Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 12:33:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 15:45:49 GMT
We had annual passes to Sea World. Remember Florida Festival? Oh how I wish I could find some old pics via Google of Florida Festival. We moved to Orlando in 78 or so. Before that we lived in Ft. Lauderdale. (so I've been south and central FL) I can't say that I do, although the name sounds familiar. I grew up in North Florida, but had family in Central Florida (actually, ALL of them LOL.) I would love it if you are ever able to find pictures though, I am a bit of a scatter brain and don't ever remember names but images I rarely forget. Florida Festival was right across from Sea World...I want to say easy walking distance. It was a huge "tent" type place...but it was a building with kind of a fluted look to the roof. I'm sure you'd recognize it if you saw it...if you were a regular at Sea World in the late 70's early 80's
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Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 12:33:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 15:47:04 GMT
We had annual passes to Sea World. Remember Florida Festival? Oh how I wish I could find some old pics via Google of Florida Festival. We moved to Orlando in 78 or so. Before that we lived in Ft. Lauderdale. (so I've been south and central FL) Don't remember that. I grew up in Miami. But do you remember Pirate's World? Think it was in Hollywood. Man, that place was a blast but so dangerous. They should have had the daily injury/fatality count at the entrance. Do not recall Pirate's World. We did not live in Ft. Lauderdale very long...2 grades in school...tops.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 3, 2014 15:53:51 GMT
I can't say that I do, although the name sounds familiar. I grew up in North Florida, but had family in Central Florida (actually, ALL of them LOL.) I would love it if you are ever able to find pictures though, I am a bit of a scatter brain and don't ever remember names but images I rarely forget. Florida Festival was right across from Sea World...I want to say easy walking distance. It was a huge "tent" type place...but it was a building with kind of a fluted look to the roof. I'm sure you'd recognize it if you saw it...if you were a regular at Sea World in the late 70's early 80's I don't remember it...but then again, we didn't go often at all. I will ask my mom if she remembers though. I wouldn't be surprised if we went-my grandparents loved kitchy. There *was* some place in Orlando that we went where my grandfather would always buy us those orange drinks that came in the plastic oranges with a green stem straw. I loved those things. LOL
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Post by I-95 on Aug 3, 2014 15:54:42 GMT
I don't get the 'magic' of WDW either. It's expensive, crowded, and not the least bit magical. If we didn't have a home close by I would never travel to get there.
Conversely, I grew up with Disneyland as my backyard playground and loved it, but we never went and spent 12 or 14 hours there. We had annual passes and used to drop by, go on a few rides, wander around a bit and leave. I thought we'd do the same with the kids when we moved to Florida, but annual passes for WDW are insanely priced too, so that takes the fun out of just dropping in...especially when you don't get the magic...
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Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 12:33:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 15:58:04 GMT
This just isn't "magic" to me. It's hell. But I fully realize that the road trips and back country camping and hiking I love are not for everyone either. Different strokes and all that. To me, being in nature with my family is the kind of magic I prefer. ETA: This is Disneyland, not WDW. From February of this year.
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Sarah*H
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Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Aug 3, 2014 16:10:12 GMT
I'm a Disney lover and I think anyone who pays money to go to the parks when they look like that is an idiot. Then again, my husband says he appreciates everyone who goes without planning and without a plan because if everyone knew the secrets, it would be crowded with lines all the time.
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Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 12:33:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 16:39:24 GMT
Yeah I have never ever in my life seen it that crowded. And they do have Florida resident deals for right around $100 for three days. Not too bad if you ask me.
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Post by melanell on Aug 3, 2014 16:39:52 GMT
Oh my gosh, Busy Pea, that photo does look hellish. I'm spoiled by going during quiet times.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 17:16:07 GMT
I'm a Disney lover and I think anyone who pays money to go to the parks when they look like that is an idiot. Then again, my husband says he appreciates everyone who goes without planning and without a plan because if everyone knew the secrets, it would be crowded with lines all the time. That picture is from late February this year. Isn't that the offseason?
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 3, 2014 17:24:26 GMT
Yeah I have never ever in my life seen it that crowded. And they do have Florida resident deals for right around $100 for three days. Not too bad if you ask me. I also saw they have a Florida resident annual "after 2" pass for the water parks for less than $70. I think at least one of my boys might do that.
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Post by myshelly on Aug 3, 2014 17:24:52 GMT
I'm a Disney lover and I think anyone who pays money to go to the parks when they look like that is an idiot. Then again, my husband says he appreciates everyone who goes without planning and without a plan because if everyone knew the secrets, it would be crowded with lines all the time. That picture is from late February this year. Isn't that the offseason? Busy pea, that's a pic of DisneyLAND, not DisneyWORLD, correct?
