Theme Parks Books

I recently purchased this book along with a few others for my upcoming trip to Disney. It will be our first trip there as a family ( I have a 9 and a 2 year old). I found this book to be my least favorite by far. The information is generally vague and is repetitive (eg. "avoid carrying to much stuff......don't forget to bring your camera......wear a raincoat") by the time you read this 4-5 times you kind of get the point. My favorite book to date is The Unofficial Guide to WDW 2005 and also ranking in my top picks is Fodor's WDW & Universal Orlando with Kids 2005. These books get down to the specifics, if you want to eat breakfast with Cinderella in the Castle, the Unofficial Guide has the details to give you the best chance at securing a priority seating (I was able to get priority seating for two different days).
Some people might find that this book is enough, but for me I needed more.

I purchased this book while planning my family trip to Orlando. I found it to be extremely helpful and is one of the few books available that covers Walt Disney World, Orlando and Seaworld at the same time. This book is ideal for first time visitors to the Orlando area, repeat visitors who have not been to Orlando in awhile and/or those who want to do a good bit of planning before their trip.

When my family first started planning our trip, we knew that there was no way for us to be able to see everything we wanted to in this visit. We wanted to make the most of our travel dollars and visit only places that the whole family can enjoy. This book was extremely useful in giving us information on accommodations, restaurants, parks and their must-see attractions. For each ride/attraction/show within the major theme parks, for instance, the author provides a star rating system based on the individual's age (e.g. 2-4 years, 5-10 years, and so on, including Senior Citizens) as well as information on the attraction itself. There are also "Helpful Hints" sprinkled throughout the book as well as "Travel Tips," "Hot Spots" and "Fast Facts." I found this extremely useful in helping us determine which theme parks would provide the optimum enjoyment for our family.

To give you an idea of how much this book covers, I have listed the chapters below:

1. Preparing for your Vacation
2. Choosing your Accommodations
3. Admission to the Disney Theme Parks
4. Orlando-Area Dining

5. Introduction to the Magic Kingdom
6. Exploring the Magic Kingdom
7. Kid-Oriented Areas of the Magic Kingdom
8. All About Epcot
9. The Disney-MGM Studios
10. Disney's Animal Kingdom
11. Disney's Water Parks
12. Disney Nightlife
13. A High Seas Adventure (Disney Cruise Lines)
14. The Universal Orlando Resort
15. The Universal Studios Florida Theme Park
16. Universal Escape's Islands of Adventure
17. Universal City Walk
18. SeaWorld and Discovery Cove
19. Exploring Greater Orlando
20. Planning Your Trip

In addition to this extensive list are maps, important phone numbers, an attraction selection worksheet and daily itinerary. In short, I would have to say that this book gives a lot of bang for the buck. It would recommend it to those with families who are planning to visit the Orlando area and plan to enjoy Walt Disney World as well as the other non-Disney theme parks.

The book size is smaller than most photo books, but there are some nice pictures of Glacier Park that I didn't take when I took my trip. The delivery time took longer than expected, but when I e-mailed seller to follow up on book, he immediately took care of it by sending out another book.

I purchased this book as a primer for a trip to Alaska that ended up getting postponed but I still consider it money well spent. There is a small amount of information and history but the star of the show is a fine collection of color photographs. Glaciers, wildlife, and plants/flowers are all depicted here in very high quality photos. Each time I turned the page, I was struck by the beauty of what I saw next.

The only criticism of the book is that it's awfully small. Less than 100 pages and its dimensions are quite small as well. This means that the photos are not presented to best advantage because they are so small (though they still look quite good) and they could have included a bit of information about the animals and others sights depicted so beautifully. Still, I would highly recommend the book if you're at all interested in getting an idea of what Glacier Bay has to offer.

I first checked this book out from my library because my husband and I wanted to get the most out of our four days at Disneyland with our two young children. This book had all the little details that we needed to know! We followed the suggested game plan and got on the most popular rides with hardly any wait times. And I loved knowing where some little out of the way resting spots are. I think everyone who is planning a vacation to the Anaheim area should read this book. It is filled with fantastic info.

