Have you ever thought about having an affair?

I think, in time, it returns… :slight_smile:

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I’m going to qualify this by adding, “and visual spectacle” — e.g. icicles on Cindarella’s castle, Hogwart’s castle, HEA, etc.

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we made the trip to sesame place one road trip two years back. We were waiting for our shuttle and another Mom commented when the van pulled up- wow this is nothing like Disney. And after our trip I can say It’s true. Disney just does a lot of things really well.

I’m saving a screenshot of this. It might come in handy someday:

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Unwittingly you’ve made a pun.

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Once again, you’re on the wrong forums! :wink:

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My last trip to WDW I took so many photos of the slovenly conditions of WDW facilities; it started as a joke, but then I was hooked. I’m comparison, SW was gorgeous. I’ve also enjoyed Many trips to Sesame Place and both Busch Gardens over the years have always been blown away by how pretty they are.

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I don’t have kids so I can’t say I’ve had “many” trips, but I’ve walked through just to look. The Tampa version is amazing but I found the Williamsburg one less so. But BGW also has the “dragon” area by Germany which is quite beautiful. On the whole, I think either BG park is second only to WDW in theming; BGW is my favorite non-Disney Park.

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I really enjot Sea World. I have much more experience with the San Diego park than I do with Orlando, but I find them to be an excellent mix of animal exhibits/shows and rides. Although not “immersively themed”, the parks are still quite attractive and very well maintained. If I have any complaints about the SW/BG enterprise, it’s the food. When it first opened the food at BGW was excellent, but over the years it has degraded to not much better than mall food court fare. I found BGT, on my last visit a few years ago, to be about the same (although their “dining plan” is a much better deal than Disney’s. It’s been too long since I’ve eaten at SW Orlando to be able to give current comments.

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All in all theming isn’t as important to me as it is to some, but I do strongly prefer parks that have plants and trees to the whole concrete jungle that is working in our local Six Flags… (but to be fair they’ve had some good years, too).

Now - DOLLYWOOD was super beautiful both times I visited it. :slight_smile:

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I have to agree here. I found Pigeon Forge, in general, to be pretty nasty, but Dollywood was surprisingly pretty, had excellent rides, food, and entertainment, and had a generally “nice” feel to it. I hope to get back again sometime.

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I, too, am a coaster enthusiast and have been to all the North American Six Flags, Cedar Fair (save Valley Fair), Busch/Sea World, and Disney Parks.

Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa are probably the closest to smack dab in the middle between the Disney/Universal world and the regional (SF/CF) world. Good theming, good shows, decent food, decent attractions, great coasters run very poorly capacity-wise. I haven’t been to Alton or Blackpool, but I think Sea World would be comparable. Kraken is great. Manta is fantastic. I’ve heard Mako is the best coaster in Orlando, though it would be hard for me to remove the title from Rock n Roller Coaster or the runner up, Revenge of the Mummy (RIP Fire Dragon)). Sea World is SO much better than “super tall roller coaster in the parking lot” but not quite as much magic as Disney.

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Oh, Silver Dollar City and Dollywood are both also very nice parks but still feel way more like regional themers than major destinations. That said Branson and Pigeon Forge are major tourist destinations so a lot of aspects of those parks are destination oriented.

The title of this thread makes me chuckle every time I read it. :joy:

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I found this board as I was checking up on how to deal with possible onslaught of visitors this Dec and SWGE as I planned a Christmas MVMCP trip. Thanks to this thread I’m 75% sure I’ll do
Discovery cove, three days SeaWorld and two days MVMCP. Plus a day to visit friends in Tampa.

So.
Thank you. :sunglasses:

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If you are going to Tampa you MUST visit Busch Gardens!

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We enjoyed BGT in 2014. It was a fabulous park. But our visit with friends will likely take an entire day, and I don’t know if I will want to drive back over to Tampa another day, although I knew it would be included in the Discovery Cove/Seaworld package.
I have not ruled it out, but I also must take into consideration that the MVMCP nights will be extremely late. Driving to Tampa the next morning might be pushing myself a little harder than I should.

There will be a special Christmas display?

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There will be?

Yes!