Editorial Standards

Why Publish Editorial Standards

Most Disney planning content reads identically whether it came from someone who stayed at the resort last month or someone who read three other articles about it.

These editorial standards exist so you can tell the difference on this site.

They are also a commitment I can be held to. If an article violates the editorial standards below, that is a legitimate correction request and I will treat it as one.

Rule 1: Facts and Opinions Are Labeled Differently

Disney’s operating hours, prices, height requirements, transportation options, and policies are facts. They change, but at any given moment there is a correct answer.

Whether a resort justifies its rate, whether an attraction deserves an hour of your day, or whether a strategy suits your family is opinion.

Articles here try to keep those visibly separate. Facts are stated plainly and, where they matter financially, pointed toward Disney’s official site for verification.

Opinions are stated as verdicts without hedging. If I think something is a waste of money, the article says so rather than burying it in qualifiers.

Rule 2: Firsthand Claims Are Specific

This is where these editorial standards matter most.

I have not stayed at every Walt Disney World resort. I have not eaten at every restaurant or ridden every attraction in its current form. Very few independent writers have. However, I’ve stayed at nearly all of them and have eaten at nearly all of the restaurants.

So the rule is simple: when an article claims firsthand experience, that experience is real and recent enough to be relevant. When it is not firsthand, the article does not imply otherwise.

You will see language like “when I stayed here” or “the last time I rode this” where experience is direct. Where a section is built from Disney’s published information, current reporting, or analysis rather than a personal visit, it reads that way.

I would rather write a narrower article than pad it with experience I do not have.

Rule 3: Sourcing Goes to the Primary Source

When a factual claim needs a source, the preference order is Disney’s own published information first, then established reporting, then anything else.

Time sensitive claims about pricing, hours, refurbishment schedules, and attraction availability are verified before publication rather than carried forward from an older article.

Where a number or policy is likely to change soon, the article says so instead of presenting it as permanent.

Rule 4: Content Gets Maintained, Not Abandoned

Walt Disney World changes fast enough that a genuinely excellent article can become actively harmful within a year. Attractions close. Systems get renamed. Prices move. Height requirements change.

Articles affected by a significant change are updated, and the update date is visible on the page.

Articles about something that no longer exists are either updated to reflect that or retired.

This is the part of these editorial standards that costs the most ongoing time, and it is the part that matters most to a reader planning a trip six months out.

Rule 5: Popularity Is Not Evidence

A recommendation does not become correct because it is repeated frequently.

Nothing on this site is recommended on the grounds that it is the popular answer, the expensive answer, or the answer that generates affiliate revenue. Every recommendation comes with the reasoning that produced it, so you can disagree with the reasoning if your priorities differ from mine.

Where I hold a position that runs against common advice, the article explains why rather than simply asserting it.

Photography and Media

Not all images on this site are my own photographs. Where a photo is licensed or sourced elsewhere, I do not present it as original work or as evidence of a visit.

Photos are illustrative. Nothing in an image should be read as a claim about firsthand experience. That claim only comes from the text.

Reporting a Problem

If an article on this site violates these editorial standards, contains a factual error, or has gone out of date, tell me at john@magicalblueprint.com.

How those reports are handled is covered on the corrections policy page.

More about who runs this site and how it makes money is on the about page.