A Disney Graduation

My kids took me to Disney almost twenty years ago in a kind of reversal of the traditional family approach to theme park vacations. Chevy Chase taking his family across the country on his doomed odyssey to Wally World comes immediately to mind.

I remember Chris greeting us at the gate (yes, there used to be a time pre-9/11 when you could greet your relatives and friends at the gate) with balloons and a sign heralding our arrival at Orlando International. He was so pleased with himself and his family and his plum role at Disney.

It is wonderful watching your children feel successful.

On our second trip it was Nate's turn to be pleased. He had a nice place in an apartment complex with easy access to a barbeque area. He was writing his own material at MGM Studios and was working with a masterful improv comedian named Johnny Sachs. He took us all out to an amazing champagne brunch at the Cyprus and looked so happy when he took the bill over the protestations of his brother. It was a moment I'll always remember.

Our grandson Sage's graduation brought us back to Orlando after fifteen years. His commencement was pretty much like all commencements. The girls were wearing stiletto heels and cocktail dresses. The boys had pastel shirts and matching ties paired with comfortable looking shoes. Many of them pumped their fists after receiving their diplomas. Lots of kids walked across the stage to concentrated cheering coming from various groups of family and friends clumped around the auditorium. Some kids got more than others. Some got none.

I liked the valediction, at least I liked what everyone told me about the valediction, since my tinitis makes hearing in such venues nearly impossible. He started out by thanking four or five teachers by name for inspiring and pushing him. Then he spent the rest of the time basically saying that everything else about education in general and his school in particular sucked. His classmates were content to coast by because they were lazy and their teachers were even lazier. The administration served no useful purpose. No Child Left Behind really meant that No Child Would Stand Out. It was fun to watch the robed faculty squirm in their seats as they were so eloquently berated.

We stayed at The Boardwalk at Disney because it offered the best transportation to Epcot and Hollywood Studios for Kathie's mom. All we had to do was walk down to the dock in front of the hotel and hop a ferry to one of the parks.

The day at Epcot was terrific. Small crowds until close to fireworks time. A relatively cool day. We did the obligatory rides: Spaceship Earth, Captain EO, The Seas. I liked The Land best because of all the hydroponic plants in the experimental food lab.

We had a terrific lunch at Chefs du France in the French section of the World Expo. Later that evening we had dinner at Hacienda in Mexico and were able to watch Illuminations (the nightly fireworks display) through a window.

The day after Sage's graduation we went to Hollywood Studios, where both Nate and Chris used to work. Ruth Ellen loved The Great Movie Ride and the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and liked checking out New York Street. Although we had lunch at The Brown Derby (think Cobb Salad), the heat and the crowds made it not as nice as the day spent at Epcot.

That night Ruth Ellen rested after a tough three days while Kathie and I had a farewell dinner at the bar of The Flying Fish. Spectacular. K. had a dessert of a kind of brownie topped with a jabanero and chocolate ice cream with a bacon and chocolate mousse on the side. The Flying Fish makes it into my personal pantheon of great restaurants and the best thing about it was there wasn't a pair of mouse ears in sight.