August 30th, 2014

Family Suites – Part One

by Brian Walker, Greg Walker and Chance Browne

A few months after the 1999 road trip story appeared in newspapers we received a call from the Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort in Orlando Florida.  An acquaintance of one of the owners had seen the third daily strip in our series (reprinted below) and they thought we had summed up the exact experience that was the initial inspiration for the design of their new facility.

Hi and Lois daily strip, August 11, 1999.

The concept of the Family Suites Resort is to provide a multi-room space for families on vacation.  The kids get their own room with bunk beds, video games and a TV, while the parents have a separate master bedroom with more privacy.  The resort also offers complimentary breakfast, a convenience store, a fitness center, a game room, karaoke, multiple playgrounds and close proximity to the theme parks.

The kids bedrooms are colorfully decorated with a variety of themes including endangered species and astronauts or characters like Tony the Tiger and the Coca Cola Polar Bear.

The Flagston family was also featured in some of the Kidsuites with reproductions of strips from the 1999 road trip.  This is what the art on the walls looked like:In February 2000, Chance and I and our families went to Orlando as guests at the opening celebration.  Tune in next week for more about this exciting event.

Here’s a link to an article about the Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort:

http://www.familytravelnetwork.com/articles/rubin_holidayinn.asp

– Brian Walker