I guess to sum it all up, we all set certain expectations prior to our trips, and we sometimes are guilty of setting those expectations too high! Here's something that will sound stupid! We're going to Hawaii with my 2 kids (ages 11 and 12) and I'm just hoping they LOVE Hawaii and appreciate it's beauty as much as my husband and I. I feel like if we're spending that much money, I'm hoping it's worth it! To tell you the truth, my kids were not that impressed with Disney World when we went in 2000. I think we built it up so much prior to going, that they were disappointed. They expected more rides like an amusement park, and it wasn't. I guess the magic didn't hit them!

hmm...london comes to mind. the trip was awesome! but, was wondering what the hub-bub was about with the tower, bridge, and the crown jewels.

The Hill Country of Texas.

Being from northeast Texas, I had heard about the fabulous Hill Country area all my life. But after spending every summer in the Rockies, the Hill Country was boring to me.

Now, I've never been during the wildflower bloom--I'm sure that would be something to see.

Los Angeles!!! I don't really know what I was expecting, but couldn't wait to hightail it out of there!

Being orginally from Mass. in grade school we visited Plymouth rock and most of us were unimpressed though we enjoyed the day off immensly.
Years and years later I felt the same way viewing the Mona Lisa. So many more spectacular paintings in the Louvre to view!

Niagara Falls. Maid of the Mist. Big Whip.

I kind of felt that way when we made the trek in Rome from our hotel to the Spanish Steps. My first thought was "we walked all the way over here for that?"! I mean, I knew they were "steps", but I thought it would be a little more than just steps! For something I always here so much about, I don't get what the big deal is. We absolutely loved Rome and just about everything in that city, including the Spanish Steps. Just thought they would be more interesting than they were!

Oh, and I have to agree with LA and add Hollywood to that! I always imagined Hollywood and LA to be more, I don't know...glamorous, maybe, than they were.

karens--I absolutely agree, and it has has been my mantra on this board forever, you cannot really appreciate how awesome the Grand Canyon is until you get down in it...even if only a short distance! The rim view is nice, and if that's all you can do it's better than nothing, but you will have missed the essence, IMHO, standing on the rim looking down.

My "you've got to be kidding" was Gatlinburg--not the surrounding area once away from the hubbub, but anything and everything that had to do with the town. We didn't have the option of not going--family wedding--but I didn't research it (didn't know about this site at the time) and was actually looking forward to the trip. Now I can safely say, we will never again voluntarily set foot in that town as long as we both shall live, so help me gawd!

This is a great topic! I have some random ones:

- Road to Hana
Really based on expectations, because I had heard so much about it, and having been in Kauai first, just wasn't so overwhelmed.

- Shenandoah Nat'l Park

- St. Petersberg/Tampa
Was a family vacation, so no choice or research in picking the spot, but having been to other FL beach spots (South Florida Atlantic Coast and Naples) I just thought St Pete was terrible -- I remember in the cab from the airport to the hotel realizing we were getting to the close to the hotel and thinking - this is it, this is the area I'm am "vacationing" in?

I can honestly say that I've never experienced utter disappointment in a destination or sight, but I can recall the first time I ever crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis on the way to Arkansas. I thought it would be wider, but it was still impressive -- almost exhilarating!

The Petrified Forest, when I was 12 years old. I had expected a real forest, not a desert with rocks here and there.

I was very disappointed with South Padre Island, probably because we had been told that it was spectacular...but it also seems to me that certain disappointments can be avoided by having some knowledge of the history of a place. Not that I'm ever as well informed as I should be; but I appreciated the Spanish Steps, to pick just one example, because of the people who wrote about them, lived nearby, over centuries. I just find that reading up on a place in advance--and not just guide books--helps. But yes, ultimately, different strokes!

Lake George, NY. I went there when I was about 14 and all I could think was "what a tacky dump," even at that age. I had expected it to be quaint, quiet, and full of natural beauty. Little did I know...

Like LlindaC, I was disapointed in the Mona Lisa. Fortunately there were many other works of art in the Lourve that are quite impressive.

Ruby Falls Cave in Chattanooga Tennessee.

We drove all the way from FL for the Grand Canyon-we stayed an hour, last year we were in Flagstaff for 3 days and never went there,

Never get tired of Lake Tahoe Or the 4 times to Grand Teton NP-Yellowstone is too much driving in between sights-.

Loved Zion NP- Bryce Canyon-1 hour.

Monument Valley - 1 hour, enough, everyone has their favorites. I could go on.

The Dismal Swamp on the east coast somewhere was my big disappointment. I have always lived in the dry west, so when my family decided to take a summer trip east around my 14th birthday, I begged my dad to detour approx. 50 miles out of our route so I could see a real swamp. (It had such a great name, too...) Needless to say, there was nothing to see but a nice little place to get gas and snacks. I still have yet to see a real swamp!

Agree with the Cape Cod post- YUK! Never Again.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.