Author of Freakonomics asks about WDW

[Timothy Q Mouse]

Stephen Levitt, author of Freakonomics (great book BTW), asks why people go to Disney World. He gets the fastpass issue wrong (as do most people) and doesn't understand what the finger scan thing is about, but interestingly asks why WDW isn't more expensive to go to.

http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/2006/05/02/why-do-people-go-to-disneyworld

 

[The Mom]

He obviously didn't do any homework before his trip, so made many of the mistakes "amateurs" make.

1. You can't leave your hotal room at 8:30 AM, stop for BREAKFAST, and still expect to fully tour a park. We check to see which park has an early entry, get a quick breakfast and finish no later than 7:30 AM, then catch a bus, etc to the park. He was already 2 hours behind before he even hit the gate (unless he got breakfast in the park; then he was only 1 & 1/2 hours behind) In early morning, that's at least 1-2 major rides.

2.He didn't know how to use fastpass. He could have seen at least 2 more attractions if he used it properly.

3. He didn't have a plan! For a first-timer, that's critical if you want to see very much!

4. Had he done research, he would have known which parks were open late, and done some late afternoon/evening touring, after a break at their hotel.

5. If he'd done any research, he would have known that Feb, March, & April are really, really, busy! :lol: We all know that you should go the first week of December, if at all possible.

 

[MrNonacho]

Even without any research I think you'd have to actually TRY to do that little in that amount of time. How on earth do you spend over 5 hours on just Kilimanjaro Safaris and ITTBAB? That takes some skill.

 

[EchoOfOphelia]

Why do they make you stick your fingers in that machine when you put in your ticket??

I honestly have no idea, could someone enlighten me??

 

[MrNonacho]

Why do they make you stick your fingers in that machine when you put in your ticket??

I honestly have no idea, could someone enlighten me??

It's a biometrics system. It measures your fingers and associates the results with your ticket so that it can't be shared.

 

[TimonRulz]

I think its so the FBI can keep tabs on where you are...
I might be off though.

 

[EchoOfOphelia]

It's a biometrics system. It measures your fingers and associates the results with your ticket so that it can't be shared.

Oooooohhhhhhhh... those tricky little devils

Thanks!!

 

[Master Yoda]

Seems like just another case of someone going to one of the largest most popular destinations in the world, doing absolutely no planning or research and then complaining that everything did not work out absolutely perfectly.

It kills me when people will drop thousands on a vacation and show up knowing next to nothing about where they are going. Then they do nothing but complain about how every thing cost so much, we had to wait in line, yadda yadda yadda....A 1/2 hour on the internet could have saved him a boat load of money and time.

 

[jim1051]

Personally, I always appreciate it when people say they won't go back. That's less people for us who love Disney to deal with. I wonder if the other parts of his life are taken without the least bit of research or planning. Makes you wonder.

 

[fredtom]

This person should not be allowed to publish an article that is available to the public with so much misleading information and ignorance.

"An Adventurer's life is best!" :lol:

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

His blog states that he explores the hidden side of everything. I'd hate to see the rest of his work based on this one experience. He did a horrible job of planning his vacation! So you book a hotel room, buy tickets and hop on down to Disney World. At what point do you slap yourself on the forehead and realize you should have done a wee bit more planning?

Maybe when you spend all day and only do two things? :brick:

 

[Timothy Q Mouse]

This person should not be allowed to publish an article that is available to the public with so much misinformation and ignorance.

Yeah, which is strange because he is a professor of economics at University of Chicago. If you read Freakonomics, he goes into such detail about the subjects in the book and you can really see how he makes connections between things that no one has thought of before.

I think many, though, just consider Disney World as "another vacation place", and not the complex experience that it really is.

 

[Master Yoda]

This person should not be allowed to publish an article that is available to the public with so much misleading information and ignorance.

"An Adventurer's life is best!" :lol:

This one of the biggest problems with the internet...anyone can publish anything regardless if it is fact or not. What is even more depressing is that most people still believe everything they read.

