More accurate info here than Disney...a minor rant

[k5thbeatle]

Is there something not quite right when you can get questions answered more accurately and completely (and quicker) here than from Disney directly? I say yes, but thank goodness for web sites like these!

 

[tmt martins]

Is there something not quite right when you can get questions answered more accurately and completely (and quicker) here than from Disney directly? I say yes, but thank goodness for web sites like these!

Might be Accurate and Complete .

But it's not Official until it's in print from Disney.

But I agree these sights are a very useful tool.

 

[grinningghost]

What I like about this site is the honest opinions you can get. If you ask Disney a question directly, you will almost always get a glossed-over, sugar-coated response.

Here, you get the full Monty.

 

[bicker]

I wouldn't say "accurate and complete". I very often read hopeful optimism here presented as fact. Also, while websites like these are great, keep in mind that in many cases you can effectively ruin your own fun by counting on what you read here too strongly. I've read messages from guests disappointed by their experience at Whispering Canyon, for example, because the CMs didn't perform all of the special vignettes the guest had read about online.

 

[cleo]

I agree with Bicker and with the previous posters.

Disney's website is hopeless. It's often out of date, inaccurate and not at all user-friendly. Plus, it gives very little useful information to anyone who has been more than once.

This site is a much better resource, BUT....you have to be careful not to take everything you read here as 'written in stone'. There is a tremendous amount of useful info, but there can also be a lot of mis-information. The best way to plan (I think) is to read everything you're interested in here, check times at the Disney website (every couple of weeks; they CAN change, sometimes frequently!), then go with a flexible attitude. Some of what you read on line will be useful, some will be out of date and some will be downright wrong. If you're going with the idea you'll figure some of it out for yourself, I think you've got the best of all worlds.

 

[k5thbeatle]

I agree with Bicker and with the previous posters.

Disney's website is hopeless. It's often out of date, inaccurate and not at all user-friendly. Plus, it gives very little useful information to anyone who has been more than once...QUOTE]

Agreed! For example, I always find out the day Disney starts taking reservations for F&W fest events long before I can get this info from Disney!

Posted by grinningghost,

"What I like about this site is the honest opinions you can get. If you ask Disney a question directly, you will almost always get a glossed-over, sugar-coated response. "

Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[cabanafrau]

I was shocked when I went on the Disney website a few months ago that it had not progressed beyond the poor showing they we're putting forward two years ago --that's atleast decades in the technological world!! At the very least, make the doggone thing user friendly for pete's sake!! It certainly seems like a no-brainer that an up-to-date, user friendly resource on the web would cut down on the phone traffic that must be generated with (potential)customers calling to find answers to a great many things they would rather be able to look up online themselves. {In these days of corporate belt-tightening, particularly with staffing issues, I don't think it would take a rocket scientist to figure that out.}

Stepping off my soapbox now. (Bowing)

 

[TSR6]

This website is a great resource for anyone going to WDW, there is no question about that. It definately helps a lot of people plan their trips, save money, and maximize their time at WDW while receiving more ideas of places to visit. That is definately the plus aspect of this website.

However, there are often times I see things posted that tell potential guests to do things that aren't exactly within Disney policy, to expect things that honestly may just be a special "magic moment" - meaning they got a little pixy dust, and it's not standard operating procedure, and things along those lines. There is also a small degree of mis-information - not purposly, but it is definately there, and usually corrected within a couple posts.

I say all this just as a warning - be careful about what you read on here. Although near 90% of the information here is fantastic, there is still another 10% that you need to take with a grain of salt. Nothing on here is official, as Disney doesn't have represenatives on here to post information "on behalf of disney," even with the CM's that post here during their time off.

Either way - Post on!

 

[Darian]

TSR6 and the other posters have very valid points. One item that has not yet been mentioned is that people are very different in what they like. For example:

*A hotel's decor may be pleasing to one person or offensive to someone else. So consider that when you read a resort review. Some posters did not like the GF because it seemed too "snobish" for them. They preferred something more "down home." Which is fine for them but other posters will strongly disagree. Then there is the debate over Deluxe, Moderate or Value Resorts. I won't touch that here since this is the Theme parks thread. And I'm straying off topic as it is.

