Originally Posted By halley123 <a href="http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=423141>1=10442" target="_blank">http://travel.msn.com/Guides/a rticle.aspx?cp-documentid=423141>1=10442</a> Take a look I'm sure that those of you with several WDW trips under your belts will find even more to annoy you than I did.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 When I am on vacation the last thing I want is to cook or clean up (after anybody but myself) I know tons of people look forward to camping, but not for me.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I didn't think there was any misinformation in the answers, just different opinions about what constitutes value, and what little kids enjoy.
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun I agree bobbelee9. To me part of being on vacation is coming back to a clean room with fresh towels and having someone else prepare and clean up after meals. I do that at home - I want a break on vacation. But I do have family mambers that love to camp. To each his own I did agree with the writer on the all stars. If I couldn't afford a moderate or higher, I'd stay off property. Cheaper and just as nice. We usually get a car or drive anyway.
Originally Posted By smeeeko when I camped at WDW I ate at Trails End and at MK restaurants. I didn't grill anything or bring tins of beans or whatever. I just slept in my tent and went to the campfire program and enjoyed the parks. They have "comfort stations" and swimming pools and whatnot.. even with tent camping it certainly isn't rustic. The person who wrote the article seems to not like Disney or had such a negative experience with their own children they are wanting to slant everything to the negative rather than being helpful to the reader. Granted there may be some negatives to schlepping your little ones around the park all day but I think that if you explain how Disney is a Magical place full of make believe (princesses and boys that never grow up and cartoon Monstro the whale) that the characters shouldn't be too scary. There are THOUSANDS at the least of children who visit Disneyland and WDW every day.. why discourage little ones to have their first WDW trip. I can't imagine this "Frommer" person writes for Travel. She should consider a new line of work. =(
Originally Posted By halley123 There were several mistakes in the article and I did send her an email correcting her and I got this back. "Dear MSN Travel Reader: Thanks for taking the time to respond to our story on Disney World written by Pauline Frommer. As the editor of the site, I certainly appreciate when readers are passionate enough about a topic to tell us what they think – and where we’ve got the story wrong. This was one of those rare occasions when we did make a few factual errors in the piece, which we acknowledge and regret. As a result, we’re publishing a correction on the site that reads as follows: As several readers pointed out, children under age 2 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. Many of you also disagreed with our writer’s conclusions about Disney World. Here’s what Pauline Frommer, our “Vacation Doc,†had to say in response: I was sorry to see that my article angered you and I do apologize for the error in terms of the pricing for babies. I misread that bit of fine print, and thought that the five-people to a room rule also applied to infants. We will be changing that and posting an apology. Our producers at MSN also put in the wrong picture and that's been changed (I have nothing to do with the artwork). As for the other comments posted by you and other readers: The article was based partially on the research done for the book Pauline Frommer's Walt Disney World and Orlando and partially on my own trips to Disney World (which I've visited a number of times over the years as a travel writer, though I haven't been able to take my children there yet). No hotel or theme park paid to be included in the article, nor did I feel I was doing a "hatchet job" on Disney. As I said at the end of the article, I think that Disney's ability to engage the imaginations of their visitors is unparalleled. I've been going to Disney World since I was a child, and love many things about it. That being said, I do think many of Disney's offerings are overpriced. At $45/day, per person, I don't think the meal plan is a good value especially when you consider the price of food outside the parks. There are also restrictions on the eating plan that I find onerous: everyone in the room must buy one, not every eatery on property is included, and it’s good for one counterservice and one sitdown meal a day meaning that you have to spend a good amount of time making and keeping reservations (something a lot of visitors don't enjoy doing). You also can't customize it so that you pay less if you leave early on your last day at Disney, which means many guests end up paying more than they have to. As for the All Star Resorts: I stand behind my assessment. I think there are better values elsewhere in the area, and I was disappointed by their "theming" and didn't feel it was up to the usual Disney high standards. And they are consistently booked by large school groups, which can lead to noise problems. To those of you who argued that the reader could stay at Disney World for that amount of time for $1600 are forgetting that the original questioner was including airfare in the cost of her budget. That would have added another $800 at minimum for the four of them. They therefore only had $800 left for the rest of the vacation (theme park tickets, hotel room, etc.), which is why I was recommending only the most rock-bottom of options. The advice given would have been very different had the original questioner had a different budget to work with. Finally, many of you found it hard to believe that my children didn't enjoy Disneyland and felt that it skewed my reaction to the parks. I included that anecdote because I felt it was a pretty common one. I've heard from many readers in the past that their small children found the parks a bit overwhelming and enjoyed them more at a later age. (And I don't think that Epcot has enough to keep the younger guests happy, especially when compared to the other Disney parks.) I'm glad to hear that your children had a wonderful time when they visited. Our visit was mixed, but what I wrote in the rest of the article wasn't based simply on our experience. I want to thank you for writing in and sharing your thoughts with me. It's always enormously helpful to get feedback from readers. Cordially, Pauline Frommer Again, my sincere thanks for telling us what you thought of this story. I hope you’ll continue to visit MSN Travel to engage with our content and plan your next trip, whether it’s to a Disney park or someplace else in the world. Safe travels! Best, Jon Douglas Managing Editor, MSN Travel" Ms. Frommer seems a tad defensive.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I actually thought Pauline gave a very fair and classy response. And I agree with many of her points (like the DDP not being worth it, the problem of having to always make plans for dining well in advance, better values for food and lodging off property ... just to name a few) ... she alo copped to her mistakes. A real travel writer isn't going to write a story that gushes over Disney unless they are either being paid by Disney or offered free trips (which Disney does all the time). They're going to be more fair and balanced and have no spin (unlike say FOX News).
