Congrats to Magic Kingdom!!

[ArwenMarie]

When I read that I couldn't help but think of Space Mountain and Dinoland.

Definitely Disney/Uni have all those things too. The difference IMO is having the themed interior dark rides. And I guess theming the coasters too (Everest, BTMRR etc)

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I think that's exactly what an excellent marketing department is expected to do.

No. They can't compel you to do anything. No one is "forced" to go to Disney.

Adults can use that magical word with their kids called "No".

Turning a consumer decision into a negative thing to devalue attendance numbers is pretty silly.

 

[JimmyV]

In the last month or so, there was an article reporting attendance figures for 2014. The Magic kingdom was #1 with approximately 13 million visitors, Universal studios was 2nd with about 8 million and if I remember right, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and DHS were 3,4 and 5. Now, I would think, that these figures, assuming they are fairly accurate, would reflect which park is most popular with guests and therefore which is better.

When did "more popular with guests" equate to "better"? Which restaurant is "more popular with guests"...Cosmic Rays, or Victoria & Albert's? Which brand of car is better...Kia or Ferrari? Which ride is better....Winnie the Pooh, or Revenge of the Mummy? In every instance, the former is more popular than the latter. But better??

Anyone think maybe a part of that might be the fact that Disney even draws people who don't like theme parks at all? Most parent feel obligated to take their children to Disney. Even if they typically avoid theme parks like the plague. I'm sure lots of people feeling obligated to let their children see Disney would loath the crowds, heat, work, and overwhelmingness of it all.

Exactly! This was what I was driving at back on page 2. WDW in general, and the MK in particular, is the least self-selective park of any of these that have been rated. We have a Six Flags within an hour of us. I never go. My daughter goes often. Before she could drive, she would get rides with friends, or I would drive one way, and some other parent would do the pick-up. They enjoy it. I never step foot in it. I am not opposed to the concept. But the last time that I went, it was so god-awful crowded that I simply didn't have a good time, and the food I was served went straight into the trash. Were I to rate that on TA, it would be a 1 or 2 star experience. But because I don't go, I don't rate it. WDW on the other hand, has plenty of like-minded people who are walking around, but they are there because it is a right of passage to take one's family there. As hard as it is for Dis'ers to believe, there are people out there who simply do not enjoy this style of vacation. But these people are far, far more likely to go to WDW than they are to go to Universal or Dollywood. So they go to the former and rate it poorly, and skip the latter and don't rate them at all. This trend has a profound impact on ratings. All you need to do is look at threads on this Board that start out: "Help. My Spouse Hates WDW". There are plenty of such posts out there. If said spouse also happens to be a habitual TA rater, then look out!

 

[PantherPete]

But Universal Islands of Adventure is #1? I thoroughly enjoyed the Harry Potter area of Island of Adventure . .the rest of the park was mediocre. Just and odd mish-mash of themes and rides. I did not really enjoy the Marvel area (besides the Spiderman ride), the Sunday comics area (who under the age of 60 even know these characters?), and the Dr. Seuss area. If it wasn't for Harry Potter, I would have felt like I wasted my money on that park. An expensive six-flags Theme park with less rides.
I enjoyed the original Universal Studios more.

I totally agree. I went to Universal for the first time in March. I like IoA, but Universal Studios was way better.
While it doesn't surprise me that it finished so low, I think Cedar Point is extremely underrated. For those of you who haven't been - if rides are your top reason to go to amusement parks, there is no park that I've been to that is better. And it is a really nice place, right on the shores of Lake Erie. And while the "themeing" isn't all that great (Frontier land is really well done, but the rest is kind of blah), it is landscaped well and very clean. And it is doesn't have that corporate "parking lot with rides" feel that Six Flags parks do. If you like roller coasters, put Cedar Point on your bucket list.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

When did "more popular with guests" equate to "better"? Which restaurant is "more popular with guests"...Cosmic Rays, or Victoria & Albert's? Which brand of car is better...Kia or Ferrari? Which ride is better....Winnie the Pooh, or Revenge of the Mummy? In every instance, the former is more popular than the latter. But better??


