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c&d
04-25-2007, 11:28 AM
From the Orlando Sentinel, April 25

"Rating your favorites at Disney
Zagat Survey publishes its first guidebook all about Disney World.

Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 25, 2007

Mickey Mouse is the favorite costumed character, Soarin' the most popular attraction and Victoria & Albert's the home of the best food at Walt Disney World, say frequent visitors.

In a first of its kind, Zagat Survey has polled customers to rate everything at Disney World -- characters, rides, shows, restaurants, taverns, stores, hotels and special experiences -- for a new guidebook.

Zagat Walt Disney World Insider's Guide, published today, is the latest among dozens of guidebooks about Walt Disney World, but may be the first to base ratings on the opinions of thousands of frequent customers.

Zagat surveyed 4,841 people by computer between Nov. 16 and Dec. 3. The average participant had been to Disney World 36 times. And 58 percent possessed annual or season passes.

"We wanted people who are really interested in going to Disney World," said Zagat Survey spokesman Michael Mahle. "They're savvy."

Zagat asked them to rate each Disney World location using a one-to-30 points scale, similar to what the research company has used on restaurants for decades. Zagat also asked each person how often they had been to each location, to determine what was most "popular." In some categories, Zagat also asked them to name their "favorites."

Started as a restaurant review outfit in New York City in 1979, Zagat has become an internationally influential consumer ratings company now rating everything from hotels to entertainment. The Disney effort is the first time Zagat ever produced an entire survey and guidebook on just one business, Mahle said.

Disney World did not participate, but officials apparently are not displeased.

"It's a recognition of how much interest there is in Walt Disney World," spokesman Dave Herbst said. "We're always delighted when people are interested in us, particularly when they say nice things."

Among the findings:

Favorite park: Magic Kingdom was picked by 48 percent of participants, followed by Epcot (36 percent) and Disney-MGM Studios (9 percent.)

Favorite costumed character: Mickey Mouse (37 percent) followed by Goofy (11 percent) and Donald Duck (6 percent.)

Most popular attraction: Soarin' at Epcot, followed by Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, both at Disney-MGM Studios.

Though not as popular as Soarin', Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom got the highest average rating (29 points) from adults, and the Wishes Spectacular fireworks show at Magic Kingdom got the highest from children (29 points).

Most popular dinner show: Hoop-Dee-Doo, at Fort Wilderness Resort.

Most popular shopping: World of Disney at Downtown Disney.

Most popular nightlife: Adventurers Club at Downtown Disney.

Most popular restaurant: California Grill at the Contemporary Resort.

Yet Victoria & Albert's at the Grand Floridian Resort got the highest ratings for food, decor and service (27 points for each.)

The only restaurants not in hotel districts that made Disney's top 10 for food ratings were the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop (ranked ninth) at Downtown Disney, and the Boulangerie Patisserie pastry shop (10th) in Epcot."

Ian
04-25-2007, 11:59 AM
Huh ... that's kinda cool ... I actually was asked to participate in this survey. I wondered if I'd ever get to see the results.

Looks like I was along with the norm most times ... I picked MK as my favorite park, Mickey as my favorite costumed character, Soarin' as my favorite attraction, and Cali Grill as my favorite restaurant (even though we almost never eat there ;) ).

I'm so mainstream ....

J.C.&ALI'SMOM
04-25-2007, 12:05 PM
I participated as well. It took a long time! Aren't we supposed to get a copy of the guide?

JWDisneyFan
04-25-2007, 12:21 PM
I participated in this too and yes, if you participated, you will supposedly receiving a copy of it. It will be fun to see all the results. I did get an email probably about 2 months ago thanking me once again for participating in the survey. I think it did mention (to the best of my recollection) that we would receive copies once it was published.

dlpmikki
04-25-2007, 01:31 PM
I participated too - hey I wonder what percentage of participants were from Intercot! :thumbsup:

rsumrall
04-25-2007, 03:13 PM
This sounds like a very interesting guide book. I'll have to go to Books-A-Million and scan it over a cup of Joe.

Ian
04-25-2007, 03:44 PM
Huh ... that's right they did promise us a copy. Wonder when it will arrive?

I got the email thank you, too, but that was the last I heard from them.

