disney

Magic in the Magic Kingdom, revisiting Disney World

/ antonioyrocinante / Leave a comment

When you finally convince your girlfriend to visit you after four years working abroad and her only condition is that you go to Disney World? You arrange it.

We had a great time. I had not been to the Magic Kingdom in a loooong time, so it was nice to revisit childhood memories and to see Disney from an adult perspective; understanding everything I had learned about Disney as a business, after reading In Search of Excellence when I had my own business, (knowing that the magic was happening under my feet and everything above “ground” is a set – actors or “cast members” cannot take their masks off above ground, only when they go down “secret” stairs to the “backstage”), the cleanliness, the friendliness, the whole experience.

We stayed at one of Disney’s hotels, so we got the full Disney experience, the bus, the meals, the swimming pool!

I was recruited to be one of Belle’s knights in shining armor -although all I got was a handheld mask, we met Ariel, we rode a handful of rides, saw a few shows, and had a great time!

We only had one day, so we have a lot to see in future visits!

Hanging out with Ariel

National Geographic; a lifetime subscription (almost)

/ antonioyrocinante / 4 Comments

Everybody is familiar with the yellow National Geographic magazine. I have been a subscriber since 1977 (more or less, I think). My dad got me my first subscription back when I was a teenager living in New York, since then I have moved many times, but I have always kept my National Geographic subscription!

Yes, my first love was the amazing photography, basically telling the story of the article in photos, but little by little I got into reading the articles as well.

The magazine has gone through some changes and now belongs to Disney, but they seem to be doing a good job of keeping the quality of the articles, the writing, the photography, and the magazine itself. One of the peculiarities of Nat Geo is that there is only advertising at the beginning and the end, but no advertising in the middle of the magazine, this is very refreshing and conducive to reading, without interruptions. Another great feature are the maps the magazine sometimes comes with, they are spectacular! I love them and have even had some of them framed!

Nowadays, there are more “fun” little articles at the beginning of the magazine, I guess to cater to folks with short attention spans, but they do not detract from the main articles, which range from all sorts of topics like history, geography, archeology, sciences, nature, and much more. As I prepared for the photo shoot with my niece, we noticed that a favorite topic throughout the history of the magazine is ancient Egypt!

If you have never read a National Geographic, I encourage you to find one and check it out, they are special. You are welcome.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo credit: My niece