ABC

Some Bad, and Some Good

/ Sue and Frank D'Elia / 1 Comment

If you are of a certain age, and ever vacationed in Florida as a child, you immediately will know the name, Weeki Wachee. Started in 1947, Weeki Wachee Springs was a tourist attraction featuring “mermaids” performing in an underwater setting, viewed by the audience in an aquarium like theater. I remember coming to it when I journeyed to Florida as a kid, (and Susie remembers coming with her grandmother in the early 70s), and know that when our three kids were small, we took them there, In fact, in 1959 the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) bought Weeki Wachee, and I think we got in for free when we came with our kids…just showed my ABC ID card!

Well, Susie and I stopped by today, and it’s nothing like we remember. First of all, it’s now a state park. Can’t find any information about how it stopped being a private attraction and became a ward of the state, but it was in 2008. I assume that like other Florida attractions, it couldn’t compete with Disney World, Busch Gardens, Sea World, Universal Studio and the like, and whoever owned it at the time, turned it over to the state. In fact, if you remember Weeki Wachee, you also may remember Cypress Gardens, which was known for women dressed as Southern Bells, the Botanical Gardens, and it’s water skiing shows. Well, it’s now LegoLand!

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7B1C4549-8F29-4AEA-9CD9-03D1A9CA5D8AWe were excited when we arrived, but soon discovered that the last time anyone spent any money on the upkeep of the place was probably when it was owned by ABC. Broken sidewalks, only 2 Mermaid shows a day, a lame Animal Show, and a limited schedule of boat trips on the river. We spent a little more than an hour there, and then decided that sometimes trying to go back in time isn’t the smartest thing to do. I wouldn’t recommend a visit to anyone who has been there before.

Then we journeyed to Pinellas Park, Florida, where Susie’s Grandparents lived. She remembered visiting them there, and had a pretty good idea where they lived, and in fact, remembered that we found it once, when we were in the area with the kids 20 years ago. Guess what? Things change, and she couldn’t find any trace of what she found 20 years ago. Progress!!

64B48CE6-BD80-4DC3-82B9-5DA0D5C292C5Then we traveled a short distance to our hotel. A very unusual Holiday Inn, on the Intercostal Waterway in Indian Rocks, Florida. It’s called the Clearwater Beach Harborside, in Indian Rocks Beach, and now we are in the good part of the day!! It’s a little more expensive, but oh so worth it! The hotel is built in a Key West Style, and even has a Key West type bar/restaurant called Jimmy Guana’s. Once we checked in, we decided to walk the place and explore, and we immediately gravitated to the Tiki Bar at Jimmy Guana’s, where we had two delightful Martinis! Then we unloaded the car, found our PJs,(so we could crawl into them later!), and headed back to the bar at Jimmy Guana’s, and the delightful bartender Lindsey!

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Our Original Drinks! (and no Michael…its not Windex)

We drank, we ate, we drank, we listened to music! We had a wonderful night. Our bill was just over a $100, and we’re considering seeing if we can stay here, and use this place as our base of operations for the next 4 days! Stay tuned, and see what we decide tomorrow.

886FE895-D7FE-4002-AED8-B3D783F8C6B4Our Room

 

08FC634A-0C5D-4AE6-AA31-A95D4C4B7346Our Rum Drinks

 

9C416012-42D0-4F3E-B651-834286AFEE75Our Dinner – The Guana Tower (and Lindsey in the background)

2611F59F-8AFF-4851-897D-3E35BB2AD490Great Entertainment

My Love/Hate Relationship with the Walt Disney Company

/ Sue and Frank D'Elia / Leave a comment

imageSo, as we say good-bye to our second full day at Walt Disney World, I have to admit that I am conflicted. On one hand, I have a strong hatred towards Disney/ABC, because 8 years ago, CEO Bob Iger (himself a product of the American Broadcasting Company), decided that ABC Radio was not a core business of the Disney Company.  That started a chain of events that saw WABC and all the ABC O&O radio stations, as well as the ABC Radio Network, being sold to Citadel Broadcasting.  After spending 2.7 Billion Dollars for us, Citadel ultimately went bankrupt, which then saw Cumulus Media “merging” with the bankrupt Citadel.  That meant we now worked for Cumulus, a company run by two brothers who ultimately burdened Cumulus with so much debt, that the stock dropped to pennies, and is now in jeopardy of being delisted by the stock exchange.  Can you say history being repeated?  So, the last 8 years have not been kind to WABC, many of the people who were a part of our work family, and my personal sanity.

Now on the other hand, 8 years ago, when Disney decided to send the ABC Radio stations into oblivion, I had worked for the company long enough that I was able to “retire”. That meant that although I would continue to work for WABC for 8 more years, I was able to start collecting my ABC/NABET pension, and was considered on the books as an official Disney Retiree.

And what does that mean, you may ask. Well, it means that as a Disney Retiree, Susie and I have a lifetime Main Gate Pass..  That means that we can get 4 people into any of the parks around the world for free!  Yes, I said for free!  It also means that we can reserve a room at a Disney property for half off the going rate. Right now, we are staying the Port Orleans French Quarter for a rate that is comparable to staying at a Best Western on the side of an interstate anywhere else in Florida.  But wait, I’m not done yet…as they like to say on infomercials.  Then there are the discounts.  At present, we get 35% off merchandise, which makes ridiculously priced Disney items reasonable (like a $49.99 sweat shirt really being $35) and 20% off food items at many restaurants.  Sweet deal, huh?

imageSo, as we go through the parks, see things at our resort, and once again realize how well Disney does most things relating to their customers, I am conflicted.  Do I hate them for the last 8 years?  For the jackasses that they saddled us with, for the rotten things that happened to so many friends, and for the joke they made my radio station into?  That’s surely one way to go.   Or, on the other hand, do I revel in the fact that I am a Disney Retiree, and have a lifetime of great memories to be made, thanks to the retiree benefits the Disney Company has bestowed on me by virtue of the fact that they bought the American Broadcasting Company?

Well, like the year that Bobbie died on Dallas, the TV show, only to comeback the next year (after working out a contract) and tell the viewers that the preceding season of the show was a looooong dream, my plan is to forget the last 8 years, and to play the part of a Disney/ABC retiree.  If anyone asks me, I have just retired after working for 40 years for ABC. Citadel, Cumulus…what are they?  Way back in 1976, I started working for the American Broadcasting Company, and as an official Disney/ABC retiree, I’m just going to figure that’s the company I retired from in 2016.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!  The last 8 years were just a bad dream sequence!