Biggest Tourist Disappointment?

[Blue-Jay]

Mine was the Alamo.

Growing up, I knew all the Alamo-lore about how the small group of men defended the mission against Santa Ana's army of 4000 or so. The names Colonel William Travis, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie were well known to me, and I read everything I could get my hands on about them.

So, I finally got the chance to visit San Antonio in about 1986 or so, and I was freakin' stoked! I was finally going to get to see that hallowed fortress of history. Maybe, I'd stand in the same place that Davy Crockett once stood. I could overlook the vast plains of Texas and imagine myself among those brave 189 men. I'd be able to see in my mind the dust rising on the horizon as the Mexican army advanced! How utterly COOL!

So I get off the plane and tell the taxi driver "Take me to the Alamo, my good man!" I didn't even drop my stuff off at the hotel first.

No plains. No imaginary Mexican army. No dust on the horizon.

Just a Woolworth's store across the street.

I had no idea that it was smack dab in town. It was a lot smaller than I had imagined too. I wondered "Why would anyone fight so hard for this? I'd have just said 'Here you go, Santa. Merry Christmas.'"

Then I walked across the street to buy some deodorant at Woolworth's because the heat reminded me that I had forgotten to pack some.

[GOPisEvil]

1. LOL!! I was going to say The Alamo before I even read your post!

And I grew up in San Antonio!!! LOL!

:boring:

Edit - the coolest part is the overlay that shows THE ORIGINAL Alamo and it's relationship to what's there now.

[Blue-Jay]

2. It was quite the buzz-kill.

Did you ever go to that Woolworth's? They had a nice selection of anti-perspirant, I'll give 'em that.

[GOPisEvil]

4. Yeah, I've been there. There's actually a lot more across the street now.

Did you head over to the Menger?

[Blue-Jay]

7. Never went there.

Although, "menger" sounds like a wonderfully dirty word that's just begging for a definition!

"While rolling out of bed the following morning, I slipped in the MENGER and cracked my coccyx."

[GOPisEvil]

19. The Menger is where Teddy Roosevelt gathered the Roughriders.

It's got a HUGE bar, supposedly with Carrie Nation hatchet marks. :D

Supposedly haunted, too. It's right next door to the Alamo.

[Aristus]

10. Having grown up in San Antonio myself, I've dealt with

tourist disappointment in the Alamo a great deal. I kept having to tell them: "This wasn't the whole thing; this was just the chapel." Most of downtown San Antone is built over what the Alamo originally was. It was a functioning frontier mission with barracks, stables, a smokehouse, a dining hall and of course, the fabled chapel.

Imagine if the Washington Monument was demolished down to the cornerstone, and a tourist saying, "This is it? The whole thing? Not very impressive."

[Blue-Jay]

15. Yes, you're absolutely correct of course.

Still.... It was like a rite of passage for me. It crushed my boyhood dreams of visiting my favorite place in history. The present had spoiled the past. It happens.

On the other hand, do you think that there's a convenience store across the street from the Taj Mahal? I doubt it. History means nothing to us, as Santayana (the other "Santa") would be quick to point out.

[Aristus]

22. It's all cyclical, the huckstering of national heritage, I mean.

When Washington D.C. was built, it was intended all along to be a shrine to democracy, with spacious parks, public places where the citizen would be supreme, lots of museums and thousands of monuments. By the time JFK was inaugurated, D.C. had been overrun with cheap motels, sleazy saloons, strip clubs, squalid neon advertisements, and so on. Jackie made it one of her tasks to clean up D.C. and get rid of the tawdry, tacky eyesores.
So D.C. is once again a place of spacious parks, museums and monuments.

Now if we can just do something about the thyroidal WWII monument, and the big, ugly, expensive Ronald Reagan Building..........

[Dookus]

3. LOL...

"Here you go, Santa. Merry Christmas."

I oughtta nominate this post for the front page.

[Blue-Jay]

8. <bows>

Just think: If things had worked out differently in 1836, I would have bought my deodorant at EL Woolwortho's!

[MuseRider]

5. That was one.

A couple of years ago we were driving from an Idaho river trip through parts of the Northwest. At one point I saw a sign that pointed to the last camping site of Lewis and Clark. Well, I just had to see it so we got off the road and drove and drove. The kids were complaining, my husband was whining and we finally got there. It was a little park by the ocean, really little with a broken down totem pole and a crappy sign. That was it. Still, I made a point to get out and walk around so I could say I had been there. I STILL hear about that but our stop to see the oldest tree was pretty cool, my idea as well.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Disney World

because it is so fake. I liked it the first time I went, but the next time....sorry, it wasn't real. Way too commercial, too.

