Part 2: The Unofficial Guide
Friday, May 16, 2003
by Mike Scopa, MousePlanet staff writer
This is the second installment of our series that
looks at the Disney bibles from the perspective of a newcomer
to Walt Disney World. In this session, I focus on The
Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob
Sehlinger (John Wiley & Sons: 2003. ISBN: 0-7645-6604-0; click
link to buy).
Besides looking at this book from a first timer's perspective we
will also hear from author Bob Sehlinger and a few of his key
contributors as they give our MousePlanet readers an exclusive
behind the scenes look at how this amazing book is put together.
The Unofficial Guide Approach
It would be a disservice to not begin this discussion without tuning
in to what distinguishes this book from the others, or simply,
what sets the Unofficial Guide series of books apart.
Bob describes the uniqueness of the Unofficial Guide books
(there are over two dozen) by pointing out how they are "differentiated
by their comprehensiveness, strong consumer orientation," their
team approach giving them "the capability to undertake much more
sophisticated and extensive research projects."
Bob feels that only through an incredible amount of time and effort
in data gathering can a team arrive at comprehensive and accurate
information.
For example, over a dozen researchers collected waiting time data
for the book's new touring plan software. Much care was taken
to validate the information before it landed on the pages of this
book. To ensure that the data was of the highest credibility,
they spent several days visiting the various theme parks and recording
information.
There's more: They visited the parks for several days at different
times of the year.
There's even more: This was done over a period of four years.
First-time WDW planners can be assured that the information Sehlinger
provides in his book can be arguably the most accurate of all
the WDW guidebooks currently in print.
Part Seven of Sehlinger's book introduces the Disney Transportation
System as well as other information on getting around Orlando.
Again, the information presented here was a result of solid investigation.
To gather this information and ensure accuracy, Sehlinger said,
"Requires riding and timing every bus, boat, and monorail route,
a task that takes four researchers almost a week to complete."
It is no coincidence that the vast amount of information provided
in the Unofficial Guide is a result of some very dedicated
teamwork by an array of talent who know their subject matter,
making it easy for newcomers to put together a viable plan for
their first visit to Central Florida's vacation hotspot.
The Unofficial Guide is unique. "The scope of the research
and processing of data require time, experience, and resources
that are beyond the capabilities of a single author or even several
co-authors," Sehlinger said. "An entire organization collects
and compiles information for the Unofficial Guide, an organization
guided by individuals with extensive training and experience in
research design as well as primary data collection and analysis."
The roster of who collects and gathers this information is quite
amazing.
Among the Unofficial Guide researchers are those who have
served as consultants or project planners for the Busch Entertainment
Corporation, H.B.J. Theme Park Division, the Utah Ski Association,
the Eastern Professional River Outfitters Association, and the
Boy Scouts of America.
Of course we cannot overlook the many individuals, guests, Orlando
visitors, and readers who also contribute to the book's information
gathering.
Such a team effort speaks to the integrity of the information dispersed
to the reader. For first-time visitors to Orlando and WDW, this
book is not just a resource but a key to unlocking the answers
to any they may have regarding the resort.
Focusing on the Audience
An important aspect as to how this book was built is not just the
research done on the parks, attractions, and resorts but more
importantly, research on the reader.
"Other guides, regardless how information is formatted to fit a
given series, are researched and developed by individual authors
or co-authors," said Sehlinger. "Thus, everything is filtered
through the lens of those authors' tastes, preferences, and opinions.
Publishers of these guides hope that the information the author
presents is compatible with the needs of the reader."
Sehlinger points out that this compatibility with the needs of
the reader is often accidental. "In Unofficial Guide books,
by way of contrast, it is the tastes, preferences, and opinions
of our readers that dictate the content of the guides," he said.
"In other words, we start with the needs of our reader, identified
through exhaustive research, and build a book that specifically
meets those needs."
Over the years, Sehlinger and staff have talked with and conducted
surveys with over 25,000 WDW guests, gathering input of opinions
on every facet of the WDW resort. More importantly, this allows
those with limited time to make educated decisions as to where
to best spend their time in Orlando.