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Sarah*H
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Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Aug 3, 2014 17:26:01 GMT
I don't think there is an off season, there are quiet times and busy times and very often they smack up against each other, depending on school calendars, three day weekends, etc. So for example, the crowd calendar for the day before we arrive this year is a 7/8 but it's 2/3 for the entire week we're going to be there.
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Post by melanell on Aug 3, 2014 17:28:57 GMT
I'm a Disney lover and I think anyone who pays money to go to the parks when they look like that is an idiot. Then again, my husband says he appreciates everyone who goes without planning and without a plan because if everyone knew the secrets, it would be crowded with lines all the time. That picture is from late February this year. Isn't that the offseason? I don't know. I have only ever gone in the fall. I always thought Sept. through early Oct. were typically quiet because less people will opt to head down there right as school is starting in most places. By February maybe more people are dying for some warm weather.
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Sarah*H
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Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Aug 3, 2014 17:34:21 GMT
I just checked the crowd calendar for Magic Kingdom in February 2015 and it's 5-7 (out of 10) for three weeks of the month and 8-10 for the week of Valentine's Day. So no, not off season.
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Post by myshelly on Aug 3, 2014 17:34:32 GMT
That picture is from late February this year. Isn't that the offseason? I don't know. I have only ever gone in the fall. I always thought Sept. through early Oct. were typically quiet because less people will opt to head down there right as school is starting in most places. By February maybe more people are dying for some warm weather. Plus, was the picture taken on a weekend? The weekends are always going to be busy no matter what. Very late February through the first week of March is considered off peak, but not all of February.
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Post by myshelly on Aug 3, 2014 18:01:42 GMT
Dali Mama placed it in one of the circles of hell, which is stronger language than "despise" and "disdain" in my book. But myshelly -- you didn't really answer my question. Why is it so personally invested for so many people? If you told me that you loathe quilts and disdain any novel written in English in the 19th century, I'd not care one whit, even though I spend much of my time and energy and education wrapped up (literally with the quilts) in those pursuits. So what I'm asking for help in understanding is how Disney becomes something that people identify with strongly enough that they feel attacked by random strangers who say they dislike/disdain/cast into hell all things Disney related? rst, you singled me out and so I answered your question as did several other peas...and then you never come back. I just find it a little annoying.
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Post by sues on Aug 3, 2014 18:31:51 GMT
You could tell me how much you hate, let's see, Kindles, or 19th Century Literary novels, or quilting, or hiking in the mountains (all things I love and invest time and energy into) and it wouldn't get me all up in arms. I wouldn't go on and on about how some people just don't see the magic and the childlike wonder of it. So -- why is that?
I don't see anyone getting up in arms. People aren't responding negatively to your differing opinion. (Lots of people here have said it's not their thing.) They're responding to the sometimes condescending manner in which you convey it.
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Post by rst on Aug 3, 2014 18:51:56 GMT
I did find your answers interesting, and I guess it confirmed what I sensed -- that the whole Disney franchise is not only a sentimental/childhood memory thing, but also becomes part of some people's identity. So thanks for helping me understand that.
I didn't add further (until your post above) because I don't really have a lot to add. I guess you did obliquely ask why I despise/dislike/disdain (note literary use of Dis words) all things disney-esque. I did answer that in part. It's hyper-staged. Your experience is managed for you. Customers are being turned into products, and if you don't want to be processed just like all the other products, you aren't going to find it enjoyable. I also dislike the mindset that goes with Disney stuff -- it's all a package, and your every minute is magicalized for you.
Contrast a vacation that I really did enjoy, which was rooted, interestingly, in childhood book favorite, and which just happened to be referenced earlier today on the board -- going to PEI and seeing the "Anne of Green Gables" sites. For my sister and me, getting there was a big part of the adventure. My 13 year old sister wanted to order French toast in a little greasy spoon diner somewhere in Quebec, and the French speaking waiter mocked her very rudely. That exchange remains part of our sisterly repartee to this day. We didn't plan too well for lodging en route, so I had to drive all night, which put us arriving at the ferry at about 4 am. We were the first in line, and we saw the most amazing sunrise while listening to the road trip mix tape we had assembled and eating pastries from the afore-mentioned rude french diner. We camped out on the beach, and my planned menu involved a lot of campfire meals, but we never were able to get a good fire going due to the wind, so we ate a ton of tuna sandwiches and fresh fruit from farm stands. We lounged around in hammocks and read some of the lesser-known novels we'd not found before. My sister was so grossed out when I smushed a big hairy old moth inside the pages of the novel I was reading, she refused to touch that book. Years later, I gave it to her as a birthday gift. She instantly knew that it was the smushed moth book (long since removed, no traces evident) but she wouldn't open it until her husband checked it out first. I had put a paper-punched butterfly in between the pages just to freak her out.