Exactly! This was what I was driving at back on page 2. WDW in general, and the MK in particular, is the least self-selective park of any of these that have been rated. We have a Six Flags within an hour of us. I never go. My daughter goes often. Before she could drive, she would get rides with friends, or I would drive one way, and some other parent would do the pick-up. They enjoy it. I never step foot in it. I am not opposed to the concept. But the last time that I went, it was so god-awful crowded that I simply didn't have a good time, and the food I was served went straight into the trash. Were I to rate that on TA, it would be a 1 or 2 star experience. But because I don't go, I don't rate it. WDW on the other hand, has plenty of like-minded people who are walking around, but they are there because it is a right of passage to take one's family there. As hard as it is for Dis'ers to believe, there are people out there who simply do not enjoy this style of vacation. But these people are far, far more likely to go to WDW than they are to go to Universal or Dollywood. So they go to the former and rate it poorly, and skip the latter and don't rate them at all. This trend has a profound impact on ratings. All you need to do is look at threads on this Board that start out: "Help. My Spouse Hates WDW". There are plenty of such posts out there. If said spouse also happens to be a habitual TA rater, then look out!

Seems an oversimplification given that the parks rank around 4.5 stars on TA.

If what you suggest had any meat to it, it would translate into lower ratings. But in average, there is no concrete evidence that these folks having such a bad time are having a "profound impact" on ratings. That is nothing but hyperbole given their own (TA) statistics when Poor and Terrible ratings are less than 5% of Total ratings. 70% had an excellent time.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Orlando_Florida.html#rd_reviews_section_start





Compare that to Six Flags over GA (selected since I don't know where your Six Flags is). Clearly many less reviews. But they only get 4 stars and of those, Terrible and Poor reviews represent 17%. Less than half are having an excellent time.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Austell_Georgia.html#rd_reviews_section_start




I don't know why it is a surprise that Disney is not a bad experience and is actually even a great experience for most people who go. Now, these are only representative of those willing to write a review which has its own methodology issues. But still, if what you say is true that a profound impact compared to other parks would be visible, the numbers would tell a different story.

 

[Planogirl]

So the Disney parks are rated lower because of many factors but none of that applies to other parks? OK.

I do agree that the Disney parks are not a bad experience for the vast majority but even a not bad experience might actually not be rated right at the top. It's hard to quantify what the casual traveler actually thinks.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I definitely agree that there is a population who would not go to Disney except for the fact that it's become a rite of passage. They don't love Disney, but their kids love Disney characters and see commercials about Disney World/Land and want to go...so they wait until the child is "old enough" to go and remember it, and they are one and done. I can think of more than a couple of families I know that fit into this category.

 

[Planogirl]

I definitely agree that there is a population who would not go to Disney except for the fact that it's become a rite of passage. They don't love Disney, but their kids love Disney characters and see commercials about Disney World/Land and want to go...so they wait until the child is "old enough" to go and remember it, and they are one and done. I can think of more than a couple of families I know that fit into this category.

I know people like that too. They've gone and even said they had a nice time but they have no desire to go back.

 

[WillAustin]

So the Disney parks are rated lower because of many factors but none of that applies to other parks? OK.

Yes, that make no sense. Rose-colored glasses I guess.

 

[mort1331]

Well, if they went to Saudi Arabia to ride it, that explains why they didn't review it.

Formula Rossa is in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Whoops,Sorry wrong country, but still supposed to be a great ride.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So the Disney parks are rated lower because of many factors but none of that applies to other parks? OK.

I do agree that the Disney parks are not a bad experience for the vast majority but even a not bad experience might actually not be rated right at the top. It's hard to quantify what the casual traveler actually thinks.

My response was to the notion that the negative reviews have a "profound impact". The impact does not to seem so "profound" as there is no evidence of it. I don't know why this is hard to understand.

Nowhere did I state that factors should not be applied to other parks.

It is hard to quantify what the traveler thinks which is why using TA as a litmus of overall impression is not perfect. But if the premise is that a negative opinion hurts Disney more, TA's own system does not show it. In fact, it seems statistically from the elective sample that such a horrible time is an exception rather than be rule.

But the poster I quoted tried to make it sound as though the exception is actually the norm. I think and then used Six flags as a counter example. Per TA, I would expect the norm at Six Flags to be that I may have a good time, but I am more likely to have as good a time as a better ranked theme/amusement park.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes, that make no sense. Rose-colored glasses I guess.

How so? The claim is refuted by actual reports.
How do we go from people really don't like Disney to it must be rose colored glasses?

It sounds like you are reaching for something negative that doesn't exist.

 

[LOL!]

No. They can't compel you to do anything. No one is "forced" to go to Disney.

Adults can use that magical word with their kids called "No".

Turning a consumer decision into a negative thing to devalue attendance numbers is pretty silly.

To "compel" and to "force" are two entirely different things. Marketing departments most certainly try to compel people to purchase their product, it's the reason for their very existence. Of course they can't "force" anyone to do it.

