Congrats to Magic Kingdom!!

[bcrook]

We also have to consider that people are more likely to leave a review for a bad experience than a good experience. Even die hard Disney fans have to admit that last year the Florida parks had a lot for people to complain about with the advent of Magic Bands and My Disney Experience. If you did not plan you could have had a miserable experience.

I'm sure the magicbands did contribute to some complaints. But have you looked at Tripadvisor rankings? They are skewed towards 4/5s. So I don't buy the idea that most people go to TA to complain.

I am an anomaly. I report EVERY experience - good or bad. I know, I've got problems.

 

[Love Tink]

See, they know that you are a customer - and a repeat customer. They have no idea who voted on this poll. I would wager a huge sum that many of the people who voted in that poll have never been to WDW. Why would/should Disney care that someone who loved Dollywood and has never been to another park other than Dollywood ranked Dollywood higher than MK, and how would anyone know better.

A poll like this is only helpful if everyone who has voted has been to every park listed in the poll. Otherwise it is worthless.

I don't think you know how Trip Advisor works.

It isn't a "poll."

 

[Love Tink]

And you are comparing McDonald's to 5 star restaurants. Really?

Yes, because it is a completely apt analogy in every way.

More people go to McDonalds than go to a 5-star restaurant, indisputably. (McDonalds is more popular.)

However, I believe - as most logical people would - that if patrons of both restaurants were given an opportunity to rank their experience from 1 to 5 stars, the 5-star restaurant would garner a higher average number of stars than would the McDonalds. (The 5-star restaurant provides a better customer experience.)

 

[ojeight]

I'm sure the magicbands did contribute to some complaints. But have you looked at Tripadvisor rankings? They are skewed towards 4/5s. So I don't buy the idea that most people go to TA to complain.

I did not say that most people go to to Trip Adviser to complain. I said people are more likely to leave a review for a negative experience than a positive one. but some of these review don't even have anything to do with the park. Some such as the ones below seem to be more political.

they imported 178.indian workers to replace their employes currant workers had to train foregin workers to receive their servance pay for 3 months knowing that they were termanted, bummer DISNEY IS NOT AN AMERICAN FRIENDLY EMPOLYER THEY ARE LOOKING FOR$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ only you and I pay their high entrance fee they let go of honest hard working employes for substuties

You take your family to Disney paying huge entrance fees only to find out that today is their largest "Gay Pride" day of the year. So you are walking around with 20,000 people wearing RED shirts many of which are Vulgar, publicly making out and all in front of your children. I feel that it's totally unethical of Disney

The one below does't feel she should have to plan like the rest of us. I have been making reservation for December for the last month and still do not have all the times I want. I guess Disney doen't care about New Yorkers either.

Once again Disney has proven that they care nothing for the Florida Annual Pass holder. Tried to make a reservation 5 weeks in advance for my daughter's birthday. We were told by 2 different managers that it was our fault we couldn't get in due to the fact that we didn't try to make reservations 6 MONTHS in advance. Guess

 

[itchin2go]

The one below does't feel she should have to plan like the rest of us. I have been making reservation for December for the last month and still do not have all the times I want. I guess Disney doen't care about New Yorkers either.

Once again Disney has proven that they care nothing for the Florida Annual Pass holder. Tried to make a reservation 5 weeks in advance for my daughter's birthday. We were told by 2 different managers that it was our fault we couldn't get in due to the fact that we didn't try to make reservations 6 MONTHS in advance. Guess

Just because you don't agree with someone's viewpoint, doesn't make it invalid. Many people DON'T like the degree of planning that comes with a Disney vacation. Why would that not be a valid complaint?

Even if there are wack-o complaints in and amongst the valid ones, why would that be unique to Disney reviews? Don't you think you could find an odd review under one of the other theme parks too?

 

[JimmyV]

Just a few points of clarification on some recent squabbles:

The Tripadvisor "award" is not the result of a static poll. It is a slice in time report that captures the thousands of reviews posted for the most popular theme parks. If a new theme park opened yesterday and got three "5 star" votes, it would not qualify for the award. The MK is the recipient of 121,168 votes as of yesterday with an approval rating of 4.522. IOA is the recipient of 23,393 votes with an approval rating of 4.617. No one was asked to "rate their favorite park". The "award" is simply the compilation of the votes that each has received over time. Perhaps TA uses June 30 as a cutoff for its annual awards. But whatever they use, it isn't based on a new poll.