*Restaurant reviews: Some people are into fine dining while others are put off by food that is too "foo foo" for them. Just give them a large bowl of something hot and greasy and they are fine with that. And thats ok. But keep those different tastes in mind when you read reviews on these boards.

*Entertainment Some folks would rather have a root canal than sit through the Hoop De Doo Review, or however you spell it. For others a trip to the World wouldn't be complete without eating that flatulence inducing food and watching the show.

The point is, read up on what there is to do, and then go for what YOU like.

 

[Torjohnson]

I think chat lines are great, but you have to take some of it with a grain of salt. There is no salt when talking to those disney ops. They can"t give you even a touch of realism when you are booking stuff.
I think that I like the chat lines because they are real experiences...but we are all different...do I get disturbed by some of the things people get disturbed by? No. Will it freak me out if I don"t get my ADR to Le Cellier? No.
But can I get a consensus on Pop Century? Absolutely.(I"m excited, by the way).
and I love getting strategies, and reassurance. It is a little more of a long term destination than D Land.
But I am not sure I would accept any of it as gospel.
Whenever you go somewhere you gather opinions...and you do what you do.

 

[Twende]

If this site is 90/10 then I would say that the Disney site is barely 50/50 for up to date accurate information.

Many times in the parks I find myself saying that Dis Boards says this or that and that the CM needs to check their most recent emails. Everytime DisBoards has been correct and the CM's want to know how in the world we get the information before they do!

I give DisBoards a HUGE thumbs up!

 

[DrTomorrow]

Every Disney planner should take another look at bicker's post - it is very important. Managing expections can go a long way to having a great Disney trip; having unrealistic expectations can 'ruin' a trip. I've seen some posts where people actually say "If I don't room get 11232, my trip just won't be as fun."

 

[BeckWhy]

You also have to consider that a lot of the people who come here are Disney fanatics. That can't be said the same about those who work at Disney.

 

[OhMari]

I personnally don't think WDW knew the power of the internet. Why can't you book into 2007 on their web page. That is ridiculous. Now that I called, I can put my ressie # in and see that I paid my down payment.

I do like their new newsletter that comes out each month, "Go". They have my own "itinerary" and I can check the activity, dinner, ride, etc, for each park, but that is it. I can make a copy of everything I checked, but it is up to me how I want to see these attractions. That is why I subscribed to TGM.

 

[CheapMom]

I love the Disney website, I can login make a payment, see info on all the attractions, check out the resorts...

 

[TSR6]

If this site is 90/10 then I would say that the Disney site is barely 50/50 for up to date accurate information.

Many times in the parks I find myself saying that Dis Boards says this or that and that the CM needs to check their most recent emails. Everytime DisBoards has been correct and the CM's want to know how in the world we get the information before they do!

I give DisBoards a HUGE thumbs up!

50,000 people work at Walt Disney World. They go through a lot of training, but at the same time no one single cast member is going to know "EVERYTHING" - and a lot of the knowledge that a cast member gains comes with experiance.

I remember my first two weeks, I would often times have to look at a map to help guide guests to locations that I had only caught a "glimpse" of during my property training. However, I played it off as opening the map to physically show them - in all reality, it was for myself too. Even after I had been in my location for a while, there were even basic questions I could not answer about the other parks - even thought I had been in them.

Thus even if a Cast Member doesn't have an "Earning my Ears" sticker on their name tag, that doesn't mean that they are going to know everything, and sometimes cast members will confuese what you are seeking for something completely different. You come up asking where such and such water fountain is, they may picture a completely different one. On top of that, most guests have other names for attractions and locations ( Planet Place, Treasure Island, Pleasure Palace, Disney World Store, the big store, La Cirque, East Side are just a few I have heard of at Downtown Disney. Test Place, Test Run, Crash Track are some I've heard for Test Track alone.

It's always the Cast Member's best intention when answering your question.

97,000+ members on DIS and around 50,000 cast members. DIS definately has a larger "pool" to pull from.

