Does Disney ruin you for all else?

[mshanson3121]

So... I was at the circus tonight with the kids, my mind was wandering, and I wondered... does Disney pretty well ruin you for all other theme parks, parades etc? I mean, after you've been, do you just end up comparing everything to Disney? Is there any thrill in visiting small theme parks after? Do you find it takes away anything for the kids?

 

[williamscm3]

For me it does...we have Busch Gardens Williamsburg close to us and since going to Disney it seems to be a waste of money. If you have a teenager or a very young child it's nice, but they have nothing for my 5 year old to ride. I can't help but to compare everything to Disney, and I have found that nothing compares to it! I guess that's why we keep going back

 

[Networth]

Native Flordian so I grew up going to WDW as our "local" theme park. Only other parks I have visited are USO/IOA and Seaworld or Busch Gardens Tampa. When we visited the later two I had much lower expectations. So yes WDW is the gold standard for theme parks.

For other vacations not so much if I'm at the Park Hyatt in Zurich I don't compare that to WDW.

 

[kathy884]

We love Disney. The other parks in Orlando compete well with Disney and are well worth visiting. We especially like SeaWorld. And Universal is so much improved over what it used to be and the new Harry Potter themed areas are really well done. All are well worth doing at one time or another.

If you like thrill rides, I think the best park to go to around is Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. Actually until I hit my 40s I preferred it to any of the Orlando parks, as back then I just loved coaster and it's such a friendly place in a beautiful setting on Lake Erie.

Now I've never been a fan of the Six Flags parks, but we do have one locally. And for my son who is 19 (of course he prefers all these other parks that I mentioned), but he looks forward to Six Flags opening and getting his season pass as it's 25 minutes from our house, so a fun diversion / place to go with friends.

I personally think kids love any outing. And we do all need to enjoy and accept what is right in front of us. It's really not fair to compare smaller places to Disney, and you might want to mention that to your kids if you think they'll me making that comparison. If you go in realizing it's not Disney, but that it's another opportunity for some family fun before your next Disney trip, what's not to like.

 

[Belleandtinker]

We've been to too many places that have underwhelmed us and we compare all theme parks to Disney so we only go to Disney. Why waste the money? If you think another park is better, you're wrong. A ride at another park may be better, but the overall experience will not.

We are hooked!

 

[ArwenMarie]

For me it does...we have Busch Gardens Williamsburg close to us and since going to Disney it seems to be a waste of money. If you have a teenager or a very young child it's nice, but they have nothing for my 5 year old to ride. I can't help but to compare everything to Disney, and I have found that nothing compares to it! I guess that's why we keep going back

I love BGW although it's nothing like Disney. But I would love to live near it and have it as a local park.

 

[isabellea]

I just bought a gold season pass for my whole family to our local Six Flags (52$ pp including parking is less than a 1 day ticket at the turnstiles) even if we will be at WDW one week this summer. To me they are 2 completely different universes, like comparing apples and oranges. Six Flags will be for a few hours on a Saturday morning or evening during the firework competion (our Six Flags hosts an international firework competition which is awesome) and Disney is vacation.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Yes definitely. I enjoy how clean and well run Disney parks are and often compare it to Six Flags. I don't enjoy going to SF because it's not as clean, pretty much all thrill rides, and the population that goes there can be kind of iffy.

 

[cakebaker]

I never really considered it, but yes I guess it has. We have a 6 flags a few hours away and we used to go there years ago and now you couldn't pay me to go.

I've never been a big fan of thrill ride parks or amusement parks in general, just did them just for the kids. But Disney offers so much more that I go there loving it and have no need or desire to visit any others.

We tried Universal and it was just an amusement park- I was bored to tears once we got thru the HP stuff.

We vacation many places, but Disney is our only theme park.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Not for us. We love Disney, but it's a big deal destination for us, reserved for the "non-everyday" of vacation. It doesn't stop us from enjoying an occasional day at our "local" (still a couple of hours away ) Six Flags. We don't expect the same level of immersion in a day trip, but we still thoroughly enjoy it for what it is.

 

[720L]

Yes. I went to Cedar Point with my sons class last year & all we kept saying to each other is "definitely isn't Disney" LOL. We still have fun & enjoy other places....but there's nothing like "home" --you know what I mean?

