Back in 2017, I attended my first FETC (Future of Education Technology Conference) in Orlando on behalf of my company (Microsoft), to help promote and demo a new PowerPoint feature I’d worked on. In between booth duty, I wandered the show floor and found myself unexpectedly energized by the overall vibe of the event, and by the sheer amount of creativity and experimentation happening across the edTech space. A few years later, I returned to FETC as a regular attendee, so I could freely explore it all on my own. This most recent trip marked my third time at the show, and while I don’t have a specific plan for how (or if) I’ll pursue anything in this space, I’m pretty confident that any efforts would involve some combination of design, electronics, and playful experimentation.

My first two FETC visits were solo, but this time the family was in tow, so of course we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hit the theme parks. We spent a day at the OG Universal parks, and two days at Disney World. I was tempted to check out Universal’s newest park Epic Universe, but decided to pass for now after learning it’s still pretty crowded with first-time visitors. Besides, there were enough new (to us) attractions at the original parks, given the 15-year gap since our last visit – including the Jurassic World Velicoaster, which probably now rates as my all-time favorite coaster ride.

Disney World was also enjoyable as always. I went with a friend in 2024 the last time I was in town for FETC. Since my wife and son were along for this trip, I wanted to make sure they got to experience new attractions that stood out to me during my last visit, including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney Hollywood Studios, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind at Epcot, and Avatar: Flight of the Banshee at Animal Kingdom. In between the conference and parks, we also took the time to explore the restaurant scene and enjoyed some great meals. Good memories all around.