 

[grinningghost]

BeckWhy said it best. Not everyone who works for Disney is a Disney fanatic like many of us are. So you don't often get the encouraging pumped up feeling you do here. The website is pretty upbeat, albeit in a corporate way.

If I want honest-to-goodness, real world comments on WDW, I come here. I don't take every comment as gospel, but when you take a cross section of responses and look at them, you can usually sift out fact from fiction. It's also advisable to try something if you really want to try it - it doesn't much matter if someone else didn't care for it. I think most people here are smart enough to know that.

 

[Kick Save]

TSR6 and the other posters have very valid points. One item that has not yet been mentioned is that people are very different in what they like. For example:

*A hotel's decor may be pleasing to one person or offensive to someone else. So consider that when you read a resort review. Some posters did not like the GF because it seemed too "snobish" for them. They preferred something more "down home." Which is fine for them but other posters will strongly disagree. Then there is the debate over Deluxe, Moderate or Value Resorts. I won't touch that here since this is the Theme parks thread. And I'm straying off topic as it is.

*Restaurant reviews: Some people are into fine dining while others are put off by food that is too "foo foo" for them. Just give them a large bowl of something hot and greasy and they are fine with that. And thats ok. But keep those different tastes in mind when you read reviews on these boards.

*Entertainment Some folks would rather have a root canal than sit through the Hoop De Doo Review, or however you spell it. For others a trip to the World wouldn't be complete without eating that flatulence inducing food and watching the show.

The point is, read up on what there is to do, and then go for what YOU like.

Excellent point. Many strong opinions come through based on what a poster likes themselves at WDW. A couple more examples:

DVC: It's a total waste of time or the greatest thing Disney ever thought of. (And there seems to be no middle ground on that one. )

Epcot: "How do I keep my 4/5/6/25 year old from getting bored at Epcot?" The answers range from, "You can't stop it," to "It's our 4/5/6/25 year olds favorite park!" Personally, I think Epcot is a great park, just going to take a while to live down that "educational park" reputation it earned over its first 15 years of existence. (See what I mean? )

"Which park do I skip?": That question is guaranteed to net every park but the Magic Kingdom.

But, overall, tons of info here. So much that I don't think it's physically possible to comb every forum every day to keep up. But for a guy who likes to collect as much info as possible leading into a decision, this place is great. (And definitely lead to the DVC purchase...put me down in the "Greatest thing Disney ever thought of" column. )

 

[declansdad]

50,000 people work at Walt Disney World. They go through a lot of training, but at the same time no one single cast member is going to know "EVERYTHING" - and a lot of the knowledge that a cast member gains comes with experiance.

I remember my first two weeks, I would often times have to look at a map to help guide guests to locations that I had only caught a "glimpse" of during my property training. However, I played it off as opening the map to physically show them - in all reality, it was for myself too. Even after I had been in my location for a while, there were even basic questions I could not answer about the other parks - even thought I had been in them.

Thus even if a Cast Member doesn't have an "Earning my Ears" sticker on their name tag, that doesn't mean that they are going to know everything, and sometimes cast members will confuese what you are seeking for something completely different. You come up asking where such and such water fountain is, they may picture a completely different one. On top of that, most guests have other names for attractions and locations ( Planet Place, Treasure Island, Pleasure Palace, Disney World Store, the big store, La Cirque, East Side are just a few I have heard of at Downtown Disney. Test Place, Test Run, Crash Track are some I've heard for Test Track alone.

It's always the Cast Member's best intention when answering your question.

97,000+ members on DIS and around 50,000 cast members. DIS definately has a larger "pool" to pull from.

Excellent response, I was thinking along the same lines.

 

[TSR6]

Plus - as someone did mention in previous posts, not everyone that works for Disney is a fanatic. Not every cast member visits all the parks often. I would put money on it that I know several cast members that have used their FREE entrances to the parks less than a lot of the annual passholders here on this site.

It's not that they don't like disney, or their job - it's that they have families, lives, and second jobs. A lot of them don't have the time to go play in the parks - or on the flip side - some of them don't want to go to the parks since they are there every day. I'm not saying that this is the average cast member, but definately some of them fit this bill.