President Obama is going to Walt Disney World to promote tourism

Folks in Vegas are probably thrilled.

If I were POTUS and my options were standing in front of Cinderella's Castle with Mickey and the gang in the background or standing in front of the Hooters Resort with Bambi and the gang in the background I think I would go with WDW as well.

Actually, I would follow in Obama's footsteps and vacation in Hawaii.

Is it still a vacation if it's where you're from? No matter where I live, I can't imagine ever going to Cleveland for a vacation.

These people would like to have a word with you:

http://www.10000littleideas.com/

It was more of a question about your origin as a destination, but Cleveland at best is a place you "vacation" once to say that you've been there.

It begs the question though, where do you vacation in January if you live in Orlando?

Here's a timely blog post on various presidential visits over the years...

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/01/president-obama-visit...l-history/

Jeff said:
No matter where I live, I can't imagine ever going to Cleveland for a vacation.

Liz Lemon seemed to enjoy it.

The Brazilian visa issue is actually pretty serious. I know a few ex-pats who work there, and it's insane how difficult it is for these folks to come to the US to spend their money. And, if you've not been paying attention, there is a LOT of money flowing into Brazil these days.

Daily life has become so expensive that movies, taxis and even a can of Coke cost more in São Paulo than in New York. Rio de Janeiro apartment prices have doubled since 2008, and office space in São Paulo is suddenly more expensive than Manhattan. In many cases, investment banks must pay their Brazilian bankers and analysts more than they would get doing the same job in New York.

(Paywalled, but other articles exist):
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576544722103262938.html

Jeff said:
It was more of a question about your origin as a destination, but Cleveland at best is a place you "vacation" once to say that you've been there.

That is probably true for most people who vacation on Cleveland. Though its probably also true of a lot of other vacation destinations (maybe most of them). And it think its natural to view any place where you have lived/spent a lot of non-vacation time as a non-vacation place.

It begs the question though, where do you vacation in January if you live in Orlando?

Same question applies for people who live in Texas, Arizona and southern California. Folks who I know who live there do not include weather in their vacation decisions (unless they are going skiing) as we do in the north (though some of them look to escape the heat/humidty in the summmer though not as many who look to escape the cold in the winter from the north). That dynamic makes Big 10 schools/Notre Dame (with large alumni bases looking to escape winter cold for a few days) popular bowl game targets. If you live in southern California, do you really want to go to a non-title game in Miami or Arizona in January?

GoBucks89 said:
Folks in Vegas are probably thrilled.

I'm thinking this quote applies to any city not named Orlando. :) ;)

I remember Bush visiting for his "Points of Light" ceremony.

Lots of people in Florida head to the mountains in Georgia/Tennessee for winter vacation...or they head out west to Colorado, Utah, etc. We've done about 5 late fall vacations to the Gatlinburg area because we are looking for change of season/cooler weather/etc.

But, Hawaii is pretty darn nice.

Yeah, the biggest thing holding me back from moving to Hawaii is that it has pretty much been the location of my most favorite vacations ever. Then again, maybe that is the best place to live.

I wonder what kind of disruption the average guest experiences while the President is in the park. I could imagine that it could really disrupt your day if you aren’t interested in Presidential affairs, and more interested in enjoying your vacation.

It’s not like the Secret Service would even let you close enough to get a photo with the President anyway.

About five years ago a good friend of mine was on a Disney cruise that Bush Sr. and family happened to be on and he said it was a complete inconvenience for most of the trip. At times the Secret Service would have entire sections of the ship closed. Some nights he had to delay dinner because the former President was in the dining room. It was so bad; I believe that he said that Disney issued some pretty generous coupons for future Disney cruises to each of the guests.

I have much respect for the Presidency, however if I am spending my hard earned money to go to the Magic Kingdom, I better not be turned away from Space Mountain by a bunch of dudes in suits, sunglasses and earpieces in their ears…..

I think it's safe to assume that the president was on the property for 30 minutes at most. I've been around places that presidents (former and current) have stopped, and they're in and out so fast. Sure, there are dudes with a visible presence before, but not usually in a disruptive way.

I don't know. Joe Biden comes to Scranton to give a speech and 40% of the streets are closed off to regular traffic for the better part of the day.

Hanging n' Banging said:

I have much respect for the Presidency, however if I am spending my hard earned money to go to the Magic Kingdom, I better not be turned away from Space Mountain by a bunch of dudes in suits, sunglasses and earpieces in their ears…..

...and Mickey hats.

I found it amusing that the only sound bite I heard on the radio was Obama saying, "It's always nice to meet a world leader that has bigger ears than I do." (referring to Mickey).

I was at Cape Canaveral yesterday (They were launching a rocket) and I ran into a lot of tourists who had planned to visit The Mouse House, but when they found out Mr. Obama was there they turned around and spent the day somewhere else!

That'll show him! (/me rolls eyes)