Does Disney ruin you for all else?

[DizDaD7]

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?

Heck yea it does, IMHO.... And this isn't for just amusement parks either....Obviously we're always comparing cleanliness of the parks to all others, friendliness of the CM's as opposed to others, food choices rides and all which immerse you into the story...

Like I said not only theme parks.. I'm talking about the resorts as well...Because the magic is spread out all over these especially well, and not so at other lesser brands, ( which shall be nameless , for now).

Also in the TS restaurants too....Now I'm sure there are plenty of restaurants all over the world that are of excellent service and quality, but some of WDW's are just so creative & fun, that I don't think can be duplicated elsewhere..

So, all in all I believe we compare everything.

 

[THREEBOYSPLUSONE]

We don't get to Disney often but it doesn't ruin it for other parks for us. We have three parks within an hour of us(Hersheypark, Knoebels, and Dorneypark and Wildwater Kingdom). We enjoy going to all of them. The only thing I do compare is the fact that at most of these I can't get on many if any rides because of my disability and I am looking forward to going on rides at Disney next month. We go other places on vacation too and we always have an adventure no matter where we go. The difference with Disney is that it is the vacation. We won't be driving and we won't be leaving Disney property. But we can have fun wherever we go and we usually don't compare places to Disney.

 

[momof2n2]

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.

How far are you from Sesame Place outside Philadelphia? It is in the Busch Gardens family of parks and exceptionally clean and welcoming. It is five hours away from us. We've gone 8 times since 2002. I hope to get there while my youngest is still little. (My oldest is almost 15, so it's not an annual trip anymore.

 

[momof2n2]

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.

I used to love Canada's Wonderland!! I forget it's there!! I'm east of Rochester and we need to get pack there. ❤

 

[Jadyreen1282]

It's hard to compare Disney to Universal. They are so different. I haven't found a waterpark as clean and well themed as Disney waterpark.

 

[momof2n2]

The one thing Disney has ruined for me is fireworks. I have loved all types of fireworks since I was a kid. Sparklers and bottle rockets in the backyard were literally thrilling for me well into my 20's lol. But now if I see fireworks without a castle, lasers, a projection show, and a perfectly choreographed score of music, I can't help walking away feeling totally disappointed.

YES! THIS!! I don't even TRY to see fireworks elsewhere, anymore. And I remember the one Chamber of Commerce parade we took the kids to one year. They looked at us like we had three heads when we called THAT a parade. (They were 2 and almost 4.). The eldest was expecting Cars and Stars...

 

[larryz]

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?

Absolutely not. I temper my expectations based on what I know about the parks.

I rate them in 3 categories: Majors, Minors and Locals. Majors include Disney, Universal & SeaWorld parks (Busch Gardens in particular) characterized by multiple locations with major theme elements; minors include Six Flags & Cedar Fair properties -- more rides than theming; locals include Kennywood & Hersheypark (although they're practically a minor by themselves), with a unique, home-grown and traditional flavor...

They all have their niche markets. I appreciate each for how it whets my entertainment appetite.

 

[kmorey303]

Absolutely. Yes.

 

[kmoore7]

Ruined? Maybe not that strong of a word. It effects every other vacation we go on though. We always go to Hershey Park on the fourth of July. We always thought their fireworks were fantastic. We were in MK on the fourth of July last year. Fireworks were beyond amazing. Should be interesting this year when we are back at Hershey for the 4th.

We have been other places for vacation- D.C., Niagara falls, Baltimore's Aquarium, the Jersey shore. I would rather be in WDW.

Still, that being said, there are still places we want to go. Train trip to the western National Parks is still on our list. Cedar Point. Williamsburg,VA. Kids go to Six Flags on school trips so that's not a must do.

Like pp have stated, it's the whole atmosphere of being in Disney that makes it hard to resist the urge to go again

 

[MmmSuite]

The one thing Disney has ruined for me is fireworks. I have loved all types of fireworks since I was a kid. Sparklers and bottle rockets in the backyard were literally thrilling for me well into my 20's lol. But now if I see fireworks without a castle, lasers, a projection show, and a perfectly choreographed score of music, I can't help walking away feeling totally disappointed.

Me TOOOOOOOO! I have never been a fan of amusement parks. I only go for the kids. So Disney is always going to be bigger and better and more fun than those since they were never really fun. Last year at Hershey Park I was so THRILLED to find a ride I actually liked and I went back on!

