Theme Parks!
IndexTheme Parks in California (Year I was there) | ||
---|---|---|
Disneyland (1969) | Disneyland Resort (2005) | Marineland of the Pacific (1969) |
Other Theme Parks in Central Florida (Year I was there) | |
---|---|
Kennedy Space Center (2001, 2007) | Sea World Orlando (2006) |
Universal Orlando Resort, Florida (various years) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Overview | Universal Studios Florida | Islands of Adventure | City Walk | Loews On-Site Hotels |
Walt Disney World, Florida (various years) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Overview | Magic Kingdom | Epcot | Disney's Hollywood Studios | Animal Kingdom |
Downtown Disney | Water Parks (Typhoon Lagoon) | ESPN Wide World Of Sports |
Walt Disney World Resorts (Year I stayed there) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Overview | All Star Resorts: Sports(2006), Music(2008), Movies(v) | Animal Kingdom Lodge: Jambo House(2003,2004,2006), Kidani Village(2009,2012) | Art of Animation(2012) |
Caribbean Beach(2002) | Contemporary Resort(2011) | Crescent Lake(v) | Coronado Springs(2005,2011) |
Grand Floridian(v) | Old Key West(2010) | Polynesian Resort(v) | Port Orleans: Riverside(2003,2011), French Quarter(2008) |
Saratoga Springs(2007,2011) | Wilderness Lodge(2011) | "v" means it was only a visit |
![]() |
Wishes nighttime spectacular in the Magic Kingdom. This was taken in December, when the castle is lit by the castle lights... |
es•cap’ism (-iz'm) n. a tendency to escape from reality, responsibilities, etc, through the imagination.
Welcome to my definition of a Theme Park.
We're not talking about amusement parks, or thrill ride parks, or any type of Six Flags type park. If you had to press me for the difference, I'd have to say that Theme Park attractions (for the most part) tell a story, or are a part of a story, or put you into a story.
Theme Parks also hide the dirty, underbelly of the amusement park industry (unless that's what they intend to show you,) and cover it up with enough stage dressing to let your imagination dictate how much you want to believe. For instance, take Cindy's Castle. Is it real? Well, yes, it's there, it might be made of fiberglass and not masonry, but it looks real enough. But is it really Cinderella's Castle? That depends on whether or not you believe it's Cinderella's Castle...
I will admit, the Theme Park experience is a bit more expensive than say, a weekend camping in your back yard, but if you know how to control the costs, it's not that terrible, either. Unless you want it to be. But you do generally get what you pay for.
I would also admit that Theme Parks are also shopping malls with some rides thrown in. I once joked that "The shopping opportunities to the square footage ratio must be one of the highest in the country." But I'm aware of that going in, so it doesn't bother me. (A legal disclaimer should be put here that I don't have kids, either. Other than me...)
![]() |
The Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando |
I had been to Disneyland for a day in 1969. I was at Disneyworld in 1977 for a week, but after being in the Magic Kingdom for a couple of days, the adventure turned into travelling from the Contemporary (where I was staying) to the Polynesian to sample the different exotic adult beverages. After all, there were no other parks at the time, and Disneyworld was still on a ticket system, so if you really liked the E-ticket rides, things got expensive in a hurry. (At least I'm *pretty* sure they were on a ticket system. I could be wrong, but that was 30 years ago. :-)
Along comes 2000, and I'm in Orlando on business. The natural thing to do was Disneyworld. I came as a cynic, and I left impressed. After doing a lot of research, and figuring out the cost/benefits of how to do Disneyworld, I found it wasn't that much more expensive than any of my *other* vacations.
Since that time, I've been to Central Florida more times than I care to admit. To this day, the parks are still my favorite places to go to just relax, and escape from reality for a few days.
There are five main parks I have pictures of. (Okay, 4.5, since I don't
have many pictures of Seaworld, but I do have a lot of HD video. Then there's
Disneyland and Kennedy Space Center... But I digress.)
We'll visit them in the order I did.
Back to Top
![]() |
'Course, good ol' Uncle Walt is given the credit for inventing the Theme Park, and the Disney Company has made sure that the Disney brand stays the elite of the genre. And for the past 50 years, they have. In that time, Disneyland has been joined by a second Theme Park, three hotels and a nightclub/shopping area, now known as Disneyland Resort. I was at Disneyland Resort in September 2005, as part of my Desert Southwest Vacation but is broken out here, because, well, it's a Theme Park. There is also a page of 59 pictures from my 1969 trip. |
Walt Disney World is a destination unto itself. Four Theme Parks, two nightclub areas, five golf courses, two miniature golf courses, two water parks and more resort hotel rooms than you can shake a stick at. It's the undisputed king of vacation resorts, and with good reason. They can provide an experience unmatched anywhere else in the world. |
![]() |
![]() |
Universal Orlando is Disneyworld's biggest competition in Orlando. Islands of Adventure, one of the two Theme Parks here, is an equal to any Disney park in America in terms of themeing, attractions, food and ambiance. Anyway, with two Theme Parks, three on-site hotels (run by Loews Hotels) and a nightclub venue, it's more like Disneyworld than anything else East of the San Andreas Fault. |
Seaworld is a venue I only went to because
a friend wanted to go there. It's a day trip, and if you've never been to a
Seaworld, it's an interesting experience. They too, like Universal, has to
compete with Disney, so there's a lot of Disneyesque type venues, but underneath
it all, it's a bunch of creatures that have a lot of learned behaviors. Just like us.