[donco6]

12. Sorry ayeshahaqqiqa, but couldn't help laughing . . .

You didn't like Disney World because it was FAKE? Isn't that like not liking ice cream cause it's so sweet and cold?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

17. Guess so

but realize I saw it when it had just opened...and then went back for Epcot's opening. I hadn't been to Disneyland, and not to any other amusement park at that time, and was expecting something different.

[donco6]

23. I know what you mean.

It just struck me as funny for some reason.

But then, I'm odd that way.

[Red State Rebel]

32. I'm with you on DW

I was totally disappointed. Of course the horrible heat and humidity didn't help...or the fact that I hadn't slept the night before and every time I sat down I started to fall asleep.....

Just didn't seem to be much to get excited about.

[mr blur]

72. Disneyland, Florida

It was full of excited middle-aged men video-ing Micky's house. What's that about?

[koopie57]

9. For my job we went on a familiarization

tour of South Dakota. I was 21-years-old and they served alcohol on the bus to loosen everyone up and get us to mingle with one another. The tour guide told this story about a little town in South Dakota named Puckwana and they had a little college named Puck U. He wanted to take us there but couldn't cuz we didn't have time for the detour. Several years later my husband and I went to South Dakota and the only thing I wanted to do was get a sweatshirt from Puck U. We drove hundreds of miles out of our way and when we got there is was six tumbled down houses, a gas station and dirt main street complete with dust blowing. There was one old man walking the streets wearing a plaid pair of pants, a sombrero and an orange shirt, I kid you not.

[Speck Tater]

11. World's largest ball of string.

Somewhere out in the desert on Route 66 when I was a kid back in the 1950's.

[HuckleB]

13. You expected more from a ball of string?

[Speck Tater]

21. hehe.

I was a kid. I expected a REALLY big ball of string! Like Grand Canyon big, or at least Yankee Stadium big. But no! It was only Volkswagen bus big.

[realisticphish]

26. "It was the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota"

Wierd Al :)


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[DS1]

14. NY Hall of Science - most laughable museum ever

http://www.nyhallsci.org/

[HuckleB]

As a kid, Universal Studios and Disneyland.

Talk about overrated, even for a kid. No wonder I avoid "amusement" park nonsense as an adult.

[NMDemDist2]

16. Grand Canyon Rail Road n/t

[TheMightyFavog]

18. Wall Drug.

http://www.walldrug.com/

All those fucking signs for hundreds of miles..... Had to talk my parents into letting me go. What a fucking rip.

[Viking12]

70. Hey that's mine....

The certainly do have a great marketing tool -- 300 miles of desolate South Dakota and all those pesky signs to break up the monotony.

[AntiCoup2K4]

20. Yeah, I thought the Alamo was boring as well

...Hell, I had more fun at the Lone Star brewery, and I wasn't even old enough to drink beer at the time.

[Amaya]

24. When I went to South Dakota

Mt. Rushmore and Wall Drug. Boring........... :boring:

The Badlands were awesome though :)

[Magrittes Pipe]

25. Springfield.

I was all excited like "ooh! I get to meet Blue-Jay" but it was just the same shithole I grew up in. :(

[Blue-Jay]

28. It's YOUR fault!

Name me ONE time when it was ever a "good idea" to start drinking tequila!

(yeah. I may have front-loaded a little bit before going to Station 1)

[Magrittes Pipe]

33. It is ALWAYS a good idea to drink tequila.

Always.

[Blue-Jay]

27. Second Biggest Tourist Disappointment: Graceland!

Again, it was smaller than I had figured and across the street from a KFC.

You get some headphones that "guide" you through the house. On the tour, you can see the Jungle Room, the gaudy basement, his handgun collection, the living room (complete with pics of the King's parents), etc...

Can't go upstairs, though! Can't gawk at the toilet where Elvis began his dirt-nap! Can't take pictures!

The only thing that was a bonus was whe I tore a small chunk off of the semicircular "wailing wall" that overlooks Elvis' grave.

The Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale saved the entire weekend. Good food and good music. I got to sit in with a band that featured one of the original sax-players from Sam & Dave. The guitar player was the "wokka wokka" guy from the Shaft theme song.

[Misunderestimator]

29. Oh yeah.... the Alamo sucks... quite lame.

that'd be my choice.

[medeak]

30. Vegas!

If you've ever been to Paris of Italy....it's offensive to see their replications.

[Rabrrrrrr]

31. Williamsburg in Virginia

And that one is SUPPOSED to be a really good one, not just a rotten old worn down yucko place.

I was utterly underwhelmed there. Underwhelmed enough that I won't go back, even just to check if "maybe I hit it on a bad day" or something.

No, it just sucked.

I've been to other "old world villages" that were FAR cheaper and smaller than Williamsburg, and were MILES more entertaining and intelligently done.

Nope, no more Williamsburg for Rabrrrrrr.

By the way, I was in my late 20s when I was there, so it wasn't an age thing.

[The_Gopher]

45. you mean you didn't enjoy the demonstration on churning butter?

[JackDragna]

34. Buckingham Palace.

Pay 20 bucks or so to be taken on a tour of about 18 rooms. Wow. If any of you go to London, skip this overblown spot and go to Sir John Soames' house.

[lazarus]

35. ICR

Institute of Creation Research.

http://www.icr.org/museum/

It's 2.9 miles from my house, and the temptation to stop by is soooooo strong.

Hey, they have a graduate school, too!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. The Kyoto Imperial Palace

left over from the days when Kyoto was the capital of Japan.

It's supposed to be some big deal, and foreign tourists get to jump the line on reservations, but when you arrive, some uptight guide takes you on a twenty-minute walk past a bunch of non-descript buildings, none of which you are allowed to go inside. I asked why, and the guide bristled and mumbled something about respecting the Imperial family's privacy. Of course, the Imperial family doesn't live there and hasn't since 1868, so I don't know what that's all about. Of course, I have to remember that the Kyoto Palace is managed by the Imperial Household Agency, which is run by people who are excessively hung up on formality and tradition even by the generous standars of Japan.

In fact, you have to buy the souvenir booklet to find out the history of the complex and what the interiors look like.

And the Tokyo Imperial Palace has nicer grounds. The Imperial family's living quarters are hidden from public view by thick stands of trees, but you get to see the fortifications and moats of Edo Castle and a grove containing one of every species of tree known to grow in Japan, as well as some nice gardens and buildings.

[Rabrrrrrr]

43. I'm so glad I didn't waste my time trying to get tickets to it

I did walk around the grounds, which were beautiful, but overall, not so much to see, really. The temples and ceramic shops were much better. :-) Especially the temples, and particularly the ones I didn't have to pay 10 bucks to get into...

But yeah, even from the literature I had about the Imperial Palace, it sounded like "If you are a foreigner, you can get inside, which the locals can't without permission from Tokugawa's ghost, but you won't get so far inside that you'll see anything other than the doors to the places you can't go. But they're nice doors - part of Japan's extraordinary heritage. (crap, and now I can't remember the phrase they used everywhere for historic stuff)

[prolesunited]

37. Mammoth Cave

I love caves and had high expectations because the one was so famous. However, there wasn't much to it, just BIG. I went to several other caves in the area, though, that had fabulous formations.

[Blue-Jay]

38. You want caves?

Check http://cavern.com/ohiocaverns/">this out! It's about 45 minutes from my place.

[prolesunited]

42. Very cool!

Can we go? Can we go? Can we go? Pleeeeeeeease. ;-)

[Blue-Jay]

49. Yeah.

We can go. :)

[prolesunited]

65. Goody, goody!

You do know I'm holding you to it. :-)

[ProfessorGAC]

39. Laughing Hard About That

When i was a kid, i made my family go to every cave, cavern, and hole in the ground that was nearby when we vacationed.

We went to Mammoth when i was 14. I insisted we take the LONG tour. Almost 4 hours of wandering around underground, with NOTHING to see except for the snowball room and the cool deposition room in the last 10 minutes. My sister was 3 at the time, so my dad, me, and my cousin Dave had to take turns carrying her, moving her up and down the ladders, etc.

