Tourist Mode for GPS

So once again, we're talking about things I learned while on vacation. This particular idea was inspired by the amount of wrong turns and signless avenues in the Disney area. Getting lost in Disney was not so bad--there's great sites, and awesome hotels. However, unless you've been there before, or you're from the area, you have absolutely no clue where you are, or what you are looking for. All the while, though, we're listening to our GPS telling us to turn here, and arrive there (where there was absolutely nothing). We ended up ignoring the GPS recommendations entirely and just asking for directions from multiple Disney associates.

 I have to put this out there, too, because it's such a guy thing. The first guy we asked was at the Magic Kingdom Parking gate, he gave us the most exact directions to our hotel. Sure enough, as I'm going the directions the man told us, my passenger-seat-driver (AKA--the hubby), says, "that's not right, look the sign doesn't say hotels that way. Go to the next exit." Why did I listen to him? I dunno, it's really not the first time he's guided me in the wrong direction. The fact is, I did listen. We ended up driving away from the hotel.

So anyway, I haven't been to Disney in--well, since our honeymoon--so I wasn't too familiar with the sites and details. While I'm driving, I feel like Jack--you know, the Pumpkin King--"what's that? what's this? oooh!" And of course, my kids are with us, so I'm thinking, they'd like to know what everything was too. That's when it hit me: GPS should have a tourist mode.

What the heck is tourist mode? Well, it's simple. Like having a tour guide with you wherever you are. You should be able to push a button on your GPS, which will obtain data about the location your in. You should be able to select from options like learning any history related to the area, or buildings you are passing; to just learning what you're surrounded by. Your GPS should be able to say "If you're looking for a great night out on the town, look left--that's Disney Downtown, with shopping, dining, and club-like atmospheres." And maybe, as I'm driving, I'd tell my passenger-seat-driver to, instead of telling me the wrong way to go, click the map and find out what restaurants are in Disney's Downtown. Or maybe, as we're driving past Disney's Hollywood Studios, I might learn a bit of the history surrounding the name change. Still wondering what happened to MGM.

Anyway, Disney is not the only place that could benefit from this feature. There's places all over the country that you don't even notice because you're listening to someone else say "turn here" or "recalculating", or even "don't turn there, it doesn't look right." Personal tour guides will make me feel a little better about being lost, and may even help me to find something I would like to look for at another time.