However, I have always enjoyed fireworks when I had the chance to see them. But on NYE...I was so disappointed after standing in the cold.

I saw
Fri HalloWishes for the GF dock.
Sat Frozen Fireworks
Sun Frozen Fireworks from the pool of our hotel
Mon Wishes from some rides
Tues Illuminations(after if poured all day and at 8:00 most CMs were convinced it wouldn't happen...so it was extra special for me)
Wed Wishes from a prime spot they I literally snagged last min! I cried during Wishes
Thurs Wishes from BOG
Fri Fantasmic!

I hadn't ever seen so many fireworks so close together! It usually years between times I see them! It was amazing!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We're not big theme park people, so I guess that's one of the things that makes Disney a special trip for us...because it's not something that we normally do. We have a local theme park that's only about 20 minutes from our house, and we've only been to it once in the 3 years we've lived here. We also live 20 minutes from the Mall of America and wind up there for one reason or another on a fairly regular basis, and I think we've only ridden the rides there twice. Anyway, there was really nothing for Disney to ruin for us, since theme parks aren't our thing.

 

[Planogirl]

I couldn't imagine being that limited. I love Universal and we enjoyed Knotts tremendously. I would love to be close to Busch Gardens.

And this is just amusement parks. I enjoy what each place has to offer and try to avoid comparing them to anything else. I won't put up with dirt but I tend to enjoy a variety of places.

 

[Ambear]

If you like coasters, I do highly suggest Busch Gardens. My kids went to town there last May. And Manta at SeaWorld is exceptional. An elegant coaster, IMO.

I saw an on ride POV video on youtube of SheiKra and it looks intense and amazing!! You're right, I definitely gotta go there.

 

[tcherjen]

Same here for us! Nothing compares, that is why we go back all the time.

 

[ellie05]

Theme parks, no. On the other hand fireworks and parades yes! We enjoy universal. I do adjust my expectations according to where we are going. Although, we do not plan our vacations around theme parks unless it is to Orlando. We will never spend vacation days or money going to six flags like we do to Disney. We never bother with local parades anymore and truly don't understand the obsession people have with fireworks around here, why would I want to go buy fireworks and set them off? It will just be disappointing.

 

[BudgieMama]

Certainly for British Theme Parks. They desperately need to send staff over to WDW to see how to manage the queues! I found it so frustrating when the queue for a ride was 80 minutes and the staff were letting cars run with empty seats whilst there were 20 or so people waiting in single rider!

 

[Beezle2]

I enjoy Disney the most but Universal is a very close second. We seem to only do Universal for 2-3 days but I can do 10 at Disney and never be bored. I'll have to try a longer Uni trip someday and see how it stacks up, I do love their front of the line perk for onsite. We did Cedar Point and Michigan Adventure the last couple years and they are fine but definitely not Disney ( or Universal!). The coasters at Cedar Point are great but the non thrill seekers were left flat, the shows are lame. Michigan Adventure is small enough with little kids and they really enjoyed riding everything multiple times and the water park is right there making for an easy midday break. I did like the set up there but one day was enough.

 

[IndianaRRT]

A pp mentioned Holiday World in southern Indiana, and this thread immediately brought it to mind. We live just a few minutes from there, and I can honestly say WDW hasn't ruined me for it or small theme parks like it. Holiday World is a major area employer, is exceptionally clean all the time, and offers things WDW doesn't, like free sunscreen and soft drinks. And obviously, it's much more affordable. The waterpark is amazing, and the roller coasters win international awards yearly. Is it WDW? No, and it never will be. Disney is always first to us, but we absolutely can appreciate the efforts and impacts of smaller, local parks and what makes them unique.

Now, fireworks and 3D effects in shows and rides? Forget it. No one does those things like Disney.

 

[palavra]

I think Universal is just as immersive and amazing as the Disney parks. However, Disney offers so much more. There are so many other things to enjoy at Disney besides the parks that don't seem to exist at other theme parks such as interesting modes of transportation around the resorts, movies by the pool in the evening, dinner shows and water sports.

 

[chrispeto]

We go to Disney every other year, we don't go to theme parks on our off year usually we go out West to visit family and go to places like Mount Rushmore and we even explored an old mining town in Montana. I guess Disney has spoiled me a bit.