Christmas at the Movies

12/25 Sunday

We rise to breakfast at the condo, and I open my gift from Dawn, which is a copy of the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. Following breakfast, we decide that we’ve given Disney enough of our money that past couple of days, so we head over to Pointe Orlando along I-Drive because there is a multiplex cinema there (I saw “Sherlock Holmes” there just a while back). We park, buy our theater tickets in advance for “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” ($8.50 each for matinee), and wander the mall a little while because it’s only noon, and the movie starts at 1 p.m. We notice many of the businesses and restaurants are closed, but Opa (the Greek place) is open, as well as Johnny Rockets. We also check out next door to the mall at “Wonderworks,” the tilted mansion, which houses the comedy/magic/all-you-can-eat-pizza show every night. They are open, so we wander in, and tour the small gift shop there as well as a snack bar, but we don’t get to see much of the building because most of the space is dedicated to the actual theater, which they don’t let you in unless you have tickets. People are in line to buy tickets for tonight’s performance, so obviously this place will have a show tonight.

Back to the movie theater, where we stop at the concession stand for a small popcorn and medium drink for $12.25. “Tattoo” is very thrilling and entertaining, and mostly true to the book, I thought. Dawn enjoyed it, too, although there is a scene where a mutilated cat shows up on a doorstep, which was a little disturbing. After that,we buy another pair of tickets to “The Adventures of Tintin.” The price of the movie tickets has now gone up to $14 apiece, and I confess this is the most I have ever paid to see a movie. I also buy a box of peanut M&Ms for the movie, which costs me $4.50. We now, by my reckoning, have $62 invested in movies today between the shows, popcorn, candy, and a drink. The second show is more light hearted and also very entertaining. So we have a day’s entertainment at the theater, and I recognize that if we were at a Disney park, we would certainly spend all of that $57 and more, but I can’t help but feel there is just something incredibly mystifying about spending $62 a movie theater.

When we get out of the movie theater, it’s time for dinner, and our dining options are limited, at least at Pointe Orlando. I don’t want to take Dawn to “Opa,” because it wasn’t real great the first time around, so we end up at “Johnny Rockets” for burgers and fries. This will certainly be a memorable Christmas. Last year on the date, Dawn and I were at “Hugo’s Cellar” in Las Vegas for a gourmet meal of epic proportions. This year, Christmas at the movies, and burger and fries. I hope all who are reading this had their own memorable Christmas in their own way.

We exit the parking ramp, and drive along I-Drive for about a 1.5 miles to our turn on Sand Lake Drive, and we notice many people and families walking along the drive, and many of the chain restaurants are open. So clearly, this whole idea of spending Christmas in Orlando is not nearly as crazy as I thought. In fact, it appears to be perfectly normal for thousands of people.

Expenses today: $62 movies, $6 parking, $30 dinner. Total: $98

Bruce