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Old 09-16-2014, 02:56 PM
 
4,586 posts, read 5,594,842 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark Park View Post
What is the TACKIEST tourist attraction and/or vacation destination you ever had the misfortune to experience?

This may include over-rated and over-hyped places. Or places that have become run down dives. Or places that are just plain silly.

I want to hear your opinions and experiences!

I'll start:

South Of The Border, off I-95 in South Carolina (that's right, it's just south of the "border" with North Carolina. A former gas station and rest stop that became a kitschy Mexican-themed gas station and rest area with restaurants, trailer campground, gift shop, and motel. See the giant Sombrero Tower! Select from your choice of 50 different South Of The Border coffee mugs! Beware of tired grouchy kids and foul smelling rest rooms!
Weeki Watchee's Mermaid Show....I mean, "Tacky" is a compliment!


P.S. HAHAHAHAHA Regarding that South Of the Border; we passed by it a few times and it was never opened! I have a lot of jokes, but they're not appropriate.
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Old 09-16-2014, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Colorado
2,483 posts, read 4,362,293 times
Reputation: 2686
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
This does not seem tacky to me.

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park

The ultimate tacky: spectator sports.
??? Ok your tastes obviously differ from the norm, which is fine, but it sounds like you're just trying to get a rise anyways.
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Old 09-16-2014, 03:34 PM
 
Location: Centennial, CO
2,254 posts, read 3,051,247 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark Park View Post
Talking about cheesy theme parks ... isn't there a place called Flintstone's Bedrock City??? A quick internet search reveals there are actually two of these places: one in South Dakota and one in Arizona. Has anyone visited either of these places?
I've been to the one in Arizona. It's on the drive between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, sort of in the middle of nowhere near the convergence of two old highways where there's also a big truck stop. It just had bigger than life-size statues of the Flintstones characters, a brontosaurus, and rock homes, as well as a gift shop. Aside from that, not really that tacky. There aren't a million billboards for it and not a bunch of other tacky, kitchy attractions surrounding it. It's way too isolated for that.

Flintstones Bedrock City, Williams, Arizona
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Old 09-16-2014, 03:56 PM
 
Location: On the Edge of the Fringe
7,583 posts, read 6,051,038 times
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Has to be THE THING
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thi...ide_attraction)

When we were kids on a drive out to Arizona, we stopped in and paid the $1 to walk through it. It was interesting, but as my dad pointed out, there was nothing that could not have been seen for free in any other museum. But the buildup and the gaudiness of it coupled with the fact that it is literally in the middle of the desert, nothing around but sand and cacti, makes it impossible to miss.



It even gets mentioned in this song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCy13kjj13M
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Old 09-16-2014, 04:11 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,931,227 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShampooBanana View Post
I've been to the one in Arizona. It's on the drive between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, sort of in the middle of nowhere near the convergence of two old highways where there's also a big truck stop. It just had bigger than life-size statues of the Flintstones characters, a brontosaurus, and rock homes, as well as a gift shop. Aside from that, not really that tacky. There aren't a million billboards for it and not a bunch of other tacky, kitchy attractions surrounding it. It's way too isolated for that.

Flintstones Bedrock City, Williams, Arizona
How funny--I was there in 1989. I had forgotten all about it until you began to describe it and I went and looked at the photos. Yes, tacky is a very good description!
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Old 09-16-2014, 04:19 PM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
13,258 posts, read 22,752,433 times
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Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park was a franchise option for campgrounds, IIRC. I've seen a number of them over the years, and might have stayed in one back in high school.
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Old 09-16-2014, 06:55 PM
 
Location: Montana
522 posts, read 692,782 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan. View Post
Excuse me? Las Vegas was much tackier back in the day and had less class. It was pretty much a mob and gangster hangout that they desperately tried to make classy by hiring Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack to play Vegas to add clout to it. They didn't hang out there because it was fun. They were paid a lot of money to make appearances there.

Vegas is much nicer now. Yes, it's more touristy now but it also helped clean it up and now regular people go to Vegas whereas pre-1990's, it was just a place for serious gamblers. They actually have upscale restaurants, shows and smoke free casinos. Back in the day, their shows consisted of cheesy lounge singers and cheap magicians. No one thought Vegas was classy then.

But in my experience, the three most tacky places are in order

1. Niagra Falls (Canadian side) - how many Ripley's wax museums do you need to have before it gets old
2. Branson Missouri - poor good ole boy version of Vegas
3. Atlantic City - cheap Vegas wannabe- dirty, smelly, meatheads and trashy people everywhere. Even Donald Trump has sued to have his name removed from two hotels he once owned.
Vegas is totally underrated. The history alone is worth admiring. It is supposed to be kitschy and slightly dumb, what do people expect when they go there? They have tons of things to do there and even if you wanted to snub your nose at the city (which is pretty ridiculous, imo) then it only takes you twenty minutes to get out to the desert area. Lake Mead is particularly breathtaking.
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Old 09-16-2014, 07:42 PM
 
Location: Cody, WY
10,420 posts, read 14,560,595 times
Reputation: 22017
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
This does not seem tacky to me.

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park

The ultimate tacky: spectator sports.
Quote:
Originally Posted by otterprods View Post
??? Ok your tastes obviously differ from the norm, which is fine, but it sounds like you're just trying to get a rise anyways.
No, I'm not. Spectator sports have brought out the worst in people for over two thousand years. I've read of riots over sports in Great Britain and riots in Chicago to celbrate victories. More than fifteen hundred years ago fans of chariot teams in Constantinople would regularly riot and kill each other. Let's not forget the behavior of crowds in ancient Rome when gladiators (literally sword bearers) fought to the death.

A Denver cab driver told me that he could tell whether the home team won when driving past the stadium at the end of the game. When they won drivers were courteous; when the home team lost they were savage.

The biggest days of the year for wife beating are the days of the biggest games.

How much more do you need? These events serve no good purpose whatsoever.
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Old 09-16-2014, 07:49 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
4,886 posts, read 13,790,716 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
These events serve no good purpose whatsoever.
And neither does that post in a thread devoted to tacky tourist attractions.
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Old 09-16-2014, 08:37 PM
 
Location: Cody, WY
10,420 posts, read 14,560,595 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goyguy View Post
And neither does that post in a thread devoted to tacky tourist attractions.
What are they if not tourist attractions? People supposedly come to places hundreds or thousands of miles from home to see them. The fact that locals may be the majority of visitors to a business doesn't remove it as a tourist business.
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