Family activities have always been an important part of our lives. Some eight years ago, we were celebrating my brother-in-law Scott's birthday. One of our granddaughters, Maeve, climbed up in Sherrie's lap and with great excitement said, "Grammy, guess what? I'm going to Disney World!"
"That's wonderful, Maeve! Who are you going with?" Sherrie asked.
And without taking a breath, Maeve announced, "You and Pa."
Thus was born a tradition. When each grandchild reached age 5, Grammy and Pa took that child to Disney World for four days and three nights. No siblings, no parents, just Grammy and Pa. That way there wouldn't be any bickering between youngsters if one wanted to go somewhere and another didn't, or if one got tired and needed to go back to the hotel.
We selected deluxe on-property resorts on the Concierge level because of the lounge that offered continental breakfasts, snacks throughout the day and afternoon treats that included adult beverages. Consistently excellent evening desserts and after-dinner beverages for adults trying to recuperate from chasing a 5-year-old were a great touch too.
As the center of attention, the kids got to go where they wanted when they wanted, stay up as late as they wanted, eat what they wanted and pretty much let grandparents do what they do best: spoil grandkids.
We also realized several phrases had to be banished from our vocabulary, the main one being "We're not buying (fill in the blank) here because it costs (fill in the blank) times as much as anywhere else."
After all, once you're this invested, what's another few bucks? Besides, why else do you think every one of those rides dumps visitors out into a gift shop?
The excitement started with Maeve spending the night before the trip with Grammy and Pa because we had an early flight. When we checked into the resort, Maeve received her personalized birthday pin to wear while in the parks, and oh, how attention was lavished on her. It was our first taste of the magnificent job Disney does making visitors, especially birthday celebrants, feel extra special. Every cast member she encountered wished her a happy birthday. She beamed.
Maeve couldn't have cared less about the rides. We did the teacups, jungle cruise, Small World, Safari at Animal Kingdom and that was about it. On the other hand, collecting autographs and photos with the many characters took on the urgency of a quest for the Holy Grail, and we must have walked 10 miles a day making our way to the character-signing venues.
The highlight came when we did the Cinderella Character Dinner. We thought Maeve had been wide-eyed before, but when Prince Charming came to her table and said, "Happy birthday, Princess" her reaction made my eyes leak.
Next up was our grandson Truman. He is Aspergian and doesn't deal well with loud noises, temperature extremes or dark rooms, so we were a little apprehensive about how all this was going to work out.
He really doesn't do well with tunnels and announced that he was not going to ride the steam train because it went through a tunnel. When I tried to assure him it didn't, he showed me a tiny icon less than a 16th of an inch wide in an obscure corner of the 36-inch-wide Magic Kingdom map and asserted that there was indeed a tunnel, and he wasn't riding the train. I never questioned his observation abilities or attention to detail again.
Truman liked some of the rides but cared nothing about the character autographs, the photo opportunities or the character dinners.
Epcot and all the technology and computer displays were an entirely different story. He devoured them, and we spent longer in that area than in any other. He would study each exhibit for several minutes, then proceed to explain in detail how it worked and what the design shortcomings were.
I had injured my leg and was using an electric cart to get around, so I got a pass on the walking ordeal on that trip. Truman had a great time riding on the cart with me while Grammy walked. She even got to climb the Swiss Family Treehouse six times and ride the monorail everywhere it went one afternoon when I was tired and Truman wasn't. Grammy doesn't remember the Truman trip the same as I do.
Then there was Ian, who really liked the rides, especially Buzz Lightyear (three times), Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Hollywood Studios. If it had an adventure theme, we did it.
Except for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We had worked our way through the line and were ready to board the boat when Ian announced, "Nope, I don't think I want to do this." It was too scary. But Ian enjoyed himself otherwise, so much so that one day he fell asleep standing up, leaning against Pa, as we watched the fireworks.
But some of the most memorable parts of the Ian visit came in other ways. The first morning at breakfast he selected Froot Loops but explained that his mom had told him about Blue 1 Lake dye, and he wasn't supposed to eat anything blue because it wasn't good for you.
"Pick out the blue ones and eat the rest. It'll be OK," Grammy counseled.
Or when we went to the Coca-Cola exhibit and Ian's first concern was whether or not the soft drinks contained corn syrup. His mom had cautioned that corn syrup wasn't good for you.
"Yep, they have corn syrup in them, but a little won't hurt, and we won't tell anyone."
My favorite anecdote of the Ian trip came while watching "Good Morning America" in the room one day. As George Stephanopoulos sat around a table with three other talking heads, Ian asserted quite seriously, "I've been around, and when they sit in a circle like that, it really isn't news."
His mom was 700 miles away, but I could hear her talking clearly, like Jiminy Cricket in his ear.
This year there was Silas. He spent the night with us and has to be the most difficult person to wake up at 5 a.m. I have ever encountered. But what a sweet kid. Never complained, had a great time, but ran our legs off. He was up for anything, feared nothing and was the first one of the grandkids to make it to all four parks. If it could be ridden, he was on it. He, too, had to ride Buzz Lightyear three times, as well as the race cars three times.
Where Ian had rejected the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as too scary, Silas loved it. In fact, he loved it so much that he bought his brother a Pirates of the Caribbean ball cap to prove he rode it. The fun of getting one-up on your big brother apparently starts early.
As unique as each grandchild and trip was, they universally enjoyed one activity: trading Disney pins. It took about one trade for each grandkid to get into the fun with great anticipation of each cast member they encountered, honing their skills at picking out the very best one of the lot. These bits of metal and enamel will be a reminder for each of them long after Grammy and Pa are gone.
And, like all good things, these rites of passage at age 5 have ended as well. We thoroughly enjoyed each trip, and being a part of the travel industry made them affordable for us. If you have grandkids coming along, maybe something like this is in the cards for you.
For now, we're ready to let someone else step up and handle the next generation. But what a ride it was!
Charlie and Sherrie Funk own Just Cruisin' Plus in Brentwood, Tenn., and have provided agent and agency-owner training throughout North America on every facet of travel agency operations. They were named to CLIA's Hall of Fame in 2012.