Conference koolit::disney

    Hi Andy,
    
    There's absolutely nothing wrong with going back to a place if you like
    it, no matter where it is in the world.  But I happen to think that in
    going back to Florida, and specifically Disney there is always
    something new to see and something new to experience. 
     
    Try to take some consolation in the fact that unless people have
    actually been to Disney then they can't appreciate just how good
    it is.
    
    Fellow English Disney-holic,
                                                                        
    Karen
    
    PS  And another thing, I'd much rather be zippady-doo-dahing as well
        through Disney than back-packing in some far flung place
        'cos I don't think you can get dole whip there :-)

    Andy,
    
    I have the same problem here in New England.  There are very few
    friends/family/colleagues that understand why we return to Disney so
    often and why we get sooooo much enjoyment out of planning months in
    advance.  I do agree that most of this comes from people who have never
    been there or people who like their vacations to  only include sunbathing on
    a beach and drinking cocktails.  One of the many reasons I like to
    return is, every year we go, we enjoy it in a different way.  We
    started going on our honeymoon, then it was bringing the kids for the
    first time, now it's bringing older kid that enjoys different aspects of
    the park. Not to mention that Disney adds attractions for everyone's
    enjoyment.  I've travelled to many places and the "feeling" you have
    when you are at the world is just uncomparable.  
    
    Thank goodness we have each other in this notesfile!  At least we all
    understand each other!
    
    Kathy
    

    Andy,
    
    Here is another boost, we have been also been going every year for the 
    last 18 years, and now that both my boys are grown and living there its 
    2 or three times a year.  We never did or will tire of it and hope to
    continue.  There has always been something new and different each and
    every time.  My parents were among the disbelievers until last summer 
    when we convinced them to accompny us to FW they are in their 80's and
    we had them sleeping in a tent for 10 days and walking miles every day
    and loving every minute
    
    We will be in Fl for Xmas this year for the first time and the boys
    have already informed us we will spend Xmas day at Disney, we all know
    it will be crazy but crazy is good once in awhile.
    
    Keep on going, keep on enjoying, I know we will
    
    Terry  

    Like Andy I was somewhat depressed to get back to England in August
    after our vacation and didn't put a trip report in...I think I'll
    do it shortly....
    
    Anyway, after experiencing a REAL swamp trip amongst the alligators in
    Houma Louisiana, before we reached Disneyworld, I really coudn't bring
    myself to go on the Jungle cruise. Hence my opinion is that yes
    Disneyland and World are certainly worth a visit, I couldn't personaly
    return year after year...that said my wife is planning our Christmas
    vaction for '92 in Cocoa beach, so I'll probably be persuaded to
    join the band and spend the dollars in the World.
    
    Richard (probably depressed by the English weather)  :-) :-)
                                          

    One other complication is that we nearly always go with the same
    members of our family ... and they don't quite share my enthusiasm 
    for WDW.  Now I'm not an ultra-Disneyholic because I don't watch all
    the films and I do have what I consider to be a healthy scepticism
    concerning the Disney milks our hard earned cash ... but there is 
    just something I really enjoy about being in there, it's mentioned
    in nearly every report and which I can only limply and unimaginatively
    describe as 'atmosphere'.
    
    I'm sure I'm going to get rumbled soon, but I make sure that we invite
    some friends of the family to come along for part of the trip, and then
    I have a tailor-made excuse to visit WDW again, so we can 'show them
    around'.
    
    Anyway, time to stop feeling sorry for myself, guess I've just got
    those down-home-lack-of-Disney-blues.
    
    
    	Rgds,
    
    	Andy (who-says-he-doesn't-like-the-films-but-has-just-forked-
    	      out-�40-for-the-special-edition-Fantasia-video-package!)     

    Our friends and family for the most part now accept our addiction.
    They don't understand it, but they accept it.

    I've tried all kinds of justifications and rationalizations about why we
    return time after time, but the real answer is simple:  I feel good
    when I'm there, and I feel good when I'm thinking about going there.
    For me that's enough, regardless of the damage I might be doing to my
    cultural life.

