Magic Kingdom

On January 1, we had the idea to head back over to Walt Disney World to visit the Magic Kingdom. We knew we wouldn't have much time, but figured we could hit the highlights in the morning and then go back for some more time in the evening after the game, so that is what we did. After getting stuck on "It's a Small World", we were regretting our decision, particularly after realizing the park closed at 9PM, not midnight as we had thought. But we had a good time riding some of the familiar standbys before getting in our car and heading back to the Peabody for the real reason we were here, the Florida Citrus Bowl game where our undefeated Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets would be playing for the national championship.

Florida Citrus Bowl

One of the perks of being a member of the Athletic Association Board of Trustees was we were on one of the team buses that had a police escort to the game. Basketball coach Bobby Cremins was sitting right behind us on the bus with his family, although we think his seats in the stadium ended up better than ours. But we were seated with other Tech alumni and fans and watched an incredible game as our Yellow Jackets crushed Nebraska 45-21 to complete our 11-0-1 season. While the scoreboard at the Citrus Bowl declared us National Champions, we wouldn't know for sure until after Colorado played Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl that evening.

Back to the Kingdom

After saying hello to our friend Valerie who was in the Tech Band and getting some 'to-go' from Long John Silvers after the bus ride back to the Peabody, we went back to WDW to finish off our day at the Magic Kingdom. Crowds were light and with the night parade and fireworks we were able to walk onto Space Mountain and a few other rides before closing.

Back at our hotel, the Orange Bowl was in the fourth quarter. We watched as Raghib Ismail returned a kickoff for a touchdown and you could hear the cheering and stomping up and down the halls of the hotel, followed by the groans when a clipping penalty was called. Colorado held on to win the game and with sportswriters being involved in the voting, we felt for sure our chances of a championship had ended.

Heading Home

We checked out of the hotel a little late, spent some time browsing in one of the outlet malls, and then began the long drive back to Atlanta. Along the way, we learned the UPI Coaches' Poll had named Tech National Champions ahead of Colorado, although the writers in the AP poll had picked the fifth-down Buffaloes.