Most times while on vacation destinations, I am fascinated, entrigued, and amazed at the sights and sounds of top attractions. One popular attraction "just didn't do it for me". That would be Old Faithful. While Yellowstone is in my top 5 all-time vacations, the anticipation, buildup and resulting blow was a big dissapointment. This is one persons opinion, maybe the "force" of it was not as great but both my wife and I sorta had that look on our face that said, "That was it?" Any others feel the way we did? Any other popular attractions disenchant you?

I've had some disappointments while traveling...but Old Faithful definetly not one of them. IMHO, there is a LOT more to Yellowstone than Old Faithful, but I still get a thrill when it goes off. I even love being on the geyser trail and seeing it go off in the distance.

I guess we each have our likes and dislikes...that's what makes the world so great!

Utahtea

As i said Yellowstone was one of our favorite vacations of all time; we thoroughly enjoyed Yellowstone. We went in the winter time, the beauty and serenity was amazing. The first day we left from West Yellowstone at 6:00am, temp at -29, with Old Faithful tops in mind. I guess the trip getting there with all the wonderful sights took away from the eruption. Maybe I need to go in the summer.

i felt that way when I saw the Mona Lisa. Just a dingy kind of painting compared to the other are at the Louvre!

I went with my cousin to NYC for New YEars Eve when I was 16. We literally ran for 10 blocks to see the ball drop. After it did drop, I was wondering if that was it...What was the big deal about the ball dropping? There were thousands of people all gathered around to see it. It did nada for me.

I took a group of kids to see Mt Rushmore. The girl next to me said, "Gee, I thought it would be bigger"

I felt that way in Cape Cod. This is a "town"? On to the next "town"... again, maybe 4 shops.
I came very close to cutting the trip short and going home early.

People who see the "original" Plymouth Rock walk away with a "that's all it is?" look on their faces.

The Monterey Aquarium. And, oddly, my wife and I both had the same reaction. Loved the CA coast, Big Sur, the Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove area, but the Aquarium left us cold....

Different strokes, I guess.

That's funny about Old Faithful because when my husband and I saw it he dubbed it Old Pitiful. We had been to Iceland a few years before and saw some impressive geysers there so I guess Old Faithful just didn't cut it.

I just had an experience like that with our Ft. Lauderdale weekend in March. I didn't think the beach was anything special. In fact, the state park we go to in NJ I thought was comparable. (Now I am NOT saying that all beaches in Jersey are like Ft. L b/c they are NOT). Las Olas Blvd. seemed short to me as well, but someone told me it is longer than the 3 blocks I thought it was. We just walked until there didn't seem to be anything much ahead and turned around, and then it seemed we turned right back around.

On a New England circle we stopped at Natural Bridge State Park in western MA. Many of the guidebooks mentioned it and the natural bridge was so small we couldn't even find it! And it had a lovely setting next to a factory.

I have to admit my very first impression of Grand Canyon was not awe-inspiring. We had been to Zion, Bryce and Lake Powell in the days prior and had seen just fantastic scenery, that our first view from an overlook was like, OK, it's big. But we took the mule ride the next day and now I think the Grand Canyon is one of the most amazing places in the country. Last May we hiked into Havasu Canyon (western part of the Grand Canyon), another spectacular natural setting. So now I believe you have to get IN the Grand Canyon to truly appreciate its scope and grandeur.

I live outside Phila. and for the life of me I cannot believe that people advise people with only one day in Phila. to go see the Liberty Bell. It is a bell with a large crack in it. I don't get it! Even if you're not really into history, at least Indepedence Hall has feather pens and canes actually used by Jefferson and Franklin - a lot more interesting than a big bell. Just walking around the outside of Independence Hall in that section of the city would be more interesting to me than waiting in line to see the Liberty Bell.

This topic reminds me of the words of a Victorian traveller on visiting the Giants Causeway in Ireland - "Worth seeing, but not worth going to see!"

Of the many many places I've visited around the world, I can honestly say I've never had this happen to me.

I just saw the Liberty Bell last month and was glad I saw it. It wasn't spectacular or anything, but to me it was about seeing a symbol of freedom that I had read and heard about all my life. Being a Californian, that part of American history was always pretty abstract because it occured so far away. I enjoyed the museum that has been built around the bell. I thought they did a really good job of presenting the history of the bell which adds to the experience.

Great topic!

I am struggling to think of an example. I guess I do not get big anticipation excitement so have not had any big letdowns. I guess if pressed, I would say LA as a city. I just don't see the attraction with the traffic, smog and general congestion. In fairness I have not spent more than a couple of days there so perhaps I am being overly critical.

I kind of agree with the Grand Canyon comment but I still enjoyed it.

Grand Canyon. But in my defense I saw it after being released from Flagstaff hospital after getting carbon monoxide poisoning at a hotel in Williams.
Now that was a trip from hell.
I stood over the edge going I almost died for THIS?

I agree with Old Faithful being a bit disappointing. On the 2nd largest island in Fiji, there was a natural reef geyser that was amazing! So powerful & shot seems like hundreds of feet in the air....and the beauty is, no one around! Oh and Meteor Crater was not worth the stop.

In all my travels I have never had a "Is that all there is moment," but when my daughter was younger we drove all night from LA to the south rim so we could see sunrise over the Grand Canyon. My daughter, in her groggy sleepy grumpiness stood there, stared and then said, "OK, let's blow this popsicle stand."

Great question!
YES!
My "this is it?" moment was the first time I saw Rockefeller Center. It is so small. After years of seeing it on television and the Christamas tree - well I just expected a bigger tree!!!! It's funny the perceptions we have.

I felt this way at Graceland...I guess I expected it to be a grand-scale theme park with neon lights. It's just a house...a large, lavisly decorated house, but a house. Even though I thought, "This is IT?" I was plesantly surprised, because the real thing was a lot more interesting than my mental image was.