Guilty Pleasure & Innocent Pain

This is an idea for a thread I've been kicking around for a while, but never posted because I don't know what the term for the opposite of a guilty pleasure is. I looked it up and there really doesn't seem to be one. The best I could find was innocent pain because those words are literally the opposite of the words guilty pleasure.

The point of this thread is to talk about the things we like about Walt Disney World that nobody else seems to be interested in (guilty pleasure), and the things that everyone else seems to like that you really don't understand (innocent pain).

Since old curmudgeons like me seem to have a far easier time being negative I'm also going to throw down one simple rule. That rule is that you have to post evenly. For every guilty pleasure, you should post an equal number of innocent pains. So let's get this started.

Guilty Pleasures: The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. After Pirates of the Caribbean, this is my second favorite attraction in Adventureland. Sure, it's not a ride or a show. There's no animatronics or story, and if it was built today it would be the themed queue for some other attraction. There's something inherently charming about it though. Maybe it's because I watched the movie a lot as the kid but I don't think anyone who has crossed that suspension bridge to the tree hasn't immediately imagined it as their house. It seems like a lot of people walk past it and I can't really blame them because the only moving part is the water wheel, but I always take a stroll through it at least once a visit, especially around nightfall.

Innocent Pain: Dinosaur. I really don't get this. Ok, maybe I kind of get it. I went on Indy in California and really liked that so the same ride system and track layout should be just as good right? Nope. The only way I can describe Dinosaur is, "being bounced around in the dark while an annoying guy says 'Not our dino' over and over." Somehow this ride seems to be incredibly popular. I like to think it's because it's in the Animal Kingdom which doesn't have a lot of rides to begin with and Dinosaur is the only dark ride in the whole park. I really can't see how anyone would genuinely think it's good.

Sounds fun!

Guilty Pleasure: I absolutely ADORE It's a small world. No one ever wants to ride with me, but it has been one of my favorites since my first trip when I was three. The song and the unparalleled Mary Blair style captures my attention and inspires me. As a little girl, I had a doll collection that was my pride and joy. My grandparents travel internationally as often as they can, and they always brought the most beautiful dolls for me. I have always wished they would make some small world dolls to sell in the stores, their little faces are so adorable.

Innocent Pain: Fantasmic. I have seen the show twice, once from the VIP section, and I just don't get it. The crowds are always such a nightmare, and the massive Pocahontas section is just not as impressive as it used to be. Maybe this is because even after years of vacations to Disney, I didn't see it until I was on the college program. My dad HATES crowds, and will always avoid them if he can, so we never really saw the nightime shows, although I do remember watching the MK fireworks from Tomorrowland.

It's amazing how much I agree with you, DancinBelle! However, I'll purposely choose differently, just to add variety.

Guilty Pleasure: I know it's changed, but I haven't seen the new version. El Rio Del Tiempo. I so enjoyed that ride. Just pure pleasure and happiness. Loved it.

Innocent Pain: Test Track. Does nothing for me. Not only that, but they got rid of one of my favorite attractions in WDW to put it in. :(

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Originally Posted by DancinBelle

Innocent Pain: Fantasmic. I have seen the show twice, once from the VIP section, and I just don't get it. The crowds are always such a nightmare, and the massive Pocahontas section is just not as impressive as it used to be.

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You need to see it in Disneyland. Then you'll get it. Trust me. :)

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Originally Posted by sbk1234

Innocent Pain: Test Track. Does nothing for me. Not only that, but they got rid of one of my favorite attractions in WDW to put it in. :(

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This may be a minority opinion in the general population, but I'm not sure that it is among Disney enthusiasts. I think you'd find many on this site who agree with you. I certainly do (though I'm hopeful that the refurb will improve things at least a little bit).

Guilty pleasure: Carousel of Progress. I know it bores some people, others see it as hopelessly old-fashioned, some are bothered by the 60-year jump between the third and fourth scenes, but it just makes me feel good. Sometimes I play it on youtube when I'm doing paperwork, just to lift my mood.

Innocent pain: I actually came to an understanding with this one on my last trip, but for many years, I just didn't "get" the staged character meets. Even for kids, it just seemed so forced and phony. What I noticed when i actually tried one, though, is that it's the performers who make all the difference. A good one can really draw you into the game.

I understand the forced character meets issue, I don't get it. It is not the same like when we would walk around and see characters around the park. But when we stood in line for Toy Story Characters in DHS it was an amazing experience for my son. He loves Toy Story. It was a great experience for him (and for me) to see the smile and wonder on his 2 1/2 year old face.