Crow
04-27-2007, 07:11 AM
i was reading about this. and the person who listed it in their column was suprised at results....no dark rides among fav attractions, both Boma & Jiko in the top 10

larrybob
04-27-2007, 07:55 AM
It says the average participant in the survey had been to WDW 36 times ... I wonder if that means 36 different trips or 36 different days. If it's different trips, that seems like a pretty high average to me.

Tigerlilly
04-27-2007, 08:13 AM
Hi, I participated in this too. I remember being asked how many TRIPS I had taken, not how many days. I could not have told them days.

You have to consider people who live in florida who go all the time would drive that number WAY up. We were standing in line for for the Animation tour in 2003 and my husband started Pin trading with a 7 year old girl. She told us that this was her 37th trip to Disney!! Can you imagine at 7? And they were flying from the midwest! 5 times a year!! She was an old hat at the place. She said she had only brought 2 lanyards and had many more at home.

What a pro!

DizNee143
04-27-2007, 08:51 AM
wow that seem pretty cool...so exactly what kind of book is this gonna be?? jut tell people all about disney or kinda like a guide book? i wonder when it will be coming out!...:mickey:

Doug The Disney Man`
04-27-2007, 03:42 PM
I love that Zagat did this book and can't wait to see it. I was surprised by a few things, though.

First, that Epcot was so far ahead of MGM for 2nd fave park. I knew MK would be first, but I thought MGM would be higher than 9%. To add to that, I was surprised that basically none of the Epcot restaurants made the top ten(especially considering the numbers for Epcot in that fave park category)! My personal top ten is almost entirely Epcot: 9 Dragons, Garden Grill, San Angel, Coral Reef, Le Cellier. We get Park Hopper just so we can go eat at Epcot! LOL.:mickey:

I'm not surprised that RNRC and ToT were among the top rides, but I was surprised, as other posts have said, that no classics cracked the top few slots. Maybe we're just so used to Pirates and small world that we forget about them when asked.

Still very cool!

Red Randal
04-27-2007, 06:20 PM
Very interesting. I'll have to pick up a copy if I see one.

I wonder, how did they find you guys to participate in it? Just a random phone sample to find people who had been to Disney over a certain number of times?

I also wonder how much they broke down the information, because some of it could be misleading. For instance, Tower of Terror is one of my favorite rides but I've been on it way less than TTA, simply because there is never any line for TTA. That should not mean that TTA is "more popular" than ToT.

Similarly, I'm sure far more people eat at Old Port Royale's food court than most other hotel quick service spots. That doesn't mean it's more popular, it's just because more people stay there.

Then again, I took one class in polling (political polling at that) and Zagat is known the world over for this kind of stuff, so I'm sure they know what they're doing. I'm just curious as to where they get their numbers.

jedigrrrl
04-27-2007, 06:50 PM
I wish I was part of the survey!! How'd you all get involved?

Tigerlilly
04-27-2007, 07:47 PM
Ha! I do not even remember!!

tinksmom02
04-27-2007, 10:29 PM
I actually picked up this book when I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday LOL I scanned through it quickly (DD was with me) and put it back down. Ha! I'd never heard anyone here mention it, so I figured it couldn't be very good. Little did I know it was brand spankin' new!

It's the same size as their regualar issues--long and slender. Not too thick. Nothing really jumped out at me while I was looking at it (and I really did only give it a quick glance), but I thought the print was pretty small. :blush:

cgriff
04-28-2007, 09:05 AM
"Zagat also asked each person how often they had been to each location, to determine what was most "popular."

If this article is correct, then Zagat's popularity ratings were exclusively decided by the number of times a location was visited. It is natural then that MK would be the "most popular", followed by Epcot, then MGM, and then AK, because this was the order in which the parks opened! AK has certainly seen the fewest visitors, and MK certainly the most. Is that the true measure of popularity though?

cgriff

EpcotNut
04-29-2007, 07:56 AM
Cool - I actually participated and I actually received an email a couple of months ago confirming my address so they could send my free copy for participating. I was wondering when this would finally come out. Can't wait!:thumbsup:

MinnieMommie
04-29-2007, 08:09 AM
This is cool! I can't wait to read it. Sounds like a fun read. :mickey:

magicofdisney
04-29-2007, 12:11 PM
A few months back, when I entered MK, I was asked to take part in a survey about the park. It was just left of Guest Relations. It doesn't sound like that was the same thing as this. How did you guys become part of this survey?

