Magazine rates fairest theme park of them all (http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/02/Columns/Magazine_rates_faires.shtml) - St. Petersburg Times, 5/5/03

QuikQuote: So it's especially timely that the June issue of Consumer Reports features the magazine's first-ever rating of some of America's major theme parks. Similar in style to the magazine's familiar ratings of cars and appliances, Consumer Reports asked almost 2,500 visitors to 14 theme parks across the country to rate their experiences based on overall satisfaction, value, rides, shows, staff, souvenirs and crowds.
For entertainment giants like Disney, keeping a competitive edge in its parks is critical. Parks and resorts are traditionally the most profitable segment of the company. On Thursday afternoon, Walt Disney Co. reported a 45 percent decline in operating income at its parks and resorts business in the first quarter of 2003 compared to the same period last year. Disney chief financial officer Tom Staggs called the travel and tour booking trends at company theme parks "still hard to read."
There's a message here. In less confident and tighter economic times, theme park visitors want more than ever to feel like they are getting a true bang for their buck.

This could be worth picking up for a good laugh. Over the years, I have found "Consumer Reports" evaluations on types of products that I have familarity with to be almost consistently laughingly ill-informed.

I think their intentions are good, but their mix of rather unsophisticated polling techniques combined with an editorial staff that seems to lack expertise on much of anything usually result in articles that are full of innaccuracies and hugely dubious recommendations.

When shopping for a product, I always recommend going to publications or other sources that actually specialize in the topic being discussed. Publications like "Consumer Reports" are among the worst way to comparison shop for anything...

-Jeff

Jeff, I totally agree.

If I want to find out which home theatre system is the best, I'll go to Sound & Vision Magazine, not Consumer Reports.

I've noticed a real trend in generalist-type publications to publish their "Best Of" lists which are anything but.

For instance, Shape Magazine (a very glossy women's magazine that features models with no muscle definition on its front covers) published their Top Exercise Videos for 2002. Laughably, the videos praised were pilates and yoga videos that had received lukewarm reviews from hardcore fitness sites. Additionally, there was no mention on that list of videos that provide cardio or weight-training, of which most exercise physiologists agree are the fastest way to get in shape.

I find online review sites like Epinions to be virtually worthless because the people providing reviews are encouraged to submit endless superlatives in their reviews otherwise the reviewers receive "negative" marks from their peers. I bought a carpet cleaner based on the majority of epinion reviewers and found out that I had actually purchased a machine that was not highly thought of by actual experts. And it doesn't clean very well either.

It certainly is buyer-beware out there unless you know who the *real* experts are. Consumer Reports does not strike me as knowledgeable about what a theme park should be and do in order to be considered top-rated.

Sheila