Has Disney ruined you for other parks?

[MOmousefan]

I agree there is only one WDW. We live 90 mile from Branson and have enjoyed going there on day trips and short vacations. In fact we have had season passes to Silver Dollar City for ten years, but the kids have grown up and I do not enjoy going by myself.
We can only afford WDW every 5-10 years, but there is comparing any other park to this one.

 

[mattsdragon]

Yes and no. We are a bit more observant of the decor, the cleanliness and the employee attitudes because of WDW.

Busch Gardens. . .haven't been to Tampa since 84, but I used to go to Williamsburg almost every weekend (lived 10 miles from the park) and still love it. The rides are great, the layout, cleanliness, all of it is great.

I'm afraid to go to King's Dominion, haven't been since High School, but it was going downhll then.

It all depends on what I'm in the mood for. When I want great coasters, I go somewhere else, because WDW's aren't intense enough for me. But for pure Magic, nothing tops Disney.

Oh, we hated Islands Of Adventure. . .too crowded, dirty, and cheesy looking.

 

[gbanton]

WDW has ruined it so much that I won't even remotely consider even going to DL. I am also one of those people that no matter where we go for vacation you will hear something about Disney being better or rather being at Disney or for so much more or less we could have gone to WDW.

 

[DisGirl819]

Yes!! My DH had only been to DL/DCA and we went to Six Flags over GA while we lived in ALA and wow! what a suprise for us. It was lacking theme, even though they tried with a batmobile, some looney toons characters, etc...we felt like we had wasted a day, except for the awesome coasters! Disney doesn't have the awesome coasters (except California Screamin' and possible RnR, we haven't ridden that yet). We were comparing everything from the paint on the railings, the trash on the ground, etc. to Disney standards...We're just spoiled on Disney I guess

 

[Karibeth19]

I have to disagree about Silver Dollar City. We Love Disney and we also love Silver Dollar City. It's a totally different atmoshere, Silver Dollar City is much more relaxed and I enjoy the old time feel and bluegrass music. There are many things at SDC that you won't find at Disney (i.e. people blowing glass, hand-making pocket knives, and fresh fried pork rinds).

I do agree however that SOONER FOOTBALL ROCKS!

Oh, I didn't mean to say that it wasn't nice. In fact, we used to go all the time when I was a little girl, so it was fun to do all the things I remembered from back then. We took our time, browsed through the shops, watched the craftsmen, played at Geyser Gulch, and watched the saloon show and the Purina's dog team challenge. DH was even interested in Marvel Cave, but I was scarred for life by a Marvel Cave tour guide when I was DD's age ("Some of you might be wondering what would happen if there was an earthquake while we are down here. Well, let me tell you, you couldn't be buried any deeper, any cheaper. ) and I don't do caves anymore. It was just that with almost no crowds, we had done everything by 3:00. And, even though we enjoyed the time we spent there, none of us felt that we needed to come back the next day. That's what made me realize I was truly spoiled by Disney; I can't imagine thinking that I didn't need to return the next day there!!! Sometimes I think two straight weeks at Disney wouldn't be enough for me!!

And, yes, Sooner Football totally rocks!

 

[daisyduck123]

Yes....Disney has made my family & I "park snobs".

We went to Dorney Park one time after we started going to Disney so often & the park seemed "so pathetic, dirty, & lame." It also did not have the nicest people visiting it. Disney just seems to have a nice "clientele".

Last May, a few days after returning from a 9 day stay in WDW, I chaperoned DD10's middle school chorus field trip to Hershey Park. I had just returned from WDW so of course I compared the 2 parks. YUCK! Never again!!

We'll never spend money on another theme park again. We'll just save what we would have spent & put it in our "Disney jar" for our next trip.

 

[bbangel]

WDW has ruined it so much that I won't even remotely consider even going to DL. I am also one of those people that no matter where we go for vacation you will hear something about Disney being better or rather being at Disney or for so much more or less we could have gone to WDW.

You should give the original a shot. I love Disneyland and the entertainment in DCA is top notch. You can't beat the Aladdin show!
When planning a theme park vacation, it's all about Disney. The plan is to hit all of them at some point. You can never get enough of the magic.

 

[LUVMICKEY]

We don't want to go anywhere else but Disney. Yes, we have been to many other parks, SFGA, Hershey Park, Dorney Park, Williamsburg and Busch Gardens, just to name a few, but to us, none of them compare to Disney. The very first time we went to Sea World, we went after a 10 day stay in Disney, before we went home and boy did we keep comparing the two of them. It's just not even close. So yes, I'd say that Disney has spoiled us, and we're pretty glad about that. There's nothing like Disney for us.

