|
Post by fumobici on Nov 30, 2009 19:46:12 GMT
Oh I was a snob even as a child! ;D
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Nov 30, 2009 19:52:10 GMT
Oh, I absolutely agree that there should be no shame whatsoever in liking Disney or any other sort of theme park or attraction (which is the theme of this thread, after all). It just never appealed to me - I was a bookish, pain-in-the-arse child and it always took parents etc aback when I actually acted childish.
|
|
|
Post by traveler63 on Nov 30, 2009 20:47:17 GMT
Well, since I lived in Fullerton, CA and I lived about 20 minutes from Disneyland I have an intimate knowledge of all things Disney. I was a huge fan of the original TV program, called Disneyland and I remember the first program which aired in late October, 1954. The theme park opened in 1955 and my family took us there right after it opened. That was not the last trip either. I had a friend who worked on Main Street so in the late 60's I would spend Sundays there. She would leave passes for me. People say when something is awesome, it is an "E" Ticket ride. That refers to the most expensive ticket at Disneyland back then.
I have also been to Disneyworld, early in its history. We went some time in 83 or 84, it opened in October 1982. I know that we were there early on, but for the life of me I can't seem to recall when. I would have to go find the pictures to really know and I will probably do that because it will bug the heck out of me.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2009 20:53:39 GMT
I even hold 200 shares of Euro Disney stock. The first time I bought any, it financed 10% of the purchase price of my apartment since it skyrocketed. This latest purchase is down something like 85%, though.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Nov 30, 2009 21:34:04 GMT
Imec makes a good case for Disney. I don't know whether I am a snob but I don't want to go to a recreation of something. I want the original. There are so many things in the world I have yet to see but I don't want to see copies of them along with queues of others. It is simply not the same to see, for instance, a recreation of Karnak Temple in Luxor instead of taking a public bus and wandering at will. I am glad to have done that this year . Lots of wonders still to see complete with local accommodation and local food and drink.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2009 21:41:32 GMT
The closest I ever came to anything Disney was at the NY World's Fair in 1963-4. I was around 10. I remember being terribly bored and slipped away from my Aunt Josephine and cousins to go see Michaelangelo's' Pieta' which was far more interesting because I had every intention at that age of being a nun.
|
|
|
Post by lola on Nov 30, 2009 21:48:09 GMT
In Ireland with my mother, her brother and his family, we climbed the winding stairs to the top of Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone. The promotional materials picture tweedy guides, but the employee up top that day wore a Hawaiian shirt and a button that said, "Forget the Blarney Stone. Kiss me instead." Part of his job was to help you scoot outwards of the wall and upside down to kiss the stone, far above the ground. When I stretched out on my back and my sweater rode up, he tickled my belly.
Whenever I used to go to Manhattan by myself, I'd always head for the Empire State Building first thing to get the big picture.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2009 21:49:57 GMT
I must confess that going to "Lascaux II" has never appealed to me, even though I know that "Lascaux I" will absolutely not ever be available to me to see. I have in fact decided that some day I will go to Lascaux II, because it is the only way to ever get a taste of the real thing.
By the same token, I completely approve of the World Showcase at Epcot Center in Orlando, because no more than 1% of the visitors will ever get a chance to see in person all of the 25 or so countries represented there. The recreated decor is quite authentic and the employees of each area hail from the country they are representing. If it can contribute just a tiny bit to the visitors' understanding and appreciation of other parts of the planet, I will certainly not criticize it.
And I like quite a bit of the rest of Epcot Center as well. The "Living Sea" exhibit was as good an aquarium as I have ever seen. I do wish that people would stop criticizing things that they have never witnessed in person. It tends to remind me of people who "hate" countries they have never visited and about which they have only read or seen the standard propaganda issued by their own country.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Nov 30, 2009 22:05:05 GMT
I have been to Lascaux 2. It was a scrum getting through it of course. The reproductions of paintings are amazing but I don't want to have to take visitors agin. It was something to do with the concrete walls of the mock cave not being quite disguised.
|
|
|
Post by imec on Nov 30, 2009 22:59:04 GMT
I agree baz, there's nothing like the real thing - but as I'm unlikely to take up hang gliding (not the right topography for it here), blast off in a spaceship (NASA won't accept my application and I don't have the resources of Guy Laliberte) or be shrunk to the size of a mouse, I'm glad to have had the opportunity to experience some of Disney's very convincing simulations.
Some of the stuff is just plain fun too - going from 0-60 MPH in 2.8 seconds and immediately encountering several inversions, drops and climbs, in the dark , all to the sound of a carefully synchronized Aerosmith soundtrack blasting out of speakers all around you - did it 10 times in a row with my daughter when she was 7 and could have gone another 10 times without getting bored.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 3:10:11 GMT
I have taken a buggy ride here in New Orleans on one occasion. It was on my birthday and someone in our party knew one of the buggy drivers and he came to pick us all up off his beaten path. It was great fun. Have never done the buggy in NYC,Central Park. Wouldn't mind...
