Disney World Before Epcot & the Gas Shortage

     I was ten when the gas crisis started to wane. It was 1980, and my family was driving to Disney World. My Mom insisted we take a vacation even though we might not have enough gas to get home. How will we get back, and what about my cat, Rainbow? Who will feed her while we’re gone? So, this vacation lingers in my childhood memory as the most memorable trip of all time because there was no air conditioning in my Mom’s car. I would miss my cat even though my grandfather promised to feed her, and my Dad kept calling the hotels for reassurance about the availability of gas. Hot cars, limited gas, and a lonely cat made me beg to stay home, but my Dad said, ‘We’re driving there.’

     We took the older purple Gremlin, which was my Mom’s car. My Dad’s blue Citation didn’t start on the morning of the trip, despite the garage mechanic having checked it out a few days before our departure. So, I packed my green fabric suitcase, adorned with little yellow flowers, filled with lots of shorts, T-shirts, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and my favorite Kissing Barbie doll. I liked to torture my older brother by pairing up my Barbie with his G.I. Joe, but he didn’t let me take it along on the trip. I was already mad, and we hadn’t even left yet.

     The trip started slow and sweaty. I remember being extremely hot in the back seat and just staring out the window as a way to cope. The other thing I remember is swimming in a hotel pool along the way in Virginia Beach, which was the largest pool I’ve ever been in, according to my memory log of all vacations. I tried the ocean, but the sand was so hot that I couldn’t walk on it, and my flip-flops kept falling off in the depths of the beach sand. It was a disappointment since I have very sensitive skin. Additionally, the hotel’s gift shop was stocked with seashell necklaces and fun little toys, but I didn’t want to spend all my allowance money on things before visiting Disney World.

     The hotel at Disney World was a wonderful experience, except that our room had only one double bed and a pull-out couch. My Mom was not happy and called the desk to complain, but there were no other options. What a surprise, given the gas shortage! My brother and I had to share the pull-out couch. We managed, and I always got the pillow next to the air conditioner. One grand thing was the center of the hotel, which reminded me of The Jungle Book, with huge floral carpets and extremely tall plants. I’ll never forget this trip since I’m from the Poconos of Pennsylvania. At least the sand is cool on lake beaches.

     Unfortunately, the only things I remember from the park at Disney World were the long lines in the blazing sun and my scalp burning straight through my hair. Was the long line and ride to see the new Epcot Center worth it? Maybe because there stood the beginning of the construction of the biggest ball of metal ever seen. People gasped. To me, it looked like a Star Trek episode coming to life, but we were too early to visit the new park. So, back to the central park, we glided, and I don’t remember anything else except the relief on my Dad’s face as we filled up the gas tank and drove back to the Poconos, even though we stopped at Virginia Beach again on the way back. I stuck to the pool area. And we did this all in a purple Gremlin with a white hockey stripe and no air conditioner in the summer of 80. Things kids remember. ~ M