NCTE/ALAN wrap-up…in pictures!

Okay, gang.  Let’s try this again…  (I’ve posted this three times now and three times the internet has eaten it.  *crossing fingers!*)

 

As y’all probably remember, I just got back from Orlando, Florida and the NCTE/ALAN annual convention!  It was great!  I got to be on panels with Ginger Rue and Jundy Blundell and Amy Gordon.

I got to meet oodles of phenomenal librarians and teachers and university faculty members.

I got to hang out with awesome writer friends and meet new ones.

Oh, and I got to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

This, believe it or not, was the view from my hotel room!  Real zebras and giraffes and crazy antelope-type things outside all the time.  So incredible.

 

But it wasn’t all conference-going and zebra-gazing.  Oh no.  There was also…this!

 

I’m not usually one for tourist traps.  And I detest amusement parks with every fiber of my being.  But I have to say, even though it was small, expensive, and terribly over-crowded I didn’t really mind as long as I was inside the world of Harry Potter.

As cheesy as it sounds, it felt very much like being in the books.  (Or as close to being in the books as you can feel with tens of thousands of sweaty, tired, hungry strangers.)

I think the reason I didn’t mind was because the makers had paid incredible attention to detail.  Even the ceilings were AMAZING.

 

Of course, no trip to Hogsmeade would be complete without lunch at the Three Broomsticks!  Here I am enjoying a butter beer with the gang from Disney-Hyperion.

 

I’m incredibly greatful to NCTE and ALAN for inviting me to participate in this year’s conference.  As always, it was a great event and I was thrilled to take part!

Have a great one, everyone!

Ally

 

PS:  I’m hearing reports that some of the pictures aren’t showing up for some of you.  Sorry about that.  I really hate this blog software most of the time and this is one of the reasons why.  If you’d like to check out the pics, you can see all of them (and more) here