The old adage that "people complain more than they praise" seems to be outdated, assuming it was ever true. You cannot go to one single social media self-reporting site and find support for this adage. There are far more restaurants rated in Zagat with scores between 18-30 than there are for restaurants rated 0-18. There are far more hotels/restaurants/"things to do" rated in Tripadvisor with scores between 2.5-5 than there are with scores of 0-2.5. If people complained more than they praised, this could never hold true. Go to Yelp, Urban Spoon, or any other similar site and you will see the same thing repeated. I am not a social scientist or a data analyst. But if you are in this field, you may want to start a new study of this phenomenon. Perhaps there is a Nobel Prize waiting for you at the other end. But one thing is for sure. If it ever was true that people complained more than they praised, those days are over. I suspect the reason why is ego. People want to brag on social media sites about the great places they spent their money at instead of revealing themselves to the whole world to be idiots for throwing their money away at bad places. And no, Lisa, I do not have data to support that. In the immortal words of Monty Python...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just because you don't agree with someone's viewpoint, doesn't make it invalid. Many people DON'T like the degree of planning that comes with a Disney vacation. Why would that not be a valid complaint?

Even if there are wack-o complaints in and amongst the valid ones, why would that be unique to Disney reviews? Don't you think you could find an odd review under one of the other theme parks too?

I guess if other parks had Gay Days, maybe.

 

[bcrook]

I did not say that most people go to to Trip Adviser to complain. I said people are more likely to leave a review for a negative experience than a positive one. but some of these review don't even have anything to do with the park. Some such as the ones below seem to be more political.

Honestly, I don't follow. If you go to the Magic Kingdom and look at the reviews it is overwhelmingly positive. 25,000 positive votes to 1200 poor or terrible.

These awards simply mean that Islands of Adventure got MORE positive reviews - mainly because of the incredible Wizarding World of Harry Potter and their fantastic Jurassic Park land and their Marvel Characters and their Fun coasters, and that beautiful lake, and great theming in a lot of areas.

 

[itchin2go]

I guess if other parks had Gay Days, maybe.

Well, on that point yes. But is it possible that something like that - not that - but something like that goes on at one of the other parks too?

And with that particular issue, couldn't Disney be getting some GOOD reviews from those who attend and love Gay Days?

I just don't know why we have to come up with a reason why this particular ranking is invalid. So what if it is valid? Is that the end of the world for some reason?

ETA:

I just googled Dollywood controversy and came up with this as the first hit (and then I quit looking):

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/dolly-parton-responds-to-dollywood-splash-t

We all know that SeaWorld has had a bit (LOL) of controversy of late. Controversy is not unique to DisneyWorld. I'm just not up on what issues there might be with other parks, but we can't seriously believe that issues are not there.

 

[bcrook]

I am not a social scientist or a data analyst. But if you are in this field, you may want to start a new study of this phenomenon. Perhaps there is a Nobel Prize waiting for you at the other end. But one thing is for sure. If it ever was true that people complained more than they praised, those days are over. I suspect the reason why is ego. People want to brag on social media sites about the great places they spent their money at instead of revealing themselves to the whole world to be idiots for throwing their money away at bad places.

That is awesome. AND I don't have to have a PhD to study this. Being in a middle school, I think this would be a cool study for my students.

Regardless, I agree - it would be a great paper for a social scientist. I wonder if it has already been done?

 

[bcrook]

Well, on that point yes. But is it possible that something like that - not that - but something like that goes on at one of the other parks too?

And with that particular issue, couldn't Disney be getting some GOOD reviews from those who attend and love Gay Days?

