Frommer article full of WDW misinformation

[MommyBoo!]

It's children under 3, not 2, do not count towards the room limit.

And all of my kids, 3, 10 and 12 love Epcot and have always enjoyed it.

 

[Macca1111]

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.

 

[Macca1111]

The one thing that stuck out most, to me, is her Epcot comment.....I've been going to Epcot since I was around 3 (15 now) and it has always been a very close second to MK.

She's is soo ridiculous...

http://www.amazon.com/Pauline-Fromm...025749?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190670705&sr=8-10

Post bad reviews!!

Oh, she's the series editor. Drat! I was all ready to flame, but the dude may have some idea of what he's talking about. I did write to msn about the article tho. Your original complaints did create a small correction, so keep complaining!

 

[kerry34]

I just have to make a comment about the food cost remark. My family just visited Six Flags New England recently. It cost me 80.00 for a totally lousy CS lunch for my family (there are 7 of us). My cheeseburger was lukewarm and skimpy, soda was watered down and the fries were just barely okay. The particular spot we ate at offered no kids meals at all for the little ones. My kids had pizza and were still hungry afterward. At disney I have never spent 80.00 for lunch and the food quality is much better as is the quantity. Also after checking out a few other eating places during our visit we discovered that there were a few places that offered kids meals for close to 10.00. No thanks. The other comment that bothered me is to make the decision to tell people that Epcot offers nothing of interest for children. Not a very well rounded and informed statement to make. All of my kids enjoy epcot and all of the little things it has to offer. I have never bought a book from frommer before and I probably will not because I like to read pros and cons based on experience. I will stick with UG.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Reading the response letter some of you got, I think it's funny that not only is it too scattered with misinformation, but is still putting the anti-Disney spin on. For example, she mentions that the dining plan requires planning meals, which many people do not enjoy. However, one look at the dining board here, and you could also make the exact opposite statement- planning meals is soething which many people do enjoy, and still be true.

The inaccuracies really make me question the other books in the Frommers series. I'd hate to use them to plan a trip to Europe, just to get there and find that much of what they say is totally wrong!

I wonder if she has any idea how contreversial some of her "advice" is? A quick search of this or any other Disney board will bring up a decade's worth of debates on pool hopping, for instance. Perhaps she should add a side-note that if you choose to try to use the pools as a non-resort guest, you may want to arm yourself with last year's refillable mugs, to throw at people in defense if they come after you in an angry mob?

I just can't believe that they've got the nerve to charge people for information that they haven't put the research into. Yet another reason to love Passporter! At least we KNOW Jennifer & Dave go out to experience things first hand! (And take kids to get their reactions, rather than just making assumptions!)

If the article was published with the intent to promote the book, I think it's safe to say it backfired!

 

[Mkrop]

Reading the response letter some of you got, I think it's funny that not only is it too scattered with misinformation, but is still putting the anti-Disney spin on. For example, she mentions that the dining plan requires planning meals, which many people do not enjoy. However, one look at the dining board here, and you could also make the exact opposite statement- planning meals is soething which many people do enjoy, and still be true.

Or to make it sound that if you skip the Dining Plan you dont need to plan your meals. No you dont need to plan them if you advise someone to eat offsite all the time. I dont care if it is Disney or SW but I dont want to be driving my family out of the park at lunch or dinner esp if we want to stay for fireworks. That seems a waste of time to save a few bucks. I aslo think that the Dining Plan is a great deal for families with kids if you plan any character meals. The cost of a character meal alone pays for the cost of the Dining Plan.

But hey staying offsite is wonderful for a lot of families, I know two families of 5 going down soon who are staying offsite and they were very grateful for the advice about ADRs(didnt realize that you had to make them etc), rope drop arrival, and for them not staying on property avoiding EMH.

So I think her article could have been better written to givve people offsite good advice I just dont think this one was.

BTW my kids (one who thinks he is Diego he is so into animals) were less than thrilled with AK and loved Epcot, so you never know.

ANd I thought in those shows on the Travel Channel that the lady who says "people think that Epcot isnt for kids is wrong" was a writer for Frommers but I could be wrong, I'll have to pay more attention

 

[boomhauer]

There are alot of guidebooks on the market with bad information. This is pretty much the worst I've seen. Very bias.

Her response really makes her seem bitter. She's STILL posting inaccurate information. Whatever.

FWIW - If you want a fantastic book about Disney World, pick up The Complete Guide To WDW. You can get it on Amazon. It's lacking detailed resort info, but in terms of the parks and it's attractions, it's fantastic!