And in the example offered, Disney wasn't marketing to kids whose parents could simply say no. They are marketing to grandparents and explaining why it's such a good idea for them to take their grandchildren to Disney World, even going so far as to imply how young it will make them feel.

And maybe Disney Marketing decided to target the grandparents because more parents ARE saying no?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Seems an oversimplification given that the parks rank around 4.5 stars on TA.

If what you suggest had any meat to it, it would translate into lower ratings. But in average, there is no concrete evidence that these folks having such a bad time are having a "profound impact" on ratings. That is nothing but hyperbole given their own (TA) statistics when Poor and Terrible ratings are less than 5% of Total ratings. 70% had an excellent time.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Orlando_Florida.html#rd_reviews_section_start


View attachment 110067


Compare that to Six Flags over GA (selected since I don't know where your Six Flags is). Clearly many less reviews. But they only get 4 stars and of those, Terrible and Poor reviews represent 17%. Less than half are having an excellent time.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Austell_Georgia.html#rd_reviews_section_start


View attachment 110068

I don't know why it is a surprise that Disney is not a bad experience and is actually even a great experience for most people who go. Now, these are only representative of those willing to write a review which has its own methodology issues. But still, if what you say is true that a profound impact compared to other parks would be visible, the numbers would tell a different story.

OK, so what do YOU think accounts for their #3 position? Jimmy's theory makes total sense to me, and it also explains why the most attended theme park in the world would rank third on the satisfaction scale. There has to be a reason for that. The reason being is that visitors to the MK are a wider cross-section of the overall population in general--let's face it, many people think that the MK IS "Disney World." When you have a more diverse crowd going someplace, the overall group satisfaction with the place is always going to be lower than places that draw a more specialized audience, who are more inclined to like the specialty product. I'm not understanding your argument, Lisalovespooh, because frankly it defies logic.

 

[LOL!]

WDW on the other hand, has plenty of like-minded people who are walking around, but they are there because it is a right of passage to take one's family there. As hard as it is for Dis'ers to believe, there are people out there who simply do not enjoy this style of vacation.

I never thought of it that way, but you do put forth a compelling argument that WDW is filled with people who don't want to be there.

More accurately put, they aren't there to be "there", they are there to be with someone else.

 

[WillAustin]

How so? The claim is refuted by actual reports.
How do we go from people really don't like Disney to it must be rose colored glasses?

It sounds like you are reaching for something negative that doesn't exist.

I see a lot of bending over backwards to find reasons that the Disney parks aren't on top of all these lists. It's the same type of selective finagling that was in that past thread about trusting Touring Plans. Something is true except when it's more convenient that it's not.

 

[JimmyV]

Seems an oversimplification given that the parks rank around 4.5 stars on TA.

Not at all. It simply means that the number of people who are driving the ranking down is comparatively small in relation to the total number of guests. If the number of grumbling haters was 10,000,000 out of 18,000,000 guests per year, you would see a star rating of far lower than 4.5. If the number of haters is 300,000, then perhaps 5 stars becomes 4.5. The point being that WDW has a higher percentage of people who would prefer not to be there than any other amusement/theme park because WDW is unique in its place in Americana as a destination that most everyone strives to attain for their family.

Jimmy's theory makes total sense to me, and it also explains why the most attended theme park in the world would rank third on the satisfaction scale.

I never thought of it that way, but you do put forth a compelling argument that WDW is filled with people who don't want to be there.

I'll rest on that.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm going to say most (many?) people are going to WDW because of their kids. I don't know anyone else in all of my circles, relatives, friends, neighbors, schools, who goes to WDW as much as we do. We are the outliers. People I know tend to go once, or perhaps a few times during the years as their children are growing up. I think that is the norm. They are exactly the kind of folks who are going to come back and say that MK was too crowded and they didn't get on enough rides. This is compounded by the fact that they aren't poring over the Disboards catching every touring tip, so they will be the ones who are most disappointed when the monorail doesn't show up or half the rides weren't open during the EMH. That kind of thing.

I'm thinking the IoA rating (I think that Discovery Cove is in a different category) is higher because there is a very motivated group of people going to see Hogsmeade and now Diagon Alley and those two lands are awesome especially for HP fans.

 

[WillAustin]

OJimmy's theory makes total sense to me, and it also explains why the most attended theme park in the world would rank third on the satisfaction scale. There has to be a reason for that.

I think the larger numbers of people in itself lowers the satisfaction for some.

 

[Planogirl]

Being number 3 isn't exactly shameful. I would worry more about the poorer performance of the other parks.