Friday was a fun, busy day. In the morning we toured the IDEX showroom and spent time chatting with Robert Tonner, Jack Kralik, The Angelic Dreamz Guyz and Michelle of Wilde Imagination and others.
IDEX has changed dramatically from the last one I attended. It's about 1/3 the size. Major companies such as Madame Alexander are not here. Attendance was sparse and many of the booths seemed underpopulated. However, some of the booths were fantastic and beautifully designed.
Because the hotel internet connection is crawling, I had to upload yesterday's pictures to my Facebook page. Clicking on the image below will take you there. When I return home, I will post the images on this blog for those who cannot see Facebook.
I have edited the pictures down to my favorites. You will see a fire engine outside the hotel. At one point an announcement came over the PA system ordering everyone to exit the building. Apparently it was a false alarm.
In the late afternoon, Bob and I went to see Olympus Has Fallen. It is not a movie for the faint of heart and definitely not for children. Holy Crap! It was exhausting just watching it. I do recommend it for the action and excitement and it is very timely. However I hope that it's an impossible scenario because it is very frightening.
From the hotel we walked (yes, walked) to Universal Studio's City Walk. This is their nightclub, bar, movie, restaurant, entertainment area. Talk about assaulting the senses! The lights, noise, activity and smells were Manhattan on steroids minus the buses and taxis. There is stuff going on everywhere. It was amazing. We played it safe and ate dinner at Bubba Gumps - not bad at all.
Walking back to the hotel after dark was very peaceful. The landscaping
around the parks is gorgeous. The weather last night was delightful and
calm compared to Thursday night when it was very windy and rainy.
Back at the hotel we passed the bar on the way to our elevator and we spied Mel among a few others. I was happy to say hello to him and glad that he arrived safely. In a few hours we will get to see and hear him introduce the new doll. I'm excited!