My point -- our vacation was custom. There were long boring parts. There were parts that were maybe a little unwise and possibly dangerous (running low on gas on a long stretch of dark road in Quebec and just rolling into a rowdy town full of drunken men being thrown out of the bar-- and not a motel in sight) There were parts that were uncomfortable and unpredictable. There were also glorious sunrises, and amazing fresh, locally grown fruit and honey and the quirky old man who us warm rolls from his roadside stand. It was all real life. We were the ones who managed our experience. We chose our own soundtrack. And 25 years later, we still have inside jokes and memories-- highly eccentric, true, but they were real, not the fabrication of some Disney employee. If we were to go back today, it would be different. Trees would be cut down, towns changed, the roads finished, I'm sure more development of the beach we camped on. Having memories of one little slice of time in a place that is real and changing, where nobody else will encounter the same things, and we ourselves can never duplicate it -- that's far more magical to me than a canned experience.
As far as the merchandisey side of Disney -- I just don't like the animation style, I hate the voices, I find the plots and characterizations cloying. I hate what Disney does with the vast majority of the books I loved. I don't place a value on the princess lore and personae. I've avoided it all as much as is possible for any mom raising children in relatively mainstream America. I'm not rude about it, but I really do not understand people who post things like "137 days until our Disney vacation! The countdown begins. . ." My son qualifies for Make a Wish, and Disney is the most frequent choice ( I hear that they do a very nice job of caring for their families, and I give them credit for that), but it's not something I think he would enjoy at all, and I know I wouldn't.
Did I reply enough to cease being a little annoying?
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Post by miss_lizzie on Aug 3, 2014 18:56:47 GMT
There is something about it that makes you forget regular life/problems for just a little while. This is what I think too. I'm able to forget my real-world problems and simply enjoy myself for a few days. I've always gone with someone, but one of my dreams is to go by myself for a few days. Maybe someday!
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Post by myshelly on Aug 3, 2014 19:07:53 GMT
. Did I reply enough to cease being a little annoying? Yes, thank you.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 20:12:43 GMT
I guess I'm with RST -- I see what people are talking about, but it's not for me. I don't like amusement parks to begin with, and I really prefer to get away someplace that's "real" like a city or back to nature. I just don't like Disney characters and merchandise to begin with, so it makes sense that I wouldn't like WDW. But that's okay, I love my fishing/hiking trips.
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Aug 3, 2014 20:19:52 GMT
We took DD last year when she was 5, and it was worth it to see how much she enjoyed it, but I insisted it be a long enough trip to do EVERYTHING DH thought we needed to do, because I didn't intend to go back. I was steeped in the Disney classics as a child and can probably still sing most of the songs from Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Snow White, etc., but WDW didn't feel particularly magical to me - and we were there in temperate offseason (busiest day a 7, most were 2-3). I guess to me it all comes down to knowing that however well they do their thing, Disney is at heart a business, and anyone who thinks they're not trying to squeeze every last dime out of as many people as possible is kidding themselves. It's sort of like Costco -- they do their thing really well, are good to their employees, etc., but it doesn't make me feel all warm & fuzzy & magical to go there, either.
In the end, for the price of another Disney vacation, I'd much rather we take DD somewhere *real*. There are several international trips we'd like to take DD on, and most of them can be done for less than our WDW vacation (we stayed in a "value" resort, too!). I feel like she gets plenty enough Disney in her life, so my preference is for her to experience some different cultures and history. We'll surely see some touristy and commercial locations, but we won't be immersed in it for the duration of a trip again.
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Post by jillonthehill on Aug 3, 2014 20:33:03 GMT
This! And most of the rides are boring. We took the kids last year and I remember coming home and thinking I couldn't wait to go back. I have since come to my senses. I think they put something in the food to brain wash visitors into wanting to go again.
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Post by mdoc on Aug 3, 2014 20:36:24 GMT
Because it's magical and fun, and it gives me the opportunity to see things through the eyes of a child. Most of our trips are at some of the most crowded times of year (Christmas week, Thanksgiving week and Easter week) and we still have a fabulous time - it just requires more planning. Plus the people watching is fabulous!!
