Originally Posted By Mr X ***I have been to Florida once, and will probably not go more than five more times in my life unless a lot changes. I will be going there to see WDW, and I want Disney immersion, and I want to be near the parks*** First off, thanks very much for your input, particularly in answer all three of my scenarios (I don't think too many people answered all three!). But secondly, are you saying that you will under no circumstances venture away from WDW to see ANY of what Florida has to offer for your whole life? If so, that's kind of a bummer. Aside from quite a few great theme park offerings in Central Florida beyond DisneyWorld, the state of Florida does have a lot to offer including gorgeous beaches on the East and West Coasts, Tampa/Clearwater Beach which is probably my favorite beach on the planet thus far, Kennedy Space Center, the Everglades and the Keys, Key West, Ft Lauderdale and Miami which is a pretty awesome city (these are just a handful of the highlights, there is a LOT to see and do in Florida!).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I don't really get why so many people wouldn't want to stay at this new resort*** I have to say the responses thus far have been even more surprising than I expected!
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I have been to Florida once, and will probably not go more than five more times in my life unless a lot changes*** On that note, I would say that you never know. There was a time in my life when I wondered if I've ever have the chance to see Disneyland or WDW again, given my means and circumstances at that time. Since that time, I've been to Disneyland a few times, spent at least 100 or so days visiting the WDW parks, and some 50 or so days visiting Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea plus a visit to Hong Kong Disneyland all of which were entirely off my radar at that time. So, you never know. At the very least, I would encourage you not to limit yourself to other potentially wonderful experiences that you might want to check out because you feel that somehow you MUST stay only in DisneyWorld because that might be one of your very few chances to visit (who knows, perhaps seeing more of the world around "The World" might open up new horizons for you somehow).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>> the state of Florida does have a lot to offer including gorgeous beaches on the East and West Coasts, Tampa/Clearwater Beach which is probably my favorite beach on the planet thus far, Kennedy Space Center, the Everglades and the Keys, Key West, Ft Lauderdale and Miami which is a pretty awesome city (these are just a handful of the highlights, there is a LOT to see and do in Florida!).<<< as a Californian who has been to all those places too, the only one I would recommend to a Californian is Kennedy Space Centre (though you did forget St Augustine, which would also be on my list too)
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo x - in this instance I think you may be barking slightly up the wrong tree. WDWDreamin' has been to KSC and also is a global traveller. I don't want to put words in her mouth (or on the page), but perhaps it could be because there are far more interesting places on the planet to visit than WDW? Hence the 5 times in their life statement.
Originally Posted By Mr X Why would you not recommend visiting Miami, or Key West, or the Everglades? They are all awesome locales with tons of things to see and do. You misspelled "Center", by the way.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***perhaps it could be because there are far more interesting places on the planet to visit than WDW? Hence the 5 times in their life statement*** I guess I was thrown off by the "unless a lot changes" part of the statement. That would seem to imply the poster would like to go more if possible. That, plus the "WDWDreamin" handle...you can appreciate my confusion. ;p
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer And the native Floridian/Miamian wants to leave ASAP. Great place to visit... and then go back home. LOL
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>Why would you not recommend visiting Miami, or Key West, or the Everglades? They are all awesome locales with tons of things to see and do.<<< Hmmm, I would rather go to San Diego, Seattle or pretty much any coastal city other than Miami. Yes the art deco architecture of south Beach is ok, but california has heaps of Art Deco on the central coast too. Key West is an overrated tourist trap, a dump really. And the everglades is fine once, but I hate snakes, and bugs, stagnant water and humidity. The diversity of avarian life is impressive however.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo But having been there once, I am not compelled to go again. Desserts, mountains, cliffs, much more interesting. and if travelling for Biodiversity, Costa Rica, Borneo, Gallapogus, Madagascar etc. are much more interesting to me.
