The appeal of Disney parks

Dude, you're completely hopeless.

Dear Old Navy,

I wanted new furniture, but all you had was clothes. Your store sucks.

Sincerely,
Me

Brian Noble said:

My kids were asking me "what else is there?"

I'm sure they came up with that question entirely on their own.

They actually did. I was the navigator with the map telling them what show ride or attraction we were near, and the kids gave it an up or down vote. Most often down.

That's part of the problem.

I don't make it to Disney's Florida parks very often, and when I do I'm usually doing an E-ticket blitz where I try to get to all the best/newest stuff as quickly as I can, just because my opportunities are so limited; I have never had a chance to "do Disney", but I get down there from time to time for conventions and meetings and get a chance to stop in.

But personally, I love the Magic Kingdom, and can easily spend a whole day there myself. Even better is when I visit Disneyland, and can easily spend a whole day there, even with small crowds.

The thing is...you have to be willing to try just about any experience the park may have to offer. If you are looking for a near-death high-thrill experience, then you might as well give up any of Disney's properties entirely. But if you are looking to be entertained, you need to be willing to find that entertainment in different places and in different ways. Sure, your favorite Six Flags or Cedar Fair park is going to tempt you with roller coasters hundreds of feet tall. But is that really the only thing you find entertaining in the park? The thing you are going to find at Disney's parks is *novelty*. You will find ride experiences that you *can't get* anywhere else. Those experiences might not be of the high-thrill variety, but they are still unique, and they are still entertaining. Almost every time I have visited Disney's parks, I have found something unique and entertaining, quite often something I would never have thought to be worth visiting. The reason I found it was because I actually bothered to enter the gate, to take advantage of the short wait to see what was available inside. Heck, sometimes it isn't even a ride. And I freely admit, sometimes it's just something that catches my interest as a ride-and-AV geek.

You know that expression about books and covers? It applies to Disney attractions. Ignore the description, force the "up" vote once in a while, and find a new favorite!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Yeah, Magic Kingdom does have a number of things I try to make sure I do every time. The coasters, obviously, but also the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion and of course Splash Mountain, the mother of all flume rides. I usually only spend a half-day there, but largely because it's weak on grown-up restaurants. When you have seven dinner credits, you use those wisely!

They actually did.

You have so little self-awareness that you've become a parody of yourself.

This is cool, 'cause it's entertaining. But, seriously? Dude.

largely because it's weak on grown-up restaurants.

Some halfway-decent ones are only a monorail ride (or, in some cases, a ten minute walk) away. I'm particularly fond of dinner in The Wave's bar. Full menu, and very generous bartenders.

http://allears.net/menu/menu_waved.htm

Brian Noble said:

They actually did.

You have so little self-awareness that you've become a parody of yourself.

This is cool, 'cause it's entertaining. But, seriously? Dude.

What the hell does that even mean? If I ask my kids if they want to go to the Lilo and Stitch show, and they tell me "No Dad, that's lame" what am I supposed to do, drag them in there kicking and screaming? Besides the little kiddie stuff was where most of the longer wait times were happening, due to this being a school week everywhere else on the planet besides New Jersey. My 9 and 12 year old are not going to wait 45 minutes to go on the Snow White ride when Splash Mountain is 15 and I cant say I blame them.

I just find it amusing that the Disney nutswingers want to invalidate my opinion. Disney is wildly overrated and you have to drag all this contrived tangential "magic" into the equation because it doesnt stand on it's own merit as an amusement park.

billb7581 said:
If I ask my kids if they want to go to the Lilo and Stitch show, and they tell me "No Dad, that's lame" what am I supposed to do, drag them in there kicking and screaming?

See, it seems to me like you only gave the option of little kiddie stuff, or the rides. I find it hilarious that you call people out for being "unusual" and "not normal" and whatever the hell else you've said over the course of your trolldom here because they want to stay at a hotel when a park is 2 hours away, but then you pull crap like this.

I can almost guarantee with 100% certainty, that the kids were reading your body language, and feeding off your negativity and that's why they were in that mind set. If you'd have gone in just looking to relax and hang out, I bet it would have been very different. You'd never do that, because you were expecting Disney to offer something that is not there and never will be.

A short list of the things you appear to have missed...

