Celebration!

Today was our first day off on the road. Which was exciting. Especially since we are in Orlando. At a La Quinta hotel (our favorite). With a pool. Guess what we did all day?

We went to Celebration, FL!

What is Celebration, I hear you ask? Well, Celebration is an unincorporated, master-planned town initially designed and sold by Disney. The idea was to create that perfect town Walt had always dreamed of, where the small-town dynamic was achieved, community was built, kids grew up supported and families were happy. The town came complete with a main street, a progressive school, three religious institutions, a post office, some serious building requirements and a man-made lake. It was, like all things Disney, perfect. And sold out as soon as the plots were on the market. However, shortly after the town had started to pop up, the citizens rebelled against the planned nature. Without any representative government, they had no way to get Disney to respond to their needs, for things like a video store, changes in school policy or a dry cleaner within the town's limits. Disney began to pull out, and the town has regrouped to create the community that exists today.

(Nota bene: a prof of mine wrote a book on this, and I've been fascinated ever since I read it, hence my knowledge on the subject.)

Anyway, I convinced my other company members to join me, and off we went for dinner. Driving through, I found the place a little too perfect. Every house exactly the same. All grass blades were identically cut. The town was landscaped within an inch of its life. And, the strangest thing? Almost nobody was out on the street, and all windows were covered with dark drapes. For a town that was advertised initially as a place where kids catch fireflies as their parents chat with neighbors on the porch, I found it a ghost town. Perhaps the influx of intrigued tourists has caused this retreat. We found our way to our sushi restaurant and ate one of the best and most satisfying group meals we've had together. Afterwards, we strolled the lanes together, peeked into some open windows (yes, I am a stalker), found the famous dry cleaner that solved some of the town's conflict, tried to get into what my prof called the "make-out tower" and, finding it locked, headed back to our oversized van.

I've got to say that I have a new admiration for the people of Celebration after visiting. They are the closest thing I think I know of to pioneers today, and I'm impressed that they had the guts to call for the change they desired. However, there is no way I could live in their town. The uniformity and image of perfection that still pervades the town creeps me out. And I couldn't live that close to the Disney theme parks, as much as I love 'em. So, go Celebrationites! I'll definitely come back to visit. Just don't expect me to move in.



Kid quote of the day: After the Blue Tarantula number, a girl's voice called out, "I was very brave." Yes, sweetie. Yes you were.

Call tomorrow: 6:30am, at the vans in our La Quinta hotel parking lot. We've got to go be fingerprinted. Joy.