Error filled newspaper story

[BC1836]

In The Asbury Park (NJ) Press' sunday edition, The Sunday Press (Sept. 30), a travel writer urged readers to "do your research before arriving in Orlando." Good advice. She recommended that visitors go to Mickey's Toontown, although it closed in February 2011. The writer also recommended Buzz Lightyear's Island. What island? She stated that Cinderella Castle has "18 towers." But doesn't it have twenty-seven? And she never even mentioned the Fantasyland expansion project which includes Storybook Circus, an area which just opened in part.

Alas, only in New Jersey.

All the best.

 

[leticiagoliveira]

I've seen sooo many stupid things being published in magazines and newspapers here in Brazil, so I'm kinda glad Brazilians aren't the only one making mistakes...

In a recent magazine (jun 2012), the opening pic was of Mickey's Toontown and why you should visit it - yeah, I know. In the same article, they were enfactic on saying you are not allowed to bring any food into the parks. But what bothered me the most is that Epcot was referred all the time as "Epcot Center". Hasn't the name changed for, I don't know, 15 years?!

I know most people here don't do a lot of research before going to Disney (they prefer the - hide your kids - tour groups ), but someone who is writing about Disney should do a little bit more research...

 

[Minerva Mouse]

In The Asbury Park (NJ) Press' sunday edition, The Sunday Press (Sept. 30), a travel writer urged readers to "do your research before arriving in Orlando." Good advice. She recommended that visitors go to Mickey's Toontown, although it closed in February 2011. The writer also recommended Buzz Lightyear's Island. What island? She stated that Cinderella Castle has "18 towers." But doesn't it have twenty-seven? And she never even mentioned the Fantasyland expansion project which includes Storybook Circus, an area which just opened in part.

Oh my

 

[BC1836]

And then there's the geography issue: Orlando vs. Lake Buena Vista!

All the best.

 

[SaraJayne]

I've rarely seen an article (newspaper, magazine, etc) that wasn't filled with incorrect info when it came to WDW.

 

[Hobbes]

"Disneyland in Florida" Infuriates me every time....

 

[njmom47]

How on earth did I miss that article? I read the Sunday Press from front to back. Now I have to go find it! How embarrassing....I hope someone set the writer straight!

 

[dburg30]

And then there's the geography issue: Orlando vs. Lake Buena Vista!

All the best.

After all the other things that people get confused / backwards / mixed up, I usually let that one slide..

 

[Texashokies]

There was a (fairly) recent article in the Austin American Statesman on the same topic. It said that you could save your FP and use it after the time window.

 

[ghtx]

Lol. Here's a link to the article OP mentioned: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012309300030&nclick_check=1 Start looking for the errors on "Day 2: Magic Kingdom."

"Buzz Lightyear's Island" was presumably an amalgamation of "Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin" and "Tom Sawyer's Island." Lazy reporting.

 

[dburg30]

Either they have edited it, or I've just missed it, which, with my reading attention, is possible, I dont see where they ever suggested visitng toontown.. I saw where it was listed as one of the 7 lands. As far as the towers on the castle /shrug, perhaps it wrong, perhaps they tried to count them on their own and missed some.. Kinda like the puzzle going around with all the squares and there are 40, but most only see like 24 or so.. So while I agree, their facts arent 100% right, which is not a good thing, it wasnt nearly as out of whack as I was expecting..

 

[Maggie'sMom]

And then there's the geography issue: Orlando vs. Lake Buena Vista!

All the best.

I don't really see this as that big of an error. LBV is definitely in the metro Orlando area and it's pretty common to refer to an entire metro area by the primary city. I live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, but when people not from the area ask where I live, I usually just answer Columbus rather than the actual suburb.

But in regards to newspaper and magazine articles, I agree with the PP who said it's rare to find an article that isn't filled with inaccuracies. Some of them are minor, but some of them are huge errors. My mom thought she was being helpful by giving me an article printed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about WDW. This was after I'd already been there 8 times. At least half of the tips in the article were misleading or outright wrong. I just smiled, thanked her, and threw it in the recycle bin.