Sehlinger is proud that his guides are the only WDW books that
run contrary reader opinions right beside their own opinions.
He feels it is vital for the audience to know both sides of the
issue.
Again, this reader input can be found on just about everything
in the WDW resort.
The Aim for Objectivity
Another essential element of the guide and very important to Sehlinger
is the minimizing of author bias. He is able to do so only because
of the sheer number of researchers who provide input.
"A single author incorporates his or her own singular tastes and
opinions in his work. Our research team, by way of contrast, includes
individuals ranging in age from 60 to 16 and sometimes, for special
assignments, we seek the assistance of children as young as 8
years old," Sehlinger said. "Thus, the opinions and advice in
the Unofficial Guide are informed by the perspectives of
a diverse group of researchers, a process, we believe, that achieves
the highest level of objectivity."
The team approach gives them expertise in specific areas as no
single individual is a qualified expert in all aspects of WDW.
For example:
- Part Five of this book, "Walt Disney World for Kids," was
developed after consulting with three nationally respected
child psychologists and an advisory group of parents.
- Part Nine, which discusses the dining aspects of WDW, was
put together with the help of some professional culinary experts
dedicated solely to the task of rating restaurants.
- The section on golfing in Walt Disney World is handled by
professional golf writer, Larry Olmsted.
Putting technology to work
How can newcomers make the best use of their time? More importantly,
how can they best visit and enjoy what's inside all the theme
parks? Here is yet another area where Sehlinger's book distinguishes
itself from all the others.
The Unofficial Guide, like other guides, offer readers several
touring plans. However, instead of arriving at their version by
simply putting together a composite of ideas based on "best practices"
from a handful of people, Sehlinger's team added a little technology
to the mix.
The key to Sehlinger's touring plan is a database and touring plan
program developed by Len Testa. This program was a result of thousands
of hours of work by more than a dozen Unofficial Guide
data collectors, in consultation with internationally acclaimed
experts in the fields of operations research and evolutionary
algorithms.
Ed Waller, who worked with Testa in testing the plan, says the
software indicated that it might be possible to see all of the
attractions in the Magic Kingdom in a single day. Waller and Testa
began a correspondence, discussing ways of validating the data.
"The important point is that Len developed the Ultimate Magic Kingdom
Touring Plan," Waller said. "My 'job' was to be the guinea pig
that tested the plan to see if it was possible to experience all
of the Magic Kingdom attractions in one day."
Statistician Fred Hazelton read an article about the program, and
contacted Sehlinger and Testa to offer his services. Hazelton
felt the program needed the credibility of an expert statistician.
"I contacted Len and Bob to offer my services," Hazelton said.
"Basically, they needed a way to compile all the data they had
collected and use it to feed into Len's program for producing
custom touring plans."
Since the success of the touring plans depended on the use of good
estimates for the amount of time that a visitor would wait in
line at any given attraction during various times of the day,
this is where Hazelton and his penchant for numbers and statistics
came in.
"We did some statistical tests on the data to determine what would
be the best estimate of the wait time at each attraction in Walt
Disney World for every 15 minute interval," Hazel said. "We did
this for various crowd levels and for both Extra Magic Hour days
and normal opening days."
The team recognized that there were some areas that they needed
to pay special attention to. "The major challenge in producing
these estimates was dealing with missing data," Hazelton said.
"During the data collection days, there are many obstacles that
make it impossible to record the wait time, such as attraction
breakdowns and closures. In these cases we do some statistical
analysis to see what attractions follow similar trends in wait
time and use those trends to estimate the wait times for the missing
attractions. Once all the holes are filled in we end up with a
complete set of tables containing estimates for all the attractions
for every 15 minute interval."
What they discovered went a long way in producing the optimal touring
plan. For one thing, they discovered that the wait time on any
particular time of day was pretty consistent on a daily basis.
"In general, if the average wait time at Space Mountain at 11:00
a.m. is 30 minutes then the wait time at 11:00 a.m. on any given
day is very likely to be between 25 and 35 minutes," Hazelton
said. "It was encouraging to know that the few days of data that
we do collect are very likely to be representative of a typical
day. This gave us confidence in our estimates in our tables and
therefore in the touring plans."