There's also a page on Marineland of the Pacific from 1969, which is vaguely, sorta connected to Seaworld... |
![]() |
![]() |
Kennedy Space Center is the real deal. It's history, it's facts, and it's deals more with reality than any other theme park in Florida. But in the end, reality never could compete with Fantasy and Thrill Rides. |
Trip Reports
This is a quick index into the trip reports. Go here for the full page... Quick IndexDates of the Trip | Event Location / Where I stayed | Who was with me | # images | Highlights of the Trip |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 29 to Oct 5, 2002 | Walt Disney World/Caribbean Beach Resort Universal Orlando/Royal Pacific Resort |
Bruce | None | First time at a Disney Resort |
Oct 17 to Oct 27, 2007 | Great Smoky Mountain NP-Blue Ridge Pkwy-Kennedy Space Center Walt Disney World/Saratoga Springs Resort Universal Orlando/Portofino Bay Resort |
PiC | 960 | Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party |
Dec 12 to Dec 22, 2008 | Walt Disney World/All-Star Music and Port Orleans-French Quarter Universal Orlando/Royal Pacific Resort |
Bruce | 709 | RADP 13, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, Christmas in Disney World |
Dec 2 to Dec 13, 2009 | Walt Disney World/Kidani Village, Animal Kingdom Lodge Venice Island/Inn at the Beach |
PiC | 622 | The Varsity RADP Meet, RADP 14, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, Gulf Beaches |
June 16, 2010 | The Disney Store, Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL | PiC | 32 | D23 Event - Toys Story 3/Jessie Doll, Joan Cusack meet&greet |
Dec 5 to Dec 14, 2010 | Walt Disney World/Old Key West Resort | PiC | 484 | Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, RADP 15, Christmas in Disney World |
Feb 21, 2011 | MCA Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | PiC | 20 | D23/Walt Disney Studios Platinum Edition Bambi Screening, Donnie Dunagan and Andreas Deja Meet&Greet |
May 8 to May 17, 2011 | Walt Disney World/Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary Resorts | PiC, Jenny | 1042 | D23/Destination D: WDW 40th |
June 25, 2011 | AMC Loews, 600 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL | PiC | None | D23/Cars 2 Cross Country Screening Event |
Aug 15 to Aug 22, 2011 | Walt Disney World/Coronado Springs Resort | Jenny, Cathy | 494 | A Meat Meet, Rain, Typhoon Lagoon |
Sep 26 to Oct 4, 2011 | Walt Disney World/2BR Villa, Saratoga Springs Resort | Miss Marie, Jenny | 561 | Taking my mobility impaired Mom to Disney World, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party |
Dec 4 to Dec 14, 2011 | Walt Disney World/Port Orleans - Riverside | Jenny, Cathy | 1084 | D23/2012 Magic and Merriment, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, Cinderella Castle Dream Suite Visit |
Mar 3 to Mar 12, 2012 | Walt Disney World/2BR Villa, Kidani Village, Animal Kingdom Lodge | Miss Marie, Jenny | 826 | Taking Mom to Disney World again, D23/John Carter preview |
June 24, 2012 | MCA Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | PiC | None | D23's Disney FaNNIVERSARY 2012 |
Sep 27 to Oct 6, 2012 | Walt Disney World/Art of Animation Resort | Miss Marie, Jenny | 1251 | D23's Epcot 30th Anniversary Celebration, D23's Super Scream (Dinner in Great Movie Ride), D23's 2012 Sip & Scream |
March 10, 2013 | MCA Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | PiC | 3 | D23's Disney FaNNIVERSARY 2013 |
December 4, 2013 | The Music Box Theater, Chicago, IL | PiC | None | D23's Mary Poppins and Saving Mr. Banks Preview Event |
September 6, 2014, 10:30am show | MCA Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | PiC | None | D23's Disney FaNNIVERSARY 2014 |
- 01/14/2011 - Photographing the parks section removed
- 07/22/2011 - Page redesigned, moved Trip Reports to their own page
- 02/10/2012 - Theme Parks and Trip Reports recombined, updated to new format
- 11/10/2012 - Made Trip Reports its own page again, minor updates
- 12/30/2012 - Update to v3.1
- 08/31/2014 - Update to v3.2