Congrats to Magic Kingdom!!

[JimmyV]

What do they base these rankings on? Discovery Cove #2 in the world?? DCA ranked below Dollywood? lol

Typically, TripAdvisor uses user reviews, like Zagat. The problem is, with any place that has a huge attendance, there are many people to give it a "5 star review" and many people to gripe and give a "1 star review". With a place like Dollywood, (and I mean no offense to anyone), the crowd that goes there is probably pretty self-selected and predisposed to love it. Me? I can't imagine stepping foot in the place. And I'm sure that there are many skeptics just like me who likewise will never go, and thus there aren't any people to drive the ratings down. To a large degree, the Universal Parks get the benefit of the same bump. There are many people who go to WDW who won't step foot in US or IOA. Thus, that lowers the population from which bad reviews can come. The people who go to US/IOA may be more predisposed to loving it. Disney, on the other hand, draws from such a wide audience that there are plenty of people who will report back that they hated it.

 

[cakebaker]

Typically, TripAdvisor uses user reviews, like Zagat. The problem is, with any place that has a huge attendance, there are many people to give it a "5 star review" and many people to gripe and give a "1 star review". With a place like Dollywood, (and I mean no offense to anyone), the crowd that goes there is probably pretty self-selected and predisposed to love it. Me? I can't imagine stepping foot in the place. And I'm sure that there are many skeptics just like me who likewise will never go, and thus there aren't any people to drive the ratings down. To a large degree, the Universal Parks get the benefit of the same bump. There are many people who go to WDW who won't step foot in US or IOA. Thus, that lowers the population from which bad reviews can come. The people who go to US/IOA may be more predisposed to loving it. Disney, on the other hand, draws from such a wide audience that there are plenty of people who will report back that they hated it.

Thanks - that explains a lot of the weirdness in those supposed rankings.

I never use trip advisor so wasn't at all familiar with how it works.

 

[socrateze]

Typically, TripAdvisor uses user reviews, like Zagat. The problem is, with any place that has a huge attendance, there are many people to give it a "5 star review" and many people to gripe and give a "1 star review". With a place like Dollywood, (and I mean no offense to anyone), the crowd that goes there is probably pretty self-selected and predisposed to love it. Me? I can't imagine stepping foot in the place. And I'm sure that there are many skeptics just like me who likewise will never go, and thus there aren't any people to drive the ratings down. To a large degree, the Universal Parks get the benefit of the same bump. There are many people who go to WDW who won't step foot in US or IOA. Thus, that lowers the population from which bad reviews can come. The people who go to US/IOA may be more predisposed to loving it. Disney, on the other hand, draws from such a wide audience that there are plenty of people who will report back that they hated it.

Wouldn't the group who attends a Disney park be self-selecting also? I would think that people who Disney fans and theme park goers would tend to visit. I doubt people who dislike Disney or theme parks is general would visit WDW. So isn't the theory of self-selection also applicable to the people who reviewed the Disney parks on trip advisor?

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Typically, TripAdvisor uses user reviews, like Zagat. The problem is, with any place that has a huge attendance, there are many people to give it a "5 star review" and many people to gripe and give a "1 star review". With a place like Dollywood, (and I mean no offense to anyone), the crowd that goes there is probably pretty self-selected and predisposed to love it. Me? I can't imagine stepping foot in the place. And I'm sure that there are many skeptics just like me who likewise will never go, and thus there aren't any people to drive the ratings down. To a large degree, the Universal Parks get the benefit of the same bump. There are many people who go to WDW who won't step foot in US or IOA. Thus, that lowers the population from which bad reviews can come. The people who go to US/IOA may be more predisposed to loving it. Disney, on the other hand, draws from such a wide audience that there are plenty of people who will report back that they hated it.

I'm not following the logic here. The volume should actually lead to a more balanced score as outliers won't carry as much weight. I would also think Disney would benefit more from fanatics and people predisposed to love Disney.

 

[JimmyV]

Wouldn't the group who attends a Disney park be self-selecting also? I would think that people who Disney fans and theme park goers would tend to visit. I doubt people who dislike Disney or theme parks is general would visit WDW. So isn't the theory of self-selection also applicable to the people who reviewed the Disney parks on trip advisor?

No. A park like the MK draws so big an audience that it could never be considered to be self-selected.

I'm not following the logic here. The volume should actually lead to a more balanced score as outliers won't carry as much weight. I would also think Disney would benefit more from fanatics and people predisposed to love Disney.

Actually, you are following the logic perfectly. The volume leads to a more balanced score . And a more balanced score moves toward the middle of the curve. 10 people a year buy million dollar Lamborghinis. They are all likely to say they love them. Who spends that amount of money on a car and admits to hating it. A million people buy Honda Accords. A certain percentage of them will provide negative feedback. The larger sample size produces more balanced results and those balanced results will never lead the curve.

