The trip that I took with my family to Florida in 1975 is what I call a ‘lost trip’ – almost completely obliterated from my parents’ memory and photographic records. Each of the vacationers remember small bits and pieces, but no one can conjure up a clear picture of much about this trip. In fact, even the date of the trip comes into debate. If it weren’t for Bill and Dottie, I would have no photos from the trip at all. Despite the cloud of mystery, it remains a very important trip in my life as it was my first visit to Disney World, a theme park that I would become almost obsessed with over the years. This fascination was mostly based on the enthralling nostalgic memories of my first visits to the park.
Those who went on this trip to Florida were my Dad, Mom, Bill, Dottie, Lora, Robby, and me. At first, I had no photographic record that the trip even existed. Then I consulted Bill and he searched his scads of family photos and came up with several. The date came into question, however, because Dottie labelled all of these photos from 1976. I consulted my parents, and my Mom remembered only enough to know that Denise was not yet born at this time – 
evidenced by her slender appearance on the beach and the fact that Denise wasn’t in any of them! This means that the trip actually must have taken place in the Summer of 1975.
One other interesting thing that the photo of us in front of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride reveals is that my Dad did, in fact, bring a camera along to Walt Disney World. This means that he undoubtedly took some photos, but where they are today is still unknown. If we find them, you’ll be the first to know.
As I’ve mentioned, memories of this time period are extremely few and far between – but there is one thing that I absolutely remember distinctly, and that is my first ride inside the Haunted Mansion. Although today, I am absolutely enamorate of the ride, I was completely petrified of it during my initial visit.
The horrifying problem was in the words spoken by ‘Ghost Host’ Paul Frees: “This chamber has no windows and no doors – which offers you this chilling challenge: To find a way out!” He was only referencing the stretching room at the beginning of the ride when he said it, but I took it to be a threat pertaining to the entire ride. The ironic part is that I wasn’t all that scared of the sights and sounds of the ride – only that we would never get out of it.
All the way through, I screamed “We’re never going to get out of here! We’re never going to get out of here!” – while my family could not help but laugh at me. I rode most of the other rides (but not Space Mountain – no sir) all along drinking in the Disney atmosphere during our day there. The ambiance of the park soaked into my veins and I have lived with Disney blood ever since.
As inferred from the photos and fleeting memories of my family, I know that we stayed in St. Pete Beach at the Odyssey Hotel, a lodging that we would return to two years later. We made a visit to my Dad’s Uncle Ira and Aunt Mildred at their retirement community Teakwood Village in Largo. 
We went out to eat with them at the Kapok Tree restaurant, a fancy eatery that we would often frequent with them again in later years. We also made a trip to the St. Pete Pier, location of a replica of the H.M.S. Bounty (above right). Finally, we visited the local Sunken Gardens (above left), a famous tropical and botanical attraction.
Oh yes, and my Uncle Bill recounted another memory that I vaguely recall… I used to be fascinated with elevators, always wanting to be the one to ‘push the button’. One day during our trip, everyone had gotten together to go out to eat and was heading toward the elevator to go down and collect Lora, Robby, and me. We were down playing on the ground floor. When the elevator door opened for them, there I stood alone inside the elevator. I had gotten inside and realized that I could not reach any of the buttons inside. I patiently waited until someone found me.
More from 1975 to follow…
Turns out, we did find more photos. Click here for more photos from this trip…
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