Frommer article full of WDW misinformation

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

We took our DS6 and DD4 to all four parks in December. We just returned from a short trip and they could only choose two parks to visit. They chose Epcot as one. They love Soaring, Test Track, Nemo, Ellen's Energy Adventure, etc. My son loves the countries! What an ignorant comment.

 

[Chuck65]

I love the fact that she calls All Stars nothing more than a cinder block building full of school groups. Geez!

 

[WillCAD]

"Despite my carping about high prices, I have to admit a soft spot for the theme parks of Orlando."

I think she has a soft spot in her head when it comes to WDW.

But I think she DID have some good advice in there amid the biased opinions.

I know many will disagree w/ me, but I WOULD recommend this person wait until children are older, particularly since budget is an issue. We waited, and DS12, DD9 and DS7 are all old enough, tall enough and generally brave enough to ride EVERYTHING!!!

We are choosing to stay onsite, but you certainly can get a much better price offsite. It certainly would have been nice to see the reasons TO stay onsite. ESPECIALLY w/ little ones, the convenience of being able to take an afternoon break offsets the cost, IMO. The misinformation about the extra room is unacceptable.

It is too bad that DDP was not sufficiently explained. Two of their children would be free and one is only $11/day!!!

From a budgetary standpoint, base tickets are best. But no explanation that buying multiple day tickets is one of the most cost effective tricks. It is too bad that the sites and wandering performers at EPCOT were not seen as appropriate for youngsters, much less kidcot activities. I think how children view EPCOT is directly related to their parents attitude..."I don't want to learn on vacation, I just want to be entertained" We are looking forward to EPCOT most of all! The only park we have 2 days scheduled for! And AK is our next one we are looking forward to...wish we had 2 days to spend there! Of course, MK for 2 days w/ little ones makes sense.

Sure hope this person sought a second opinion!

I agree with you for the most part KBB, although I think the base-vs-hopper thing is a matter of opinion and personal preference; I categorically refuse to go to WDW without a hopper pass, but there are those who find them a complete waste of money. YMMV.

Ummm...no. A hot dog is $4.25. A hot dog combo, which includes chips and a large beverage, is $7. But thanks for playing.

Pauline Frommer, come on down! You're the next contestant on, "The info is WRONG!"

 

[Spectro is #1]

I can't believe she is ripping people off by writing a book!
We should all post reviews on Amazon to let people know what a fraud she is

 

[Mkrop]

I can't believe she is ripping people off by writing a book!
We should all post reviews on Amazon to let people know what a fraud she is

that is an excellent idea

 

[marivaid]

... Disney World soaring to $71 per adult (defined as age 11 and over—tell that to the DMV

Is she right on that ? I thought it was 10 and up.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Yeesh, this is even more motivation for me to get to work on my disney guidebook!

I especially have something against calling Epcot not for kids! Heaven forbid that kids might actually enjoy something educational!

 

[aplejax76]

This was posted on the community board. I posted what till the trip planning board gets a hold of this.

I KNEW you guys would rip into this lady!!!!!

I sent an email a couple days ago. Haven't heard anything back.

 

[nick262]

I dont know if I should , , or . I sent an email to her. I am all for the reviews on amazon. Off to find her book.

 

[streudel423]

good grief...does that write have ANYTHING positive to say about ANYTHING?! all he does is complain about how scared his kids were and the heat....he obviously only sees the glass half empty

 

[streudel423]

.

 

[Cory's Gal]

Thanks for posting the article. I too rated it the lowest rating. What a mis-representation of WDW. She needs to do her homework a lot better and actually take a trip to Florida.

 

[WillCAD]

I can't believe she is ripping people off by writing a book!
We should all post reviews on Amazon to let people know what a fraud she is

I wouldn't recommend that. Posting about how bad her book is without actually reading her book would be just as bad as her posting negative things about WDW without having visited in at least several years, if at all.

Rebutting her article, on the other hand, is perfectly reasonable, considering the gross exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright incorrect information she recounts, not to mention the sour opinions that she espouses based on that crap.

This was posted on the community board. I posted what till the trip planning board gets a hold of this.

I KNEW you guys would rip into this lady!!!!!

I sent an email a couple days ago. Haven't heard anything back.

I wouldn't rip into someone who did at least some research, went to WDW, and still didn't enjoy the trip. WDW is not everyone's cup o' joe, and I wouldn't presume to tell anyone that they are wrong for disliking it. Crazy, maybe, but not wrong.