This, according to Hazelton, also explains why the touring plans
seem to perform so well on any given day.
The team continues to compile information and even today work towards
making their data as accurate as possible. Hazelton hopes that
they will eventually have enough data to figure out the wait times
based on specific variables.
"Factors such as weather, walking speed and attraction breakdown
rates can all have an affect," Hazelton said. "If we had an estimate
of their influence we could potentially make adjustments in order
to make the touring plans even better."
Thanks to this extensive system, thee touring plans found in Sehlinger's
book are obviously the best possible starting points for any newcomer
visiting the Orlando Disney theme parks.
Going Beyond the Obvious
The Unofficial Guide tries to do so much more than the other
guidebooks. Sehlinger explains:
"Most guidebooks do a reasonably good job with what and where.
Unofficial Guide books add the dimensions of how and
why. Describing attractions like Dumbo, or hotels or restaurants
(the what) at a given destination (the where) is the foundation
of other travel guidebooks.
We know from our research, however, that our readers like to
know how things work. Take hotels as an example. In the Unofficial
Guide, we not only provide the reader with abundant hotel
choices (rated and ranked, of course), but also explain the
economic and operational logic of the lodging industry (the
why), and offer instruction (the how) that enables the reader
to consistently take advantage of opportunities for discounts,
room upgrades, and the like.
In the WDW guide and all our other Unofficial Guide
books, whether we're discussing cruise ships, theme parks,
ski resorts, casinos, or golf courses, we reveal the travel
industry's inner workings and demonstrate how to use such
insight in selecting and purchasing travel, and for planning
itineraries. For the reader, knowledge is power, which translates
into informed decision making and confidence."
According to Sehlinger most guides give the reader a plate of fish
to choose from, while Unofficial Guide also points out
which fish are best. More importantly, however, an Unofficial
Guide teaches the reader how to fish. "Anyone who has ever
read the hotel chapter in any Unofficial Guide can use
the information and methodology to book a great hotel room at
a bargain price in any city in the world," he said.
"So, the bottom line is that there are more of us so that we can
do more for the reader. I put the fruits of our research into
words, but behind me there is an organization unequaled, to the
best of our knowledge, in all of travel publishing."
A Future Peek
So what else is there left for Sehlinger and staff to do to make
the Unofficial Guide even better?
"For the 2004 edition that we're working on now, we timed how long
it takes to commute from over 260 different area hotels to each
of the Disney theme parks. A reader using the new guide will be
able to ascertain on a comparative basis exactly how convenient
his hotel is to the parks.
In covering the lodging scene, the Unofficial Guide reviews,
rates, and ranks almost 250 Disney World area hotels (about 270
in the 2004 edition), more than four times as many as other guidebooks.
We're the only guide that provides in-depth profiles of the best
hotels for families outside of Walt Disney Word (of course, we
profile the Disney resorts extensively as well). On any given
research trip, we have two teams of specialized hotel inspectors
checking out hotels all day long for the entire research period."
Pioneer Bob
Bob Sehlinger is a true a pioneer in his field who has brought
to the travel industry a revolutionary approach to the matter
of travel guides. He continues to nurture this unique approach
in data and information gathering and the result is a reference
tool that delivers credible information based on not one but many
sources.
There is no other book that can better prepare the newcomer for
a visit to WDW than Sehlinger's book. The wealth of information
between the covers of this book are a result of countless number
of hours devoted to getting solid facts on every aspect of the
WDW resort. The book has earned recognition as a WDW bible and
should be on the bookshelf of every person planning their first
trip to WDW.
Next time
So far we've helped first-time visitors to WDW look at Birnbaum
for an introduction to the WDW resort and The Unofficial Guide
as a tool for accurately planning how you will visit the resort
once you get there.
Next time we will turn our attention to Passporter: Walt Disney
World 2003 and how it best serves the first time WDW guest.
Class dismissed.
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