gopherit
I'm not in the book, you know.
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2003
- Messages
- 1,327
I see I have a wide circle of friends to share my pain! 
Anyhooo, I see my OP as highlighting 3 main points:
(1) Lack of planning This can take a direct hit on your Disney enjoyment factor -- ESPECIALLY for a first trip. I liken it to riding a bike -- the first few times you try it, it may be scary and thrilling all at once as you try to navigate. But then, once you get comfy with it, you don't have to "think" as much, just hop on and peddle, and the thrill is still there, with nary a thought of it being work. You already know what gear to shift into when the hills (or in this case, crowds!) are high, you know the best paths to take, you are a seasoned vet. These folks are heading out on their virgin bike voyage into all that is Disney without so much as training wheels or the advice of others who have peddled its trails, and then seemed stunned when they hit an obstacle or fall off and skin their knees and the ride isn't so stellar.... or, in the case of my friends, they ride for 30 seconds staring intently at the road and decide the view wasn't so great, let's go home -- when right around the corner was a mountain, a meadow, an ice cream shop, you name it.
(2) Unwilling to be a kid again. Oh sure, we all know the biblical phrase, "when I was a child, I spoke as a child", etc. "but now I'm a man and put such childish ways behind me"...and that's all well and good, but ther are times when you really need to find that inner kid and LET IT OUT! It is ok to pose for a picture with an oversized mouse, or pretend you are on a mission to Mars, or in the hotseat of a gameshow, or reach out and try to "touch" a 3D duck and he sails past. I think when children see adults do this, we seem much more "real" to them than any image a power suit or board room could ever convey.
(3) Unwilling to be enlightened (or unwilling to admit they are unenlightened) I think everyone needs to leave room in their hearts and minds for a lightbulb moment -- that margin of space you allow yourself to admit that hey, maybe all is not what it seems, and maybe there IS more to this that I didn't realize before! Put in that context, it's not about who is "right" or "wrong" -- it's about giving something a chance, exploring something fully from various angles without letting preconceived notions get in the way, it's about allowing yourself to have that "Aha! So that's what it's about!" lightbulb moment of recognition. The fact that some folks think Disney is a big pack of costumes and overpriced carny rides is a preconceived notion for those who have never been. If, however, that same person goes to Disney and truly makes direct comparisions to their rides versus those of the county fair, if they give the characters a chance, watch the faces of the kids in awe, and try to form their own opinion and THEN say, "THis really isn't for me", well, ok then, maybe it's not (quite possibly for reason 2 up above, or maybe some other reason, whatever. Maybe they were attacked by rabid mice as a child and have an intense fear of all things rodential... who knows.). But by and large, the folks who complain most vehemently about Disney have not done this -- they have gone forth looking to prove their biases correct, and got exactly what they were looking for.
As for my friend and passive/agg behavior, oh yes, there's some of that. I could write a whole thread on my rel. with her. But in the case of Disney, this has been a long-term issue of hers. I think it stems largely from her upbringing and now, a dose of Reason #2. Her own parents never took her to Disney as a kid either. They went to places like exclusive coastal island resorts, spas and such. Disney was for low-brows who would waste their money on carny rides and overpriced junk food and corny costumed mascots -- whereas vacations in the islands or Mexico were signs of wealth and privilege to them. It's all about appearance for them, and from their viewpoint, Disney was for commoners. Once, when I mentioned the spa at GF and SSR she seemed mildly intrigued, but her counter was that, well, she would rather just go to a "real spa"...to her, Disney-fied just isn't "dignified" and therefore, how "good" could it be?
If folks don't like Disney, oh well, their loss, one less body to dodge in lines, I guess. But I agree with whoever said that it shouldn't give them carte blanche authority to run it down in my face! I don't run down other people's choice of religion (or vacation!); I'd prefer others treated mine the same!
And if certain people just truly don't like Disney ... could they at least let me ease their suffering and LET ME TAKE THEIR PLACE at the next conference?!? I promise I'll take good notes!
