As a kid, I used to wait for the garbage truck at the window and excitedly wave at the workers when they did their job. I was a huge fan.
Here in Germany, we celebrate the OG version of Santa, St. Nicholas who will tally up if you've been a good kid and give you sweets (usually someone from the local church will dress up as St. Nicholas and visit the houses of those who requested it and do a little show with poems and all that) on Dec 6th. Kids usually get chocolate figures of St. Nicholas for that day.
So one Dec 6th, the (mostly Muslim mind you) garbage workers rang at our door and gave me this chocolate Nicholas and a bunch of sweets and all because every time they went by our house, I'd make their day with my excitement about their usually looked down upon job.
Message is: thank the trash collectors every once in a while. You'd drown in filth without them.
Why would anyone think it's strange for anyone to feel fascinated by a garbage truck, or any number of mundane things we take for granted? Do you all know the centuries of progress it took to get us to the point where we can even have garbage men? Do any of you have any sense of gratitude at all?
I definitely remember those trips and cherish them. I didn't get to go until I was a bit older and those first few times were absolutely incredible. That's an incredibly cynical take tbh. Some people just want to share the things they loved with their kids. Reducing it down to "they just want to brag" just sounds very bitter.
I'm still trying to convince my wife that we can wait til our kid even asks to go to Disneyland before dropping that level of coin on a trip. I don't remember my early childhood trip to Disneyland, but I remember my early teen trip fondly.
I got my driveway paved a while ago, and there's a preschool across the street. They basically had to cancel everything on their schedule that day because nothing could keep the kids away from the window.
I do, too, but mostly because it makes me laugh. I especially like watching the dumpsters at work getting picked up and then dropped back down harshly and rolled back into the wall like someone throwing a shopping cart into a corral. Peak IDGAF with a potentially lethal machine. Not even sarcastic here, I love it.
Suppose you're going to disney for a week as a family of 4.
6 days of tickets for 4 people is $2,400. Cheap jetblue tickets on sale might be $1000; honestly, they're probably more. If you're staying at a $350/night hotel room, you're already up to $5,500.
Then, figure at least $50 in food per person per day, or $100 for the adults if you get alcohol. That's another $1,200-1,800. And if you go to any of their fancier restaurants it'll be a lot more. Add in a couple hundred in souvenirs and you're there.
Of course, if you're within road trip distance and just go to the park for two days, you could do it way cheaper.
Most people don't live close enough to Disney for a day trip. A significant portion of that 8k is probably the other costs of the trip like airfare and hotel rooms.
That's like a couple parents and a few kids. I don't get the appeal of spending thousands of dollars just to wait in line and be surrounded by a bunch of annoying people.
It is genuinely an experience to remember for a lifetime, because every tiny forgettable detail is meticulously designed. The staff are painstakingly always watching for anything that might ruin someone's day and anything that can make someone's day.
Basically, don't judge what other people choose to spend their money on