 

[Corryn]

I just read the article and sent off an email Thanking her for all her misinformation.....The Park Hoppering was very funny and I pointed that out, too.
But what OP should do is start another thread in order to point out the option of Rating the story:

Rate this story Poor Thank you for rating.
Current average rating by 2371 users: (2 and a half stars out of 5)

We should get a campaign going and have all Dis'ers rate the story poor. That'll send a message to Pauline to stop sticking her nose into something she knows nothing about!

 

[skw444]

She added this to the article yesterday:

Corrections - September 24, 2007: As several readers pointed out, children under age 3 do not count toward the four-person limit stipulated at certain Walt Disney World Resorts. For Walt Disney World tickets, adult fees apply to children ages 10 and above, not ages 11 and up. Also, while a children’s meal including a hot dog can cost up to $7, an individual hot dog costs less at Disney. Finally, the photo originally used in this article pictured the Matterhorn, a ride at Disneyland in Anaheim.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I think some of y'all have been drinking a little too much of the kool-aid...

Sure, there were some inaccuracies - it happens all the time in journalism, which is why you can't always believe what you read.

But I mean really...she is being blasted for not providing an in-depth exploration of the pros and cons of the various levels of on-site lodging options, the dining plan, stressing the parking fee if you stay off-site, etc. in one article? There are pages and pages of threads on the DIS about these topics, but some of you expect her to cover all that in one article?

My experience with travel books is that you often get the opinion of the author thrown in. Even the much praised UG (which I love) is full of the author's opinions.

 

[mking624]

I think some of y'all have been drinking a little too much of the kool-aid...

Sure, there were some inaccuracies - it happens all the time in journalism, which is why you can't always believe what you read.

But I mean really...she is being blasted for not providing an in-depth exploration of the pros and cons of the various levels of on-site lodging options, the dining plan, stressing the parking fee if you stay off-site, etc. in one article? There are pages and pages of threads on the DIS about these topics, but some of you expect her to cover all that in one article?

My experience with travel books is that you often get the opinion of the author thrown in. Even the much praised UG (which I love) is full of the author's opinions.

Why do people have to be criticized about "drinking the Disney koolaid" just because we're pointing out facts? Good grief.

By the way, it's not just one article...someone has read her book and posted here about how the book is just as bad.

And yes, when someone acts as a travel authority, I expect factual information about a travel destination they are writing about. If she cannot take the time to get the facts straight, she should not be writing the article, period. It makes her look unprofessional, ignorant, and quite frankly, untrustworthy. For many people, this "one article" gave quite a defining first impression. I would dare say that the amount of wrong information in the article (and the email response) was enough to make some DISers not trust future articles she will write on other travel destinations. Many of the things she wrote about and got wrong were not considered to be "in depth" information. Trying to pass off the dining plan as a bad deal because it's $45...she acts like she looked into it to know the cost when a simple visit to the WDW website would have told her the correct cost. Not exactly heavy research required. The reason why there are "pages and pages" of these topics is because the same question/answer gets posted over and over again. I mean seriously, do you realize how many threads will pop up for something like "what time can you enter MK with just your MNSSHP ticket?"

If expecting a "travel authority" to do their job correctly and get the facts straight makes me a koolaid drinker, then pass the cup on over!

 

[grimley1968]

Why do people have to be criticized about "drinking the Disney koolaid" just because we're pointing out facts? Good grief.

By the way, it's not just one article...someone has read her book and posted here about how the book is just as bad.

And yes, when someone acts as a travel authority, I expect factual information about a travel destination they are writing about. If she cannot take the time to get the facts straight, she should not be writing the article, period. It makes her look unprofessional, ignorant, and quite frankly, untrustworthy. For many people, this "one article" gave quite a defining first impression. I would dare say that the amount of wrong information in the article (and the email response) was enough to make some DISers not trust future articles she will write on other travel destinations. Many of the things she wrote about and got wrong were not considered to be "in depth" information. Trying to pass off the dining plan as a bad deal because it's $45...she acts like she looked into it to know the cost when a simple visit to the WDW website would have told her the correct cost. Not exactly heavy research required. The reason why there are "pages and pages" of these topics is because the same question/answer gets posted over and over again. I mean seriously, do you realize how many threads will pop up for something like "what time can you enter MK with just your MNSSHP ticket?"

If expecting a "travel authority" to do their job correctly and get the facts straight makes me a koolaid drinker, then pass the cup on over!

I agree with every word. Well stated.

 

[WillCAD]

I think some of y'all have been drinking a little too much of the kool-aid...

Sure, there were some inaccuracies - it happens all the time in journalism, which is why you can't always believe what you read.

But I mean really...she is being blasted for not providing an in-depth exploration of the pros and cons of the various levels of on-site lodging options, the dining plan, stressing the parking fee if you stay off-site, etc. in one article? There are pages and pages of threads on the DIS about these topics, but some of you expect her to cover all that in one article?