Guilty Pleasure - for me it is Carousel of Progress. My family hates this ride, but I force them to go on it all the time. I even have the song as my ringback tone. My mother refers to it as the most boring attraction in WDW. I still love it!

Innocent Pain - Great Movie Ride - very outdated and boring.

Guilty Pleasure-Stitches Great Escape. It's not like I love the attraction but for the amount of hate heaped upon it I'm going to vote for the underdog. I'm not thrilled with being restrained in a ride that doesn't move but I really like the movie and the character. And it's the only attraction in all of the parks that features Stitch. This and Country Bears I try to go on every other visit.

Innocent Pain- Finding Nemo The Musical. I've seen the show once. Although I liked it, for some reason whenever I'm in front of the theater I feel compelled to keep walking. I just don't feel like sitting through it again. Lion King I will sometimes see twice in one visit.

See, I forget about all the hate Small World gets, especially for the song. Since around nerds like us it's considered a classic, I forget how even Disney itself mocks the thing. Maybe I'm losing perspective. Before I joined this site I also thought I was the only person in the world that liked the Peoplemover.

Staged Character Meet and Greets (and maybe meet and greets in general) depend on the performer. I went through the one at Epcot a few years ago. Most of the characters were really great. Donald was amazing and stole the show but Pluto was definitely nearing his limit. He was pretty sluggish and probably needed a walk or a milk bone or something.

I don't really like the staged ones because I'm a generally courteous fellow so with that big line of folks waiting behind me, I feel like my time with the characters is a bit rushed. I also don't like the idea of closing down attractions for these things. But the old shorts playing in the queue definitely made the whole ordeal a lot more enjoyable. Especially when my girlfriend and I play "Spot the Imagineer" in the opening credits and get weird looks from people for randomly yelling out names. P.S. Yale Gracey worked on a LOT of Donald Duck shorts.

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Originally Posted by Dapper Dan

Especially when my girlfriend and I play "Spot the Imagineer" in the opening credits and get weird looks from people for randomly yelling out names. P.S. Yale Gracey worked on a LOT of Donald Duck shorts.

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Haha, that's such an awesome idea! I need to do that when I watch the old shorts from now on...

Guilty Pleasure: The Hall of Presidents, I know most kids I know would go from thrill ride to thrill ride but I'm a huge history buff and would go to attractions that have a certain history to them others include Spaceship Earth, The American Adventure and the Carousel of Progress.

Innocent Pain: Current Journey into Imagination, this ride is like the DCA 1.0 of WDW this needs a major rehab since the day Figment returned in 02. I completely bypassed the ride and took my parents to Captain EO.

See ya walkin' down the middle of Main Street USA.

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Originally Posted by PSUMark

Haha, that's such an awesome idea! I need to do that when I watch the old shorts from now on...

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Also if you watch any of the features from the 40s and 50s. The Background and Layout departments are pretty much the Imagineering All-Stars.

I think this varies per park, so I give you a park by park breakdown:

Magic Kingdom

Guilty Pleasure: The Tiki Room (so glad it's back under original management)

Innocent Pain: Stitch...need I say more?

EPCOT

Guilty Pleasure: The America pavilion/show

Innocent Pain: Ellen's Energy Adventure

MGM / Hollywood Studios

Guilty Pleasure: Sci Fi Drive In Theater

Innocent Pain: Toy Story Mania (yeah, I know it's a fast pass ride...but I really didn't enjoy a 15 minute video game)

Animal Kingdom

Guilty Pleasure: The playground across from the Boneyard (my kid and I both love it)

Innocent Pain: The rest of the park

Guilty Pleasure: Its a small world . Everytime i sit in the boat, im 8 years old.

Innocent Pain: Not being there right now. I desperatley need a Disney fix.

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Innocent Pain: Fantasmic. I have seen the show twice, once from the VIP section, and I just don't get it. The crowds are always such a nightmare, and the massive Pocahontas section is just not as impressive as it used to be.

You need to see it in Disneyland. Then you'll get it. Trust me. :)

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This! The dedicated theater for it in WDW holds nowhere near the wonder of the Rivers Of America or New Orleans Square parts of Disneyland.

Guilty Pleasure - The Grand Fiesta Tour, as much as I wish it got a proper budget for rebuilding portions of the sets to make more sense I can't help but just smile when I go on this ride, it's so upbeat, energetic and even if it's loud it doesn't detract that much from the rest of the pavilion.

Innocent Pain - it's a tie between the Seas with Nemo and Friends and Imagination, they're such obvious cheap retrofits of what used to be there and they have nothing interesting to them, I find the leftovers from the Living Seas to be the best part about this whole thing.