Red Bleed 2.0: NHF Annual Meeting Post, Finally

This Post is far overdue.

We went to the NHF annual meeting in Orlando in early November. Allison and I were going for a PEP Program steering committee meeting. So we thought we’d make a long weekend out of it and take the boys and see Disney. Allison’s sister, Heather, joined us for the weekend to help watch the boys while we had our meeting and other obligations. It turned out pretty much as we thought; a harried, hurried, packed and exhausting weekend. But fun.

Friday - after a morning flight into Orlando and the usual baggage claim, rental car, hotel check-in routine we struck out for the exhibition hall to find sustenance, free stuff and people.

Allison and I each had to work an hour manning the PEP booth while the rest perused the other booths, found the pool or rested in the room. The PEP booth was inside the Bayer exhibit. I know PEP is funded by a Bayer grant but I would have been much more comfortable with PEP in its own booth.

We didn’t register for the meeting and didn’t plan on attending any sessions. We really wanted to try to make a mini-vacation. We’ve been to NHF before, attended an On the Road in Dallas, went to an inhibitor summit last year as well as our regular chapter events. So we didn’t feel too guilty about missing the sessions.

Saturday - we had our PEP breakfast meeting then off to the exhibits for a few last-minute freebies and chats with old friends. Then it was off to The Magic Kingdom. (Thank you so much Matt Angell !). Needless to say the boys had a blast. We quickly learned the strategy of the Fast Pass and hit as many rides as we possibly could. We stayed until late and got to see the electric light parade and the fireworks show. Once again I turn to James Lileks for humorous and insightful descriptions of the Disney experience (see them here, here, here and here).

Sunday - was even more hectic. We had a late flight that evening so we could do more Disney during the day. So after checking out of the hotel and a Waffle House breakfast we trekked off to Animal Kingdom. Not impressed. Mind you, our time was short so we didn’t do shows. We pretty much stuck to the rides and activities. A number of the rides were similar to Magic Kingdom rides if not out and out the same ride with a different theme. So finally after the “spin around on a raft and get soaked ride” we decided to catch a bus to the Disney-MGM park.

The boys loved the Star Wars flight simulator ride and Heather and I laughed our heads off on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. But all too soon we needed to head for the exit and the bus back to Animal Kingdom and our car. We had plenty of time to top off the tank, return the rental car and make our flight. Well, except that we had to make some makeshift packaging for the long Frontierland toy rifle we bought for Jack that didn’t fit into any of our luggage. That, and I also got slightly lost.

After some starts and stops, u-turns and some colorful language we found a Walgreens and fashioned some packaging from a cardboard tri-fold project board. The fact that we had to do this to get the toy rifle home was a bit dismaying. I think it’s safe to say that most people coming to Disney are coming by air. So the lack of available packaging for an undoubtedly popular item that doesn’t readily pack well for air travel (unless you brought golf club, that I alas did not) is an oversight by Disney (and they don’t overlook much). We tried to get help at several Disney shops and at customer service. They would be happy to ship it for us but no dice on ready-to-go packaging. A niche the Disney folks, I think, would be happy to exploit.

We eventually made it to the airport, returned the car, changed into fresh clothes and got to the baggage check – 5 minutes late. The bags were marked ‘Late Check In’ but were told they could still get on the plane. Next, a quick dash to wait in the security line for the obligatory screening. At some point in which we came up one driver’s license short. But because of time constraints we resigned the i.d. to being lost and just barely made the boarding of the plane.

Both boys fell asleep on the flight and we arrived in Houston without further incident. We were happy to discover that our bags made the flight with us. All except, of course, the toy gun. But even that was on the first flight the next day and it was retrieved in due course.

It was a quick, frenzied, fun weekend with a little NHF, a lot of Disney and few pics which I’ll add below. If we never make it back to Orlando I’m glad for the boys that we made the trip. If we do venture back we’ll be that much better prepared for the Disney immersion.