 

[Reddog1134]

At least it didn't give "Tips for avoiding parking fees" or anything like that.

 

[QueenElinor]

In The Asbury Park (NJ) Press' sunday edition, The Sunday Press (Sept. 30), a travel writer urged readers to "do your research before arriving in Orlando." Good advice. She recommended that visitors go to Mickey's Toontown, although it closed in February 2011. The writer also recommended Buzz Lightyear's Island. What island? She stated that Cinderella Castle has "18 towers." But doesn't it have twenty-seven? And she never even mentioned the Fantasyland expansion project which includes Storybook Circus, an area which just opened in part.

Alas, only in New Jersey.

All the best.

Well, it gets worse, when you think about. You're familiar with Disney, so you know that article is wrong. But do you believe the other articles in that paper, things you're not really knowledgable about?

Michael Crichton (you probably know, but he wrote Jurassic Park and ER etc.) called it "Gell-Mann Amnesia" after a physicist friend of his, Dr. Murray Gell-Mann, who criticized the science writing every day in his newspaper, but would then turn the page, completely forgot how wrong they were on physics, and then believed what they said on another topic, like foreign affairs, because he didn't know any better.

It's kind of sad and depressing, but I don't trust anything I read or hear from one news outlet. If I really want to know about a topic, I read more than one writer. And that is my philosophic contribution for the day.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Well, it gets worse, when you think about it.

You saw the errors in this article and realize that they don't know what they're talking about, because you're much more familiar with Disney. What about everything else that you're not well-versed in? Do you believe what they print? They could be just as wrong when they're on another topic, but you have no way of knowing.

Michael Crichton called it "Gell-Mann Amnesia" after a physicist friend of his (Dr. Murray Gell-Mann) who criticized the science writing every day in his newspaper, but would then turn the page and believed what they said on another topic, like foreign affairs.

It's kind of sad and depressing, but you can't trust anything you read or hear from news outlet. If you really want to know about a topic, you have to read more than one writer. And that is my philosophic contribution for the day.

So true. Although I hadn't thought about it in exactly this way, but after all I've learned about WDW, I find myself researching other travel destinations much more thoroughly. I'll consult several websites to compare info in addition to reading travel articles and tour books. For other news, I check out multiple sources as well.

 

[fairestoneofall]

What annoys me more is when people write WDW BOOKS with mistakes in them. i read one that had several mistakes. i'm not even talking about things that are out-of-date--i'm talking things that never were a certain way in the first place.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Lazy work from a obsolete industry.

 

[nansmama]

Michael Crichton (you probably know, but he wrote Jurassic Park and ER etc.) called it "Gell-Mann Amnesia" after a physicist friend of his, Dr. Murray Gell-Mann

Which brings the conversation full circle, because in Jurassic Park, they get the opening year for Disneyland wrong.

 

[Max Rebo]

This article (from a fairly reputable website) says there are 18 towers on Cinderella Castle:

http://allears.net/tp/mk/castle.htm

Same thing here:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/cinderella-castle.htm

And here:

http://mouzekateerz.com/2012/03/01/disney-by-the-numb3rs-photographing-cinderella-castle/

Search on Google for "Cinderella Castle" "18 towers" and you can find several more.

It's clear that the writer is simply lifting material off of WDW reference materials that are widely available on the web and elsewhere, hence the inclusion of Toontown among the WDW "lands." I'm guessing the reference to "Buzz Lightyear's Island" was simply a matter of losing one's place and skipping from "Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin" to "Tom Sawyer's Island."

Lazy reporting? Sure. It was probably nothing more than a space filler to sell some advertising around to begin with. Nothing to get too worked up about.

 

[ghtx]

Lazy reporting? Sure. It was probably nothing more than a space filler to sell some advertising around to begin with. Nothing to get too worked up about.

That pretty much describes all print journalism.