Disney -- Big Entertainment, Bigger Rip-Off

Walt Disney World is a great family place for entertainment. It has good rides, provides a fun atmosphere, brings back memories of youth and is, perhaps, the biggest rip-off I have ever seen.

What happens when you go to Walt Disney World? You have fun, that's a given... but you also spend a lot of money. My wife and I purchased a five day "Park Hopper" pass, which means you can go to one or all of the Disney parks in one day, if you so desire. We never did that, but we did visit three of their parks.

Besides the tickets costing around $500 for the five day pass, and besides a hot dog and french fries costing $6.95, the incredible costs of international food at Epcot and the huge cost of souveniers (one cheaply-made T-shirt cost $30), the folks at Disney decided that since they provide parking, they should charge you for that, too.

I don't mind paying for parking. I believe that $5.00 per day would have been reasonable. They wanted $12.00 per day... or an additional $60 for those of us who chose to stay outside of the Disney resorts -- and those of us who did it this way were many.

I did some quick calculations and found that a family of four spending five days at the park, paying for tickets, meals, souveniers and snacks in the park, rental car and hotel would spend in excess of $2,000 for a five day vacation here. I think that is a bit much, and probably outside the budget of many families.

You know... the thing that bothered me most was not the prices inside the park or even the prices for the ticket, but that $12.00 parking charge. I go back far enough to remember when parking was free... now, they have found a new way to get more of your green into their pockets.

Okay, enough complaining. Of the parks we visited, I found Epcot to be the least entertaining and the most walking. Admittedly, this is a park that is more suited for adults (I heard more than one youngster complaining about having to be at this park rather than having fun at the Magic Kingdon, the water parks or one of the other fun-locations). I did go on several rides, but couldn't find the one I really wanted to try. Soaring was a ride that interested me, but I followed their maps and no matter how hard I tried, Icouldn't find it.

In any event, here I am standing in front of the dancing fountains with the geodesic dome in the background. You have to admit, there are a huge number of great photo ops in the Park. You just have to wait until you find a clear spot before you shoot -- and, depending on the day, that clear spot may never come.

Being a video guy I thought I would find Disney Hollywood Studios interesting, and there were parts that were. This picture is from the Indiana Jones presentation. As you can see I didn't shoot Indiana's stunt double, or the other actors and actions that the show contained, but I got, instead, pictures of the technical items that interested me.

This camera dolly and another item not pictured here, a rather large crane, were two things that I put on my wish list for the coming year. I won't get them, but I sure liked they way they worked. I had to see the show a second time because the first time through all I did was look at the equipment and how they did the special effects. The second time I watched it for the entertainment value, and it was done very well. I highly recommend it should any of you go there while it is still playing.

While Disney parks were interesting, I probably wouldn't go there again anytime in the near future. My favorite time was visiting the beach -- a one hour drive from Disney will land you on Alan Sheppard Beach in Cocoa Beach, Florida, which is right down the road from the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral.

The water was rough while we were there, and I freely admit I got "The Liver" beat out of me by the crashing waves. Red Flags were posted on the beaches indicating that there was a severe danger of rip tides, but I ignored them and went in anyway. I have to admit, the surf was really rough, though.

When not at Disney or the beach I was enjoying a couple of other favorite activities, like enjoying a good cigar on the veranda of the Condo, or having a drink with some good food at one of the local eateries (the picture on the right was taken at the Sail Fish Marina Restaurant on Singer Island, Palm Beach, Florida. Hey, good times, good drink, good food and a good smoke -- what more do you want on your vacation? No, wait a minute. Don't answer that! I probably don't want to know.