 

[3bugs]

I do love IOA and it's themeing - of course major plus is Harry Potter but above Magic Kingdom . . . . . Course my husband likes Magic Kingdom least out of the four World Parks. But I must say I LOVE that Europa-Park got #7!!!!! Went to that park one time as an adult and it blew me away - so cute and well done!!!

 

[JimmyV]

I know that this is a WDW board so the answer to this may be skewed, but in just comparing the Magic Kingdom in Florida to Disneyland in California, leaving all other parks out of the equation, do people think that the Florida park is superior to the California park? I love the entire Disney World Resort for what it is and would never trade the entire property for what is in California. However, if I am just comparing the two amusement parks head to head, I have to believe that California comes out on top.

 

[bcrook]

What do they base these rankings on? Discovery Cove #2 in the world?? DCA ranked below Dollywood? lol

These rankings are based on the reviews provided by the millions of tripadvisor contributors.

As for the Dollywood park. I love it there too. In another poll I read somewhere, I will see if I can find it. Dollywood ranked at the top of being the most Welcoming and Best Food.

One of my favorite places is Silver Dollar City - especially during Christmas season. It was cool to see it crack the top 25.

 

[bcrook]

Here it is... The 2014 Annual Theme Park Awards by Amusement Today... They are called the Golden Ticket Awards.

2014 Awards

Dollywood ranks 3rd overall on that list. Ranking #1 on Friendliness, Food, and Shows.

It looks like the 2015 awards will be handed out in September.

 

[bcrook]

I know that this is a WDW board so the answer to this may be skewed, but in just comparing the Magic Kingdom in Florida to Disneyland in California, leaving all other parks out of the equation, do people think that the Florida park is superior to the California park? I love the entire Disney World Resort for what it is and would never trade the entire property for what is in California. However, if I am just comparing the two amusement parks head to head, I have to believe that California comes out on top.

I visited both of them within two weeks of each other recently. I was stunned at how small Disneyland is in size. And I was excited to try some new rides (The Alice in Wonderland and Indiana Jones for example) and revisit some old favorites (Mr. Toad and Snow White).

Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland is now my most favorite ride ever. It is just fantastic. And I liked all of the New Orleans Square area (food theming and rides.). The train was better. Fantasmic! was great. Small world is much better.

With all that said...I couldn't get past the idea that everything was so crammed together. Having the Matterhorn stuck in the middle of nowhere for example was odd. I really appreciate how the Magic Kingdom completely separates the lands and the theming fades into the next land. The extra space allows me to relax more.

I loved them both. I can't understand though how the Magic Kingdom is so much bigger but doesn't have more attractions. Or why when moving the rides from Disneyland they couldn't be expanded with the more space rather than contracted. Why did Pirates of the Caribbean lose about 8 minutes of ride when it was added to MK?

The Little Mermaid Ride is clearly missing a scene or even a story line about Ursula and her demise. There is plenty of space at MK, why not use it?

For the record...Autotopia at DLR is just as horrible as the Speedway at MK. I didn't like that ride as a 5 year old, 10 year old, teenager, 30 year old and now I am in my late 40's and I still think it is stupid. I can't believe I wasted my 40 minutes on that at Disneyland. Rookie mistake.
lol

To answer your question. I can't choose.

 

[bcrook]

No surprise here. Oh how the mighty have fallen. You reap what you sow, Disney has chosen to pluck every dollar they can from its customers instead of building attractions. No surprise universal is now so popular, that is all they have done(built new attractions). Wake up call Disney management!

In the Golden Ticket Overall Best Park category MK finished behind both Disneyland and Islands of Adventure.
Epcot came in 5th with best landscaping.

 

[Captain Hook Wannabe]

I love, love, love MK. That being said, Discovery Cove does have it beat. I have 13 days in the parks scheduled in 3 weeks, but I am most excited about my 2nd trip to DC in the middle of my Disney vacation. DC is just incredible!!!

 

[3DisneyFanz]

No. A park like the MK draws so big an audience that it could never be considered to be self-selected.


Actually, you are following the logic perfectly. The volume leads to a more balanced score . And a more balanced score moves toward the middle of the curve. 10 people a year buy million dollar Lamborghinis. They are all likely to say they love them. Who spends that amount of money on a car and admits to hating it. A million people buy Honda Accords. A certain percentage of them will provide negative feedback. The larger sample size produces more balanced results and those balanced results will never lead the curve.

I guess it just seems to me that despite the numbers Disney would be the Lamborghini in this situation. It's kind of seen as the king of all parks and people don't typically just end up there on a whim. They plan it in advance and for a lot of people it's their one vacation of the year. If you're getting bad reviews from these people it's really not a good sign.