    Why?
    
    Escapism....it's the only place on Earth I've discovered so far that
    truly takes my mind off things like work, etc.
    
    Value.......Notice how those people who never have gone question why
    you "spend so much money" to go to Orlando? If you're careful and plan
    wisely an WDW vacation can be a very economical vacation and I say you
    get the best value for your hard earned vacation dollar.
    
    Wholesomeness...call me a Puritan but I like the wholesome atmosphere
    that Disney provides for us. With all the junk going on in the world
    it's so refreshing to block it out with Disney's wholesome environment.
    
    Memories.....many of us baby boomers grew up on Mickey, Donald, et al
    and those visits to TMK really trigger some great memories.
    
    In 1990 two close friends of mine went down to WDW for the first time.
    The first thing they said to me when they got back was that they were
    trying to figure out how soon they could arrange to return.
    
    There will always be those people who will never understand....those
    who have never gone. Once you've gone you're hooked.
    
    Mike_who_will_be_returning_in_217_days

    Is there any other place to go?

    I was going to enter one of my usual wordy replies, but I can't 
    improve on Len's in .6 
    
    We feel good when we're there, and we feel good when we're 
    thinking about the next trip. The only time we feel bad is as we 
    leave, up until we start planning the next trip (usually about 2 
    days!).
    
    Some of our friends did think it was a little odd at first, but 
    when the post holiday conversations all followed the same pattern
    
    "How was your holiday in Disney?"
    "Wonderful - As usual! How was Spain/France/Italy?"
    "OK - Apart from the Litter/Food/Pollution/Facilities
    /Buildings/Rip-Offs, and the people were OK apart from miserable 
    waiters, unhelpful shopkeepers, abusive natives etc. etc."
    
    They soon got the message!
    
    Mike B.

    Why do I go back?  Because there is something there for all ages, my 3
    year old is welcome in any restaurant, it is well organized, my family
    is treated fairly, it's a good learning experience,  I don't
    have to walk around in a daze wondering what's going on.. it's just
    plain magic!

    I first went to WDW 16 years ago for a 4-day, 3-night package when I
    was 6 months pregnant with my youngest daughter.  I brought my son,
    almost 7, and left my 18-month-old daughter behind with Dad.  As you
    can all imagine, 4 days was not enough.  
    
    Next year I took my son, 8, and some friends who had kids and left
    behind the TWO girls with Dad.  We also did Busch Gardens, Sea World,
    etc.  The first two times we stayed at Maingate East Holiday Inn, which
    was a fly/drive package with Delta airlines.
    
    The next time I went, my girls were 10 and 12 (a whole 9 years passed,
    years of longing and pining away!) and we did the Mickey Mouse Club
    package, staying at the Viscount at Lake Buena Vista.  This was a whole
    week where we got bused from our hotel, got meal vouchers, passes to
    the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and fun, fun, fun.  (This time the boy
    stayed home; he was 17 by then!)
    
    The next year we did the same thing, the same way.
    
    The next year I went with a friend for a week, and stayed at the
    Maingate East Holiday Inn again.
    
    The next year the girls and I went again, staying at Holiday Inn (they
    now know who we are when we arrive!).
    
    Last year I went with my girlfriend; my daughters said they'd take a
    break.  That particular trip I won by going to a timeshare presentation
    that I said "no" to.
    
    This year my youngest says "let's go!" (she'll be 17 in April) and my
    18-year-old daughter is positive that for Christmas this year, her
    long-term boyfriend paid for a package to Disney World for the two of
    them (she knows how to read "hints")!!!
    
    We are WDW addicts and the more we go, the more we see and the more we
    learn.  ALso, we now know where the best restaurants are, the best
    times to beat the crowds, and how to get the best bargains.  Florida
    now feels as familiar as Nashua!  I'm already getting antsy ...!
    
