Disney - Day 2 - Epcot Future World, Leadership Day 1

Took advantage of the early park access at Epcot (its a different park each day) to start my day off soarin' (as good as any IMax show at the Ontario Science Centre!). Other highlights and old favourites  included Ellen (energy), Spaceship Earth and Captain EO - a fun show featuring Michael Jackson and his awesome dance moves, from back in the eighties. My absolute favourite is Test Track and here's a great tip - There is a 10 minute wait for individual riders vs fast pass or 40 min if you are a single rider. Consider splitting up your group, if the kids are old enough to go on their own. I love this ride!

Back late afternoon for the start of the Disney Leadership Exellence course. Excellent meal and great intro about Walt Disney - the leader that left a huge legacy, that is still going strong - over 40 years after his death.

Disney - Day 1 - Arrival, Downtown Disney

Pretty uneventful flight. Left at a decent time and arrived mid day - plenty of time to head to Downtown Disney to eat (Earl of Sandwich is amazing and reasonably priced), shop and browse.  I highly recommend the "design your own character T-shirt" shop. Any Disney character you can imagine, your choice of 10 colours, in long vs short sleeve, adult vs child, good Hanes quality, 4 lines of custom text. My daughter is going to be thrilled with her awesome, personalized Phineas and Ferb T.

Conference guests are staying at the Contemporary Resort. It is very modern and a little boring, feels like I could be anywhere. When at Disney, I prefer one of the themed hotels. The amenities are great though, including a small market with wine, beer, staples and snacks. The monorail passes right through this hotel though, which is pretty cool.

There is free wifi throughout the resort and parks, which is great for cell phone users who didn't purchase a roaming plan (me ...).

YPT - La Fugue

This play tackled a difficult topic in a very creative and multi layered way, integrated with music and brimming with symbolism generated lots of issues to talk about after.

This story tells about the fate of a runaway, from the viewpoint of his father, trying to figure out where he has gone and where he might be. It does not handle lightly the consequences of falling in with a gang, from a brutal initiation to an equally brutal treatment of the young man's girlfriend. Definitely a good play for the pre-teen, who may think that the rules at home can be abandoned for something better on the street.

Provoked a lot of conversation and has been making the rounds for the last 6 years, bringing its powerful message to teens of all walks of life. Definitely recommended.

Canstage - The Golden Mean (Live)

Once again, I have the opportunity to confirm I am not a fan of dance. Despite some impressive choreography and skill, and some fascinating work with masks, I struggled to stay awake - perhaps the music and pacing was too soothing for me.

The pace of modern dance is too slow and the message often eludes me. The audience however, seemed to be very impressed, with resounding applause, random standing ovations and exuberant cat calls (friends, maybe...).

Definitely erotic, sometimes primordial, very creative - perhaps you can lose yourself in this piece.

RSGC - Showcase Concert

What a talented bunch of kids. And I'm not just saying that because my son is in one of the bands that played tonight. All of the bands were good, a testament to the quality of teaching and the commitment to music at this school. The Palais Royale was a wonderful venue for this event - the service was great and the view from the patio was most enjoyable on what turned out to be a nice mild evening. Gorgeous start to the warmer weather !

Mirvish - The Book of Mormon

Very smart and creative script. The voices were amazing. The leads were all very strong. A little bit irreverant and quite crude, in a fun kind of way. If you have tickets, good for you - you will love it. If you don't already have tickets - too bad, it has been sold out for a while.

Canstage - Race

A very well written play, with some very challenging dialogue to deliver, expertly mastered by the cast. A little bit of a who-dunit, as we tried to figure out where it was going and who was manipulating whom - or maybe they all were ..........