What I Miss About a Popular Indiana Theme Park and That Big One in Orlando

Before we get started, I get it. Times have changed, and things that were once very popular have lost their luster, leading to their figurative demise.

Think shopping malls. If you're old enough to remember them in their heyday, then you're old enough to remember a time when you NEVER thought they'd vanish. And yet, here we are with a plethora of dead malls scattered across the American landscape. There's even a website dedicated to the phenomenon. What becomes "old hat" disappears into the dustbin of history leaving only memories behind.

What I Miss About Holiday World & Splashin' Safari

Over the years, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari has become a world-class theme park, adding new attractions AND visitors every year. I completely understand that one particular part of the park I used to enjoy is no longer "in sync" with modern audiences. And it's all because of the wonderful nostalgia hit I used to get walking through that old museum which was next to the cafeteria. Remember it? It's where the glass blowers used to work right next to the candy shop where they made all that incredible fudge.

You can still get the fudge at the Candy Cane Confectionery, but you'll have to venture "off campus" for the museum pieces. Yes, I do miss them being in those big glass cases, but now they're located in the Santa Claus Museum & Village.

And just like that, all my sentimentality about them being moved off the Holiday World grounds disappeared.

What I Miss About Walt Disney World

The same cannot be said for an attraction no longer available to guests at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Now, before I go any further, you need to know I haven't been to Disney World in 40 years. But when it was announced THIRTY years ago that one ride my family always enjoyed was disappearing, I got a little sentimental. Yes, it seems I can miss something even if I haven't BEEN there to miss it.

Again, it's all about nostalgia. When I was a kid, I was CONVINCED we had submerged, even if you COULD see the water's surface from your seat on the vessel. But that's what Disney is all about...magic and imagination. If Walt had been alive and saw the awe and wonder in my eyes when I thought we'd really taken a deep dive, he would have been very pleased.

Yes, I do miss the museum being on the grounds at Holiday World. But it's now in a more appropriate location. And yes, I do "miss" 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But life happens and tastes change.

Plus, "Leagues" had one of the longest lines at the park, as I recall. And nobody would miss THAT.