I just don't know why we have to come up with a reason why this particular ranking is invalid. So what if it is valid? Is that the end of the world for some reason?

pretty strange really. It is simply a report from the top social media site that reviews attractions around the world. It is what it is... I imagine the Islands of Adventure managers are thrilled with it.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just a few points of clarification on some recent squabbles:

The Tripadvisor "award" is not the result of a static poll. It is a slice in time report that captures the thousands of reviews posted for the most popular theme parks. If a new theme park opened yesterday and got three "5 star" votes, it would not qualify for the award. The MK is the recipient of 121,168 votes as of yesterday with an approval rating of 4.522. IOA is the recipient of 23,393 votes with an approval rating of 4.617. No one was asked to "rate their favorite park". The "award" is simply the compilation of the votes that each has received over time. Perhaps TA uses June 30 as a cutoff for its annual awards. But whatever they use, it isn't based on a new poll.

The old adage that "people complain more than they praise" seems to be outdated, assuming it was ever true. You cannot go to one single social media self-reporting site and find support for this adage. There are far more restaurants rated in Zagat with scores between 18-30 than there are for restaurants rated 0-18. There are far more hotels/restaurants/"things to do" rated in Tripadvisor with scores between 2.5-5 than there are with scores of 0-2.5. If people complained more than they praised, this could never hold true. Go to Yelp, Urban Spoon, or any other similar site and you will see the same thing repeated. I am not a social scientist or a data analyst. But if you are in this field, you may want to start a new study of this phenomenon. Perhaps there is a Nobel Prize waiting for you at the other end. But one thing is for sure. If it ever was true that people complained more than they praised, those days are over. I suspect the reason why is ego. People want to brag on social media sites about the great places they spent their money at instead of revealing themselves to the whole world to be idiots for throwing their money away at bad places. And no, Lisa, I do not have data to support that. In the immortal words of Monty Python...

So, they hate it, but your theory which is your own is that they are too embarrassed to admit it?

But it would be convenient if people who are too embarrassed that they wasted money just kept it to themselves. If that is what it takes to justify a good rating, that is some crafty obfuscation. Theoretically speaking.

There is a thing such as credibility. And if places are persistently obtaining positive ratings and it seems that a whole lot of folks are not finding that experience, eventually the credibility of the ratings would come into question. And more people, theoretically speaking, would be called to action. If they aren't embarrassed.

This is off set by number of ratings. If a places has high ratings but only one or two reviews, that won't be as credible as a place with 100 reviews and an overwhelming
high rating. In theory.

 

[flicx]

The idea that Disney could care less is funny. When two major surveys involving millions of people have similar results you are probably gonna take notice. If you don't I think you can expect a further downward trend.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well, on that point yes. But is it possible that something like that - not that - but something like that goes on at one of the other parks too?

And with that particular issue, couldn't Disney be getting some GOOD reviews from those who attend and love Gay Days?

I just don't know why we have to come up with a reason why this particular ranking is invalid. So what if it is valid? Is that the end of the world for some reason?

ETA:

I just googled Dollywood controversy and came up with this as the first hit (and then I quit looking):

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/dolly-parton-responds-to-dollywood-splash-t

We all know that SeaWorld has had a bit (LOL) of controversy of late. Controversy is not unique to DisneyWorld. I'm just not up on what issues there might be with other parks, but we can't seriously believe that issues are not there.

To be clear, I was in no way invalidating the ranking other than from a statistics standpoint, it isn't entirely valid as a stand alone survey since there is no formal methodology. Who ever feels moved to review does and those who don't aren't included.

I was questioning the significant impact of negative reviews when comparing one park with another. To me, in reading the stats TA provided, negative experiences seem the exception rather than the rule of the top parks on TA. And to me, that is a legit thing to consider when choosing a destination.

But back to negatives--it seems most don't have an issue with Gay Days. So it would be incorrect to state that those who hate Gay days have a significant impact on overall rating. And even if they did, the common vacation will discard that opinion for a number of reasons.

 

[JimmyV]

So, they hate it, but your theory which is your own is that they are too embarrassed to admit it?

Not in the way that you think. I'm not suggesting that people lie. If they "hate" something, they are probably likely to report on that as a warning to others. If they are "meh" on something, they probably let it slide and don't report on it. If they like something, they are likely to brag about it. And since most people go through life enjoying what they do and experience, the "likes" outpace the "hates", and the "mehs" disappear. The net result is more positives than negatives. If you have another theory as to why positives far outweigh negatives despite the common adage that people complain more than they praise, we are all eyes and ears.