1. Parades
2. Fireworks
3. Stunt Shows
4. Stage Shows
5. Atmosphere Entertainment
6. Characters
7. Bike rides
8. Boat rides
9. Train rides
10. Monorail rides
11. Horseback rides
12. Activities at the resorts including marshmallow roasting, movies on the beach, pool activities
13. Golf
14. Minigolf
15. Water parks with heated pools and slides
16. Cirque du soleil
17. Food and Wine Festival
18. Christmas Parties
19. Halloween Parties
20. Dueling Pianos
21. Night clubs
22. Rooftop dining while watching fireworks
23. Luaus
24. ESPN Wide World of Sports
25. Nature trails
26. Savannas
    
27. Shows with Puppets
28. Shows with Muppets
29. Talking and meeting and experiencing people from all over the world
30. Using your imagination
31. Asking questions
32. Taking risks
33. Taking pictures
34. Being curious
    
35. Learning
    

The thing you missed that makes me the most sad, spending time with your children and making cherished memories., sharing the joys of being able to explore and do everything together as a family.

billb7581 said:
Disney is wildly overrated and you have to drag all this contrived tangential "magic" into the equation because it doesnt stand on it's own merit as an amusement park.

Heh. Yeah. The most visted theme park on Earth with ticket prices closing in on $100 a day is going to be exposed any minute now.

Let's all hold our breath...

Jeff: The Laugh Floor is a perfect example. I didn't even know it existed until I got there. When I was waiting for it I thought it sounded cute. When I saw what they were doing with be show, it blew me away*. :) And best of all, the tricks employed mean the show is a little different every time. But before I got in line for it, I had never heard of it. Disney's parks are full of that kind of thing.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

* What is really cool is when an attraction does something amazingly complicated and pulls it off in a way that most of the audience doesn't even realize how amazingly cool it really is. Kind of like a Segway.

Lord Gonchar said:

Heh. Yeah. The most visted theme park on Earth with ticket prices closing in on $100 a day is going to be exposed any minute now.

OMG! You'll never believe it. They just put a news story up exposing them for this very thing!

You can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Edit: Dave got in the way!

It's only overrated if you don't "get it". I love the place. I'd rather go there than to any coaster/thrill park. I think it's highly underrated.

Laugh Floor is fantastic. No one believes how cool it is until they experience (myself included). And it's even better the next time when you see how it changes every time you see it.

Yes so much to see, do, explore, and eat at the Disney Parks. But it's not worth trying to convince someone otherwise. Just like you can't convince me Millennium Force and El Toro are the greatest rides ever built. They don't do much for me. Space Mountain pwns 'em both. :)

Just to be a pain in Matt's backside - El Toro *and* Space Mountain are two of the greatest rides ever built. :)

it's a small world isn't supposed to thrill you. It's supposed to make you think.

love for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.. don't forget Turtle Talk with Crush!

Most of my time at Disney was either spent at EPCOT or outside of the parks. There is just so much to enjoy and take in. Whenever someone here in Indiana asks me what to do on their trip to get everything in I flat out tell them not to even try. If you know what the rides are and just want that, ok, I'll give you a perfect strategy to avoid the lines and use and abuse FastPass. Otherwise, I'll tell you to sit back, relax, and give you a few of my preferred places to enjoy and take in the atmosphere.

I'm like Jeff, I could spend multiple days in EPCOT alone, especially World Showcase. Heck, I could spend hours just relaxing on the deck next to the Rose & Crown looking across the lagoon. Oh, and I'm also far from a "Disney nut-swinger."

want to invalidate my opinion.

Nonsense. We agreed with you. We told you from the very beginning, based on everything you said, that unless you changed the way you approached it, you would not enjoy the trip. We were right---because you didn't let yourself. So, instead, you flushed $4000 to prove us all "wrong" and fall on your sword for your kids.

The fact that you still don't get that is the funny bit.

I hate McDonald's. My kid likes it, though. A few times a year I'll take him there. When I do, I don't complain that they don't have Chicken Parmesan, Kobe steaks, or a decent wine list, even though that is what I would normally expect from a restaurant.

I find it rather sad that someone can go to Disney...with their children...and not enjoy it.

Really?

You're either doing a little bit of trolling, or you have a household that operates on a certain level of negativity that could be changed with help. :)

With all honesty, that is just simply depressing.

Are these your kids?