Passporter 2010: So Whats New About This Page:

[Jciambor]

Disney World really doesn't make to many changes annually just some minor changes with the rides, hotels, and restaurants and those changes are not even noticeable to many tourists.

So my question is how do you guys update information annually when most of the world remains the same yearly?

I'm sure that Dave and Jennifer added many new things but what features do they update on when Disney World doesn't make to many noticeable changes within a year .

How do you separate year by year? Consistency is probably one of the hardest things when making Passporter.

[Belle*]

Disney makes multiple changes during the year from new attractions (Sum of All Thrills) to new restaurants (Kouzzina) not to mention pricing, ticket options, resort options (Kidani Village and Bay Lake Towers). I guess the definition of "noticeable" is relative but for PassPorter's readers, these are pretty important updates.

[Jciambor]

Originally Posted by Belle*

Disney makes multiple changes during the year from new attractions (Sum of All Thrills) to new restaurants (Kouzzina) not to mention pricing, ticket options, resort options (Kidani Village and Bay Lake Towers). I guess the definition of "noticeable" is relative but for PassPorter's readers, these are pretty important updates.

By the way I do agree Passporters pay much closer attention to updates than most tourists. As a Passporter myself I can say that.

[Jciambor]

What this thread covers is the relativity of the people that notice the changes and the ones that don't.

[Jciambor]

My point of view is that most tourists don't pay attention to these differences I however follow them up very closely though don't believe it significantly changes the resort. Most people don't see to much of a difference unless a radical change in any major area of the world takes place. Which Disney has done but not in a while.

[DopeyGirl]

Of course people who are regular readers of PassPorter would notice the changes in the book versus a first time reader/visitor who doesn't necessarily know up from down when it comes to WDW planning.

Even if there aren't major changes to the parks, the books update the ticket options and prices, room rates and such every year so as to keep readers as up to date as possible, whether they be new readers or a reader who has read every PassPorter book since its inception.

I know that, if I was a first time reader or hadn't read a Disney guidebook in a couple of years, I wouldn't want to read an out of date/generic book from a few years back. I would want one as absolutely up to date as possible. So what if I didn't "notice" the changes?

I am grateful to the authors that provide us with these books that they update them as often as they do . . . there are a few other books on the market that aren't as detailed or up to date.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

I haven't a clue what you are asking or trying to discuss here All I know is that I look forward to my new PPer each year and read it cover to cover - many times! I also love the way that the numerous changes/updates are highlighted and easy to pick out.

[mzozzietj]

Passporter mentions all those little changes that we passporter readers want to know about. Hence why we are passporter readers But they also make those changes obvious for us by highlighting them. As you know many passporter readers are big planners and all the minor details are huge to a lot of us

[chezp]

Gosh, every time I see the new PassPorter, I notice so much that's changed in it. It's amazing how much does change over the year between publications - new restaurants, new attractions, rehabs to things. There's lots that's difference each year and I love the way it's highlighted, so it's easy to spot.

[Dave Marx]

We make literally thousands of changes to each edition. For example, we check every restaurant description to see what items may no longer be on/have been added to the menu, and to update the prices we give for those items we do list. We'll also check operating hours and meals served (sometimes a restaurant adds or drops breakfast), characters present if it's a character meal, update our calculated average meal cost based on current menu pricing, Disney Dining Plan status, the restaurant ratings.... And if there have been larger changes (new menu, renovations, etc.), reports/rumors of things to come, then we'll revise the text to reflect that. And that's for every restaurant. We have to do something similar for every attraction, and hotel, too.

Other common/regular changes: New tips and magical memories for each chapter; new photos (we now have hundreds, and we try to keep the book fresh by changing a significant portion of them each year); As already mentioned, price changes are a huge thing - ticket prices, meal prices, hotel room rates, tour rates, locker/stroller/ECV rentals, parking fees.... As airline and TSA security practices change, we have to cover those. New discount programs/advice, the current "coming attractions" and credible rumors... And then there's the stuff we add due to reader suggestions and/or our desire to enhance the book. This year's edition has 36 more pages and all the additional information and photos that allows, plus new glossy paper that makes all the color photos and graphics "pop."

It's true, there are guidebooks to many destinations that are revised every two or three years. However, guidebooks to Walt Disney World are the single most competitive category on the travel shelf. All the top sellers are annuals, and those that are not annuals are often criticized for being out of date. People who have become accustomed to getting their info from the Web compare the "freshness" of books to the "freshness" on the Web. From the beginning, we've distinguished ourselves with folks on the Web by having the most up-to-date Disney guide available, and that has helped make our books some of the most-recommended guides to Disney destinations. We release our book about two months after the other annual editions come out (November, rather than August/September), because our schedule is in line with Disney's schedule for announcing the following year's changes - ticket prices usually go up in August and ditto for releasing the next year's lodging rates, dining plans, and packages; plus rumors/announcements of the new year's "celebration," announcements of attraction closings... most of these things happen after the other books are already printed and on their way to book stores.

