"Savings Tips" on Local News...have to vent

[volfan1978]

So I was watching the local news in Memphis this weekend, and they had a segment on "how to save money on a Disney vacation". Basically the broadcast consisted of telling people to watch out for percent off discounts, free dining, etc...the usual pedestrian stuff. But then they came to their big "hack"...instead of booking Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for your daughter for somewhere between $75 to $200, take her for a haircut at Harmony Barber Shop instead for $20. They acted as if they had somehow split the atom by revealing this nugget, and I was screaming at my TV "THEY AREN'T EVEN REMOTELY THE SAME EXPERIENCE!!!".

Anyone else have any similar experiences where pretty useless or flat out bad advice was passed off as hard hitting investigative journalism?

 

[verleniahall]

LOL! That IS quite the difference!

Maybe you should write in and tell them how it SHOULD be done! LOL

 

[Nancyg56]

Oh yes! Not too long ago there was an "investigative report" about all-inclusive resorts. Did you know you seldom save money?????? LOL! So they sent two journalists on a comparative vacation and they both has identical experience s and food and beverages. Guess what...prepay lost money! My goodness! Was I ever educated!

My DH was so excited to tell me the big news, and had recorded it for me.

 

[Sagginit]

I think pretty much every article I read gives you the same WDW money saving tips that aren't really that new or amazing. They clearly don't know how to find their way to the Disboards.....

I saw a Buzzfeed article today asking to post your best money saving tips. It had a meme type photo saying that if you save a full soda bottle of dimes its about $700. All these people chime in with different containers and different places they put change (or that dreaded save ever $5 bill into an envelope you get tip). In reality you are "saving your money" in the sense that you aren't spending it, but that's not actually saving as in finding discounts. I had to be the voice of logic and state that no jar is going to give you more than 0% interest and if that is your only way of "saving" you are not going to get far.

 

[Marionnette]

I think that many bloggers and reporters get their info here and then act like they discovered those hacks on their own.

 

[Hikergirl]

Before I found the DIS I didn't know about the DIS I knew nothing about WDW vacations. I would have been one of those poor saps that just booked a vacation on the website without any knowledge of discounts, free dining, etc and paid rack rate without checking for better deals.
While I agree that their info isn't some new original amazing saving idea, I think its a good thing for them to post/blog/vlog about it so that people that had no idea can get the info and go from there.

 

[loves to dive]

I see them all the time and like others have said, most of them say the same thing. As far as telling the public that % off discounts and free dining are great savings tips, they are doing a dis-service. Free dining is not always a good savings tip, if they said to compare the % off and free dining that would be a good tip.

 

[KKB]

volf--they aren't the same experience, no doubt. But I could not stomach the price of the Bippidity experience. So it is nice of them to suggest an alternative.

I know when our daughter turned 5 we booked a "salon" experience for $10/girl--an updo & mani/pedi each!!! And we brought our own treats. It is her most memorable birthday party ever--and one of the cheapest at under $100!!!!! (tho bless her, they all were close to that budget) Her 2nd fav was a tea party at our house--I think that earns the cheapest medal!

 

[disneychrista]

We all fail to remember that not everyone is a member of the DIS community. MANY never think past going & having a good time. Not everyone spends HOURS planning out every second of their trip.

 

[Nayan]

We all fail to remember that not everyone is a member of the DIS community. MANY never think past going & having a good time. Not everyone spends HOURS planning out every second of their trip.

I was just going to say this. Out of the millions who visit the parks annually we on the DIS are a very small group. While we may eye-roll at some news reports about Disney trips and how to save money, to the average person it might be beneficial.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

i find for people the biggest hurdle is the price of the tickets. Most folks from the UK come for 2 weeks. When they find out the cost of that 2 week ultimate ticket for their family of 4 their jaw hits the ground. For most that is the show stopper.

 

[Marionnette]

i find for people the biggest hurdle is the price of the tickets. Most folks from the UK come for 2 weeks. When they find out the cost of that 2 week ultimate ticket for their family of 4 their jaw hits the ground. For most that is the show stopper.

And I'm sure that the rise in the exchange rate between the British pound and the US dollar hasn't helped, either!

IMO, if you're going to do a piece about saving money at Disney, you should do a little digging and go further than suggesting *free* dining and bringing your own souvenirs. I understand that time and space restrictions can affect the amount of info that can be imparted, but these reporters could always include links to money-saving websites in their stories.

 

[tobikaye]

A local news station has a reporter that does savings and fraud reports. Usually, the information seems "common sense" to me on the fraud, but it is amazing the number of people that are just not informed. Most of his savings tips are ones that many know if they look for them, but I have gotten a few good tips in the past few years.

As for WDW, they did a report and my mom watched and wrote down all kinds of websites months ago. I had to go through and tell her I knew about all of them. They actually did mention quite a few I was surprised about and would have been helpful for those that had not gone before or tried to save money doing the trip.