 

[itchin2go]

To be clear, I was in no way invalidating the ranking other than from a statistics standpoint, it isn't entirely valid as a stand alone survey since there is no formal methodology. Who ever feels moved to review does and those who don't aren't included.

I was questioning the significant impact of negative reviews when comparing one park with another. To me, in reading the stats TA provided, negative experiences seem the exception rather than the rule of the top parks on TA. And to me, that is a legit thing to consider when choosing a destination.

But back to negatives--it seems most don't have an issue with Gay Days. So it would be incorrect to state that those who hate Gay days have a significant impact on overall rating. And even if they did, the common vacation will discard that opinion for a number of reasons.

Maybe I misunderstood your post with regard to Gay Days.

I'm not weighing in on how scientific the methodology is. It doesn't really matter to me. TripAdvisor is pretty reputable, IMO if in no one else's, but I don't think I'm alone. The list is something to consider. That's all. It's not as though I take whatever is at the top of the list, and decide - we're going there. It's just something to consider. In fact, when I'm going to a new city, I will look at the list of top attractions there. I may discard the 6 most popular attractions as things my family would just not be interested in. I like lists like this, but they're just one tool to consider.

I still think any issues with methodology would affect things across the board, and not disproportionately affect Disney. If people are rating too high, they're doing it across the board. If people are only complaining and not praising, they're doing it across the board. If some people have looney-tunes complaints, the looneys don't just weigh in on Disney. If only the kind of people who leave reviews are the ones weighing in, then that's true for all theme park reviews, not just Disney.

 

[ojeight]

Just because you don't agree with someone's viewpoint, doesn't make it invalid. Many people DON'T like the degree of planning that comes with a Disney vacation. Why would that not be a valid complaint?

Even if there are wack-o complaints in and amongst the valid ones, why would that be unique to Disney reviews? Don't you think you could find an odd review under one of the other theme parks too?

I was being sarcastic. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion which is why the whole trip adviser list is really useless because there are no guidelines to what they ratings are based on. Everything is subjective. Go to the dining or resort sections of this board and you will see certain people hate restaurants and resorts that other people love.

 

[itchin2go]

I was being sarcastic. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion which is why the whole trip adviser list is really useless because there are no guidelines to what they ratings are based on. Everything is subjective. Go to the dining or resort sections of this board and you will see certain people hate restaurants and resorts that other people love.

Missed the sarcasm, sorry.

Of course ratings are subjective. And there's far more value in actually reading the reviews vs. just turning them into rankings. Someone may hate a hotel because it's in a busy area filled with chain restaurants, while that might be exactly what I want.

That said, there is *some* value in the rankings, especially when you take into account the high number of reviews that are posted on Trip Advisor.

 

[bumbershoot]

Both of these lead me to believe it's more young males voting for this thing.

?

I"m not "young" and not male, but I'd put IOA over MK any day.

the Sunday comics area (who under the age of 60 even know these characters?)

You, now. Me. And I'm under 60. Do you know when most of those comics were in papers? Hint, as late as the late 80s (when I stopped getting a paper so maybe even into the 90s). My son, thanks to IOA. Anyone who has eyes and curiosity and a willingness to say "what are these all about?" instead of just saying "no one knows about whatever these things are".

Even Universal Studios gets old quickly. With the Universal FP equivalent we were walking on to every ride over and over and it got to the point where we were ready to go back the hotel super early.

That's got to be the strangest complaint ever. I got to do everything I wanted over and over so we went back to our resort. Since you had UEP you were onsite at Deluxe, so I hope you got to lounge around poolside or eat some yummy food or something?

Having that experience is WHY we love Uni. We get to have tons of fun in the parks AND have a relaxing vacation at the same time. Woo!

I really appreciate how the Magic Kingdom completely separates the lands and the theming fades into the next land.

OK.

I can't understand though how the Magic Kingdom is so much bigger but doesn't have more attractions.

Well, maybe because they want to completely separate the lands from each other?

 

[bcrook]

?
Well, maybe because they want to completely separate the lands from each other?

Nice!