Typical NY Times slant!

[PavelB]

Regarding today's article in the travel section-

"What kind of Mickey Mouse operation is this?...there seems to be a growing view that the mouse no longer delivers at the same magical level..."
You know that the NY Times could never be positive about something as American as Disneyworld. Of course they emphasize the negative.

[mommykds]

Oh I'll have to go read that now....hmmmmm.

[Tink]

Please, don't get me started on the New York Times. They are a totally liberal rag. I could go on, but will probably get flamed.

[PiperG]

Please, don't get me started on the New York Times. They are a totally liberal rag. I could go on, but will probably get flamed.

We agree with you Tink!

[kkmauch]

Let's not forget there are a lot of conservative slanted news media out there as well...they just may not have decided to rag on Disney yet.

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

Let's not forget there are a lot of conservative slanted news media out there as well...they just may not have decided to rag on Disney yet.

I agree, didn't the Southern Baptists just "end" their boycott on Disney? Supposedly, everything Disney stands for is the epitome of evil. Theres always conservative (mainly religious) groups denouncing Disney, mainly for their business practices and what they stand for.

[CPer'sMom]

Regarding today's article in the travel section-

"What kind of Mickey Mouse operation is this?...there seems to be a growing view that the mouse no longer delivers at the same magical level..."
You know that the NY Times could never be positive about something as American as Disneyworld. Of course they emphasize the negative.

Just searched NYTimes website and couldn't find the article. Is it in the Sunday edition?

[mking624]

Oh good gosh, can we please not start up nonsense about conservatives and liberals?!

[eclectics]

Oh good gosh, can we please not start up nonsense about conservatives and liberals?!

Thank You!!!! Do it on the Community Board. There is a thread for each of you........ :umbrella:

[buddy&wooz]

Did you read the entire article? I thought it was pretty fair, and ended on a positive note.

Articles like this might just get Disney to start fixing their problems.Two of the stories mentioned came right from DISers, a negative and a positive.

For those that want to read it, it's in the Sunday Travel section- it's on the website now, but you have to register to read it.

[Laugh O. Grams]

Oh good gosh, can we please not start up nonsense about conservatives and liberals?!
Thank you as well!! The slightest mention of the NYTimes and all of the armchair Rush Limbaugh's feel a ridiculous urge to chime in.

As far as the article, there isn't anything in that article that hasn't been talked about on this board to the point of exhaustion! In the end, it basically says that the complaints about WDW are partially brought on by Disney and their very well known commitment to excellence. We expect more from Disney because they are held above all other competitors in their industry. the article also states direct quotes from the Disney family and some of their disappointment as well. The last few paragraphs of the article state the following:

But the real reason some guests walk away disappointed, Mr. Cockerell suspects, is that they arrive with such high expectations. "Walt Disney World is like a national park," he said. "If something doesn't go right, I get a seven-page letter."

IN a sense, that may be Disney's own doing. Since the company's first venture into the theme-park business a half-century ago, it has maintained that it wants to create an immaculate escape-from-the-real-world environment. Disneyland grew out of Walt Disney's disappointing experiences with his own children at amusement parks. "You could have fantastic rides, but if the place was sloppy or you had to wait for toilets [it wouldn't work]. For him, it had to be beautiful," said Diane Disney Miller, Walt's daughter, in the Summer 2005 issue of Disney Magazine. (That issue of the decades-old magazine was the last to hit the stands. It ceased publication because of the company's bottom-line concerns.)

But another part of the equation, say observers like Deb Wills, founder of AllEarsNet.com, another unofficial Disney site, is that Disney guests have come to anticipate "magic moments" at, well, every moment. "People hear so many wonderful things they think it's going to be picture perfect," she said. Take the famed "towel animals" - towels that have been shaped to resemble wildlife - that Disney maids have been known to leave in a guest's room. What started as a surprise offering has now become a de rigueur part of the Disney experience.

But for most guests, the experience comes close to the quintessential family vacation. Take Vicki Moreno, a San Antonio homemaker who has been a Disney World regular since 1991. Her ultimate "magic moment" came a few weeks ago at a character autograph-signing opportunity at Epcot. When one of her daughters realized she had lost her autograph book, a Disney staff member arranged a free replacement and a private character meet-and-greet. Ms. Moreno's reaction? "I thought, 'Wow!' " she said.

And that's the funny thing: Despite all the problems with my stay, there were plenty of "wows," too. Like the time the chef at the Polynesian Resort prepared a special fruit platter for my food-allergic 13-year-old son. Or the time a security guard at Epcot, sensing my 6-year-old daughter's impatience as we waited in the bag-search line, took off his cap and placed it affectionately on her head.

