I just came back from that miserable place. It was the worst vacation I ever experienced. I felt liked I was locked up in corporate hell. Does that corporate greed have no end? Why after every ride do they try to sell you something at inflated prices? Why is the food so miserable there? Why do they keep replaying the same sickening promo messages over the loudspeakers on the monorails? Why are the overwhelming majority of the people there fat? (maybe the type of junk food being served everywhere gives a clue). Why are they so greedy? We got a babysitter through the disneyworld hotel we were at and we had to pay $19.00 per hour although the babysitter was only paid $6.50 an hour. Despicable. Why put it in Orlando, one of the most boring places on earth? I guess that way they get to run everything there. I stayed at arguably the fanciest hotel on the grounds. Why is it that everytime I called for any information I was given a recording? And what is it with the phony beaches along the miserable phony lagoon? Are people stupid enough to believe it? How about you? What other reasons can you give why you hate that god forsaken place?

Why if you hate it so much did you go there? Something about this post makes no sense. It is clear that you would have hated it before you went, unless you are the dumbest person in the world not to have a clue what a huge theme park is like!

I wonder if I hired a baby sitter through a major New York hotel, what they charge -- just the amount they'd pay the sitter?

How bright do you have to be to figure out on your own WHY they would build a place like that in the middle of Florida? Does the fact they bought all that land cheap in a land of "eternal" warmth give you a clue? Where do you suggest they should have built it -- midtown Manhattan maybe?

I suggest you take a pill and get some rest. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning.

I haven't been there. Have you been to Las Vegas? How does Las Vegas compare?

Thank you, Patrick!

I have never visited there because I was warned that I would have a similar outbreak newyorker. I was warned about the corporate,sell,sell,sell,buy, buy,buy....the disney police, the subtle manipulation to spend. It's sad. Poor Walt is rolling. If I had to, I would have gone for the kids, but that didn't happen. Patrick you surprise me in your vehement defense. I think newyorker makes a valid cry of the pure commercialism of disney that often crosses the line. It is certainly not being run the way Walt dreamed it and built it.

I don't know what all the complaining is about. First, EVERYTHING costs money nowadays, especially if you have rugrats as accessories. Have you priced a movie for the whole family, or dinner at a regular sit-down service restaurant? Why do you think Corporate America sells a lot of Happy Meals - it's still cheaper than the roast beef special at the local greasy spoon.

As for the monorails - as I recall, the main thing was the constant warnings in America's 2 languages to keep arms in, hold on, etc. No more annoying than "Mind the Gap" in London. (Hey, do you think that too is corporate sponsored!?)

The baby-sitting rake-off probably covers arrangements, and paying the liability insurance in litiginous America - having arranged the sitter, the hotel is the deep pockets on the hook in any perceived malfeasance or negligence. And in NYC, walking thru the MOMA's building full of paintings costs $20. Is that overpriced too? How about $100 for a 3-hour Broadway show, or $200/night for a hotel room? (Actually, the $200 NYC rooms aren't corporate greed. The $500 or $1000 rooms are.)

Well yes, Walt did put WDW in the middle of nowhere, specifically to afford control over so much land he could handle whatever he wanted. By the time Walt thought about expanding Disneyland in California, it was too late - all the adjacent areas had been bought up.

But as for boring - well, I saw no end of far more tawdry attractions in the rest of Orlando. Sure, it ain't the statue of Liberty, but unlike the SofL, they're fully open. By the way - boring? Last time I was there, I caught a bus outside my hotel that took me to view a shuttle launch 45 minutes away (Yes, it was a while ago...). Even better than the Macy's 4ofJuly fireworks on the East River!

As for the way the resort operates - I was impressed, when I compared it to Busch gardens. WDW had smiling, bubbly workers, neat planned efficient ride loading, and clean functional rides. Busch Gdns, OTOH, had bored attendants sitting at one end of the platform, no line control - just a restrained shoving match. If you think WDW is bad, how have you survived in AMerica up to now?

