Tipping Point

Disney Parks... Reaching the  "tipping point" where its no longer magical?
It all depends on several factors.
The cost... $$$$... prices for the resort hotels keeps going up... as do the prices for the admission to the parks. Then there's the add-ons... charges for resort parking & general parking.  The ability to buy extra fast passes, combination dinner fast passes with priority seating, special tour with combination fast passes... and in general the ability to get and use the fast pass program to get the best benefit.
Optional transportation of the Minnie mini-vans $$ if you don't want to wait for the free Disney busses. Hint: premium resorts seem to get better buss service and economy resorts always seen to have longer waits and bigger lines.
The cost of food $$$... on the cheaper end of things $$ fast food counter service at its not so finest... or table service $$$ which is elevated price and quality. Water, sodas, and snacks $$... again, for a family of four, a drink & snack is easily top $40-$50.
Then there's the cost of merchandise... gotta have keepsakes & gifts.
Of course,  if money is not an issue... None of this matters. 
Moving on... peak crowds... everyone is in your way everywhere... no matter where you go. Long waits for rides,  attractions,  restaurants, snacks, drinks, and merchandise. Everything is crowded with wait times. Wait times... we kinda draw the line at 30 minutes. During peak times short waits typically are 60-90 for the lesser attractions, and as high as 4-5 hours for popular attractions... but it certainly sounds shorter when expressed as 300 minutes. (sorry, a bit if sarcasm). Occasionally you  may find a shorter wait by accident... the right place at the right time... but its rare.
Added to the huge crowds and wait times... throw in the summer heat. If the magic hasn't faded by now, you're more tolerant than me. Crowds + wait times + inescapable heat = misery. And... you paid a premium price for this?!
So what's the tipping point? Price? Crowds? Waits? Heat? Well, there's nothing you can do about prices. You can plan your trip for cooler weather during non peak times. Stay away from summer time, holidays, and spring breaks. There's plenty of online guides to not only help you pick slower weeks, but also which parks to visit on slowest days. It helps... but Disney is mostly busy even on non peak times.  The days of walking right into rides and into attractions is all but over. It's simply a matter of how big a crowd you want to deal with,  how long you want to wait, and how much hot weather you want to deal with. 
For me its all a matter of perspective.  My tipping point pretty much came to a point a couple of years ago. Prices were cheaper... crowds were less... wait times were low (many things were a walk on), and fast passes were on a level playing field (the old paper fast passes with distributions for each attraction for the popular rides), and the Magic was still in the air.
The final tipping point... so many things have been eliminated over the years. The Christmas lighted trestles at Epcot going into future world with thousands of lights timed to the music... really put you in the spirit. This also saw great reduction in Christmas decorations as well as small holiday shows. The Osborne spectacle lights at Studios... gone. And the night time parade at Magic Kingdom... SpectroMagic. It was done twice every night, and many times we would catch both viewings.  Themed celebrations... The Happiest Place on Earth & The Year if a Million Dreams... each lasted 24-30 months and were the best themed celebrations to date. Yep, over the years,  many things have ended, some replaced by new attractions. But having seen so many years at Disney ... too many good things are gone forever. SpectroMagic for me was the final disappointment. It was replaced shortly with the old tired and out dated Electric Light parade from many years prior and even that failed and was eliminated. No night time parade at magic kingdom for several years now.
Perspective... having seen so much of what was once there, extensively over the last 15 years, is easy to see the changes, and what is missed. Those new to Disney or that only occasionally visited every few years, would not even notice the changes. Even so... the tipping point... Prices,  crowds, wait times, and the summer heat... It's a personal choice... when does the magic fade for you? Plan you visit to minimize crowds, waits,  and the weather.

Top 25 parks

Shared from Trip Advisor.  Interesting... The top 25 amusement parks as per the readers on Trip Advisor.  Remember this is a time sensitive survey... so while recently the newest big attraction is Harry Potter at Universal Islands in Orlando, it's easy to see it being listed as the number one current favorite attraction as per readers reviews. But its always certainty right near the top. My top five picks... Disneys Magic Kingdom, Universal Islands of Adventure, Disneys Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios Orlando, Seaworld Orlando,  and soon to be raising into the top five... Disney Hollywood Studios Orlando when Star Wars attractions opens. And to being geography close... they are all near Orlando. Rounding out the four Disney parks is Epcot... Not included in this list of amusement parks... it has some great attraction rides but not to the extent of being classified as an amusement park. Still,  a "must see" if in the area... uniquely its own. Given a strictly favorites list... it would be number two.
Somewhat surprised it the ranking of some of the other parks. Disneyland parks come in at 8 & 12 in the rankings. Busch Gardens Williamsburg ranked at 19th... perhaps strictly in exciting coaster rides... but Busch Gardens in certain in the top five for theme and naturally beautiful parks, certainly not to be missed.
In any event, here's the rankings based on readers reviews on Trip Advisor. Fairly accurate to my perception with a bit of tweaking.