Now, if this was really meaningless to people, maybe we wouldn't have to do this every year. However, we know this has made a real difference to a lot of people. We're in better contact with our readership than most guidebook authors and publishers, thanks in large part to this Web site and these message boards, and our attendance at Disney-related events in and out of the parks. I doubt you'll find many authors who are as accessible to their readers as we are. We must be doing something right. Today, of the Walt Disney World guidebooks, only Birnbaum's Guide and the Unofficial Guide sell better than PassPorter.

The point of all this is not to get folks to buy a new edition every year (although there are plenty who do, and we're very appreciative of that!), but rather, to have a book that is as up to date as possible for whoever happens to need a book for an upcoming trip. Our repeat business (whether it's annually, or, more typically, every two or three years) depends upon how useful and accurate our book was the last time. A two-year-old edition will be so far out of date as to create more than a little disappointment for readers, whether it's the accuracy of prices for the purposes of budgeting, or a significant number of attraction/hotel/restaurant changes that begin to make the book unreliable as a planning resource. These changes may seem to move slowly when you're watching daily, but over two years that list would get pretty long.

I could go on for even longer, but I'll save you all the eye strain. Bottom line, though, is that we care deeply about accuracy and the integrity of our books. Those have been important parts of our individual personalities and work ethics, long before we embarked on this particular chapter in our lives.

[Jciambor]

Originally Posted by Dave Marx

We make literally thousands of changes to each edition. For example, we check every restaurant description to see what items may no longer be on/have been added to the menu, and to update the prices we give for those items we do list. We'll also check operating hours and meals served (sometimes a restaurant adds or drops breakfast), characters present if it's a character meal, update our calculated average meal cost based on current menu pricing, Disney Dining Plan status, the restaurant ratings.... And if there have been larger changes (new menu, renovations, etc.), reports/rumors of things to come, then we'll revise the text to reflect that. And that's for every restaurant. We have to do something similar for every attraction, and hotel, too.

Other common/regular changes: New tips and magical memories for each chapter; new photos (we now have hundreds, and we try to keep the book fresh by changing a significant portion of them each year); As already mentioned, price changes are a huge thing - ticket prices, meal prices, hotel room rates, tour rates, locker/stroller/ECV rentals, parking fees.... As airline and TSA security practices change, we have to cover those. New discount programs/advice, the current "coming attractions" and credible rumors... And then there's the stuff we add due to reader suggestions and/or our desire to enhance the book. This year's edition has 36 more pages and all the additional information and photos that allows, plus new glossy paper that makes all the color photos and graphics "pop."

It's true, there are guidebooks to many destinations that are revised every two or three years. However, guidebooks to Walt Disney World are the single most competitive category on the travel shelf. All the top sellers are annuals, and those that are not annuals are often criticized for being out of date. People who have become accustomed to getting their info from the Web compare the "freshness" of books to the "freshness" on the Web. From the beginning, we've distinguished ourselves with folks on the Web by having the most up-to-date Disney guide available, and that has helped make our books some of the most-recommended guides to Disney destinations. We release our book about two months after the other annual editions come out (November, rather than August/September), because our schedule is in line with Disney's schedule for announcing the following year's changes - ticket prices usually go up in August and ditto for releasing the next year's lodging rates, dining plans, and packages; plus rumors/announcements of the new year's "celebration," announcements of attraction closings... most of these things happen after the other books are already printed and on their way to book stores.

Now, if this was really meaningless to people, maybe we wouldn't have to do this every year. However, we know this has made a real difference to a lot of people. We're in better contact with our readership than most guidebook authors and publishers, thanks in large part to this Web site and these message boards, and our attendance at Disney-related events in and out of the parks. I doubt you'll find many authors who are as accessible to their readers as we are. We must be doing something right. Today, of the Walt Disney World guidebooks, only Birnbaum's Guide and the Unofficial Guide sell better than PassPorter.

The point of all this is not to get folks to buy a new edition every year (although there are plenty who do, and we're very appreciative of that!), but rather, to have a book that is as up to date as possible for whoever happens to need a book for an upcoming trip. Our repeat business (whether it's annually, or, more typically, every two or three years) depends upon how useful and accurate our book was the last time. A two-year-old edition will be so far out of date as to create more than a little disappointment for readers, whether it's the accuracy of prices for the purposes of budgeting, or a significant number of attraction/hotel/restaurant changes that begin to make the book unreliable as a planning resource. These changes may seem to move slowly when you're watching daily, but over two years that list would get pretty long.

