Yes, I’ve been offline for the week. But rest assured I have been IN line. Because I have been to Disney World.
Apparently, the entire nation was on spring break this week. And everyone took a secret vote to meet in Orlando.
The funny thing was, even with the throngs of humanity descending on the parks, everyone I encountered was pleasant and friendly despite the wait to do just about EVERYTHING. (the only adult snapping I witnessed was of the parental kind and directed at whining children to the tune of – “Do you know how much it cost to bring you here? Now get in line, quit your crying or I will GIVE you something to cry about.”) You waited in line to get your bag searched to enter the park. You waited in line to enter the park. You waited in line to ride even the minor attractions. You waited in line to order food. You waited in line to pee. You waited in line to catch the bus back to the hotel at the end of the day. And everyone seemed happy about it.
I am impatient. I hate to wait. But for some reason this week, I didn’t care. I was on Disney’s Happy Hookah.
But to me, that is part of the sheer brilliance of Disney marketing – an oversized mouse lures you to a place where you are a captive audience in the name of providing zippity do dah family fun to your children (which they do), you whip out your wallet to pay $7 for a hot dog and $3 for a Coke (and you do), and make you rationalize waiting in line for a 120 minutes for a 3 minute ride. And you enjoy every minute of it.
I still think there’s something in the water. But I’ll keep drinking it anyway.
Denise Malloy 