The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2010 (Unofficial Guides)

• 

• Author: Bob Sehlinger
• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication Date: August 31, 2009
• Condition: New

• Price: $11.49

Features

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Product Description

• Product Description

  • In 2008, combined Walt Disney World Resort© theme park attendance reached over 51 million, with the Magic Kingdom alone drawing over 17 million visitors. (Orlando Convention and Visitor Bureau)
  • Despite signifcant downturns in the economy, Disney theme parks have maintained attendance rates and made gains in attendance at some parks.
  • Walt Disney World Resort theme parks are rated best in the world. earning high marks for things outside of the traditional theme park experience. Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival, which takes place for six weeks every fall and showcases food from twenty-five countries, was rated by Forbes Traveler as one of the Best U.S. Food and Wine Festivals.

• Amazon.com Review

  Test Your Disney Smarts!
  Amazon-exclusive quiz from author Bob Sehlinger

  1. Which restaurant has the best view at Walt Disney World? A. LakeView Restaurant, B. The California Grill, C. Cindarella’s Royal Table

  2. Afternoon milkshakes for two kids will cost you: A. $5.72, B. $8.38, C. $12.59

  3. Disney Kids’ Meals are available for children of what ages? A. 3-9, B. 3-11, C. Under 18

  4. When is the best time to take the kids on Dumbo the Flying Elephant? A. Before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m., B. Immediately following lunch, C. At exactly 3:15 p.m.

  5. Which Disney theme park is five times the size as the Magic Kingdom? A. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, B. Epcot Center, C. Animal Kingdom

  6. The best time to visit Walt Disney World is: A. On your child’s birthday, B. The day of your child’s final exam in math class, C. During the period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

  Answers: 1)B, 2)B, 3)A, 4)A, 5)C, 6)A

  Five Unofficial Ways to Prepare For Your Trip to Walt Disney World
  Amazon-exclusive content from author Bob Sehlinger

  1. Select the time of year for your visit: Walt Disney World is busiest Christmas Day through New Year’s Day. Thanksgiving weekend, the week of Washington’s birthday, the first full week of November, spring break for colleges, and the two weeks around Easter are also times when visitation can peak at 92,000 visitors in a single day. The park is far less crowded during the off season, but be advised that the parks often open late and close early during that time. You can find detailed charts and info on the best times to visit in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

  2. Shape up: Visiting Disney World requires levels of industry and stamina more often associated with running marathons. As you plan your time at Disney World, consider your physical limitations. It’s exhausting to rise at dawn and run around a theme park for 8 to 12 hours day after day. Every Disney World vacation itinerary should include days when you don’t go to a theme park and days when you sleep in and take the morning off. Plan these to follow unusually long and arduous days.

  3. Formulate your park plan: First-time visitors should see Epcot first; you’ll be able to enjoy it without having been preconditioned to think of Disney entertainment as solely fantasy or adventure. See Animal Kingdom second. Like Epcot, it’s educational, but its live animals provide a change of pace. Next, see Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which helps transition from the educational Epcot and Animal Kingdom to the fanciful Magic Kingdom. Also, because DHS is smaller, you won’t walk as much or stay as long. Save the Magic Kingdom for last; it’s the park that epitomizes Disney World for most visitors.

  4. Create your touring plan: Which rides and attractions appeal most to you? What are you willing to forgo? Planning your day in advance can save you up to four hours of waiting time in line. We have developed a hierarchy of categories that will help you evaluate each ride and plan the best way to enjoy them all. For example, SUPER-HEADLINERS are the best attractions the theme park has to offer – and they usually have the longest lines. MINOR ATTRACTIONS are midway-type rides, small “dark” rides (cars on a track, zigzagging through the dark) and walk-through attractions—which can be a lot of fun, without the long wait. Remember that bigger and more elaborate doesn’t always mean better. See examples of touring plans (and create your own) in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

  5. Getting hungry?: There are three lessons to learn before you dine in the parks. One: Theme-park restaurants rush their customers in order to make room for the next group of diners. If you want to linger over your expensive meal, don’t order your entire dinner at once. Order drinks. Study the menu while you sip, then order appetizers. Tell the waiter you need more time to decide among entrees. Order your main course only after appetizers have been served. Dawdle over dessert. Two: If you’re dining in a theme park and cost is an issue, make lunch your main meal. Entrees are similar to those on the dinner menu, but prices are significantly lower. Three: Disney adds a surcharge of $4 per adult and $2 per child to certain popular restaurants during weeks of peak attendance, including Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and in 2009 every day from Memorial Day through July 4.