    

    My kids and I have talked about what our favorite parks are and they
    asked me what I like about WDW and I tell them that TMK will always
    have a special place in my heart because it holds a lot of childhood
    memories for me...of Disney things I remember growing up.
    
    "Yeah Dad", they said. "We feel the same way about MGM."
    
    I thought about this...Muppetts, Indy Jones, Star Wars, Roger
    Rabbit....it all began to fit in.
    
    Mike

    Every trip has it's own "personality", that is, there are always a few
    memories that are forever lodged in our heads that label or
    characterize the trip. 
    
    On my last trip "Sorcery in the Sky" and "Diamond Double-Cross" in MGM
    would be the two traits (can't think of a better word) that label the
    trip.
    
    For obvious reasons many of us who visit Orlando this year will most
    likely find "Beauty and the Beast" as a trait as we will see and hear a
    lot regarding this movie. I'm entering this thought here and not in the
    "Beauty and the Beast" note because my point is that another reason for
    going back is to find out what new "trip personality" will evolve.
    
    '92 will have a "Beauty..." flavor.
    
    Mike

    re: .13
    
    Rather than a "Beauty" flavor, I thought there was a Mardi Gras flavor 
    about the Magic Kingdom at least. The costumes and the floats in the
    parade were reminiscent of New Orleans. Of course, staying at Port 
    Orleans, I might have been more sensitive to it, too. 
    
    Linda

    It was so good to find many of you sharing the same feeling as I do.
    There is no place in the world to go with family like WDW.
    I've been there five times up to now and I'm planing to go these year
    again.
    Everytime we go, we have many new things to enjoy and at the end it
    looked to have been the best of all.
    Then, in the way back home we are planing our next trip to Orlando.
    My children just love it and whenever we ask them where they want to go
    next vacation, the answer is always the same: to Disney.
    

>    My children just love it and whenever we ask them where they want to go
>    next vacation, the answer is always the same: to Disney.

Two weekends ago I was taking my 5 year old skiing and on the way we 
where talking and part of the conversation went like this:

ME: "Hey do you know that your Dad loves you?"
My Daughter: "Yup!"
ME: "How do you know that?"
My Daughter: "Because you took us to Disney World!"

...that was 3 months ago...

We will be going again this year, last year was a total surprise to 
the kids (told them on the way to the airport) and this year we will let
them help plan out the trip...actually it looks like I'm going to get 
to go twice this Fall!

    
    Well I'm off to Florida in a couple of weeks time and it's been FAR
    too long since last time (September '91) ... and I have a real problem
    in that there are no `Disney Virgins' going with us this time.  This 
    means I don't have my usual excuse to spend at least 5 days in The World.
    My fellow holidayers still can't seem to understand why I want to go
    back in for another 5 days anyway (sigh).
    
    Bad news indeed.
    
    I HAVE been promised one day however (as we have one day left on last
    year's passes), but this just isn't going to be enough, especially as
    we're in Orlando for three weeks.
    
    Looks like I'll be slipping furtively out of the house when everyone
    else is asleep to feed my addiction!
    
    In order to cheer me up however ... I've been trying to decide what I'm
    most looking forward to in the parks ... that one thing that keeps
    flipping through the old brain-box when I imagine myself in there.
    
    I decided that my very favourite thing to imagine is the moment when
    you come out of that (almost) unbearable heat .. from a long line, and
    go down into the cool of the `caves' at the Pirates Of The Caribbean,
    and gradually hearing the familiar pirates song becoming louder as you
    wend your way around the inside.  
    
    Pirates isn't my favourite ride (I'm a predictable Space Mountain- 
    aholic) ... but it's such a vivid image I can almost feel myself there
    now.  The noise of the water ... and that `buoyant' feel when you 
    first float off from the dock, and then down that first incline.
    
    ARRGHH!  As I open my eyes, the view of the `glorious' Basingstoke 
    office skyline is a quick and sobering anidote.
    