Red Randal
04-29-2007, 05:53 PM
I just picked up the book at Border's, I'll be giving it a read over the next few days and I'll check back in to let everyone know what I think.

My initial impressions, just from flipping through it for a few minutes, are mixed. It has ratings for anything and everything and seems like a great quick reference guide for even seasoned Disney fans. But, initially, I take some issue with how they went about making the ratings as various things don't seem to make any sense.

I'll give it a thorough read soon and let everyone know what's up.

And, to answer those who have asked, it seems like all you have to do to answer Zagat surveys is sign up on their website.

wendy*darling
04-29-2007, 07:01 PM
I was part of this survey too.
I've been a member of Zagat for several years, and I do other online surveys from time to time. I did their NYC restaurant survey too. I guess that's how I was asked to participate.

I am anxious to see the finished product. It does seem like a couple of months have passed since they emailed to verify my address.
It's nice to know so many Intercotee's had a small say in the outcome!:mickey: :thumbsup:

Red Randal
04-30-2007, 10:25 PM
It seems to be a pretty good book. It's nothing spectacular and ratings are all pretty similar and kind of vague. The information is nothing most of us seasoned Disney vets don't already know and is also not detailed enough for those who don't know much at all about the parks.

The $15 list price is a tad steep for what is offered. Still though, it's a good book to pick up as a handy reference guide to carry on the plane and to the parks. It's slim and light and lists every single thing in Walt Disney World, including things most guidebooks don't bother mentioning (like half of the performers from World Showcase) and other stuff I've never even heard of (like the Habitat Habit !?!)

All in all, if you don't mind dropping $15 on a quick reference guide, this is a great one. But if you're looking for more in depth information, you'll need to find it elsewhere.

McGoofy
05-01-2007, 04:14 AM
I was picked as well. For the life of me, I cannot remember how I got that e-mail. I do remember that it was an e-mail. I had never registered or done anything with Zagat prior to this, so it wasn't from them. It was quite some time ago, and I think it came from Disney, but I am not 100% sure about that. I am a passholder that goes often, and I had a Disney Dining experience card. I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I do remember that it was a very lengthy and time consuming survey. I also remember the promise of a free copy of the book. I wonder when that will come? I can't wait to see it!:mickey:

Figment78
05-10-2007, 12:59 PM
Does anyone know if the audience Zagat is publishing this guide for is different from the average WDW vacationer? Like is it more geared towards day-trippers in Orlando or something? I'm just curious b/c something struck me as odd when I initiall read the first post in this thread....

Maybe I'm jumping in before I have actually read or seen the guide but I'm a little confused. If the average number of trips taken by the people who participated in the survey was 36, that doesn't seem to be quite representative of the general population. I mean, I'm sure that many people have been there 36 times, but the AVERAGE responder was there 36 times!? I'm certainly not saying this is a bad guide! Or that these frequent visitors don't have great advice to share! I just found that fact interesting... Wouldn't you think that someone who has been to WDW 36+ times might have different favorites than someone who has only been there 5-10 times? That could explain some of the ratings. For example, someone was suprised that Epcot was so highly favored over MGM - it's an easier park to repeat visit, IMHO.

Whatever the case, I love all books about the World, so I'm sure I'll be checking it out next time I'm at the bookstore!

Red Randal
05-10-2007, 03:56 PM
I summed up my thoughts pretty well a few posts ago when I finished reading the book.

It's not specifically geared for day trippers but its also not a good guidebook to have as your ONLY guidebook. It's really more of a great "quick reference guide" to just glance at when you can't decide where to grab lunch or something.

dlpmikki
05-17-2007, 09:30 AM
My free copy arrived in the post today. Just had a quick flick and it does have one thing no other guide I have seen has - a list of all the shops! Useful just for that :thumbsup:

BklynChick
05-18-2007, 10:09 PM
FYI if anyone is a Barnes and Noble Member, there's a coupon in this week's email for a discount on the book (I think it brings it down to $11 or so).