Customer Reviews

• July 31, 2010You Must Read This Book before entering the parks at Disney!

  Our family has never been to Disney, and a friend suggested this book. I didn't start reading it until we were on the plane, but we already had our condo set, and our tickets, so those were two big sections I didn't need to read, but you may if you don't have your travel plans set. I took their advise on just about everything, and followed their travel plans and they worked SO WELL! The only day we didn't was when we slept in because of a late night and didn't get to Hollywood Studios until about noon. BIG MISTAKE! I couldn't use the plan and we were lost without it. That park in particular needs major guidance since MANY of the attractions are on a timed performance schedule and many stop showing by 5:00pm. We missed out on so much by not going there early and me, liking to be in control of the situation, had a terrible time and felt we missed so much. It is a BIG book, but break it down to read about each park before the night before and the morning of (if you use the Disney Transportation service, you will have some time on the bus and tram), if you are a proctastinator like me, you will still do pretty good, but admittedly, I should have gone through the book about a week before we left for our trip. Another suggestion is using colored tabs and labeling them so you can access information quickly when you are in a hurry. The descriptions for the attractions, rides and shows were so useful, and the reader comments were very helpful and many were right on about the attractions that aren't worth your time. One thing it doesn't mention is that if you are planning to go to Downtown Disney using the Disney Transportation system, prepare for a LONG ride and transfers. We left our condo at 11:15 and didn't get to DD until 1:00 because the only way to get to DD is to take a tram or bus to a Disney Resort and then wait for a bus to come along and take you there.

• July 28, 2010Must read this book before going!

  This book will help you get the most out of your Disney vacation. It will help you save time and money.

• July 26, 2010Researching an Investment

  We took our family of six to Walt Disney World for five days in July 2010. Originally, our trip should have happened in March, but our little girl broke her harm quite seriously two days before the trip and we had to postpone. I was nervous about going in the summer, so I spent many countless ours researching tips, plans, and ideas. The way I see it we invested several thousand dollars into a vacation for our family and I wanted to be sure that we got our money's worth. With the information in this book, we certainly did. We were able to use the information about the different attractions to plan with the kids which attractions they wanted to see. We used the information about dining options to plan our meals. We ate only three meals in the parks, two of those being character dining experiences. (The memories of which are PRICELESS!)
  
  The Lines application for the iPhone alone is worth the investment.
  
  I grew up in Florida and have been to WDW 16 times, but I still use the Unofficial Guide Books every time I go. I just want to protect my investment. Our kids have memories that will last a lifetime. (or at least until I can take them back again!)

• July 24, 2010I didn't get anything out of it

  I just got done reading this book. I didn't get much out of it. The authors have opinions on everything. I have my own opinions after having been to Disney World a couple times with 4 young kids... and too often I disagreed with what they said in the book.
  
  Where I do think this book would be worth the $10 is if a person had never been to Disney World and was feeling anxiety about what to expect. In this case, it would be worth $10 just to get someone's, anyone's opinion to have some peace of mind before going... even if after you went you decided you disagree with the opinions in the book.
  
  Some examples: Myself (and many people on Disney forums online) think the Winnie the Pooh ride, though nice, is not the "must see" ride in the park that the book makes it out to be. On the flip side, my family really enjoys the Snow White ride, but the book pans it.
  
  The book also tends to make attractions out to be more scary for kids than they were for my young kids. Even Mickey's Philharmagic was talked about as being one that can be too intense for young kids. Not sure where they get that. (and I feel I should add to this comment that my kids aren't violence-crazed wackos - they don't watch PG13 movies or play T rated video games -- they're pretty normal young kids).
  
  One of the book's claims is that it's guidance can save you up to 4 hours in line... but we've never spent enough time in line to have 4 hours to save.

• July 14, 2010This is a Great Book!

  We've never been to Disney World, so haven't a clue what to expect. I bought this book based on the reviews and am glad I did. It has a lot of helpful information in planning for one's trip to Disney. Thus far, the book has saved me money by showing how and where to purchase tickets, book a resort and travel. There are a lot of helpful suggestions in this book and I can't wait to put the plan to work. Whether it is your first time to WDW or your 10th time, I think you will find some cost and time saving tips in this book. This is a must have for anyone going to Walt Disney World.