Then, there's the "wow" I experience every time I enter the Magic Kingdom. Seeing the cobblestone streets and the rows of old-timey shops, I can't help but buy into the fantasy that is Walt Disney's Main Street, designed after the one in his boyhood home of Marceline, Mo. Some might call it synthetic, but that's missing the point: It never pretends to be real.

And that's perhaps why when Disney stumbles, we respond so vociferously. If we wanted the headaches and hassles, we'd stay at the budget motel off the Interstate. Instead, we want the magic. And we'll keep going to Disney World in search of it - for the time being.

[kkmauch]

Oh good gosh, can we please not start up nonsense about conservatives and liberals?!

Not trying to start a "nonsense" thread. Just trying to point out there's more than one side to each story, even if it is in the NY Times. No need to send the thread to the Community Board. Calm down. This is quite civil compared to a lot of the political threads in these boards.

[mking624]

Personally speaking, I come to the Theme Park Attractions & Strategies forum for that...attractions and strategies. Not to see what side is more slanted than the other...conservative or liberal.

[daddydisneyworld]

Let's not forget there are a lot of conservative slanted news media out there as well...they just may not have decided to rag on Disney yet.

but they don't claim to be objective, like the nyt does.

[Laugh O. Grams]

BTW, the writer's problem with his resort was they booked him into Saratoga Springs, while it was still under construction, and didn't feel it that important to mention it. The writer also paid for an upgraded room and was not put into the room his reservation guarenteed! When he complained to the front desk to complain, they only gave him $100. Luckily, when he returned home, he called upper management and they refunded the entire cost of his resort stay. Guess that blows the common idea here on the DIS that you must complain at the resort and that complaining once you get home is meaningless.

[Laugh O. Grams]

but they don't claim to be objective, like the nyt does.
"Fair and balanced"?!?! Hello?!?!

[NewEnglandDisney]

Did you read the entire article? I thought it was pretty fair, and ended on a positive note.

Articles like this might just get Disney to start fixing their problems.Two of the stories mentioned came right from DISers, a negative and a positive.

For those that want to read it, it's in the Sunday Travel section- it's on the website now, but you have to register to read it.

Agreed. Taking two lines out of the context of the article (without even supplying a link) was simply someone making a political grandstand.

The actual article was quite balanced, as a matter of fact.

If you don't want to register to read the article, go to bugmenot.com . :)

N.E.D.

[Baloo]

Since this is about news not trip planning I moved this thread over here to Rumors and News.

[daddydisneyworld]

"Fair and balanced"?!?! Hello?!?!

yes, i understand the reference...and yes, they are.

[rocketriter]

How odd. I found the article to be quite reasonably objective and well in line with discussions that take place on this board every day.

[tjkraz]

BTW, the writer's problem with his resort was they booked him into Saratoga Springs, while it was still under construction, and didn't feel it that important to mention it. The writer also paid for an upgraded room and was not put into the room his reservation guarenteed!

I'm paraphrasing here because I don't have the article in front of me, but the author didn't say he paid for an upgrade he said that he wanted a room with the sleeping arrangements that were "guaranteed" to him. Unfortunately he doesn't elaborate, so the reader is left to wonder what exactly what was guaranteed and who made the guarantee.

When he complained to the front desk to complain, they only gave him $100. Luckily, when he returned home, he called upper management and they refunded the entire cost of his resort stay.

Again, going from memory, the author indicated that the room situation was resolved. The $100 credit was offered due to "other issues" that arose during the stay. Again, no specifics. He further goes on to claim that "travel industry experts" claim he should have been due a refund for the entire night's stay. However, the reader (at least THIS reader) is left to wonder about the validity of that particular claim since we don't know what the problems were or the identities of these experts.

The most legitimate complaint I see about the resort concerns the ongoing construction. But even that topic is mentioned as almost a footnote. No comments on how it detracted from his trip. Was it merely an eyesore or did he awaken to the sound of groaning trucks each morning?

We also don't know where to place blame for this particular issue. The construction has been ongoing since the resort opened well over a year ago. If his trip was booked through WDTC/CRO, then I absolutely agree they should have said something. But if he booked through AAA or another TA, I don't see what Disney could have done to address that particular concern.

I'm not blind to some of the criticisms within the article, but it was a poorly written piece IMO that is not representative of the experiences of tens-of-thousands of guests staying at Disney resorts on a DAILY basis.

