Happy October 1st! I have been awaiting this day for about nine years now. Finally, after all that time, all of that dreaming and planning, the big day has arrived.

I want to take this opportunity to wish a very happy anniversary to none other than Walt Disney World!

Nine years ago this week, Isabelle and I were enjoying our first anniversary in the Happiest Place on Earth. Anyone who knows us knows that we are big Disney fans and love going to Walt Disney World. So what better place to spend our anniversary? While waiting in a queue at Epcot, we noticed a mural showing the various parks and their opening dates. As it turned out, Disney’s Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971, exactly 40 years before our wedding date. That’s when it dawned upon us that our 10th anniversary would coincide with their 50th. And so a plan was born.

Over the next few weeks and months, we mulled the idea over and decided that there would be no better way to spend our 10th anniversary that with an epic trip to Walt Disney World. From that moment on, each of us put $20 into a joint saving account biweekly. We would save up for the better part of 8 years and have a nice little chunk of cash to splurge on a trip. Even better, we had convinced (and that didn’t take much effort) my brother and his wife to come with us. The Brothers Budd are both Disney fans. Stephen and Laura have been to Disney World many more times than we have, but we have yet to go together. We agreed to spend two weeks, arriving the day before our anniversary and leaving the day after my brother and his wife’s anniversary. Great planning!

Over the next few years, we would get together and dream about our big trip together. The excitement kept building year by year.

Then the world stopped.

The arrival of COVID-19 brought uncertainty to our lives and to our plan. We watched as this virus spread rampantly around the globe. Sadly, the end result was that we were not able to take our long-gestating trip.

It’s taken me some time to come to terms with not being able to have Walt Disney World throw Isabelle and I a super-massive party for our anniversary. I still get twinges of angst and sadness when I see commercials for the 50th anniversary on TV. I may not be able to be there in person to celebrate, but I will always be there in spirit and in my heart.

I therefore wanted to take this opportunity to wish a very happy 50th anniversary to Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom. I hope that I will be able to celebrate with you in the not-too-distant future, but who knows what the future holds for us? Until that day, I’ll just borrow your phrase and say “we’ll see you real soon!”

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Oh, and happy tenth anniversary to my darling wife. Love you, Isabelle!