My only comments about WDW are theoretical, as I haven't been there since I was a wee one, and it's changed a lot since then. I agree (based only on hearsay) with all your negative comments. BUT I do agree with the other posters that if you chose to go there, what did you expect? Did you think it wouldn't be like that?

We haven't taken our kids to either of the Disney's (yet), choosing to visit places that to us, are more real and authentic, or at least cheaper (i.e., our local amusement parks). I personally don't like the corporate Mouse, and my kids know it. Getting away from theme park criticism, I really don't like the way Disney has taken age-old fairy tales and sanitized them (the Little Mermaid being the best/worst example). So there's another reason to dislike Disneyworld (I save "hate" for more important things) - but then, I haven't chosen to go to a place that I think so little of.

Thank you very much for spending your money at Disney as I am certain my rather substantial stock investment in the company has benefitted.

I'm sorry that you didn't realize what you were getting yourself into prior to your arrival, but that's part of the "magic" in being able to attract a diverse group of folks to one's business enterprise.

I can appreciate your concern about those "same sickening promo messages" in the Monorail; they actually remind me of those "same sickening promo messages" they used to play in all the taxis in New York.

In terms of its location in Orlando, I think they would have actually preferred New York City for the location but people kept saying that people in New York didn't possess the frame of mind necessary to keep prices, supply and demand, etc., in the proper perspective despite New York's reasonably priced real estate, fabulous Winter weather, absolutely top-notch transportation system, spotlessly clean environment, and low crime rate.

But I'm sure you already understand all that and by the way, how did your children like the place..or do they have that "attitude" already?

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

Funny, what I noticed was the look of sheer joy on my kids faces and how much fun they were having.

I guess I'm lucky that what my son remembers is he and I being hit with a large wave on a water ride and his first ride on a roller-coaster.

Perhaps next time, we should have a more jaded view so that we won't have too much fun with our kids amongst all that manipulation and corporate greed.

In regard to why I went it is because I have never been there and thought I would check it out for myself. I also thought my kids would like it. I had been warned about how miserable it could be but I also heard good things. And in truth, there were some good imaginative rides/sites. But the positive was nothing compared to the negative aspects of the place.

In regard to questions/comments from other writers here, I find it deplorable that the hotel would keep two thirds of a babysitter charge. Marking labor up 100% should be the top end of greed. The 200% mark up was disgusting. And the "eternal warmth" lol lol of Orlando may seem to be that between November and March, but for most of the year it is eternal heat. As far as the constant repeated messages on the monorail, how many times do I need to hear about the famous "Mickey breakfast" at some hotel? Do I really care how many golf courses are at Disney? If I wanted to golf don't you think I would have gotten that info from somewhere other than the monorail monotonous messages? How many times did they repeat the word "disney" in between stops. I guess the writer who didn't hear any of that was the perfect specimen for the corporate testing of how many times they could use their propaganda and still not have people consciously notice. And as far as the phoney smiling Walt Disney World waving workers with those blank stares and robotic motions all I need to say is that I prefer a real person to the fake smile to earn your ears attitude.

People either love or hate Disney. We have gone several times and our children have loved it. We enjoyed ourselves too as we had not gone as children. We watched it through their eyes. We are done with Disney for a while, but did thoroughly enjoy a happy and clean place to take our kids on vacation. It is corporate america at it's best. Anyone buying their tickets realize that. I think your post is over the top.
The knock about everyone being fat? Have you been to the beach lately? America is fat. That is life. It is everywhere around you. Just don't let yourself fall apart. It is a healthy reminder not to over-do it!

I'm no Disney fan, either. I've been twice with my kids. I thought they'd enjoy it, and the buzz created by Disney says that your kids will have a miserable life if you do not take them to Disney. My MIL lives in Florida and we decided to extend our vacations with her twice to spend a few days in Disney. Was it horrible? No. (Well, sometimes it was) Was it the best family vacation ever? Not by a long shot. Disney is exhausting and outrageously expensive. We can take a 10 day trip out west for a 5 day trip in Disney, and we have a lot more fun with all the variety out west. We have so many more vacation memories with a western vacation.

