I thought I would share this

[Daniel Fiddler]

There was once a Kansas City newspaper journalist who was fired by his editor for "having no good ideas and a complete lack of imagination ".

He is deceased now, but his legacy lives on.

A small obscure Florida metropolitan area grew from approximately 300,000 population in 1979 to over 3.8 million in 2019.

I lived there for 4 years.

His theme park and resort complex draws a portion of 78 million tourists a year, more so than any other USA city, sparking their imagination, because, oh yeah, he lacked one.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'd argue that almost the entirety of that 78 million visitors lack imagination themselves and miss everything actually worth visiting in Orlando. 

[Daniel Fiddler]

Well, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are the parks for if you have children in your party or if you are a child at heart.  They aren't much fun if you are an adult who doesn't like to act like a child.  I had the most fun at Magic Kingdom when my younger brother and late sister were with me, especially my late sister, because even though they are / were adults, they like / liked to act like kids at Disney.  I am sure now that my younger brother has kids of his own, if and when we do go back, it will be even more fun, since they've never been.

Epcot and Hollywood Studios are for adults, especially Epcot.  Epcot is actually my favorite park, especially when I am alone.

Then again, I haven't been in 12 years, some might have changed, but when I lived in Florida, I was a pass holder.

[JayhawkCO]

I'd argue that almost the entirety of that 78 million visitors lack imagination themselves and miss everything actually worth visiting in Orlando.

I'd argue that Orlando is worth a miss altogether, but to each their own.

[Daniel Fiddler]

Well, Sarasota is actually my favorite vacation spot on the planet.  Of the places I have been to.  A lot of fond memories there.

I do enjoy Orlando, but I can see why some might not.  It's overcrowded, people who don't like crowds would loathe Orlando naturally.

[JayhawkCO]

Well, Sarasota is actually my favorite vacation spot on the planet.  Of the places I have been to.  A lot of fond memories there.

I do enjoy Orlando, but I can see why some might not.  It's overcrowded, people who don't like crowds would loathe Orlando naturally.

I don't mind crowds, but prefer crowds when in a place I feel there is culture.  In general though, yes, I prefer wide open spaces.

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^

I can tolerate crowds if I am aware of it and put myself in the correct mindset to deal with it.  The concept of willingly waiting in a line for 30-60 minutes go on a ride or paying extra to skip it feels like alien as an adult.

I'd argue that almost the entirety of that 78 million visitors lack imagination themselves and miss everything actually worth visiting in Orlando.

I'd argue that Orlando is worth a miss altogether, but to each their own.

I gave it a try living there for two years, it was the most boring place I lived in my adult life.  That said I wouldn't call it a "bad"  place to live, just boring.  Now ask me if I would have thought Orlando was great as a 8 year and you would definitely get a different opinion. 

I did like downtown and going for runs around Lake Eola.  I would also be lying if I didn't say that moving to Orlando was hugely beneficial for the long term career interests I'm cashing in on now.  The only two times I stepped in a Disney property when I lived in Orlando was to have dinner with my cousin from New Jersey and to explore what was left of Vineland.  Places like Ocala National Forest and Withlacoochee State Forest always caught more of interest.

I don't know, as an adult these theme parks have little value to me.  My wife wanted to see Epcot last year so at minimum it gave me a reason to feature all the weird Disney World freeways and signs on Gribblenation.  Old Tampa Highway was a decent palette cleanser for the end of that day.

[wanderer2575]

There was once a Kansas City newspaper journalist who was fired by his editor for "having no good ideas and a complete lack of imagination ".

He is deceased now, but his legacy lives on.

A small obscure Florida metropolitan area grew from approximately 300,000 population in 1979 to over 3.8 million in 2019.

I lived there for 4 years.

His theme park and resort complex draws a portion of 78 million tourists a year, more so than any other USA city, sparking their imagination, because, oh yeah, he lacked one.

He very well may have been lousy and displayed no imagination as a journalist, and it's a lesson that being lousy at one thing doesn't mean one will be a failure at everything.  For example, people who were lousy in school but did okay in future endeavors:  Thomas Edison, Richard Branson, Tom Cruise, Elton John, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, ...

(ETA:  That said, the only way I would ever again set foot in any Orlando theme park would be at gunpoint after I was kidnapped.)

[formulanone]

1) He was a cartoonist, not a journalist.

2) The newspaper didn't lay him off, a commercial art firm in Kansas City did (he was 18 at the time, it was seasonal work).

3) He added the theme park to Florida because the land was very cheap and further expansion in Anaheim was much more expensive.

[abefroman329]

3) He added the theme park to Florida because the land was very cheap and further expansion in Anaheim was much more expensive.

a) The land was probably cheap because the weather in Central Florida is godawful, at least compared to the coastal areas.
b) It wasn't just expansion that he had in mind; he also hated the fact that you could see many of Disneyland's attractions from the streets that surrounded it.
c) It would have been in St. Louis if the mayor hadn't laughed at his proposal to not sell alcohol at the park.

[abefroman329]

everything actually worth visiting in Orlando.

Which would be what, exactly?

[Max Rockatansky]

everything actually worth visiting in Orlando.

Which would be what, exactly?

Already noted above, look around Lake Eola in downtown. 

[Max Rockatansky]

A thought, how is a city that had over 100,000 residents and a major Interstate obscure in 1971?

[Daniel Fiddler]

I admit my favorite theme park I visited was Six Flags Great Adventure and second favorite is Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure.  I like theme parks both for the rides and for, if I go with family and friends, the memories associated with them.

Epcot and Hollywood studios do sell alcohol, and I think Animal Kingdom does too.  Magic Kingdom is the only major park that doesn't.  And you, if you reserve it 48 hours ahead of time, can get the Liberty Tree Tavern to cater you Cherry Chambord Ice Cream (which has a trace of alcohol in it) from Epcot for their chocolate lava cake, although they do not normally carry it.

Jackson, Tennessee has 68,000 in its city proper and 164,000 in its entire metropolitan area (Madison, Gibson, and Chester counties) and is on I-40 between Memphis (1.3 million) and Nashville (2.1 million).  How many people, other than us roadgeeks, do you know of who know where Jackson is, or would not confuse it with Jackson, Mississippi if I did not specify Tennessee?

[hbelkins]

There was once a Kansas City newspaper journalist who was fired by his editor for "having no good ideas and a complete lack of imagination ".

Journalists aren't supposed to have ideas or imaginations. They're supposed to report facts and events, not use their imaginations. We have a name for "journalism" with an imagination. It's called "fake news."

(And yes, I read the subsequent comment about Roy Walley Walt Disney being a cartoonist, but I still wanted to make the above point.) 

[Max Rockatansky]

Okay, but think back to 1971 when there is barely 200,000,000 people in the United States.  There are plenty of Midwestern cities that people knew about and still do that never really went much beyond the 100,000 resident mark.  Yeah that doesn't sound like a lot nowadays but that's way more substantial past tense.  The Navy Training Center opened in Orlando in 1969 so the community obviously had some sort of noteworthy nature to it even before Disney.  That's not even getting into things like Orlando being the junction of numerous notable railroads and highways.  Completely discounting what happened in Orlando pre-Disney really misses a lot of the things that point at why it grew into a large Metro Area now. 

[kevinb1994]

Orlando was already up and coming BEFORE Disney made his famous flyover in late 1963, when I-4 and Florida's Turnpike were being connected to each other. Why's that, you ask?

The military, of course. Which is also why Universal Orlando has been taking over land in and around the old Lockheed-Martin plant on Sand Lake Road. Disney is trapped in its own mouse-hole.