Okay look, out of all the places I have travelled so far I still put Disney as the #1 place. There is a feeling I get from that place that is peerless. I am never more disapointed at flying home from somewhere than when I leave WDW. I do enjoy the all inclusive vacations where you just relax on the beach in Cuba, or Jamaica or Dominican and while I miss those places I also am ready to go back home for North American food. I get a feeling at those places, but its more just a relaxing feeling than anything.
But I certainly am able to appreciate other places that give you that depression when you leave them. In other words when you are there you feel you are in an "it" place. Here are examples for me:
New York City - Most notably Manhattan. I went for the first time in November 2011. My wife had been there and she knew what to expect. I thought I did but man was that place amazing. I kept thinking about the Frank Sinatra song "New York, New York" or Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" song. I officially "got" the reason why people sing about this city. The Empire State Building was so beautiful and New York was breathtaking from that viewpoint. Ground zero, Central Park, Times Square, NBC Studios, the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" restaurant, Little Italy, Chinatown, were among the highlights. Seeing a rehearsal for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was incredible. He tested out some jokes on us and he literally used those same jokes that night. I know because we watched it at our hotel. The sheer size of Manhattan was overwhelming. When we drove home I said to my wife that New York is the best city in the world. I understood the feeling from it.
Yankee Stadium - A seperate trip for me. I did it in 2007 with my brother in law. We drove down for a game, stayed overnight and drove home. That's it. The game was against our Blue Jays and it was a rain delay for two hours. But you know what? I didn't care. I was in the house that Ruth built. I felt every inch of it. All of the great Yankee players made a living here. They won here. There was a lot of baseball history here and it hit you like a shovel. There was an aura and a mystique at the old Yankee Stadium that I have never had in another sports venue. Maybe Fenway Park or Wrigley Field gives you that feeling too, who knows?
Universal Studios - If I am going there I am probably going to WDW as well. But there is no doubt it does have sort of a seperate feeling to it. The only knock I will say is that Universal is terrible at preserving their classics. There is almost too much of a "heat of the moment" feeling there. Getting rid of Jaws gives you that impression. How can the greatest box office smash of all-time (at the time) be expendable? But overall they do a good job and while the slogan there is that you "ride the movies" I can certainly feel it. E.T. feels just like the movie. Jurassic Park does too. Spiderman? Yeah pretty close. Good theming as well.
Honorable mention............
Niagara Falls - It loses a bit of its luster because I go there annually and only live a couple of hours away. The Canadian side is where it is happening. Some people call it "mini-Vegas". Yeah, maybe. But the sheer beauty of both falls are worth the trip. Then there is going under the falls, taking a boat ride as close as possible to the Falls and then just all the other attractions down the main strip. Haunted house fanatics would drool over the place. There are 5 of them there with 4 of them being very, very good. There's the wax museums, the casinos, the IMAX theatre, the Skylon tower which gives you a lovely view. Definitely loads to do at that place and a good 2-3 and you can see it all. It has its history as well. The only knock on Niagara Falls is that once you get outside the main tourist strip the city itself is sort of a dive.
Anyway, share some of your personal choices. I am assuming Disneyland will be on some lists. But what about other places in Southern California? Or Vegas? Or places in Europe? I'd like to hear them
But I certainly am able to appreciate other places that give you that depression when you leave them. In other words when you are there you feel you are in an "it" place. Here are examples for me:
New York City - Most notably Manhattan. I went for the first time in November 2011. My wife had been there and she knew what to expect. I thought I did but man was that place amazing. I kept thinking about the Frank Sinatra song "New York, New York" or Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" song. I officially "got" the reason why people sing about this city. The Empire State Building was so beautiful and New York was breathtaking from that viewpoint. Ground zero, Central Park, Times Square, NBC Studios, the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" restaurant, Little Italy, Chinatown, were among the highlights. Seeing a rehearsal for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was incredible. He tested out some jokes on us and he literally used those same jokes that night. I know because we watched it at our hotel. The sheer size of Manhattan was overwhelming. When we drove home I said to my wife that New York is the best city in the world. I understood the feeling from it.
Yankee Stadium - A seperate trip for me. I did it in 2007 with my brother in law. We drove down for a game, stayed overnight and drove home. That's it. The game was against our Blue Jays and it was a rain delay for two hours. But you know what? I didn't care. I was in the house that Ruth built. I felt every inch of it. All of the great Yankee players made a living here. They won here. There was a lot of baseball history here and it hit you like a shovel. There was an aura and a mystique at the old Yankee Stadium that I have never had in another sports venue. Maybe Fenway Park or Wrigley Field gives you that feeling too, who knows?
Universal Studios - If I am going there I am probably going to WDW as well. But there is no doubt it does have sort of a seperate feeling to it. The only knock I will say is that Universal is terrible at preserving their classics. There is almost too much of a "heat of the moment" feeling there. Getting rid of Jaws gives you that impression. How can the greatest box office smash of all-time (at the time) be expendable? But overall they do a good job and while the slogan there is that you "ride the movies" I can certainly feel it. E.T. feels just like the movie. Jurassic Park does too. Spiderman? Yeah pretty close. Good theming as well.
Honorable mention............
Niagara Falls - It loses a bit of its luster because I go there annually and only live a couple of hours away. The Canadian side is where it is happening. Some people call it "mini-Vegas". Yeah, maybe. But the sheer beauty of both falls are worth the trip. Then there is going under the falls, taking a boat ride as close as possible to the Falls and then just all the other attractions down the main strip. Haunted house fanatics would drool over the place. There are 5 of them there with 4 of them being very, very good. There's the wax museums, the casinos, the IMAX theatre, the Skylon tower which gives you a lovely view. Definitely loads to do at that place and a good 2-3 and you can see it all. It has its history as well. The only knock on Niagara Falls is that once you get outside the main tourist strip the city itself is sort of a dive.
Anyway, share some of your personal choices. I am assuming Disneyland will be on some lists. But what about other places in Southern California? Or Vegas? Or places in Europe? I'd like to hear them
