mid atlantic - 27 January 2013 06:03 AM

As someone who’s never been; what is so bad about Disneyland?

I’m not too Bashful to say you really have to be Grumpy or Dopey to hate it. If you’re Happy at all or a childish Doc like me its really a lot of fun. Seriously though it all depends on your outlook. Yes its very contrived and a bit over priced. It can be very crowded at times with long lines and the expensive souvenirs are all junk made in China. On the other hand if you like amusement park rides in an environment that is spotless and staffed by people who go out of their way to help you have a good time then its a great place.

It also depends a lot on who you are there with. I remember the first time we went there with our oldest who is now 23. She was 2 at the time and I don’t think I ever saw her smile or laugh so much. If your idea of a vacation is lying on the beach with a beer than Disney world isn’t going to be the place you want to go. The lines can really be annoying and tiring but if you time things right you can avoid most of that. We usually hit the park first thing in the morning, then head back to the hotel pool for the heat of the afternoon and back to the park again in the evening if everyone is up for it.

If your kids are a little older, Universal studies is practically down the street from Disney and if you stay in their hotel you gat a VIP pass that gets you around all the lines ( definitely worth the cost of the hotel). Their rides are geared more to the older crowd than at disney and the park is smaller so its less exhausting.

My kids are all in college and they still enjoy going to Disney World, in fact we will be going this spring since they all happen to have the same vacation, but we will spend half of our week there and half at Universal.

Its not a trip to Rome or Paris but each type of vacation fills different needs. It all depends on what your up for at the moment.

citizenschallenge.pm - 24 January 2013 08:27 AM

That’s funny I spent a week in Budapest in 1977, being 1/4 Hungarian it was nice touching my mom’s home base and my relatives were fantastic, but I sure did run into some surly waitstaff and store keepers.  But what a fantastic city to walk around, specially back then, because it’s like all over was the architectural grandeur that reminded one of the Hungary… and the promise before the wars.  I spotted WarII damage all over the city.  I got my first visceral shock of the depth of destruction those wars caused.  Not just immediate damage, but it destroyed the promise of the new century… society’s dreams and aspirations were dashed and science was harnessed for destruction and domination.  And now we get to watch as the final chapters of humanities may follies unfold.

Well, I was in Hungary only twice and am sure there are many friendly people as well. Budapest is indeed fantastic. Hungary is still a young struggling democracy and some of the elected officials have not fully adopted the democratic mindset.

I’m not too Bashful to say you really have to be Grumpy or Dopey to hate it. If you’re Happy at all or a childish Doc like me its really a lot of fun. Seriously though it all depends on your outlook. Yes its very contrived and a bit over priced. It can be very crowded at times with long lines and the expensive souvenirs are all junk made in China. On the other hand if you like amusement park rides in an environment that is spotless and staffed by people who go out of their way to help you have a good time then its a great place.

I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve had a ball every time we’ve been there, especially with our grand kids. Magic kingdom can be a nightmare of overcrowding at times, probably because it’s the quintissential Disney theme park with the castle, but my favorites are Epcot and animal kingdom. We took the kids on the safari ride and it was a learning experience for them. There’s also a recreated village in the park and I met a carver from the actual East African village whose carvings were outstanding. He uses ebony and other exotic African woods and carves animals, masks and walking sticks. His whole family works there as well and they are all expert carvers. So, yeah besides the cheap Chinese tourist junk you can find some real gems if you look hard enough. Same at Epcot. BTW, the best times to go are around Halloween and before Xmas. The crowds have thinned and the parks are theme decorated for the season. We always stay in the park at one of the resorts with easy access by bus to all the theme parks. All in all it’s a fun place to have a vacation, especially if you go with princesses!

Cap’t Jack