By: Marcia Abramson
They have the time and the discretionary income to take the grandkids with or without their parents - on the road, in the air or on the high seas as I did on my last sojourn with my granddaughter Maris Wasser. Maris and I spent a wonderful four nights bonding on the wonderful Disney Ship the "Wonder" which sailed from Port Canaveral to Nassau in the Grand Bahamas to Disney's own magical Island, Castaway Cay.
Dorothy Harvey, formerly of Woodmere and now of Boynton Beach, enjoyed the company of her twin granddaughters Halie and Jessica Witten and their younger sister Julia Witten, all of a suburb of Orlando on the very same Disney ship the "Wonder" a few years ago. Now happy grandma Dorothy and the twins are anticipating their bas mitzvahs at the posh Orlando Ritz Carlton and their next cruise with grandma Dorothy.
This past Yuletide found Woodmere's Lori Zalta's three-year-old twin grandsons Max and Jack Zalta and their year-old brother Benjamin with their parents Nancy and David Zalta of Harrison and grandparents Jane and Dick Roberts of Manhasset on a seven-night Disney "Magic" Cruise. Lawrence's own former State Senator and State Elections Chair Carol Berman and her debonair husband Jerry Berman just returned from a week's cruise to Bermuda where they celebrated their 80th birthdays with their intergenerational families. On the Norwegian Sea were her daughter Elizabeth Berry, her husband David and her son Charles Berman and his wife Lisa as well as granddaughters Sarah Berry, Rebecca Berman and grandsons Jeremy and Benjamin Berman.
My experience with the diversity of the programs on the Disney Cruise from our room service breakfast on our balcony while at sea to the superb entertainment before retiring for the night was all that I could ask for. Disney does recognize the special needs of the different age groups.
Moms and dads are needed for the under sevens in my judgment. My late husband, Marty, and I started traveling with our grandson Bradley Wasser minus his parents when he was seven-years old. The first trip was by car to Philadelphia. Then it was a flight for tennis instruction at the famous Colony at Longboat Key on the West Coast in Florida at the age of eight. I can recommend seven or eight-years as the age for grandparents to introduce the grandkids to their world of travel.
Disney does have specially created programs and activities for kids to let them play with children their own age. The have the Oceaneer's Club and the Oceaneer's Lab on a special deck reserved for kids only.
From 9 a.m. until midnight, it's hands-on-fun for four distinct age groups. For the real young ones there is the Flounder Reef Nursery (additional charge) where there are special attention care givers. The 3-7 age group at the Oceaneer's Club will literally have a ball with the Disney characters on playgrounds with playgrounds and computer stations, in costume dress-up areas, with special programs like dancing with Snow White and Storytelling with Belle.
My granddaughter found a friend from New Mexico at the Oceaneer's Lab and became immersed in some interactive hands-on- lab stations filled with all kinds of doohickeys, video screens and what seemed like 25th century marvels to a bewildered 21st century grandmother. This was the agenda for the 8-to-12 set. You can imagine my chagrin when I was handed a pager when I left Maris with her new friends and was told that I had to be just a beep away if needed. (A very wise policy I realized.)
Imagine something very special for teenagers! A New York-style coffee house with large screen TV, a lounge area, and coffee bar called Common Grounds. It is the gathering place for the 13 to 17-year-old youngsters from around the world. In fact, I did overhear a Caucasian counselor talking in Japanese to a young Japanese girl who spoke no English. You can say that Disney is prepared for just about everything.
Maris and I did enjoy the state of the art Walt Disney Theatre with 977 excellent seats throughout, even though we inevitably got there in time to sit third row center for the delightful "Hercules, the Musical," a hysterical vaudevillian salute to the Greek hero based on the fun-filled Disney film. Our last night ended with the spectacular production of "Disney Dreams" when pixie dust descended on the theatre as Peter Pan and his friends sang and danced the night away and gave us a treasure trove of memories to savor.
I think I shall also cherish the question, "When is our next vacation together?"Copyright © by Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascribe@aol.com