Citing informational sources that were over a year old didn't help either. Rather that quoting a 2004 article in the Orlando Sentinel about maintenance issues, why didn't the author provide his own commentary on the topic? 15 months is an awful lot of time to address peeling paint and dirty bathrooms.

Yes, the author presented both positive and negative viewpoints. For that I give him credit. But it sure seems like the (very limited) quotes and scenarios presented were carefully chosen to suit the author's chosen motivation for writing the piece.

[Laugh O. Grams]

yes, i understand the reference...and yes, they are.
O.K...so NY Times is way out in left field, but Fox News is truly "Fair and Balanced"? Gotcha.
Have you ever read the NY Times or are you just satisfied with having the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly spoon feed you? Unless you think people like Nicholas Kristoff, Bill Safire, John Tierney and David Brooks (all NY Times editorial writers) are some kind of raging liberals, you might want to pick up an edition and make up your own mind. Can't say the same for the Washington Times or Fox News...no, wait...Fox does have comedian Alan Combs there for balance...wow. Guess you must be right.

[Goofy4WDW1964]

I don't need an article in the NY Times or on Fox News to tell me that service at WDW has declined. I can go by my own perceptions over the last ten years.

[Laugh O. Grams]

I don't need an article in the NY Times or on Fox News to tell me that service at WDW has declined. I can go by my own perceptions over the last ten years.
Hey!!! Someone actually using their own brain as a estimator of quality!! What a concept! Thanks, Goofy4WDW1964!!

[k5thbeatle]

I don't need an article in the NY Times or on Fox News to tell me that service at WDW has declined. I can go by my own perceptions over the last ten years.


I'll second that!

[bicker]

Guess that blows the common idea here on the DIS that you must complain at the resort and that complaining once you get home is meaningless.Right: You are only better-off complaining at the resort if you're not a newspaper reporter. ;)

[TheDogbots]

wow this is brutal.... lol

just a clarification for the record right wing religious conservative does not = republican they just tend to vote with them. Republican = fiscal conservative.... so not every tom dick and harry in the republican party is a bible thumper from Texas. anyway... ding ding round two


I agree, anyone can see that the parks are declining by just visiting them. and we all know the reasons....

[Laugh O. Grams]

[Quote removed by Moderator]

So... instead of simply explaining as to why a so-called left wing liberal newspaper would allow 4 right wing conservatives to contribute to it's most liberal of all sections, the OP-ED page, you choose to make a feeble attempt at a putdown.

[DancingBear]

Republican = fiscal conservative....

Somebody needs to break that to the President and the party controlling both houses of Congress.

[alohaguy]

Someone explain to me how an article about Disney service has a political agenda of any form?!? Whether you subscribe to the NYT or think it is biased has just about nothing to do with the article being discussed. How does relating a poor service experience at WDW further any liberal or conservative agenda???? Makes no sense to me. Like it or not, the NYTimes has been a revered standard of journalism long before Disney existed. I think the article was balanced ... and more to the point, I think WDW needs to step-up its service and realize that the public sees their flaws.

[Mickmse2002]

I love to see how an issue as simple as WDW customer service can become politicized. Perhaps it should become an issue of national debate for the 2008 elections. I can picture it now......"Mr/Mrs. Candidate, if elected as President what will you do to ensure clean toilets at the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot?"

[Laugh O. Grams]

I love to see how an issue as simple as WDW customer service can become politicized.

Honestly, the title of the thread Typical NY Times slant! and complaints about the liberal media picking on poor Walt Disney World made this thread less about the actual article and more about how the liberal media is picking on Disney, a member of...the...liberal...media...oops.

[UrsulasShadow]

Honestly, the title of the thread Typical NY Times slant! and complaints about the liberal media picking on poor Walt Disney World made this thread less about the actual article and more about how the liberal media is picking on Disney, a member of...the...liberal...media...oops. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[HUFF590]

Latey All Ive read is kids kidnapped sons and daughters missing war war war, rep and dem globle warming hurricanes terroist etc. After all this I sure love getting away for week at WDW good or bad its still the best in the world.

[sotoalf]

Regarding today's article in the travel section-

"What kind of Mickey Mouse operation is this?...there seems to be a growing view that the mouse no longer delivers at the same magical level..."
You know that the NY Times could never be positive about something as American as Disneyworld. Of course they emphasize the negative.

It's not a newspaper's job to be "positive about something." Their business is to report the news: educate and inform. Besides his article says nothing we haven't discussed on these boards several hundred times a month.