My experience with travel books is that you often get the opinion of the author thrown in. Even the much praised UG (which I love) is full of the author's opinions.

I can't speak for everybody in this thread, but my criticism of the article stems not from her lack of depth (I never expected a 3-page article to delve into the intricacies of the MYW ticket system or evaluate all 24 WDW resorts).

My criticism is based on three points:

1) Her facts are incorrect
2) Her conclusions, which are based on incorrect facts, are also incorrect
3) She is a professional travel writer whose opinions are given tremendous weight thanks to her famous name, and her opinions are based on irresponsibly limited experience and criminally negligent lack of research.

You and I can state our opinions without the facts to back them up all we want; we are not professional travel writers with tens of thousands of readers spending millions of dollars in precious, limited vacation funds based on our opinions and recommendations.

Pauline Frommer, on the other hand, IS a professional travel writer with tens of thousands of readers spending millions of dollars in precious, limited vacation funds based on her opinions and recommendations - thus, ergo, and DUH - she has a responsibility to base all of her writing on painstaking research and first-hand experience, and not to simply pull made-up or inacurate facts out of her butt to support her personal opinion.

I have no problem with someone who is critical of Disney. In point of fact, I AM someone who is highly critical of Disney, on a regular basis; anyone who has read some of my posts on the various boards can tell you that. But I do have a problem with a prefessional travel writer, from one of the most trusted, respected, and widely-read travel guides in the world, doling out criticism without doing basic research or having any first-hand experience.

But maybe that's just me; Your Milage May Vary.

 

[The Big Daddy]

I dunno, I think she's giving pretty good advice to a family that is trying to stay in budget and hasn't been to WDW before.

I love the on site WDW thing, but honestly, if you don't know for sure how much your family will enjoy the experience, what's so bad about staying off site at a rental condo? Sounds sane to me.

And people going to Orlando for the first time often don't just want Disney. And if I had to pick two parks to skip with young kids, they would indeed be the Studios and Epcot.

I guess I don't see what everyone is finding so offensive.

I agree.

 

[nick262]

Here is the response that I sent back to Jon Douglas:

"Hello Mr. Douglas,

Thank you for the follow up letter. I would like to inform you that Ms. Frommer still does not have her facts correct, even in the letter below. The correction that was added to the article yesterday only covered some of the inaccuracies this reporter has stated. It frightens me that she has written a book on this subject. In her article and in the letter below it is quite clear that she knows nothing about Disney World, nor does she care to find out the facts, as show by her blatant distain for the Disney Company. This makes me question any article and/or book she has ever written. Please have another reporter do the research and write an article that contains the accurate information, as Ms. Frommer has shown a lack of integrity when it comes to her writing.

Thank you,"

I think that he needs to know that this is far from fixed.

 

[The Big Daddy]

1) Her facts are incorrect
2) Her conclusions, which are based on incorrect facts, are also incorrect
3) She is a professional travel writer whose opinions are given tremendous weight thanks to her famous name, and her opinions are based on irresponsibly limited experience and criminally negligent lack of research.

Criminally negligent? NOW whose facts are erroneous?

 

[nick262]

Criminally negligent? NOW whose facts are erroneous?

Are you Ms. Frommers father? It sure seems like it. When someone tells millions of readers to park their car at DTD and tresspass on Resort property to stay the night at a pool, that is indeed criminally negligent. She is encouraging people to break the law.

I am sorry folks, but I smell a troll.

 

[mking624]

I am sorry folks, but I smell a troll.

I smelled that troll since before the post on this thread....

I'm still failing to see how giving wrong information (including wrong prices) is considered "good advice" to some here? Am I missing something here...do people really believe that giving out such faulty information is indeed good?

 

[boomhauer]

There are 36 books about WDW on Amazon. Her book is ranked #36 in sales.

If she wants to change that, she better seriously consider either a retraction to her follow-up or a whole new review all together.

 

[grimley1968]

Criminally negligent? NOW whose facts are erroneous?

You're quoting someone on an internet discussion board, which is filled mostly with opinions, not articles supposedly based on researched facts! Improper use of the terms "criminally negligent" on an internet discussion board hardly compares to an entire article, and even a book, about WDW being written with shoddy fact-finding, and illogical leaps to conclusions based on said shoddy fact-finding, and this in what used to be a reputable and highly trusted travel journal.

Just because you may agree with Pauline Frommer's viewpoint (unfounded as it is with seemingly no accurate facts) does not mean that her sloppy, inaccurate and biased article is anything other than a waste of vacationers' precious money and/or time. I agree with others that this article makes me cross Frommer's off my list of travel reading for when I wish to research visiting unfamiliar places.