Ahhhh...Italy

A taste of Italy... Disney World... Epcot.
Great architecture,  great atmosphere,  great food!
Very relaxing... Totally enjoyable.

Summer fun!

Summer fun at Disney. Simply Magical!
Yes... I'm being completely sarcastic.
There is NOTHING magical about summer crowds at Disney.

Legacy

What a legacy were are creating for or kids...
Everyone's offended... Call it what you will. Blaming anyone & everything. Everyone is so wrapped up in being offended by one thing after another. Fueled daily and sensationalized by politicians,  religions, the news media, social media and sometimes even family & friends. How the hell did we get here?  And why is everyone seeking validity and credence to what they feel offended by. Most don't even have the facts straight. And they go off being offended by things that don't even affect them. It's all making this country a miserable place to live. They're making their life miserable, the people around them miserable, and its spreading like wildfire... a social plague tainting everything that could be good about personal freedoms. Dwelling on the negative... being offended by everything. Is this really the life you want for yourself, and how you want to share it with others? We have become a whiny crybaby society where everyone is not only offended by everything, THEY THINK THEY HAVE THE RIGHT to want and make others conform to their beliefs so that they are not offended. If my life or beliefs offend you... guess what... you need to grow up and get over it. You have the right to your freedoms... YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO MINE! Sadly enough, wanting to control others freedoms because it offends you seems to be embraced by the political, religious, and social environment that condone this philosophy. Sad...truly sad. Y'all can be part of the problem,  or part of the solution.  This is Not directed to anyone specifically... but if the shoe fits... I'm sure you'll wear them proudly as you crusade for whatever offends you today, yet ever looking for something new to offend you tomorrow.
Try something new... Try this... sit down and stfu.

 So... Who's offended? Sure seems like too many people are offended by all sorts of things. From important issues to just plain stupid shit.  And its not bad that they are personally offended... It's their life, they are welcome to have all the drama and emotional turmoil they care to inflict upon themselves. What is truly appalling is that they expect others to be offended they way they are... and will be offended that you are not offended as they are. They are relentless in the pursuit of drama and contention. Worse yet, their behavior is supported and sensationalized by politics, religions, the media, and social media platforms. So what's wrong with this picture? There's the thinking rational person, and then there's the emotional people that are offended by something new everyday. And they want you to feel the same way they do. They can not accept anyone that feels differently. And we are teaching a whole new generation of kids,  as if the 20 & 30 something's are dramatic enough, to be offended by everything, think everything is unfair,  think anyone that doesn't agree with them is rude, think they are absolutely right and everyone else is wrong. And more detrimental to society... while they have the right to their freedoms, they think they should have the right to dictate and control your freedoms... again supported by politics, religions, and the news media that doesn't have the integrity to put them in their place and say enough is enough. They think they are going to effect some sort of change (they aren't)... think they are going to influence others (they're not).... they are simply continuous looking for drama, contention, and have something to complain about.  I'm Just saying.

Beware...

If you are on Instagram you've probably seen ads for close out prices or liquidation ads for stuff at incredible prices. Great items at prices too good to be true. But.. they might be...right? Nope...apparently Instagram has no or little verification controls on ads, and if they are legitimate. Apparently,  most are not. Think of the old sayings...  "If it's too good to be true,  it probably isn't"  ... And  "A fool and his money are soon parted".  It's not only buyer beware... It's buyer... run... run away from all ads on Instagram.  "Better safe than sorry".
If all this is true...
It's Sad that any social platform would allow itself to be used by scam artists.

