Television shows have an act for depicting family life on television in a million different ways. From hilarious sibling fights to dramatic moments between parents, nothing is really off-limits. However, the one thing television shows have a harder time filming is episodes where families get to do fun things together like say, visit one of the best theme parks in the world.
While filming at a theme park seems like a major headache for over twenty years, ABC has managed to do just that thanks to it being owned by the Walt Disney Company. Thanks to this ownership, a handful of ABC family sitcoms have able to live out their Disney parks experience on the small screen. From VIP situations to hilarious disasters, these Disney park-themed episodes have something for everyone.
Blackish
Season 3 of the ABC hit sitcom Blackish premiered with its very own Walt Disney World-themed episode in September 2016.
Having never been to Walt Disney World before, Dre wants to pull out all the stops to make sure his kids have the time of their life. To do this, he shells out major cash and hires them a private tour guide for the day. At first, the kids are embarrassed by their VIP status and apologize profusely to guests as they get to cut the long lines. Meanwhile, a newly pregnant Rainbow ends up bonding with Dre's parents who are initially put off by Disney-magic but come to embrace it fully and even manage to be part of one of the parades.
Boy Meets World
The Walt Disney Company acquired ABC in the 1990s and once the deal was made they made sure that they filmed as many iconic family sitcoms as they could at one of the parks in the country. Boy Meets World got a chance to live happily ever after during the third season.
In the episode, Topanga wins a trip to Walt Disney World with her family and doesn't invite Cory with her since they are broken up. Determined to win Topanga back, Cory and his best friend Shaun make the trip to Walt Disney World without telling his parents. Cory pulls out every grand gesture he can think of to try and win Topanga back but none of them work. In the end, Topanga overhears Cory venting to a sick dolphin and forgives him.
Family Matters
In the first part of this Family Matters episode, Urkel invites the Winslows to Walt Disney World with him since he is traveling there to compete in a science competition. During the competition, Urkel transforms into Stefan, his cool alter-ego, and gets stuck as him when Laura breaks the machine. The two end up spending several romantic dates together at Walt Disney World before Stefan proposes to Laura. Meanwhile, Carl decides he loves Orlando so much that the family show moves there.
In part 2, Stefan learns that Laura purposely interfered with his intention, while Carl realizes moving the entire family to Orlando might not be the best idea. The two-part Disney World episode is now one of the fan's favorite episodes of Family Matters.
Full House
Full House also got a chance to visit Walt Disney World during its run. In fact, their Walt Disney World episode might be the best of all the '90s sitcoms.
In the episode, Jesse's band lands a gig at Walt Disney World where he now plans to celebrate his and Becky's second wedding anniversary. However, his romantic plans are put on hold when the whole family decides to tag along on the trip. The memorable story of the episode revolves around Michelle who becomes Princess for the Day after making the genie rise from the lamp in Magic Kingdom. The power gets to Michelle's head and after being confronted by her sisters, Michelle wanders. Michelle ends up making up for her bratty behavior by getting the entire family involved in the parade at the end of the day.
George Lopez
Despite being one of the most underrated family sitcoms, George Lopez got to live out the ABC sitcom ream by filming an episode at Disneyland during its third season.
In the episode, Max wins an academic award at school, and in order to reward him, Angie decides to take the family to Disneyland. George is originally against the idea and decides to opt-out because he doesn't want to get mad that he never got to go as a child. In the end, George decides he should be there with his family so he and Benny go to Disneyland in the hopes of tracking down the rest of the family.
Modern Family
When it comes to special-themed episodes Modern Family has had a lot. One of the most memorable episodes of the series remains the one when they go to Disneyland.
Luke plans to ride every rollercoaster with his dad but when Phil starts feeling ill he worries that he can't handle all the rides. Meanwhile, Claire tries to set Haley up with a friend's nephew in the hopes of her getting over Dylan but the plan hits a roadblock when they come across Dylan who is working at the parks. Elsewhere, Mitchell and Cam try to reign in Lily who is being a real nightmare and Gloria and Jay end up fighting over Gloria's decision to wear heels to the park.
Roseanne
While opinions about Roseanne have shifted in recent years, back in the 80s and 90s the series was one of ABC's most successful.
In the first part of the two-part episode, Dan gets his last paycheck from his job at the Lanford City Garage and decides to celebrate with a family vacation to Walt Disney World. The family finally makes it down to Walt Disney World during the second part. While the rest of the family is enjoying themselves, Darlene is having a harder time until she meets Winnie the Pooh.
Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
Even witches can't get enough of Disney parks which is why Sabrina, The Teenage Witch was able to film a Disney theme park episode.
During the second season, Sabrina's high school class takes a field trip to Walt Disney World where they have come to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom. Sabrina's plans to have a fun time at the park are put on hold when Sabrina must create a transformation potion for her Witch's License test. Meanwhile, Libby makes attempts at wooing Harvey and Zelda finds Neanderthal bones buried at the Dinosaur-themed area of the park.
The Goldbergs
While it was only a matter of time before The Goldbergs clan got to visit Disneyland, writers had to be a bit more creative since the parks today don't look like they once did in the 1980s.
Instead of setting the entire episode in Disneyland Park, they chose to parody the iconic 1980s movie Vacation which is now one of the best episodes of the show to date. In the episode, the Goldbergs take a family road trip to Disneyland for some extra family bonding time before Erica and Barry head off to college. Everything that could go wrong does go wrong but they eventually make it to the park. Finally, the trip makes a turn for the better and the family spends the day riding attractions and making memories.
The Middle
There's no denying that the episode of The Middle where the Hecks visit Walt Disney World is one of the best modern Disney-themed episodes of a sitcom to date.
In this two-part episode, Sue wins the trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World. The family piles into their car and makes the long trip down to Orlando only to discover that their tickets are for Disneyland in California. After working a little bit of Disney magic, the family gets to go inside Magic Kingdom only to get on no rides. The Hecks plan to get an early start the following day but end up sleeping in after their room is upgraded to a fancy suite.