I
sure do love Disneyland...but I definitely don't
always love the way Management tries to gouge the guests. I'm not
talking about above-standard prices for food or prominently placed
souvenir shops. That's par for the course for any theme park, and at
least at Disneyland, the food is decent and the souvenirs don't fall
apart during the drive home.
I'm
talking about the way they charge you upwards of a hundred bucks a
head just to walk through the front gate...and then
spend the day trying to upsell you all these little “magical”
add-ons. Character Dining. VIP viewing for parades and shows. Disney
Vacation Club memberships, for
Pete's sake. And the advertising all heavily insinuates that if you
don't buy these
things, if you just go to freaking Disneyland
and ride some freaking rides
and meet some freaking characters
after waiting in line like normal humans, then you and/or your kids
are missing out and
your visit isn't truly magical
and I'd better stop before I vomit. Seriously, can you believe these
people?
I've
got news for them...and for any potential guests who might be
suckered in by the marketing copy: It is Disneyland.
It's magical just as it is, without expensive add-ons. Is it fun to
have Goofy come pal around with you during dinner? Sure. But it's not
necessary in order to
have a top-notch visit to the park.
I
think there are two groups of people who fall for the...let's call it
the Extended Warranty model of Disneyland visiting. There are those
who are vacationing from out of state, who have never been before (or
not for many years) and may never get to visit again, and who not
only want to absolutely maximize
their trip, but have little to no idea what do to without help, and
turn to the readiest source of help available: Disneyland's own
website.
I'm
not really talking to them. (They're probably not going to read this
blog anyway.) This is for the second group. These are the people who
visit Disneyland often and know damn well what they're doing...but
maybe visit so often
that a normal, ride-some-rides-and-meet-some-characters kind of day
doesn't always quite do it. So they maybe consider buying some extra
goodies in order to jazz things up. If that's really what you want to do and you will accept no substitutes...I guess I
can't help you. But if you're conflicted—if you need ideas for ways
to spice up your otherwise routine visits to the park without further
enriching those money-grubbing jerks—then I am pleased to introduce
Unauthorized Fun,
a post category for doing just that. In posts with this label, you'll
find ideas for Disneyland-based games, activities, and “quests”
that won't cost you a dime extra...or if they do, it won't be many
dimes, and they won't be funneled directly into Bob Iger's pockets.
And now, without further ado...