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Grom Pea
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Jun 27, 2014 0:21:07 GMT
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Post by Grom Pea on Aug 3, 2014 20:40:26 GMT
Rst, your Quebec trip sounds awful to me, and I'd never go on a trip like that without a set out plan, preferably on a tour. I have friends who'd rather go to Italy and sit in a cafe and enjoy observing people. That sounds miserable to me, I'd rather be in a museum following a tour guide. Its all about what floats your boat and clearly what you enjoy is the antithesis of what I enjoy. I do believe people who enjoy Disney a lot are planners, those who geek out on knowing the ins and outs of every Disney idiosyncracy, and that's why they are counting the days to their trip, at least I know that's how I tick and many others on the disboards are. I bet its a rare person who truly enjoys dropping in on Disney on a Saturday in the summer with no plans. I hate waiting in long lines but I also hate big roller coasters so I was willing to get fast passes while friends went on the Aerosmith roller coaster, then I went shopping and just enjoyed being at Hollywood studios and we practically walked on our next ride. If I couldn't stand waiting in lines for rides and themes I didn't like, I wouldn't go, see my earlier example of having no intention to go to Harry potter world unless my family wants to.
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Post by rst on Aug 3, 2014 20:59:33 GMT
Grom Pea-- Oh, we had a plan, but it was loose and flexible, and had some weak spots, which as it turns out, added to the fun and the memories.
I get it that lots of people like to plan their Disney experience, and that whole planning piece is part of their enjoyment. That and having the pages for the scrapbook afterward -- weren't the Disney threads at old 2ps usually vitriolic? I
I will never forget last time I was @ Disney, standing in line behind a family, all dressed up in matching Disney clothing with a list of "required photos we must get". The mom was shaking her whining and crying kid and saying "You are going to have fun, damn it, cause this is the happiest place on earth and we paid for it. So have fun. Now." This was like, my 2nd or 3rd date with now DH, and as it turned out, a real bonding moment. We both felt ok in that context admitting that we are not amusement park people, and we have our fun off the grid.
I love museums, but I hate going with an official guide. Why pay more to have someone tell you what you are to see, think, and feel? Tour guides are not always all that accurate or knowledgeable -- they're just there and willing to spout off.
Maybe it's an inborn personality trait, and we could find correlations between people who like to follow recipes exactly vs. those who throw whatever's in the fridge into the pot and people who measure each and every seam exactly vs. those who are more, shall we say, improv in their quilting. Or maybe it's nurture -- I had parents who packed 3 kids under 8 into the back of a volkswagon along with everything we owned and drove across Europe with not much of a plan or timeframe, and less money, for a summer. Not a photo remains -- my Dad had to sell off cameras as we went and somehow the film got lost along the way. But some amazing memories and experiences -- one might almost say magical, even though the mice involved did not wear gloves or talk.
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Grom Pea
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Jun 27, 2014 0:21:07 GMT
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Post by Grom Pea on Aug 3, 2014 21:04:50 GMT
Rst, I'm definitely a recipe follower and not adventurous in the fact that I like everything to be a known. I've been adventurous places, just with a tour guide and everything mapped out in advance. Perhaps I inherit this from my Dad who is very precise in mapping out everything in advance. The wildest thing I've done recently is drive up the California coast and not book hotels for our return trip because we might want to come home a day early :-)
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Aug 3, 2014 21:13:35 GMT
I felt like this a few times on this trip. Disney was almost too much for my 7 year old this year. And he wanted to SHOP which was a nightmare because there are shops everywhere that can't be avoided. I'm glad we enjoyed it so much when he was 2. I think in 5 years it might be easy again.
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Post by CarolT on Aug 4, 2014 1:47:12 GMT
For those who were talking about Florida Festival, here's a link to a photo... Florida Festival
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2014 2:05:32 GMT
As a Florida native who lives only an hour+ away, I've been to DW three times. It did not knock my socks off and my kids all agreed that once was enough for them.
I just simply do not like crowds or waiting in line for 30 minutes to an hour or more to ride a 5 minute ride. That gets old for me real fast. None of us are into any of the character encounters, so that didn't have any appeal, either.
I did enjoy the parade and the fireworks, but the crush of a billion people trying to leave once those were over was horrendous. No fireworks or parade is worth that.
But I do get that the trappings of DW can appeal to a lot people. I'm just not one of them.
L
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