What a waste of 4 hours!
The Professor

[dryan]

40. I liked the Alamo

In 1985 I attended a conference in San Antonio and I visited the Alamo not once but twice and I was very impressed. The docents are all descendants of the men that fought there. Of course the city has expanded and yes there is a Woolworth's across the street, but what do people expect that the church would be out in the middle of nowhere! San Antonio is a big town. Another thing I liked about the Alamo is that in the long barracks is a great exhibit of items that belonged to people on both sides including a magnificent robe that had belong to Santa Ana. He was a great admirer of Napoleon and fashioned his wardrobe after him.

[pmbryant]

44. Glad to see someone defending the Alamo

It's certainly nothing spectacular to see, or much to visit, but it doesn't deserve the bad rap it's getting in this thread. It's a historical site and museum, that's all. What else do people expect? Even back when the battle happened, it was a run down, abandoned Spanish mission and almost certainly not much to look at.

How is it any more "disappointing" than any other legendary battlefield? Like Gettysburg or Antietam.

:shrug:

Peter

[GOPisEvil]

46. I think the other missions in San Antonio are more interesting.

I urge people to start at the Alamo and work south to the other missions.

My favorite has always been Espada, partly because it is less crowded, partly because it's just cool. :-)

[pmbryant]

47. Definitely

Each of the others is quite neat in its own way. Concepcion has always been my favorite, though.

--Peter

[Bridget Burke]

61. Visiting all the missions is highly recommended.

I went in March about 10 years ago. It was a cool, misty day--childhood visits had been under the beating sun, of course.

Driving south along the river, we passed the ranch of the Charro association. A charro on his horse was just visible through the trees. And there's an aquaduct; each year, it seems, they're uncovering more of the old water system. The outlying missions are also parish churches, staffed by Franciscans. The whole park is jointly operated by the National Park System & the Diocese of San Antonio.

It's a real trip to the past. Then you turn around & in half an hour you can be sitting on the Riverwalk, drinking cactus margaritas at Zuni.

(None of which has anything to do with Disney's Davy Crockett--but I got over that long ago.)

[Blue-Jay]

48. It's not that I don't recognize it's historical significance.

It just wasn't up to my lofty boyhood standard that I had imagined. Kind of a let-down, ya know.

[pmbryant]

53. Darn those lofty boyhood standards! ;-)

Yes, I will admit the Alamo as an event is just a bit over-hyped. :-)

Peter

[XNASA]

50. I agree. I thought that the Alamo was a very somber, very beautiful place.

And the other Missions were also great. We did all of them in one day a few years back. We loved it.

[Beware the Beast Man]

41. I too was going to say the Alamo!

Funny...I went there while visiting my dad in Texas. I pictured some huge, inpenetrable fortress and was dismayed to see a one-story hut. Oh yeah, and there's no basement :silly:

[hyphenate]

51. New Orleans

The French Quarter. I arrived at Metairie at an ungodful hour, and the humidity was so thick it lay like a curtain from the airport all the way in to the city. I had a room at the Sheraton on Canal Street, and it was like the 26th floor. Beautiful view of the Mississippi Delta. I met some friends early the next morning, and we went to the French Quarter to eat.

The humidity was horrendous. For the three days I was there, it just "sat" there--with just a few showers now and then to break it on occasion. That night, the French Quarter did come alive. But the following morning, I took a drive myself around, and it was actually quite sad in the daytime. The houses were largely in need of repair, and there was definitely a tinge of poverty pervading the whole place. It was, as they say, the difference between day and night. In the daylight, the enchantment seemed forced and mostly a tourist attraction. In the evening, the people were what made the place special, not the places. Doors to places opened, with rich jazz emanating from within, people gathering together to have fun--that made it special. But that naked light of day stuff kind of made it all so cheesy and even sleazy.

[ChoralScholar]

67. Yeah... I took some pictures in the daytime

to capture the overwhelming "oh... how sad..." feeling

[TX-RAT]

52. The Thing

Just off interstate 10 in Arizona. I went by it for 20 yrs before we finally stopped. What a joke.

[Blue-Jay]

54. Ben Grimm lives in Arizona?

What is "the thing"?

[TX-RAT]

55. Huge collection of curio shops and relics

Part museum part garage sale.

[Tracer]

56. Definitly, Disney World.

While visiting my mother in Florida, my daughter whined enough to go to DW for me to make the 4 hour drive to Orlando .

It was cold and windy, but I was sort of up for it. But was shocked, shocked I tell you, when I discovered Main Street wasn't full of "attractions", but cheap souvenir shops!

