I found a hammock with my name on it at the Dolphin Hotel. Click here to enlarge imageFlash forward a few years later to the family vacation in Walt Disney World Resort. Occasionally, I will browse through family photo albums of the trip, marveling at the kids captured in a state of bliss while at the resort. However, my lingering memory of the Disney experience occurred in Animal Kingdom, home of a dinosaur thriller ride, where my oldest son and I were paired together. As with many Disney rides, hidden cameras snap photos of the riders during pivotal moments. With this particular ride, a dinosaur looms out of the darkness with an in-your-face suddenness. After the ride was over, I looked us up on the wall of photos. I have the silly grin on my face that I'm sure all Disney employees recognize. My son had the abject look of terror on his face that I'm sure all Disney employees also recognize.
When I feel old and ornery, when I don't care what younger people think of me, I like to remind my oldest son about that photo.
It's surely because of those books he read as a young child — the same books I ignored as an adult. You probably noticed that I have not used any of the formal names for dinosaurs in this column. I just know some of them were nicknamed Rex.
“:Easy now, Rex. I'm not as tasty as my publisher over there. Look, he's pulling an advertising rate card out of his briefcase. Sure look like high rates to me. Go eat him!”
I fit in well with the Disney experience, a sucker for the magic the place offers. I recently spent a couple of days scouting out the Dolphin Hotel, which will host the RDH Under One Roof conference in August 2010. In the coming months, we'll be talking about the conference in RDH, RDH eVillage, and DentistryIQ.com. Get ready for some magic!