felt a sense of happiness knowing that after all these years of raising my brothers and I, that they could finally go on an adventure of their own, on their own without us being burden on them. I loved seeing dad get caught up and lost in how amazingly beautiful Epcot is and I loved the genuine look of excitement on mums face when she got to meet Mickey and Minnie and how she’d wave and high-five the characters as they went down Main Street U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom during the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade.

I’m glad that after all these years, mum and dad finally understand why I love it here in the U.S.A. and at Disney so much and I hope, that even for a short moment while here, they could revert back to their childhood and get lost in the most happiest place on earth; Disney World.

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~ MORE OF MAY MAYHEM TO COME ~