A T-shirt in Disney for a toddler was $48. There is no justification for this - this is insane. The same T I found in the Disney store in the nearby mall for $18. We stayed in the $300/night Wildnerness Lodge (and this was the price about 6 years ago) and the room was very small and had no sound-proofing. I know we were also paying for location, but c'mon.

I have friends who think Disney is awesome, and that's fine. If they don't mind shelling out tons of $$, I'm not going to stop them. (Nor to I criticize their choice to them.) I can name several family vacations we've taken that just blow away Disney, and it does make me sort of sad that Disney seems to be the "default" for family vacations.

newyorker - you would enjoy Carl Hiassen's books. He writes humorous fiction about Florida, and he also wrote a scathing non-fiction book about Disney. I can't recall the title, but it has the word Rat in it. I think you'll like it.

It's not Disneyland.

I am a 64 year old grandmother from Ohio who went to Disneyworld for the first time ten years ago. We went without kids. I did not want to go - I had my sights set on Santa Fe!!! But that trip didn't work out. Who would want to go to an amusement park instead of NM, etc. - that was my mindset. Well, I LOVED it! We went back five years later and are planning a trip in early Dec. Sure, things are expensive but things are expensive lots of places. We know it is not the real world and things are 'fake' but that is why we go isn't it? We just ignored most of the things we didn't like. It is clean, warm, happy, and fun. By the way, I did get to Santa Fe and loved it too.
There are lots of great places out there and they are all different.

Hey newyorker, whats the point?
Do you work for Universal?
WDW is what it is.
If you want glitz, slots and good eats, you do Vegas.
If you want nature, you do national parks.
If you want fantasy and fun and feeling like a kid again, with or without your kids, you do WDW.
Capitalism is what it is.
Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you knew what to expect.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.

HI newyorker--many of your points are, of course, true. But as another poster pointed out, commercialism is everywhere. Just go to one of the major exhibits at such a cultural venue as an art museum and you will see similarities. I also think one either loves DW or hates it--there don't seem to be a lot of take it or leave it types--but I could be wrong. I don't know your age, but I suspect you are not a baby boomer and so this article may not resonate w/you, but I thought I would send it along, b/c it clarifies, for me at least, the basis of why a lot of the people who love DW cherish it. Even though this article references Disneyland, many of the points are relevant....BTW, I am not trying to talk you out of or refute your opinion, which I respect your right to hold, just letting you know why some others may not feel as you do.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/desti...ey-essay_x.htm

WDW is what it is. None of this should have been a surprise to you if you had done more than about 30 seconds of research.

If you did this for your kids and they enjoyed it - well that was the point - parents do lots of boring things to make their kids happy - that's the package.

As for the prices - what do you think a babysitter should cost. Here an adult is at least $20 per hour (the reliable teenager down the hall gets $12) - nothing in life is free.

As for people being obese - unless you;ve been under a rock for the last 10 years - everyone knows obesity is skyrocketing in america - why should Disney be different?

(If you want slender and beautiful go to South Beach - I'm sure your kids would love that. Oh - but that's EXPENSIVE again - perhaps just stay home.)

Disney tried to build a "historical" theme park in rural virginia about 10 years ago.

We ran them out on a rail

I think it was the video footage of children dragging mickey mouse in effigy through the streets of Washington DC that finally did it.

Disney is what it is. I would never go there expecting any bargains, fine cuisine, or beautiful beaches. But the day I took my son to Disneyland was a great day for both of us. It was so much fun to watch him discover something new at every corner. And to be honest, I didn't think it was that much more expensive than any other of the theme parks we'd visited. I heard no sickening promos and bought my son a tshirt for $20. Big deal. And, by the way, there were plenty of healthy food choices at the park. The visitors at the park that are over-weight didn't get that way AT the park for pete's sake.