Originally Posted By WDWdreamin Sorry I was gone. Yes, last time we rented a car one day and went to the KSC. Next time we will definitely go to IOA for HP, and Gatorland. DH loves gators and we did swamp touring in New Orleans for him. I'm not really interested in the other places so much. You might be able to convince me otherwise though. I'm pretty sure we'll always make WDW our base of operations. The number of times is more based on my DH. He really views Disney trips as something that he does for me. And since my in-laws are in Europe when we have time and money we will likely spend time there (also throwing in touristy things). But you're right, I would like to go more. And DH did say "This isn't so bad" every day of our first WDW trip and he was the first to bring up "Next time, we'll make sure to...". So, we'll see.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper My community is bordered on two sides by the Everglads and I haven't seen snakes, bugs or stagnant water for a long time. In fact, we haven't had any significant humidity since November. That said, there are plenty of other places in the country that I'd prefer to spend time. And, of course, given the choice of an all expenses paid trip to WDW or Italy I'd be grabbing my passport.
Originally Posted By KatieKate123 WDWdreamin I totally understand that. My husband says he doesen't like to go to Disney World at all, but he goes every year for the girls. He would do anything for them. Though I think this will probably be our last Disney World trip for awhile. After this we would like to go to San Diego and other places. Anyways the more and more I thought about this new hotel. I would have to change my answer from never to maybe. See the thing is if I wanted to go to only Disney World, I would never go to this hotel, now if I wanted to go to other places is Fl maybe.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>>Key West is an overrated tourist trap, a dump really. And the everglades is fine once, but I hate snakes, and bugs, stagnant water and humidity. The diversity of avarian life is impressive however<<<< Funny, I found KW to be very likable... there's a lot of charm and quirk there, and lots of very specific history. It's a unique place. Agreed on the Everglades. Good for a visit... if you don't live next to it.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I think after hearing so many things about Key west over the years, being a native Californian and having been to most states, over 60 countries, and lots of wonderful island environments from the Caribbean, to Hawaii, to the Canaries and Balearics, Tahiti and Mauritius, coupled with the lovely buildings of Cape Cod, Coronado, Monterey, I suppose I was expecting something better. We went on a historical walking tour as well as the ship wreck museum, Papa's house and a few bars. And I left thinking it was a pleasant day, but nothing special, and no where I would ever try to travel to. But milegae would vary. If I lived in Tennessee or the mid west my whole life and rarely travelled, I am sure I would feel very differently about the place.
Originally Posted By Mr X Liking somewhere or not is certainly a matter of preference. I would never claim that Florida is somehow superior to other destinations for whatever reason. I would go so far as to say that, as far as the continental U.S. is concerned at least, it's a pretty interesting place for a number of reasons... I suppose you could take ANY destination and make claims as to why other places are far superior (or far worse for that matter), and if I had the world at my fingertips I'm sure I'd happily find all sorts of out of the way places to visit that were superior to others in one way or another. I guess I think fondly of Florida because it was the place I used to escape to in my dreams, mostly thanks to Walt Disney who built a theme park there, but beyond that I found lots to love and enjoy about the place, despite the many flaws that people might point out (flaws which, if you look closely enough, you can find just about anywhere, just in different varieties...THIS place is too hot, THIS place has too much crime, THIS place is boring, etc, etc...).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Agreed, but given WDWDreamin in a west coaster with lots of reasons to go to Europe, I could not in good conscience recommend a special trip. As it is, we went there as a part of a cruise, and there is a small part of me that wished we just stayed on board and had a massage or something. Glad we saw it once, but if we drove down or flew down especially, I think we would have been very disappointed. The place felt like Jack London Square in the bay area, or canary row in Monterey. Then again, I have little love for Florida anyway. For the effort, the caribbean would be my recommendation first.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I have little love for Florida anyway*** We never would've guessed! Slimy? Mudhole? My *home* this is!
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Florida has some wonderful state, regional and county parks including many with historical or natural significance. The hundreds of miles of beaches ain't too shabby either. And, while the country was digging out of one of the biggest snowstorms in decades the only state in the union that didn't have snow was...Hawaii. Oh, and while folks in Dallas were dodging falling ice I had a nice bar-b-q the evening of the Super Bowl. There are baby boomers across the country who just experienced a brutal winter. When home sales start picking up again in the US I will put money on Florida being right at the top in new and resold homes.
