OK, it has been a very busy weekend (actually been looking forward to Monday!?!
Been reading all weekend, but wanted some quiet time to write a good response.
I posted the article since it was in my Saturday morning news links. Do I agree with the rankings, no, but then my ranking would be a lot different, and many wouldn't agree with me, But I thought it would make new discussion, other than Old Man Fashion Sense.
I was associated with TripAdvisor for many years, and learned quite a bit about how things work.
We are talking Average Joe's from across the world, they are not Theme Park Fans, heck many live in small to Medium size towns/villages. Their income isn't great, and going on vacation is a big deal. They are looking at/for value, and how the place being rated delivered on their expectations. A 4/5 Star place gets rated a lot harder than a value hotel.
So that middle of the road Hotel that delivers good service, a clean room, the free breakfast hits the spot, and the pool isn't too crowded gets great reviews.
A 4 Star that has hair in the sink gets a big drop, even if everything else was great.
Is it fair, no, but it is what it is.
Disney Parks gets a big build up, the family saves up to take the trip of their lifetime, and then gets to the park. They have to go through security, and are hit with LARGE crowds even before they enter the park, so the ratings have drop before even entering the park. Maybe they have gone to that local amusement park that offers free or unlimited sodas for one price. They get to Disney and get price shock. And I can keep going.
I have been to 11 of the 15 mentioned.
I would have put Dollywood in the list over The Island. But the costs of The Island are lower, and they deliver a fun experience.
So you have to remember, these folks are not ranking the locations, just giving input on one location.
TripAdvisor then takes the individual scores, which are many smaller 1-5 questions, such as food, rides, value perceived, cleanness, etc. Then the computers looks for the overall score based on all those smaller, individual scores, and uses AI to go through the reviews and scores them. (TA sells this information to Hotel Chains, Restaurants and other Tourist attractions).
So high scores are important to them, and they tweak their offerings to get better scores.
Disney does its own internal surveys and doesn't really pay for this sort of info. They do get some of it through "horse trading" with other people in the business.
Disney is at the top of the heap, and people expect more. But when they have a better time at Universal, well, that s how things can be changed.
These folks don't care about the new, shiny thing, if the old reliable ones deliver, well, that is a plus. You ride say Splash Mountain and notice things are run down, well, that is a minus. And that is the major flaw of doing internal surveying. Folks design the questions to get results that their bosses want.
International Guests have always loved USH, hey, its Hollywood, and the Tram Tour lets them see behind the scenes. Jaws is still rated high, and its been around for decades. But everyone understands the red dye (blood), the flames, and Bruce. You don't have to understand what the Tour Guide is saying. Same with Earthquake, it impresses every first time visitor.
It is the way life works. Its not fair, but heck, many times the guy who gets cheated at Three Card Monty leaves entertained.