 

[nugov2]

Nope not at all. We don't do the circus, but I enjoy all other theme parks as much and some even better for different reasons. I love MK and the parks in disneyland, but Ak, EP and HS are just eh. Uni/IOA blows them away and we won't ever skip them on a trip to WDW.
We went to Dollywood last summmer and it was wonderful. Small and not as immersive but cleaner than WDW and the workers were so friendly. I was impressed with it overall and the qbot was very cheap. We also did the water park with private cabana really reasonably in dollywood. I will always enjoy WDW, but it is not the end all be all for our family. I even like...gasp....six flags and my kids have just as much fun there as in WDW...of course they too have a skip the line feature and I think my kids really enjoy having that option vs waiting in lines.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Not at all it's actually refreshing sometimes to see what others offer. DISNEY makes the competition step their game up, and come to the table with stuff trying to one up them!

Universal in particular is really revving their game up making some great decisions and attractions!

Ps nothing will beat the festival of fantasy parade!

 

[fly girl]

Disney has the most beautiful and clean parks ... no other amusement park can hold a candle to them in my eye.


However, that doesn't mean they have ruined me for other parks. Cedar Point wins hands down for thrill rides. I'm just waiting for dd to be tall enough (she's a thrill junkie like her parents, and going now would be a world of tears because she's not tall enough for the biggest rides.)


I do enjoy checking out other parks. Many times once will suffice. That's the difference ... I return with Disney.

 

[Ambear]

No. I'll always be a theme/amusement park lover and I love exploring new places. I love cedar point cause the amount and level of coasters is amazing. I like my local former six flags because it's closest to me and it's what I got for a weekend roller coaster session. I'm excited to try other six flags, I've never been to busch gardens yet, and I love Hershey park. I just realize that they're all very different. I wouldn't want just one good theme park to visit, I like options. I'd say Disney is definitely still the best for me for their immersive atmosphere and I love that. Universal is getting better though which is great.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Well, yes and no. Sometimes when I'm at another theme park (Busch Gardens Williamsburg comes to mind), I find myself thinking, "they could have done that just a little bit better, like Disney." There's an attraction there called The Curse of DarKastle that I loved, but at the same time wondered what Disney could have done with the concept to make it better.

But when I'm in Knoebel's (in Pennsylvania, a lovely park that recycles older rides and doesn't try to compete), I appreciate it for what it is and don't miss Disney at all.

I think what Disney...Walt Disney World in particular...gives is that feeling that you've stepped out of the ordinary and everyday. It's contained within itself, and is an immersive experience that can't be beat, no matter how other theme parks might try.

 

[mshanson3121]

I guess I wondered because we normally always go on a vacation that involves a theme park - but given the rural area that we live, they are much, much smaller. The biggest one we have ever been to is Story Land in New Hampshire, as well as Santa's Village. It's funny, we wanted to get to Santa's Village one more time while the children were young, while they were still believing in Santa. And it definitely won't happen this year now, not with DW. And in a way I'm kinda sad, because if we do go next year, or even this winter, I wonder if there'll still be that wow factor when we go, if they'll get as much out of it, as they would have before Disney. I kind of wonder if this trip will sort of be the end of an era for us - the last real "amusement park" vacation that we'll do, that the kids REALLY enjoy, as the only parks that are close to us (and by close I mean they're a 6-7 hour drive away), as I mentioned are small, and are definitely geared towards young children. Once they have a taste of the WDW roller coasters, somehow I just don't see Firetruck engine ride and the swings being as fulfilling for the kids as they once were. I imagine I wuldn't think of it as much if we had bigger parks available like a Busch or Six Flags, or even Hersey.

 

[JanaDee]

Nope.

 

[MataHari22]

I blink it sort of does ruin it, at least for me. But, I will say, I am not a big thrill ride person. I have been to Great Adventure and Cedar Point, and there really were not that many rides and attractions that appealed to me. Maybe for other people they may like parks with lots of thrill rides. I did go to Universal, back in 2001, (not the IOA) it was meh. I've also been to Busch Gardens, and it was ok, I suppose. I was kind of sick that day, so I wasn't having the best time, and I went with my dad, and I wanted to pay extra for a safari experience and he didn't want to do it. Thought it would be a waste of money. I was going to pay, so it wasn't wasting his money. :-/ I wanted a more close up experience with the animals.

Anyway....For me, it's about the whole package, and Disney has that for me. It still has that magic for me. The last two years, I have taken a friend to WDW with me, and she had never been before. She was amazed and I created another fan. I find she tends to compare things to WDW too, now. Lol.

 

[Lavitz]

Kinda. We have a Cedar Fair park (Canada's Wonderland) about 15 minutes away and I'll admit that every time I take the kids there I wish they had a more Disney-ish atmosphere.

That being said, Wonderland has hands down better rides if you're not just taking the 7 y/o crowd. Eagerly awaiting for the little ones to be able to ride the monster coasters they have here, and that is something you just can't get at Disney.