Many Delphi students have been counting down the days until Spring Break since Christmas break ended. We are all more than ready to get a week off from school and spend the days lying around the house or vacationing with family. While the typical vacation destinations are Florida or Myrtle Beach, it is fun to consider what fictional places one could visit, places they want to visit so they can meet some of their favorite characters and experience some of the spectacular lands we read about in books. But what about places we wouldn’t want to go? Places where the problems and dysfunction are enough to make us want to stay away.  

First up on my list of worst fictional places to visit is Panem. Panem is the futuristic world where The Hunger Games take place. I wouldn’t want to go to Panem because not only are there things like the Hunger Games, but there are also a lot of problems. After overthrowing President Snow, the country is a hot mess. They have to figure out who is going to take over the country and rebuild all the lands that were destroyed. The lack of peace in this country makes it a poor vacation destination.

Up next on my list is Neverland. The whole concept of a place where you never age is kind of odd, not to mention Peter Pan taking kids to Neverland where they don’t age and don’t leave . . . it’s just a little suspicious. I wouldn’t want to go to Neverland because I would want to see my friends, family, and other people I love, but if I’m stuck at Neverland I wouldn’t be able to. Neverland is a terrible place to visit for Spring Break unless, of course, you want a break that lasts FOREVER!

Next up, Gotham City. While it would be cool to meet Batman, all the crime in the city makes this a terrible place to visit. Not to mention all the random attacks on the city by the Joker and his friends that makes the thought of visiting Gotham even more terrifying. You never know what kind of situation you will get yourself into when visiting Gotham, and with my luck I would happen to visit when Batman himself was on vacation somewhere else and Joker would go on a crime rampage, so I think it’s best to just stay away.

Arendelle is another place on the list of no-gos for Spring Break. While it seems Queen Elsa has got better control of her ice powers, I think that risking something happening and her turning the city to ice isn’t worth it. Now I think it would be cool to visit and see the city, maybe spend a day there, but I wouldn’t want to spend the whole week in Arendelle.

Finally, one place I would love to see from afar, but definitely not too close is Jurassic Park. The thought of being chased by dinosaurs all break and running for my life all hours of the day just isn’t my ideal vacation. I think it would be cool to see real life dinosaurs, but from a very far, safe distance. Not to mention the only people who do go inside the park are crazy and don’t take the proper survival equipment. You always have to be prepared when at Jurassic Park because all it takes is one power outage and you’ll be running for your life.

While yes, some of these places have intriguing features that make them tempting destinations, I think you would have to agree with me that overall, it’s a hard pass.