Getting dark

Dusk concludes an already cloudy gloomy day. With the last bits of daylight failing... a figure emerges against a darkened sky... silhouetted against the horizon. I keep telling myself... No, that's not so scary. The night is silent...except for the strange sounds awakened by the darkness. Here in the country, the sounds of nature surround us ... in every direction. Shadows drift about as the breeze moves the trees & bushes... and then it all stops. No breeze...and no sounds... but then something's moving in the woods ... something big and unseen... but definitely heard moving and lumbering through the undergrowth. And... It's not going away... but then it stops. Is this a good thing... or an absolutely bad thing?  My candle goes out.  Somehow, the night time sounds, out here in the country seem all too strange. Perhaps it's just my imagination... thinking ahead to... Halloween.  Me... I'm just hoping to survive the evening... outside...in the dark... all alone. Y'all have a great evening.

Apollo History

I remember the 1960s watching all the NASA Apollo missions on TV. Color tv was new and the Apollo space missions were exciting to watch... History in the making. Of course,  the most exciting was the Apollo 11 mission to put the first men on the moon. Now, 50 years later, that achievement is celebrated. The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's have special attractions to commemorate that event... one of which was to project a life sized  Saturn V rocket into the Washington Monument... pretty cool... wish I could have seen it in person. Pretty cool indeed. One of the facts that puts things into a different perspective... they said that we hold more computing power in our smartphones than the Apollo mission to the moon. That seems scary and gives a whole new meaning to flying by the seat of their pants.

Maryland Blue Crabs

Growing up in Maryland's Bay area... One of Maryland's greatest treats was enjoying old bay steamed blue crabs. As a teen the cost was $10/ dozen for smalls, $12 for mediums, $14 for large, $16 for extra large, and $18 for jumbos. We got to enjoy them quite frequently... sometimes, it seemed almost like every week. I even remember all you can eat crab feasts for under $10. Found and ad from a local restaurant around 1960 for AYCE crabs for $2.25. Wow!
Well... times change and so did the prices, which have naturally gone up over the years.  But I can't help feeling like my grandfather back in the 1950s, when he would say something like... "You've got to be shitting me... 29 cents for a loaf of bread." Now... I look at the prices of crabs and think the same thing... "wow, you've got to be shitting me"! You can still get some more reasonable prices but supply and demand raise the prices through the roof.
Back in 2008, I remember going crabbing with family on the Chesapeake Bay ... we caught almost three bushels that morning along with some soft crabs. That's a day I'll never forget... crabbing with my good buddy Doug. We went out with 20 or so collapsible crab pots... bait them, drop them to the bottom, then run the pots, from end to end, bringing up one or two crabs each time. Ran that line of pots for 2-3 hours... scarfing up those live blue crabs.  Then taking them home to steam and enjoy a feast. A feast in Maryland... well it could take anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours at a sitting. Sounds like a lot... but that's how we grew up... that was the norm.
Today... steamed crabs are an infrequent treat. But It's one of the few things that has remained just as good as they were from childhood. Always so good. 

                       So... What's after the crab feast?

Crab cakes... crab balls...

Red crab soup...

Cream of crab soup...

And crab dip.

All, a little bit of heaven.

But that's another story.

Liberty Square

Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom.
It's a small section in comparison to other themed areas,  but it's packed full of history.  First there's the architecture of the buildings and walkways, and the town square complete with the Liberty Bell and the Liberty Tree. You have the boat landing and the Liberty Bell Riverboat, always nice for a relaxing ride on the rivers of America. Two places to eat... The Liberty Tree Tavern for table service and the Columbia Harbor House for counter service. Both usually have decent eats but for something fast the Harbor House has the upstairs dining area that has a little alcove that overlooks the walkway below. There's the Haunted Mansion which is always a must do,  especially on hot days.  Some things ya never get tired of. Shopping offers there stores... The Christmas Shop, the history based shop, and the Haunted Mansion themed shop. There's a little shop to relax and get sweet treats like ice cream and funnel cakes,  and sometimes it's simply nice to sit either under the Liberty Tree or the private little porch with to rocking chairs, and watch the crowds walk by. There's a little outdoor market right in the town square to get quick drinks and so snack treats. All in all... One of our favorite places to relax.  Of course there's the Hall of Presidents to round out the history of America. One quick tip... It's always been our experience the Three Haunted Mansion line will be long... And then someone later almost a walk on... So if it's long when you first part by,  return later for a shorter wait.  So enjoy the history on your way to Frontierland or Fantasyland.