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Dec 1, 2009 3:26:52 GMT
I have been to NY 100 times and never done the Central Park buggy ride. I would like to, though. I grew up in Washington, DC and did every touristy thing imaginable and would do them all again (including having a picture taken with a wax replica of Lyndon Johnson, and, 20 years later, another one taken with a cardboard replica of Ronald Reagan ) I've lived in AZ for 16 years and have never been to Tombstone or the Grand Canyon. One of these days, though... Edited to add: I have been to Disneyland, however, multiple times. First as a child and then several times as the mother of young children. I loved, loved, loved every visit. But, as Bixa pointed out, the urge to visit does diminish.
|
|
|
Post by hwinpp on Dec 1, 2009 3:40:21 GMT
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Dec 1, 2009 3:52:56 GMT
HW, your post just reminded me... when I was about 8 years old I was in the Cherry Blossom parade in Washington. I was even on TV!
I wasn't a princess or anything fun like that. I carried a banner for a marching band from Vermont (the band director was a friend of a neighbor). I got $2 and a bottle of Vermont maple syrup for my efforts.
|
|
|
Post by traveler63 on Dec 1, 2009 4:02:54 GMT
Cristina;
I always thought that the Grand Canyon was too touristy, but we have been to both the North Rim and South Rim. Obviously the South Rim is the big draw.
I can tell you I love the North Rim. It doesn't open until May, it is beautiful and like the Grand Canyon back in the 50's and 60's. You really need to like hiking and photography because there isn't much more. I think it is worth it.
|
|
|
Post by lola on Dec 1, 2009 4:40:39 GMT
I loved Lascaux II. Partly because our guide was genuinely awed, maybe, or just seemed spiritually attuned to the beauty of it. You got the impression she might have been a descendent of the artists. I didn't find it a bit hokey.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Dec 1, 2009 4:57:35 GMT
It would be really, really wrong to laugh here because I got an image of a hirsute woman with a beetling brow, wouldn't it?
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Dec 1, 2009 8:16:02 GMT
With this talk of Disney, I now have an ad at the top of the page for Discount Disney Tickets.
|
|
|
Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 1, 2009 10:22:37 GMT
I admit to visiting Disney World several times in my youth. Every single time was utterly amazing, and I would literally dream about going back. Still would like to, but there are too many other things to see. I went through an anti-corporate-commercial stage where I hated Disney, but I got over it and I love Disney again. I have a thing for atmosphere and sitting in things that move. It's like Taco Bell, I can't help it!
Touristy things I wouldn't recommend: Going up the Eiffel Tower Taking the Paris subway Almost getting robbed by a pickpocket in Paris Getting coerced into buying a stupid bracelet in Paris Getting robbed at an art museum in Paris Eating ... in London
Somehow, I avoided going on a gondola ride in Venice.
Stupid thing I'd like to do: Get "screeched in" in Newfoundland.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Dec 1, 2009 10:49:29 GMT
You seem to have had a bad time in Paris.
The Eiffel tower is something to look at from the ground. If you want a view, try the Montparnasse tower. Riding the Paris metro is not a touristy thing to do. It is how people get about the city. I haven't had my pocket picked in Paris, only in Krakow.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 11:41:50 GMT
Sorry to hear about your Paris experience Exista. Please enlightn us on what is "getting screeched" in Newfoundland. Have no clue.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Dec 1, 2009 11:57:55 GMT
Yes, I'm a bit surprised that taking the subway in Paris is considered a touristy thing to do.
The only place I have been pickpocketed is Barcelona.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Dec 1, 2009 12:45:07 GMT
My sister-in-law had a similar experience. At the last filling station before Barcelona airport someone distracted her attention while his mate lifted the briefcase from her rental car. They then roared off on their motorbike. The people at the filling station just shrugged their shoulders and did nothing. When she got to the airport she was amazed to discover there was a person whose sole job was to provide tickets/documents for people who had had all their papers stolen.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Dec 1, 2009 13:03:58 GMT
The number 64 bus that goes through the most touristy part of Rome is notorious for very elaborate pickpocketing schemes.
The crime of stealing bags, wallets etc while on a motorbike is known as "lo scippo" in Italian.
I am dumbfounded to hear the Paris métro decribed as "touristy" though. It is a normal public transport system, and one of the densest around.
What an oddly bad trip to Paris, you had, existential...
|
|
|
Post by imec on Dec 1, 2009 13:11:44 GMT
Please enlightn us on what is "getting screeched" in Newfoundland. Have no clue. I'll let crisis provide the details, but see my post early in the thread "Kissing a plastic puffin... " (it's part of the ceremony - the earlier version involved kissing a cod fish)
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 13:29:09 GMT
Jeez,between that and 'curling' (which I just heard of for the first time recently) you folks are strange. ;)must be all that cold...Here the heat and humidity induces us to weirdness,same must be true of cold.
|
|
|
Post by lola on Dec 1, 2009 14:49:13 GMT
It would be really, really wrong to laugh here because I got an image of a hirsute woman with a beetling brow, wouldn't it? Yes, well, if you DID do that it would let me know I had failed to communicate. She was really lovely.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Dec 1, 2009 15:00:05 GMT
Well, I'm sure hirsuite people with beetling brows were lovely to one another way back when too!
|
|
|
Post by lola on Dec 1, 2009 15:22:13 GMT
bazfaz, I'm glad to read your thoughts on the Eiffel Tower, because it validates my refusal to go up in it.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Dec 1, 2009 16:05:09 GMT
I have missed quite a few tourist attractions because I'm scared of heights.
My daughter was pickpocketed in Barcelona train station 2 years ago. She had been through much of Africa with no problems and was on her way home for Christmas.
|
|