Anyhooo, I see my OP as highlighting 3 main points:
(1) Lack of planning This can take a direct hit on your Disney enjoyment factor -- ESPECIALLY for a first trip. I liken it to riding a bike -- the first few times you try it, it may be scary and thrilling all at once as you try to navigate. But then, once you get comfy with it, you don't have to "think" as much, just hop on and peddle, and the thrill is still there, with nary a thought of it being work. You already know what gear to shift into when the hills (or in this case, crowds!) are high, you know the best paths to take, you are a seasoned vet. These folks are heading out on their virgin bike voyage into all that is Disney without so much as training wheels or the advice of others who have peddled its trails, and then seemed stunned when they hit an obstacle or fall off and skin their knees and the ride isn't so stellar.... or, in the case of my friends, they ride for 30 seconds staring intently at the road and decide the view wasn't so great, let's go home -- when right around the corner was a mountain, a meadow, an ice cream shop, you name it.
(2) Unwilling to be a kid again. Oh sure, we all know the biblical phrase, "when I was a child, I spoke as a child", etc. "but now I'm a man and put such childish ways behind me"...and that's all well and good, but ther are times when you really need to find that inner kid and LET IT OUT! It is ok to pose for a picture with an oversized mouse, or pretend you are on a mission to Mars, or in the hotseat of a gameshow, or reach out and try to "touch" a 3D duck and he sails past. I think when children see adults do this, we seem much more "real" to them than any image a power suit or board room could ever convey.
(3) Unwilling to be enlightened (or unwilling to admit they are unenlightened) I think everyone needs to leave room in their hearts and minds for a lightbulb moment -- that margin of space you allow yourself to admit that hey, maybe all is not what it seems, and maybe there IS more to this that I didn't realize before! Put in that context, it's not about who is "right" or "wrong" -- it's about giving something a chance, exploring something fully from various angles without letting preconceived notions get in the way, it's about allowing yourself to have that "Aha! So that's what it's about!" lightbulb moment of recognition. The fact that some folks think Disney is a big pack of costumes and overpriced carny rides is a preconceived notion for those who have never been. If, however, that same person goes to Disney and truly makes direct comparisions to their rides versus those of the county fair, if they give the characters a chance, watch the faces of the kids in awe, and try to form their own opinion and THEN say, "THis really isn't for me", well, ok then, maybe it's not (quite possibly for reason 2 up above, or maybe some other reason, whatever. Maybe they were attacked by rabid mice as a child and have an intense fear of all things rodential... who knows.). But by and large, the folks who complain most vehemently about Disney have not done this -- they have gone forth looking to prove their biases correct, and got exactly what they were looking for.
As for my friend and passive/agg behavior, oh yes, there's some of that. I could write a whole thread on my rel. with her. But in the case of Disney, this has been a long-term issue of hers. I think it stems largely from her upbringing and now, a dose of Reason #2. Her own parents never took her to Disney as a kid either. They went to places like exclusive coastal island resorts, spas and such. Disney was for low-brows who would waste their money on carny rides and overpriced junk food and corny costumed mascots -- whereas vacations in the islands or Mexico were signs of wealth and privilege to them. It's all about appearance for them, and from their viewpoint, Disney was for commoners. Once, when I mentioned the spa at GF and SSR she seemed mildly intrigued, but her counter was that, well, she would rather just go to a "real spa"...to her, Disney-fied just isn't "dignified" and therefore, how "good" could it be?
If folks don't like Disney, oh well, their loss, one less body to dodge in lines, I guess. But I agree with whoever said that it shouldn't give them carte blanche authority to run it down in my face! I don't run down other people's choice of religion (or vacation!); I'd prefer others treated mine the same!
And if certain people just truly don't like Disney ... could they at least let me ease their suffering and LET ME TAKE THEIR PLACE at the next conference?!? I promise I'll take good notes!
, if we didn`t go to Orlando!
, that others "JUST DON`T GET"! 
I think that gopherit feels that, anyone can just go, but at least give it your "BEST SHOT" ! then in our eyes "you can make a judgement call"!
.
Just don't get it 
) and the other half went with us to Epcot (and had a great time b/c we knew what we were doing!). 
) and 
