Last week, I took my family to Disney World for a quick trip before Christmas.  It is one of the places that we all enjoy going…

It also seemed to be a “Dad Seminar” with breakout sessions at many of the more popular rides and at their FastPass Distribution Centers.  There were LOTS of Dads in line without kids or families… just standing there.  At the FastPass Distribution Centers, they had tickets for the whole family.  While Mom and the kids were flitting through shops or gathering autographs from the characters, Dad was getting ride passes from the FPDC.  Dad was standing in line waiting for Toy Story Midway Mania or Peter Pan’s Flight.  Dad was in the incredibly long lunch line (there was a discount for getting in line before noon… and before noon, the lines were pretty long at the discounted eateries) without a clue how he was going to carry all of the food by himself.

Dads were comparing notes.  Dads were talking cars, rides, shows, discount hotels, other vacations.  Dads were figuring out ways to fold a stroller faster when getting on a train/tram/boat/monorail.

BUT…

Dads were doing dorky looking dances with their kids during the Main Street Dance Party in front of the castle.  Dads were happily wearing strange hats and embarrassing T-shirts.  Dads from every continent were happily bringing joy to their families… even if it meant that joy was from people laughing at them.

Sons and daughters were grabbing Dads’ hands to gleefully drag them onto another ride.  They were getting hugs from their kids for buying stuff that would NEVER be pulled out of a drawer again after the trip that their kids ABSOLUTELY HAD to have that very minute.  Dads were sitting out their favorite ride to watch their sleeping toddler in the stroller… or riding Rockin’ Roller Coaster for the third time in a row because that was what their daughter wanted.

Have you…

Have you called your dad to thank him for the little things he did that you might never have noticed?  Have you thanked him for running all of the way out to the car for a jacket?  Have you thanked him for walking all of the way across the park to try to find a pair of flip up Mickey Mouse Sunglasses that were blue instead of red?  Have you thanked him for changing the oil and rotating the tires on your car because he wanted to make sure you were safe? Have you thanked him for driving until the wee hours so that you could have an extra day “wherever” you wanted to go on vacation… followed by getting up at 6:30am to make sure that first day was full?

No, I didn’t do all of these things last week… or probably even ever.  I did some of those things… and loved every minute of it.  But I talked with Dads from all over, and those were the things we talked about.

This isn’t a knock on Moms.  Moms ROCK.  My wife pulled together an amazing group of deals in order for last week to happen.  She helped make the whole thing a surprise for our kids.  She worked tirelessly to keep the magic going for them.  But, Moms get noticed.  Watch TV… Moms are heroes.  They’re smart, thrifty and in control.  They can sweep the kitchen, do the taxes and run a Fortune 500 company, at the same time, without breaking a sweat… or a nail.

Dads are dorks.  We can’t find our underwear, car keys… or even their cars, without a call to Mom.  At least that is how it is played.  But, reality is a little different.  Dads are the Court Jesters and Comic Relief.  We are the providers, enforcers and protectors.  When someone needs FastPasses for the family… in 5 minutes… from the other side of the park… Dad is the one that gets the call.  He is the one that will run the length of the park, get the tickets and return… out of breath and on the verge of a heart attack… and then ride Space Mountain.

And one of my favorites, get up on stage and play the dorky tourist bit for the crowd (that wasn’t me, but it was a friend… and he rocked the part!).  Mom and daughters were head down and running for the exits.  Son-in-law was cheering him on and high-fived him after the performance.

Related articles

• Who taught you to be a good Dad? (dadventure.ca)
• A shout-out to the dads of Christmas (sfgate.com)