However, any time someone in a position of some kind of authority or expertise passes along wildly inaccurate information, and bases advice to the unitiated based on that inaccurate info, they deserve to be called on the carpet. For a professional travel writer with millions of readers, this is the worst kind of professional misconduct - don't write about something unless you actually know something about it!

good grief...does that write have ANYTHING positive to say about ANYTHING?! all he does is complain about how scared his kids were and the heat....he obviously only sees the glass half empty

Actually, it's a she - Pauline Frommer, apparently the daugher of the legendary Authur Frommer.

And the story she related was actually at Disneyland, not WDW. Yes, some of those problems (heat, high prices, kids scared of characters) can occur at DLR or WDW, but the solution to them is the same on both coasts, as well - adequate research and preparation, for both parents and kids.

Ironically, she is in the business of providing information to people so they can do the research and advance planning for their own trips, yet she apparently doesn't bother to do the research and advance planning for her own trips, or he own articles or books.

 

[kaelarad]

The article was also posted on msn, which id owned by NBC which is owned by UNIVERSAL...of course it will be anti Disney.

 

[holcomb-mania]

Has anyone gotten a response back?

 

[grimley1968]

Gotta love that she refers to ALL Disney resorts, not just the All Stars, as "motels." Where I come from, motel is short for motor hotel, where you drive up to your room. You can't drive up to your room at any of the Deluxe resorts, and I'm betting the Moderates as well, so they're at least "hotels", if you don't like calling them actual resorts. That's just about as dis-informative as the "4 person limit, so no babies" comments.

Does this writer ever actually travel? Calling resorts on lakes, with their own exotic forms of transportation, motels?

I cannot imagine she actually set foot anywhere on WDW property before writing this article.

 

[missypie]

The thing is, it is so EASY to find accurate information. You can find actual hotel photographs, rates, restaurant menus, etc. on line in just a few minutes. What kind of writer does no homework/research whatsoever?

 

[missypie]

Gotta love that she refers to ALL Disney resorts, not just the All Stars, as "motels."

Hey, if you're going to eat a $7 hot dog, you might as well pay $400 a night for your motel!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

But I think she DID have some good advice in there amid the biased opinions.

I know many will disagree w/ me, but I WOULD recommend this person wait until children are older, particularly since budget is an issue. We waited, and DS12, DD9 and DS7 are all old enough, tall enough and generally brave enough to ride EVERYTHING!!!

We are choosing to stay onsite, but you certainly can get a much better price offsite. It certainly would have been nice to see the reasons TO stay onsite. ESPECIALLY w/ little ones, the convenience of being able to take an afternoon break offsets the cost, IMO. The misinformation about the extra room is unacceptable.

It is too bad that DDP was not sufficiently explained. Two of their children would be free and one is only $11/day!!!

From a budgetary standpoint, base tickets are best. But no explanation that buying multiple day tickets is one of the most cost effective tricks. It is too bad that the sites and wandering performers at EPCOT were not seen as appropriate for youngsters, much less kidcot activities. I think how children view EPCOT is directly related to their parents attitude..."I don't want to learn on vacation, I just want to be entertained" We are looking forward to EPCOT most of all! The only park we have 2 days scheduled for! And AK is our next one we are looking forward to...wish we had 2 days to spend there! Of course, MK for 2 days w/ little ones makes sense.

Sure hope this person sought a second opinion!

We just got back and our kids are 11, 7, 6 and 5 (they have all been riding all of the rides since they were four). They were tall enough for everything and did ride everything. As far as budgeting, it's cheaper to take them before they are 10 and are charged as an adult.

 

[missypie]

We just got back and our kids are 11, 7, 6 and 5 (they have all been riding all of the rides since they were four). They were tall enough for everything and did ride everything. As far as budgeting, it's cheaper to take them before they are 10 and are charged as an adult.

Our kids had their first Disney trip when they were 12, 10 and 7. I wanted to wait until everyone could ride everything. (I also knew that my husband was the biggest kid in the family and that he would leave me behind in Fantasyland while he rode the thrill rides if we went when the kids were younger.)

A GOOD article would have presented both the pros and cons for waiting vs. going when the kids are little, so that the reader could make his or her own, informed decision based on her knowledge of her own family.