    So go-on ... take a well-earned 5 minute break ... close your eyes ..
    engage Disney-brain (not sure what side that is) ... and describe what
    you see, hear and feel.  It'll make my last two weeks go a bit quicker,
    and may help others re-kindle a few memories.
    
    	Cheers,
    
    
    	Andy.
    
    
    ps I AM lucky enough to have gained `permission' to go to Pleasure Island
       and Typhoon Lagoon for the first time this holiday however .. so it
       won't be strictly a one-day-only Disney experience.   
                                                              

    Andy,
    
    	    Sounds like your family needs a visit from the 'Conversion 
    SWAT Team'. You know the technique - a knock at the door on Sunday 
    morning from a couple of bronzed young men with perfect teeth, 
    wearing shorts and Disney T-Shirts, and armed with brochures, 
    videos and tapes. After a couple of hours 'persuasion', I'm sure 
    we could get your allowance up to at least a 5 day pass, if not an 
    Annual Passport 8-)8-)
    
    	    I don't consider our family to be Disney 'fanatics', 
    certainly not compared to some of the noters, but we will visit 
    the parks on 17/18 days out of the three weeks of our next visit.
    
    	    The weather in the UK at the moment is almost Florida-like 
    (Well, not typical British Summer anyway!), our A/C in the office 
    is down, so we have designated this a 'shorts day' for all the 
    staff. It makes it very easy to drop into a reverie about WDW. My 
    favorite contrast is walking into the American Adventure, out of 
    the baking midday heat, and sitting on the marble floor listening 
    to the Voices of Liberty. The music soothes the mind, and the cold 
    marble soothes other 'bits'!
    
    Ooops! Nearly drifted off again!
    
    Mike B With_37_looong_days_to_go!!

    I just love walking through the turnstiles and down Main Street USA.
    For me that's an unmistakable feeling.  Wonder if Disneyland is going
    to be the same?
    
    Karen
    (13 days and counting)

    
    Well, what do ya do, when you were just at WDW in late March, and
    your SO has never been to Disneyland, and Splash Mountain wasn't
    ready yet in MK but has been running for almost 3 years in DL,
    and you're going to be in San Diego and DL is less than 2 hrs away.
    
    We wouldn't want to deprive Stan of missing out on Splash Mountain;
    or riding the Matterhorn if he wants to, or checking out the
    differences in the Pirates; or seeing how different the building
    for it's a small world; or the difference in the Wedway, etc..
    now would we :^)....
    
    So, DL is open from 8am to midnight on 5/30 and 5/31 and from
    9am to midnight on 6/1... And supposedly nothing is going to be
    closed for refurbishments; and everything fireworks, fantasmic,
    etc is to be running....
    
    Should we go on 5/30 or 5/31? Which would be less crowded? Or
    does it really matter? We'll be there early enough to be waiting
    on the Splash Mountain Side of Main Street and head for that first!
    
    			- Annie

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                        Overall Quality Ranks
    
    (Base = 198 Wave VI Brands)
    
    1994  1993  1992  1991  1990  Brand Name
    
      1     1(a)  1(a)  1(a)      Disney World                     84.1
      2     1(a)  1(a)  1(a)      Disneyland                       82.8
      3     3     2     2     3   Kodak Photographic Film          82.5
      4     4     4     5     6   Hallmark Greeting Cards          81.4
      5     8     8     3     2   Mercedes-Benz Automobiles        80.3
      6     5     5     6     5   Fisher-Price Toys                80.2
      7                           Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil      79.9
      8     6     10    12   23   AT&T Long Distance Telephone     79.4
      9    10      7     8    7   Levi's Jeans                     79.1
     10                           Ziploc Bags                      78.9
     11                 17        SeaWorld                         77.8
     12     9      9     9        Arm & Hammer Baking Soda         77.7
     13                 18        Duracell Batteries               77.7
     14     12    13    13   13   LEGO Toys                        77.2
     15     16    17    16   22   Tylenol Pain Reliever            77.1