Over 6100 student journalists, advisers, and various colleges and representatives have all converged at the Disney Swan and Dolphin for five days of keynote speakers, break-out workshop sessions, contests and sightseeing.
At 2:45 a.m. Wednesday my alarm sounded and my trip began. With a connecting flight through Houston, we arrived (myself, a co-worker and 13 students) in Orlando around 2 p.m. Our shuttle driver was waiting to take us the 30 miles to the hotel (see photo above).
Gary, our driver, was a character from the start. He had spent much of his life driving shuttles and vans for professional athletic teams, had 9 dogs in his house, and spent those 30 miles talking about the two 'gators' in his backyard and the numerous other close-encounters he's had since living in Florida.
And it's hot here. Really hot. Orlando is experiencing above average temperatures and has just broken a record for consecutive number of days with temperatures above 90 degrees. When we arrived, it was 94 degrees and sunny skies - and tornadoes, snow and wind back in Nebraska.
Since being here, we have done some sightseeing around Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney), walked along the boardwalk and beach (near Epcot) and attended the opening JEA/NSPA sessions.
The Boardwalk
The beach (near Epcot)
Opening JEA/NSPA session
Today will be filled with student/adviser workshop sessions, a second keynote speaker (from Sports Illustrated), student contests, and then I will have a judging meeting and judge the contests tonight.
Magic Kingdom is the plan for tomorrow (and the temperatures are forecasted to be in the low 80s).
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