Richardson Family (Part 1)

2008-07-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Richardson family had been saving for ages to be able to afford a Disney vacation. They wanted all the works: staying at an on-site Disney hotel, treating themselves to the finest Disney restaurants and character dining, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for the girls, some of the shows and fireworks at night, they wanted it all.

Rob Richardson was a pediatrician who decorated all his patient rooms with Disney characters. His wife, Dina, worked at an after-school program with kindergartners, and watched a different Disney cartoon every night. Their two children were named Peter and Cindy, yes, after Peter Pan and Cinderella, and were 8 and 6 respectively. Not one member of this Disney-loving family had been to visit the mouse, but there time was coming up.

Rob was finally able to get off work for a week in the summer, when the school was out and Dina and the kids were free. They had been saving for so long that they were also able to bring along Rob's mom, to watch the kids when Dina and Rob wanted some time on their own. Finally it seemed like their vacation dreams were about to come true.

The flight from Bedford, Virginia wasn't too long, but the kids were not used to flying, and they kept complaining that their ears hurt. Dina tried to calm them down by telling them that they would get new, Mickey ears when they got to Orlando, and Rob started counting how much money that might cost. "We have to be careful," he told Dina. "If we want to do all this stuff we can't spend all our money on souvenirs."

This went in one ear and out the other as Dina continued to tell the children of all the stuff they could buy. All of a sudden, the kids' ears didn't hurt so much anymore.

Finally, the plane landed, the family walked into the airport, and suddenly they were there: Orlando, Disneytown, Florida. Only, their luggage didn't follow them there.

Disney Trips From Hell

Richardson Family (Part 1)