Michele

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

I wouldn't say that Disney has ruined other parks for me, but others don't compare to Disney. I still go and enjoy them from time to time though. One thing I like about Disney are all the dark rides. I can do more thrill rides since they provide a nice break for my stomach. Most amusement parks don't contain much along those lines and I can only take so many thrill rides before my stomach starts to protest. Disney works great for me because I can take a break between thrill rides, thus enabling me to stay longer and have more fun. And I agree wholeheartedly about Disneyland. While I love WDW, Disneyland will always be my favorite park in the world.

 

[Torjohnson]

Ok!!! I am a disneyland freak(well. I"ve been every year at least once for 30 years)...and I am going to WDW for the first time. I am going to spend my ten days comparing the parks in negative ways. Why go to someplace constantly thinking about somewhere else. We go all kinds of places, been to opryland, Dollywood, Branson, Worlds of Fun(kc), Great America(Northern California), we even went to Dogpatch USA. No way are any of these on the same par as DL but I think that you should enjoy stuff if you are going. Why compare? Isn"t life supposed to be fun? Sometimes you can"t get to WDW...
We loved the Dells. Was it funky and tacky, absolutely. Appreciate things for what they are is my motto.

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

I have been to many different parks, amusement and themed parks, and none compare to going to WDW. I do not bother going to the other parks now, DW and I would make comparisions all day, so we just stopped going to the other parks. We even have Atlantic City, Ocean City, Wildwood all within 30 min to an hour away and we don't even go to those places, even for a day or afternoon. So I would say we are spoiled, we prefer going to Disney, and we love it.

 

[eblack0409]

OH YEAH!!!! DH and I are going to Kings Island on Saturday and we are already doing comparisons...and we aren't even there yet!!!

 

[Micca]

I am not a theme park fan, I'm a Disney fan. No contest.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Good question and something I never thought of before, but definitely yes! I won't mention the other parks I've been to but no comparison. I just don't get excited about them the same way as WDW!

 

[aristocat]

It's the other way around for me.... Some other parks have ruined disney for me - the rides aspect of it anyways.

Thankfully, we rode all the disney "thrill rides" first before going to Sea World and Universal/IOA. (if we had known before exactely what we were missing, we wouldn't have enojoyed the disney rides as much).

Splash Mountain just doesn't compare to Journey to Atlantis.... That's just me though. I discovered I LOVE thrill rides... and BTMRR, space mountain, test track, etc.... they just dont cut it. i think the exception is the RnR roller coaster.

this year, we're going to busch gardens - tampa and i can't wait!!!!! i'm positive it has all the roller coasters i crave.

 

[ameraumi]

We are going to Kings Island in August for DH's company picnic. I think we are going to make a weekend out of it. I'm sure I'll pull the "this isn't Disney" at least once. Most likely when I am waiting in line pretending I have a fast pass! But I'm looking at it as a "hold me over" type of thing until we can get back to the real deal!

 

[ufgator]

Disney has ruined it for me. I've been to Six Flags in GA and TX, Universal in CA and FL, Seaworld and some others but nothing compares to Disney. But I have liked Tivoli Gardens in Denmark. DH and I think Disney got a lot of ideas from there. I think it's been around for at least 100 years. I also like Knotts Berry Farm in CA, but I haven't been there in over 15 years. I liked Asterix Park outside of Paris. But all of them are not Disney.

 

[PA Princess]

We have also been spoiled by Disney parks, and that is where we prefer to spend our money. Every year we spend a week at the beach (Ocean City, NJ) and we may walk the board walk a night a time or two, but we never bother with the rides. We also skip all local fairs, as well. Now we do usually visit Hershey Park each summer since dh's company holds a company picnic there each year, so we go and have a good time. No it isn't Disney, but it is free and we always enjoy ourselves. Would we still go if we had to pay? Probably not. Now there are some parks I would not even visit if it were free, Sesame Place was that way for us - huge yuck!

 

[mom2minniemouse]

OMG, I have zero desire to vacation anywhere but WDW anytime soon. LOL!

We were thinking of going back to Universal in two years, but I think I'd spend the whole time wishing we were at WDW. LOL!

 

[aunt kelly]

I am not a theme park fan, I'm a Disney fan. No contest.

Me too!