Originally Posted By MPierce With the exception of a few mistakes I thought it was a fair report. Remember it was based on her experience. I've read post by other parents who's children were also frienten by the characters. I think she was giving them a reasonable idea of what they could expect. All kids are going to react differently. I must have overlooked the part about her total budget being $1600 including the airfare. That puts a whole different spin on what you can, and can't do, and where you stay. I also think as Disney fanatics we look at Disney from a different angel from normal people. Besides I'm a fan of anyone who doesn't care for the DDP. >> I wish they had asked me what my thoughts are on WDW << I don't think this family could have afforded that flight to Japan that you would have suggested.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 Congratulations Halley for voicing your opinion in the right place, and telling us the response you got. I wouldn't expect a travel writer and an vacationer to report on WDW the same way. The vacationer's view is personal and full of opinions, whereas the travel writer should consider it's audience and write a fair and accurate report.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 The only problem I had with her response had to do with not enough for kids to do at EPCOT. Well if all she thinks her kids can do is play in playgrounds and ride rides - maybe she is right. Maybe she should take the time to talk to her kids and introduce them to some of the wonders at EPCOT - If her response was accurate we should never take kids to museums or zoos either - not enough to keep them occupied
Originally Posted By halley123 Frommer just get's more and more interesting. They have some very interesting info on Priority Seatings on her website. <a href="http://www.frommers.com/destinations/waltdisneyworld/0549023090.html" target="_blank">http://www.frommers.com/destin ations/waltdisneyworld/0549023090.html</a>
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Obviously that page need to be updated, as the Priority Seating is now called Advance Reservation (even though it is still not a true reservation), and can be made 180 days in advance, not 90.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> The only problem I had with her response had to do with not enough for kids to do at EPCOT. Well if all she thinks her kids can do is play in playgrounds and ride rides - maybe she is right. Maybe she should take the time to talk to her kids and introduce them to some of the wonders at EPCOT - If her response was accurate we should never take kids to museums or zoos either - not enough to keep them occupied << You have exceptual kids vbdad. With their interest in sports as well as their academic achievements. I think they learned a lot including appreciation for what Epcot was meant to be from their mother, and father. Unfortunately a lot of kids aren't like that today. I really think the vast majority have no interest in Epcot. I wish she could have shown a little more ethusiasim for it, but I think she was just trying to let the reader know that it is not your normal amusement park. I could be very wrong, but I think that was her intent.
Originally Posted By halley123 I don't think she should be telling people what there children will like and dislike when she's never been there with children. Having been there with my sister who at the time was 7 at the time Epcot was her second favorite park.
Originally Posted By CMDad I don't think it is that unusual for kids to like museums, zoos, or EPCOT. My kids both did. They still think EPCOT is their favorite park. (Wish I had $1 for each time I got a text message from my daughter saying "Guess where I am" and it is EPCOT!)
Originally Posted By vbdad55 < Unfortunately a lot of kids aren't like that today. I really think the vast majority have no interest in Epcot. I wish she could have shown a little more ethusiasim for it, but I think she was just trying to let the reader know that it is not your normal amusement park. I could be very wrong, but I think that was her intent. < you may be right, but I don't think the issue is with the kids. I think the issue is with people like the writer - who seem many times to assume kids won't like it. I work with people who have traveled to WDW but are not fanatics like most of us here - and usually the comment is, I hear EPCOT is mostly educational, I don't think we'll take the kids there. It amazes me. My sister has 2 daughters that have gone with us to WDW 2 of the last 3 trips. They are now 5 and 9 - and love EPCOT. They are very different from my kids ( don't play any sports, into dance and the princesses ) - I think the reason they like it is we gave them a chance to enjoy it without deciding for them if they would like it or not. I don't disagree with your premise that either parents with kids avoid EPCOT..or that more kids today maybe don't like it than earlier. I just think the reason for that is writers like this - who have NEVER been there with kids, passing judgement to readers. What does she base it on ? Likely the same hearsay I hear from coworkers. If we listened to writers like this - 8th grade trips to Washington DC - to go to among other places - the Smithsonian - would be replaced by day trips to Six Flags.
Originally Posted By pitapan16 authors family most be pretty, shall we say wimpy? complaining about her childrens galre of "freight?" on mr toads. geesh
