Harry and Lulu Return to Disneyworld 40 Years Later

Harry and Lulu in front of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyworld. Coal Crackers like to say it is based on the Harry Packer Mansion in Jim Thorpe

During the Main Street parade this old gray headed guy enjoys a big drippy ice cream cone while he discusses a neat scooter chair with this proud owner

In EPCOT - there was a garden show featuring topiary - like these cars from Cars - Mater and Lightning McQueen.

My lovely princess where we danced until I turned into a toad

At Fort Wilderness my students used to enjoy this riding stable - so did son Drew

In Hollywood Studios - Woody is a big star

Tn the 1950's - Walt Disney was a leading proponent of space travel. Werner von Braun - the German scientist - used the Disney TV show to promote rocketry. Notice the thinly disguised Nazi V-2 rocket on display in a Disney museum.

In 1971 - Harry and Lulu eloped to Miami. They spent their first month of eternal bliss on the warm sandy beaches while planning their life together.

In 1972 - Harry and Lulu were celebrating their first wedding anniversary. They decided to relive their honeymoon in Miami. After spending the summer there working and attending both the Republican and Democratic conventions - they decided to visit Disneyworld for the very first time. It has just opened the previous fall - it was much smaller then - just the Magic Kingdom - a monorail - and two luxury hotels. They were driving a brand new 1972 Honda 600 sedan - the tiny 2 cylinder car without air conditioning. Imagine cruising down I-95 in 90 degree heat - no AC - and not much room either. It was capable of 50 miles per gallon and was able to get from Tamaqua to Miami on $8.00 of gasoline.

In 1972 - Disneyworld was like a dream. We pulled into the parking lot around 2PM and stayed until 11. Admission was less than $10 - that included a ticket booklet packed with ride tickets ranked from A to E. We only spent one day there - but were able to cover most of the attractions during that short time period. We spent that evening in Daytona - not at a hotel - they were out of our price range. We found an all night outdoor movie - admission was next to nothing - and we had a nice safe place to nap. As the sun rose at 6 AM - we headed north to Pennsylvania.

Fast forward to 2012. This weekend we enjoyed 3 days in 3 different Disney parks - EPCOT - the Magic Kingdom - and Hollywood Studios. We stayed in a Hilton Hotel right in Disney Village that Lulu found on Priceline. We are Florida residents now - and Disney offers locals a $99 three day pass. Now we are driving a Toyota Prius - it even beats the old Honda mileage - getting 55 miles per gallon. It is quite a bit more comfortable. We carry cell phones and laptop computers. like the first time - we are traveling alone.

Between that first trip in 1972 and today - we have made tons of trip to this magical place. Most of the trips were with my students and in my green bus. One time I even chartered a jet to fly 150 kids to Disneyworld for a day. I must have been more brave or more foolish - but to my surprise I never lost a kid. We stayed in cheap hotels - fancy hotels - camp grounds - and even at a friend's house. In 1980 - we moved to Orlando and stayed a whole year while Lulu earned her masters. That was so much fun - we did it again 8 years later when she worked on her doctorate. So you can see Disney and Florida has special meaning to our family.

Hopefully our next visit will include our kids again - and our grandkids. Disneyworld is for kids - it is just so much more fun showing it to others.

I am typing this from on the road - halfway between Orlando and Tallahassee. Lulu is a professor now at Florida State University. She has a class to teach tonight from 6 to 8. From where I sit - I can see her gabbing away - into her computer screen. I am sure the first thing she told her students was - guess where I am - on the way home from Disneyworld.