I thoroughly enjoyed this article having just come back from a week-long visit to Disney with grandparents and children. I joked with a friend upon returning that going to Disney is like childbirth - you forget how painful it is and keep going back. I have been more than a handfull of times over my middle-aged lifetime and I think I swore last time that I wouldn't return. Cinderella's Castle is a perfect symbol of my disappointment - the first sight of the castle leaves you breathless with excitement for your children, then you get there is there is nothing to it, just a facade. The crowds are outrageous. Most of Magic Kingdom is the same as when I was a kid. When you get on that haunted house ride for the 4th time (in your lifetime not in one day) after waiting over an hour in line you say "you've got to be kidding." Could Disney at least update ideas and technologies? The Country Bear Jamborie is another great example of dated and boring (although I must admit that my 4 year old liked it). The amount of gift shops is out of control. By the 4th day while visiting Universal Studios I felt frankly very depressed . Is it me or is that place dilapidated? Maybe Disney's ageing of the sets is too realistic and the place just feels run down. I can't quite understand the magnitude of the draw, but I do understand why we go. It is a right of childhood. Every parent wants their child to experience a world of beautiful dreams where their favorite characters come to life, where everthing is clean and beautiful and safe and where fantasies at least to some extent become reality. While the challenges of visiting Disney may be the walking and the waiting, the challenges of visiting another country are much more complicated. So, I'm not sorry I went but I hope my friend reminds me of my words if I ever think of going again.

UH HINT....UNIVERSAL IS NOT DISNEY!