Last year my mother decided that she wanted to take my family and my sisters family on a trip. She initially wanted to take us all on a cruise at the same time but due to my unpredictable health and the general need to book a cruise as early as possible this was not going to work. We all decided that separate cruises would be best which meant my mother would be going on two trips instead of just one which she was not at all opposed to.
Unfortunately my health has continued to be problematic so we started looking into last minute cruises that left from a port within a days drive of our home in Cambridge, ON. We ruled out the common cruise ports as they all required air travel which can have very unpredictable pricing at the last minute especially for 6-7 passengers. Unfortunately there are not a lot of options at our “nearby” cruise ports. The cruise would need to be short, 5 days max due to travel and my treatment schedule. The best candidate was a 5 day Bermuda cruise out of Baltimore (10h drive) but that didn’t work with my schedule and Bermuda did not sound at all inviting for 3-11 year old children.
Mother and I have been constantly brainstorming other options.
Leanne and I were planning to take the kids (minus Poppy) to Disney World this year however we were greatly concerned with the amount of walking involved. We thought of including my mother, who expressed a desire to return to at least Magic Kingdom, but had similar reservations due to her slightly reduce mobility.
During one of the brainstorming sessions with my mother, one of us, we can’t remember who, mentioned Disneyland California. It immediately became clear to us that this was the perfect solution. It would be a trip that everyone (except the 3-year-old) would greatly enjoy.
Disneyland is a fraction of the size of Disney World. We would have a short walk to the parks and see a lot of the same attractions that we could see at Disney World. It should be a very similar Disney experience just like we were in Disney World in Florida.
My mother and I have never been. In fact my mother’s family took a trip to California and Disneyland a few months before I was born. She was not able to attend. Disneyland has always been a destination she has wanted to see.
I texted Leanne with the idea right away and within the hour she had downloaded a Disneyland touring guide book from the library and started reading. We spent several hours that night researching and discussing Disneyland, travel to California and Universal Studios Hollywood. Our research and discussion only proved that this was a very good idea.