I could go on for even longer, but I'll save you all the eye strain. Bottom line, though, is that we care deeply about accuracy and the integrity of our books. Those have been important parts of our individual personalities and work ethics, long before we embarked on this particular chapter in our lives.

Yes and I applaud you for putting in so much effort I feel that talking to the members and customers makes them feel more important like myself that are views count and that were not just another reader. You and Jennifer in my opinion have the most attractive travel outlet because of the friendly faces and great people that work with Passporter.

I think my questions have been answered their are alot of detailed changes that happen within Walt Disney World in one year.

Also I don't find Birninbaum as accurate as Passporter and the only reason I see it outselling anyone is because of their exclusive deal with Disney .

[Sandra Bostwick]

Maybe that is one of those "you have to be there" situations. I think you really have to experience the process of writing a destination book or article to understand.

Being there while all the peer reviewers pour over the details, paragraph by paragraph, to assure we have the most current information has really taught me alot.

You would not BELIEVE how many details change from year to year. From which attractions or resorts are going to be refurbished to which kid's programs have been revamped. There's food, parties, where to meet characters, special tours, and the yearly celebration events to consider. Even knowing how and where to rent a stroller or how the refillable soda/coffee mugs have changed are important to some people.

I also see that one person alone can't do it. As one person, I see plenty of changes during a research visit, but when the collective observations of so many people are put together, I can see that, as carefully as I've looked, I've missed alot.

IMHO, not only do the books need to be updated yearly, but it takes Jennifer, Dave, Sara, all the reviewers, AND the input from a couple hundred PassPorters to do it right.

So, I'm guessing there are at LEAST a couple hundred PassPorters who understand!

(BTW, I can't WAIT for the 2010 edition! It is the best ever!)

[scottjs]

Well I do have a question and not sure if it is related or not!!!!

Every month I go to book stores to check out articles about

Disney World and there very rarely are any. Why is that?

It seems to be that national travel magazines would want to

carry articles about the most popular destination in the U S A.

If this is off topic I am sorry--just wanted to know.

[Dave Marx]

Thanks, JC!

Scott, I can think of a lot of reasons a magazine or newspaper editor would publish fewer Disney articles than we fans would like. Many of those reasons are practical, others may reflect certain biases on the editors' parts.

We at PassPorter have the luxury of covering just one small part of the travel universe, but all the mainstream travel publications (magazines, travel TV channels, and newspaper travel sections) have an entire world to cover. When you consider sheer number of visitors certain destinations (not just Disney) attract, those places might seem to deserve the lion's share of the coverage, but it's necessary to cover the lesser-traveled destinations, too. Not just because people are currently planning to travel there, but because travellers want to stretch their horizons and dreams. Call it armchair travel if you wish, but unless the publications continue to stretch their readers' horizons, the publications become less interesting as a regular part of folks' reading habits. Journalists, too, have a desire to introduce folks to the places they think are really cool. Many lesser-visited destinations would deserve just a word or two if visitorship was the only measure, but people need much more depth than that, so many places get coverage that may be way out of proportion to the number of folks who will go.

The travel shelf in the book store is also a good example of this. Most of the destination guides sell in very small numbers, while certain destinations sell in really big numbers. However, if folks couldn't find a guide to Belize, Chile, Switzerland, Montana, Hong Kong, South Africa, the Galapagos Islands... it wouldn't seem like much of a travel department, and folks might be less interested in coming to browse. If the book stores limited themselves to bestsellers they might be more profitable for a while, but any general purpose retailer from Albertson's to Wal-Mart has the space for a few bestsellers, and could quickly put the book specialists out of business. The smallest book stores usually do not carry PassPorter's Walt Disney World, even though it's in the top 50 of all travel books. The problem is, there can be four or five WDW guides in that top 50, so a bookseller has to choose between offering a variety of destinations and offering a variety of guides to just one destination. If they have one or two shelves with room for about 25-50 books, they'll choose just one or two WDW guides, because that's still enough to satisfy folks' need to have a guide to WDW (even if it may not be the best ).

Meantime, while it seems on a day-to-day basis that Disney gets less coverage than it deserves, when you add it all up, Disney does get a huge amount of coverage in general-interest media (newspapers, TV shows, etc.), and in the Disney-specialist media (like here), and travel magazine editors are quite aware of that.

Of course, there is a bit of what we might consider snobishness among travel writers and editors. "Anything as popular as Disney can't be all good," "It's just so middle-brow," "It's not 'real' travel," "It's an artificial fantasy world," and so on. Jennifer and I encounter that attitude a bit (people who don't think we're truly travel writers - not enough danger and adventure, perhaps?), but for the most part, the true professionals recognize that, even if Disney wouldn't be their first choice for their next trip (so many amazing places to experience before we die!), they still do respect it for the wonder that it is.

[scottjs]

I thank you Dave. A very good answer. And I guess this is why I don't buy many travel magazines anymore.