And in response to your quote...Hoopla!

 

[Since1976]

It's interesting to read an article from a non-fan's point of view, and just as interesting reading the talkback comments from non-fans as well. Their complaints are understandable, in my opinion. Having been a WDW fan since I was a tyke, I'd be biased in blasting their comments.

Far too many people go to Walt Disney World without knowing what they are getting into, and then compalin about it when they get back. Truth be told, a Disney vacation is different from any other. For most vacation destinations, the emphasis is on relaxation rather than entertainment, and people accustomed to those types of getaways are likely to be put-off by the Disney park experience.

Then again, Walt Disney World has much more to offer than just the parks, so there really is no need to spend seven days standing in line for stuff.

 

[clarksfan95]

Guess he's never been to Cedar Point on a summer weekend....their lines make Disney lines look like waiting in a grocery store checkout line.

I agree that he should've done some more research. To be honest tho', Disney isn't for everyone. I have friends who've gone and probably won't ever go back and I know people who just don't feel the urge and would rather spend the money on a trip to the beach or something. I personally prefer to blow all my money at Disney, but that's just me. I usually don't go to other places....in the past 10 years the only other places I've been were Hollywood (did go to Disneyland for 3 days), the Outer Banks (on a family gig), Virginia Beach (while following my favorite band the Clarks to the beach) and Niagara Falls (to blow money on gambling.....whata terrible feeling....and I was only out $25).

If you wanna wait in line though for some of the worlds absolute best rollercoasters...I recommend going to Cedar Point in Ohio. I'd go mid-week though....lines aren't as long. Waited 4 hours to ride "The Mean Streak", an amazing piece of wooden architecture that they call a roller coaster. You want thrills and excitement...this is definitely the place. Makes all of Disneys and Universals supposed thrill ride look like kiddie rides you find at malls.

 

[dbogue]

ok, i can't believe no one noticed this yet......fast pass......is included in your park ticket, it is NOT like universal where you pay extra and just go on that line. they make it accessible to anyone. not just resort members, any ticket holder. (this is to the best of my knowledge, so please correct me if i'm wrong)

 

[fredtom]

This one of the biggest problems with the internet...anyone can publish anything regardless if it is fact or not. What is even more depressing is that most people still believe everything they read.

And in response to your quote...Hoopla!

Hoopla!

 

[BryanandPatrizi]

Yeah I agree with the positives about Cedar Point in Ohio. I think it is pretty consitently rated the #1 roller-coaster park in the world. It is definately no Disney as far as atmosphere/cleanliness go, but it does have awesome rides and lots of them.

Oh and the finger thing like already mentioned is a biometrics device, but it is not like a fingerprint or iris scan...it is very possible that many people share the same finger spacings, but the likelyhood of someone in your party sharing the same hand dimensions is not very high. It is a quick and easy system to implement without worrying too much about privacy issues.

 

[Master Yoda]

ok, i can't believe no one noticed this yet......fast pass......is included in your park ticket, it is NOT like universal where you pay extra and just go on that line. they make it accessible to anyone. not just resort members, any ticket holder. (this is to the best of my knowledge, so please correct me if i'm wrong)

You are not wrong. Fast pass has always been free at WDW. Several comments follow his blog clarify this.

 

[Master Yoda]

Yeah I agree with the positives about Cedar Point in Ohio. I think it is pretty consitently rated the #1 roller-coaster park in the world. It is definately no Disney as far as atmosphere/cleanliness go, but it does have awesome rides and lots of them.

Oh and the finger thing like already mentioned is a biometrics device, but it is not like a fingerprint or iris scan...it is very possible that many people share the same finger spacings, but the likelyhood of someone in your party sharing the same hand dimensions is not very high. It is a quick and easy system to implement without worrying too much about privacy issues.

I think the ratio is about 1 in 100 will have a similar enough joint spacing on their hand to produce the same ID number encoded on the ticket. By no means full-proof but close enough to help reduce illegal ticket sales.