The lines!! We spent all of the day waiting in 2 (count 'em) lines just for the unimpressive thrill of going on that train thing and the space mountain thing.

The cost!!! Tried to find a place to eat lunch that wouldn't break the bank and finally settled for a smelly, dirty joint that sold (cold) hot dogs.

Never, never again.

[XNASA]

57. The San Jacinto Monument

Taller than the Washington Monument and located deep within the bowels of the Houston Ship Channel, the San Jacinto Monument is the worst Tourist attraction I've ever been to.

It lacks charisma, screams "Look at me....I'm really something!" and the surrounding area smells like somebody's cesspool overflowed.

I've been to every tourist trap from Maine to California and the SJM is the worst place I've ever been.

[GOPisEvil]

60. The monument is ok. The surroundings suck.

It's depressing and it smells horrible. I think we should change it to be a monument of failed environmental policies, particularly El Shrubbo's.

[XNASA]

62. There's nothing there except a big concrete phallus.....

And a gigantic wading pool with green water in it. The only vendor there was selling 'Meat-on-a-Stick'.

It's a horrible wretched place.

[GOPisEvil]

64. LOL! Yeah, that's true.

Uh...I'm afraid to ask what the "meat" was.

[Bridget Burke]

66. That's not true: what about the Battleship Texas?

It sure helped Sam Houston beat Santa Ana.

If disappointed by the Alamo, you're still surrounded by downtown San Antonio, which has lots more to offer. At the San Jacinto Battleground, you're surrounded by a flat mosquito-ridden marsh & 9 million petrochemical plants.

[XNASA]

68. I had forgotten about the battleship. Hehe.

I try to stay as far away from the Ship Channel as possible.

True story about the Monument: When we lived in Houston, my wife got a couple of free tickets to a Santa Ana battle re-enactment at the SJM. Naturally it was 95 degrees, with 95% humidity and no breeze, you know.....a typical Summer's day in Houston.

No refreshments available. No shade anyplace. And when we tried to get into the Hospitality Tent, we were turned away because we didn't have a Texas Daughters of the Confederacy Meal Ticket, even though there were no signs posted anyplace outlining the procedure. Besides, they said, they were out of food and drink, which made me wonder what all those people were doing in line in the first place.

[jus_the_facts]

58. Well..I'd appreciate gettin' to BE a tourist....even a disappointed one..

....but ALAS....us POORER-THAN-DIRT LOSERS get to be highly disappointed in our own back yards. :cry:

oh but I live in a ghetto and don't even HAVE a back yard...so my disappointment is CEMENTED! :eyes:

[livetohike]

59. Returning to the Outer Banks after

ten years (1993)and being so disappointed at the commercialism. My husband and I were shocked. We will never go back and prefer to remember the way it was in the "good old days".

Well, maybe we will return to Ocracoke, but that's it.

[bif]

63. Mystery Spot in northern Michigan

My dad would never stop when we were kids. My brother and I finally went when we were in our late teens. Dad was right! Total tourist trap.

[SarahB]

69. Lake George

Man, was that place past it's prime? :eyes:

[sus]

71. Colonial Williamsburg

big tourist trap. nothing but shops all over the place.

[GOPisEvil]

73. I'm pretty sure the first colonists were not greeted by

Native Americans selling plastic crap.

[The_Gopher]

77. the colonists loved outlet shopping! they loved pancakes, too!

[Sequoia]

74. That was just the chuch in the back of a large fort

but then they tore it down and built Woolworth's instead. Of course, that was many, many years later they built the store, the fort was demolished long before that.

[Sequoia]

75. Mormon Tabernacle:Salt Lake City

Small, not as large as I thought it would be. Rather rinky, dinky. But the city is clean. And, of course, I wasn't allowed in since I'm not a Laddi Da Saint.

[dolo amber]

76. The Grand Canyon

I had been stuffed in a Winebago with my parents and another family for over a week 'touring the West'. The second day out I got a bug of some sort and after puking my way from Salt Lake City, through Vegas, down the PCH...I was so fucking over it. I staggered my way out, looked at it for about 5 seconds, said "Yep. That's a canyon alright." then staggered back into the Winnie and passed out.

Now, clearly I may have enjoyed it more had I not been on the verge of death, but then again...I mean, it's like...a hole. :shrug: