Flag Family Of The Day At Wilderness Lodge

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Brooke’s first trip to Walt Disney World still stands out as one our best family trips.  So many great moments and memories!

This trip we took the whole clan – Brooke, Kelli, and I plus my parents and Kelli’s mom or as Brooke calls them Nene, Pop, and Mimi.  We loaded us in a minivan and hit the road.  Still amazed that the van made it!  There was not an empty space anywhere!

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We were all staying at the Wilderness Lodge, which has now become our favorite resort.   During our research leading up to the trip, we came upon an interesting fact about the lodge-the daily Flag Family.

Each day at the Wilderness Lodge a family is chosen to climb to the top of the resort and raise the American Flag.  With my dad being a retired veteran, we knew we had to get this!  But how?

We scoured the internet to find out how you could be selected.  The information was scarce and not consistent.

So I began calling the resort.  I was told to call back 14 days before the trip.  I did.  I was told to call closer.  I did.  I was then told they didn’t know about it.  So I called again about 3 days before our trip and begged to talk to a manager.  Finally found someone that said they could get this taken care of.  I explained the situation and that I had been calling and calling.  And in typical Disney fashion, he made it happen!

The night before we received a certificate under our door that we had been selected.  We had been able to keep this a secret from everyone!  We surprised the grands with the news that night.

The morning finally arrived and we met our guide.  Then we began the trip to the top of the lodge.  If you haven’t been in the Wilderness Lodge before it is hard to comprehend the size of the atrium.

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The trip to the top included an elevator, then several flights of stairs.  Emerging onto the roof of the lodge is worth the trip!  The view is breathtaking.

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Watching my dad raise the American Flag is one of the proudest moments I’ve had as his son.  As a military man, his respect for the flag has always been apparent.  Like all veterans it is more than a flag, it is a symbol.

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Even to this day when we past the lodge and can see the flag, I think of that morning as Flag Family.

Our guide gave us time to take in the views and enjoy the moment before we headed down for breakfast.  He took us to the concierge lounge to enjoy the food.

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