There are some good hints here, but do not be mislead by the title. For a complete book on Disneyland and California Adventure, I highly recommend Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort 2003, Expert Advice From The Inside Source. Birnbaum's Disneyland is updated annually and published every year.

This book, so far, is an interesting book. Although I haven't finished it yet, I find the information useful. The employee viewpoints and facts will make my next visit to Disney World a more cautious one.

I was looking through a friend's copy, and I've gotta say, the section I read on Disney's supposedly lax safety practices disgusted me. I work for the Mouse at Disneyland, and NEVER have I EVER in my backstage experience been given a reason to question my safety when I attend Disney as a guest. Far more damaging was my job in fast food to my desire to eat McDonalds. If anything, I feel more comfortable now knowing exactly how much care they put into the safety of their guests. There will be the occasional instance of human error or guest idiocy, but they do a superb job of minimizing them. For those who take a dim view of Disney's morals, perhaps it's because unsafe rides lead to accidents, which in turn lead to expensive, high-profile lawsuits.

This book, or at least that topic, which was all I could stomach reading, was full of half-truths, misleading statements, and occasionally outright falsehoods. I personally feel insulted, because I've now been unfairly deemed part of the profit-hungry scum of the earth.

Forget the political propaganda some posters are trying to attach to this book. It isn't only for Conservatives or "right-wingers". Truth has no political ties. Everyone should know of the horrors Disney has been covering up for years.

These facts aren't gained from one source, nor are they a product of the author's imagination. Schweizer dug deeply into Disney's hidden secrets, talking with a ton of employees, many who weren't afraid to be named. He includes dozens of documents that Disney tried to hide - documents that expose the child molesters Disney hired to entertain your children.

Though Disney knows about unsafe conditions in their amusement park they do nothing to correct them. The pending lawsuits from deaths or serious injury are cheaper to deal with than the cost of repairing the dangers. It's all about profit and greed.

If only half of this book is true it's a frightful read. You and your children may be at serious physical and emotional risk. If you go to Disney World and get hurt, don't sign anything. Don't let the older kids wander off by themselves, not even for a second.

Read the book and judge for yourself the presented facts .

I bought this as an impulse buy, confusing it for Stewart's "Disney War." It took me about a page and a half to figure out it was actually right-wing propaganda written with the intent of furthering a Christian-based agenda to tear down the Disney empire for having had the audacity to get "too big."

I worked at the Disney studios of the 90's as well as the theme park of the 80's. I was like many a mystified "Disnoid," having been raised to believe that if you wish upon a star you could get anything you wanted, and that you were always the star of the movie. Working at the parks deconstructed my concept of a world of "magic" and working for the studio instructed me on the ways and means of big corporations. Growth usually comes with pain but it's necessary. There's nothing less attractive than a grown adult stubbornly refusing to leave the world of childhood fantasy. I was bitter and cynical for a long time after my experiences and would have written a book similar in (initial) intent as the Schweizers, had I not grown up. Reading this book actually made me re-examine my bitterness and take the side of the Disney corporation. It is just a business after all.

The Schweizers will try to convince you that Disney is "bad," using a bar for measuring badness that they assume their readers share. It's interesting to read about the things they criticize from a different perspective. An example--I had an accident while working at the park in the 80's and was amazed at the efficient way the company handled it. As a guest I would not have wanted to see someone stumbling around with a bloody head waiting for an ambulance, nor did I have any right to sue, as might have happened today. They whisked me away to a hospital and compensated me fairly, one time, for something that should not have happened but was, after all, an accident. Would the Schweizers be happier if everything stopped while stretchers were paraded through the park every time something happened?

