My favorite Thanksgiving memory has everything to do with the day and nothing to do with a good meal, however the meal was quite humorous.

I was ten years old and my parents had started a tradition of traveling over the Thanksgiving week. My father being a farmer (of grapes) couldn’t take vacations during the summer, so we would go on vacation after harvest in the fall. This particular year we went to Disneyland and it was my first visit to the magic kingdom. We went with two other families and pulled our trailer to the Disneyland RV park, which used to be on a prime piece of real estate next to the Disneyland hotel.

On Thanksgiving morning we walked across the street and into the park, going immediately to Pirates of the Caribbean. There were hardly any lines, so we got to do everything we wanted and then some. I remember riding the Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion and watching the Country Bear Jamboree. We wound up the day at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad where we closed down the park. Since there were no lines we would jump off the ride, run all the way around to the start and immediately get back on. We must have ridden it at least 10 times. Eventually we started to lose a few folks who would sit and watch us crazies from a bench. It was an amazing day of good wholesome family fun.

After closing down the park we decided to try to find dinner. Since we had sacrificed cooking the traditional Thanksgiving meal to have our fun we were happy going to a burger place we had found the day before. As luck would have it the place was closed; now a scramble ensued. Imagine how hard it is to find a place to eat dinner with ten people who are hungry and tired and who don’t know the area and who didn’t have access to the internet and smart phones.

Eventually we ended up at a place called Tiffy’s (which surprisingly is still around) across the street from the park. Our first clue should have been that they could actually seat us. The turkey on the “turkey” dinner plate was pressed turkey. The mashed potatoes were cold and the gravy was nasty (this is probably where my love affair with Thanksgiving gravy began, because I now started to appreciate my Mom’s). The most appalling thing though was the corn dog that one of the kids ordered– it was blazing hot on the outside and frozen in the middle. I actually read a few of the reviews of Tiffy’s on yelp and it looks like the food and service hasn’t gotten much better in 25+ years.

Needless to say we all had a good laugh about the meal and it brought a great day to a comedic end. When any of us talk about Thanksgiving trips, that day always comes up.

I am linking up with Mama Kat’s Writers Workshop.