A dad drove 17 hours from New Jersey to Disney World when his family's flight was canceled — and he didn't even step inside the parks

• Jill Tobin-Montanez and her two kids nearly had a Disney trip upended due to a canceled flight.
• But Jill's husband decided to get his family to their vacation destination.

Nathan Montanez hadn't planned for a road trip.

Instead, his task was to drive his wife, Jill Tobin-Montanez, and their two children from their home in New Jersey to the airport. From there, they'd fly to Orlando for a Disney World vacation, Good News Network reported.

But after a canceled flight, Nathan took on a much bigger task: driving 17 hours straight to the theme parks.

The family's flight to Florida's Disney World was canceled last minute

According to Good News Network, Jill had spent months planning a trip to Disney World for her two children. They had plans to visit Magic Kingdom and explore the Orlando theme parks.

Nathan, on the other hand, was staying behind to work.

So on the day of their flight, Nathan dropped his wife and two kids off at the airport. Then, 15 minutes before their departure time, United Airlines canceled the flight. And according to Good News Network, the next available flight wasn't for two days.

"I explained to my kids that sometimes life gives you lemons — and we'd try again to get to Disney another time," she told Good News Network.

But Nathan had other plans for the lemons that life had tossed his family. He headed back to the airport to pick up his family — who thought they were driving back home.

But instead, Nathan set off for Florida.

"When we got in the car, all defeated, he asked if we were ready to go. We said 'yup,' thinking we were going home. Then, he told us to get ready for a long drive," Jill told Good News Network.

"He then put the song 'On the Road Again' on the radio and told us he was driving us to Disney," Jill continued.

Nathan drove 17 hours straight and more than 1,000 miles to get his family to Disney World, according to Good News Network.

The family arrived in Orlando and didn't miss a single day in the theme parks.

Nathan, meanwhile, turned around and headed back to New Jersey. According to Good News Network, he missed just one day of his supply chains network job.

"Not many people in this world would do that," Jill told Good News Network. "And the kids absolutely appreciate what he did for them."