Today I had some fun.
There was only one of the three Gartner sessions this afternoon that had any interest for me, so I said, “Screw it,” and went back to the hotel to play afternoon hooky with Margie.
We took the Squig down the river (well, by bus, but we used the shuttle boat on the way back) to “Downtown Disney,” which is basically a big retail center at the edge of the WDW parkland. Restaurants, night clubs (on “Pleasure Island” — on which my company also did engineering work), places of amusement (a mini-Legoland), entertainment locales (a blues club, an AMC theater, and a Cirque de Soleil arena), and several Disney-themed stores. That includes “Disney Home” (Disney meets Eddie Bauer — with some surprisingly tasteful stuff mixed in with “What would anyone be thinking in order to actually put this in their house?”), Disney Christmas (ditto), and the world’s largest Disney store (which basically has nearly everything that all the smaller stores at the various parks).
Which took care of some birthday, Christmas, and thank-you gifts for a variety of people.
It’s vaguely insidious how easy they make it for you to spend money here. Your room key can be programmed to function as a credit card (basically charging to your room). And stuff you buy anywhere can be sent back to your home resort. Danger, Will Robinson! Doctor Smith, put down that room key!
Anyway, Kitten had fun at Legoland. But she had even more fun at a fountain on the outskirts of the complex. This fountain was made up of various terra cotta pots at various angles, spilling water all over the place. This was the most fun place at all of Walt Disney World, if you gauge it by the screams and giggles of delight from a 16 month old. By the time she was done splashing about, she was soaking wet and utterly enjoying herself.
Being around Margie is also fun. I should do it even more often.
But now it’s time to sleep. Not fun, but around Margie, which does make it, then, fun. Even if all we do is sleep, and even if it is a double bed.