It also seems like Universal had a lot to lose in this department with Harry Potter being such a brand and draw. There were people who hated the movies because of how they differed from the movies so they had a tough battle to meet expectations from people who might not be theme park people.

As for Dollywood I also think the smaller crowds may not necessarily be to their advantage. People end up there sometimes out of lack of other things to do. I know that's how we ended up there last time because it was hot here and we wanted to just get to where it was cooler.

The most likely issue though is that Disney can't live up to reputation and expectation people have and it's only getting worse. It will be interesting to see how this changes if/when the HS changes come into play.

 

[mort1331]

Remember this is just one trip website that rates these parks by the comments that are on its site. Now |trip advisor is a huge site and all, but seeing that Canada's Wonderland in Toronto,Canada not there or the Ferrari roller coaster in Saudi Arabia not even ranked. Well that shows how tilted they are. I mean the Ferrari has been ranked as a must do by every roller coasters dream ride.
Rankings are just like polls, depends on who is asking and whom.

 

[itchin2go]

For what it's worth, my perception has been that Dollywood is very well-regarded among theme parks and wins lots of awards. I don't live far from there (6 hours or so driving), and we've always considered it a place we should probably visit at some time. We spent our summer vacation in East Tennessee 2 years in a row, though, due to a competition my daughter was in. Didn't visit Dollywood, but spent enough time in East Tennessee that it's not high on our list at the moment. Those were "Dance Moms" style trips - not that the competition was dance, but boy, I felt like I spent each week fighting with Abby Lee Miller. Not good memories.

My brother just returned from an epic 2 week multi-state trip, and they loved Dollywood. They vacationed in DisneyWorld last summer, so they do understand the comparison.

I find it funny that people will get judg-y when comparing theme parks they've been to with theme parks they've never been to.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Is there a category for "Best Ride Rationing System"? While Universal was building Harry Potter themed areas, Disney was upgrading "in the background". Perhaps if Disney wants to climb to the top of a list best "Theme" parks, it should concentrate on "Theming". I'll bet in 2021 after it adds significant theming and attractions, Disney's parks will rate higher. And before the "but look at the attendance" crowd rears its head, just remember that more people eat in MacDonalds and Subway in an hour than eat in Victoria & Albert's in a year.

Because V&A plate rations.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Remember this is just one trip website that rates these parks by the comments that are on its site. Now |trip advisor is a huge site and all, but seeing that Canada's Wonderland in Toronto,Canada not there or the Ferrari roller coaster in Saudi Arabia not even ranked. Well that shows how tilted they are. I mean the Ferrari has been ranked as a must do by every roller coasters dream ride.
Rankings are just like polls, depends on who is asking and whom.

Agreed. There is no methodology. Just a great website to get an idea of how something is. From that, they gave a ranking list of how theme parks rank.
(I would say that regardless if the results.)

To that end, if one is to accept this as validation, one has to accept how all the parks rank.

 

[IrishNYC]

I've never been to Dollywoid, but my parents and sister have. They went in with very low expectations, and ended up loving it. I have friends that have gone as well and enjoy it very much.

Perhaps part of the reason MK is the highest attended park but rated third is that there are a LOT of repeat guests and they don't tend to review each time they go. Or they've become more jaded and rate it with less stars because the magic has worn off.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

For what it's worth, my perception has been that Dollywood is very well-regarded among theme parks and wins lots of awards. I don't live far from there (6 hours or so driving), and we've always considered it a place we should probably visit at some time. We spent our summer vacation in East Tennessee 2 years in a row, though, due to a competition my daughter was in. Didn't visit Dollywood, but spent enough time in East Tennessee that it's not high on our list at the moment. Those were "Dance Moms" style trips - not that the competition was dance, but boy, I felt like I spent each week fighting with Abby Lee Miller. Not good memories.

My brother just returned from an epic 2 week multi-state trip, and they loved Dollywood. They vacationed in DisneyWorld last summer, so they do understand the comparison.

I find it funny that people will get judg-y when comparing theme parks they've been to with theme parks they've never been to.

This is on my bucket list. Would love to go there. Don't they have a Kennywood as well somewhere?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I've never been to Dollywoid, but my parents and sister have. They went in with very low expectations, and ended up loving it. I have friends that have gone as well and enjoy it very much.

Perhaps part of the reason MK is the highest attended park but rated third is that there are a LOT of repeat guests and they don't tend to review each time they go. Or they've become more jaded and rate it with less stars because the magic has worn off.

It could also be that that guest is more likely to vocalize complaints. And some are serious and legit. And others are like that guy that stayed at GF at Christmas and had ridiculous reasons to complain.

Locally--Disney gets trashed any time a ticket rise occurs. But when other park's do it, they aren't trashed as much if at all. Some even blame Disney. (Based on local news station article comments.)