Of course much of the book is concerned with perversion, much of it centering on the "obvious" shared traits of pedophiles and the "gay mafia" that had a stronger presence in the Disney corporation than it currently holds. The ideas the Schweizers are trying to sell--something along the lines of if you go to Disneyland you're likely to be sodomized--would be disturbing if they weren't so ridiculous (quote: "some cross-dressers even tried to hold their OWN parade down Main Street, but it never got fully organized," ha ha). And the presentation--there's even a warning at the beginning of one of the chapters--is done in that "can you BELIEVE this?" style that makes Michael Moore's films so inflammatory. I found these chapters almost enjoyable on a salacious level--the Schweizers seem to take great glee in discussing the grittier, "naughty" topics, presenting just enough detail to entice the reader but withholding as much to make the reader curious, a good advertisement for the very thing they would condemn: "Just how bad ARE Larry Clark's movies/photos? I MUST know for MYSELF." Of course, in the Schweizer world the worst thing you can possibly do is be a man who loves other men. To quote the film "Victor/Victoria": "Kill him but mustn't kiss him."

There's rampant misinformation as the Schweizers bend facts to further their agenda, making these authors the ultimate hypocrites since the point of their book is to point out that this is what the Disney Corporation is doing. I know at least two of the people quoted in the book and their comments were not solicited; they were taken from public resources and quoted completely out of context. Hardly surprising since the foundation of many a Christian's religious belief system is based on this process. I know very few Christians who have slogged through the bible, even less who have taken the time and energy to research the meaning behind the book. With that in mind I did my best to give "Disney: The Mouse Betrayed" a thorough, unbiased and fair reading. There are sections that are well researched and present indisputable truths; ten years on the world has become more than aware that there was a lot of money-grubbing, greed, and deceit involved in the "Eisner" years of Disney. No one is really surprised anymore that big corporations deal in this sort of excess, even if they are organizations founded on providing family entertainment.

However, I find it interesting to note that Disney is still doing fairly well for all of that (and for better or worse) and that the Schweizers' book has faded into obscurity (it can be had for a buck twenty-five on this very page). Their would-be poisonous diatribe against The Mighty Goliath failed; the antidote, much like the cure for the obsessions of Christian fantaticism in general, was education and rationality.

This volume sets a lofty goal of being a definative work about the failures of Walt Disney Corperation, but in spite of heart-felt emotive writing, the account left, at least this reader with little more clarification of disney practices than I had before reading it.

Some of the allegations seem credible and well backed by named sources and these should concern everybody especially the section of ride and guest safety, but the account breaks down in the credibility department when all the supposed sins of the various subsiduary companies are laid squarely at Disney's feet. I am not saying the company is inocent,just stating the fact that the book fails to make a very good case for castigating the parent company.

Too often first person disgruntalled employee accounts are treated as facts - which they may or may not be. The statistical section was very disappointing in that they used raw numbers without qualification. For example: The number of Disney injuries per employee in hotels compared to the average. The problem is that there are no qualifications of the raw data - consider for example that over a year a hotel staff caring for a hotel that averages a 75% occupancy is unliekly to have as many injuries as a hotel running near 100% occupany as many Disney hotels are. Clearly the more stressed the staff the greater the odds are of injury. Hence comparison of raw data can be misleading and once more the inron-clad evidence of the "Evil Disney" lacks the credibility that would convert the cynics.

Over all the book fails to deliever the material expected in a definative and unemotional manner. Disney may indeed be a mouse betrayed, but it nearly impossible to draw that conclusion based upon the data supplied (or not supplied) here, at least if one is to be intellectually honest

I have 2 editions of the "without kids" guides. I think they're great! But I am speaking as someone who has been to Disney World multiple times in the past & is just looking for a refresher on the highlights & current info. I also really like this book for when I'm questioning whether an attraction is too childish for my husband & I, who don't have kids yet. If it's in this book, I know it's ok. :) It is a small book, which I think is great -- very easy to carry around with you at the park! On our 2 last trips, I have actually purchased both the "without kids" guidebook along with the regular Birnbaums guide, which provides more detailed information when you need it (but I don't carry that one around!).

I read some of the other reviews listed for this book. I can't believe that there are people who think that this is a waste of money, it is anything but...I go to Disney almost every year. The first thing I do every october is buy the newest version of this book. Don't get me wrong there are some other really good books out there, but this one has to be the very best by far. If you go to Disney often you realize that they are accurte about lines and times and a whole bunch of other stuff. So if you are looking for info but not to munch info. Get this book, or any of the other books they put out. I use this one and the general disney book as I am not traveling with kids.

This book did not provide any information that was useful in making a decision. It breifly described the resorts, restraunts, and theme parks, but never made a recommendation. I am planning a trip to Disney World in 2003. We do not have kids, and wanted to plan a trip geared towards adults without kids. This book did not give a single recommendation to help with the planning.

First of all, I don't agree with a lot of their "don't miss", "don't overlook", and "don't knock yourself out" lists (having already been twice in years past (once as an adult) helps). Of course, the "thrill" rides are "don't miss". Not all adults can handle thrill rides, and not always because they're pregnant or have pacemakers (motion sickness and a fear of thrill rides occur in all ages). And the "Country Bear Jamboree", which is just an elaborate "Chuck E Cheeze" without the pizza, arcade, and ball pit, a "don't miss" (no offense to those who like it) and "Cinderella's Golden Carousel" a "don't knock yourself out" (carousel's aren't just for kids, and can be romantic)? I was also appaled at their thinly-veiled discouragement for staying in a cheaper resort hotel (mostly because families with kids frequent those). Even without kids, not everyone has that kind of money (most of us are lucky we can even afford admission, plane tickets, etc.). And there's really nothing else to speak of. No very detailed information, no real recomendations, no nothing! And yet Birnbaum's guide for families has much more information, something I find a little odd...

Anyway, if you're planning a Disney vacation without kids, try "Walt Disney World For Couples". It has better information, and their reccomedations go beyond the "E-ticket" attractions.

As a regular visitor to WDW, I have been extolling the virtues of Birnbaum's guides to my friends for years. I am currently helping some friends plan their trip to WDW without kids, and recommended this guide; after they bought it, I went out and got one myself. Now I am so embarrassed I don't know what to say to them - this guide is terrible, nothing like the normal Birnbaum's guides, or the previous editions of this book.

There are many problems with this guide: just one example is the recommended tour of Epcot. They stress that "not to be missed" attractions in the World Showcase are Canada, France, the American Adventure; other countries' showcases are "not to be overlooked." I suppose if you assume that most purchasers of this book will be Americans with absolutely no sense of curiousity and adventure, and will only enjoy what they will feel "comfortable" with, then this is a good recommendation; however, most adults I know enjoy the many other countries represented in the World Showcase much more than these three "must sees," as they are more interesting and exotic. Also, they recommend making dinner reservations at Les Chefs de France, which is a perfectly good restaurant, but you can get French food in almost any city - why not the Moroccan or Norwegian restaurants? LCDF is also one of the most popular restaurants in Epcot, and difficult to get into - why set people up for disappointment?

This guide is also seriously lacking in graphics. Personally, I like a guide that shows me a photo of what they're trying to tell me about - and this guide has few. Just because it's a guide for adults doesn't mean that it has to be a novel. I could go on and on about what's wrong with this guide.

All in all, I have to give this book a big thumbs down. I will be purchasing another guide for my friends and delivering it post haste, as this one is just plain bad.

My husband and I visited Disney in 1997 with the assistance of the regular Birnbaum guide. I had been to the resort a number of times (since 1978) prior and found the regular guide very helpful. The "Disney Without Kids" left a lot to be desired. I had hoped for a very detailed listing of restaurants as was found in the regular guide. Instead were a listing of Birnbaum's best bets, many of which we had tried before and found to be OK as far as Disney meals go. If I were planning a trip to Disney, be it with children or not, spend the extra $2 and buy the regular Birnbaum's guide. It was much more informative.

This book is a great read, but is written from the perspective of Disney's Marketing Dept. and at best can qualify as a supplemental guide to other guides. The book is short and to the point, but with the usual Disney flare. Overall I enjoyed the book, but found its usefullness dwindling compared to Bob Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide to WDW. I will admit, however, that if you are staying in the WDW resort and not planning on going anywhere else, the book is "good." But for critiques of rides, restaurants, etc. you are going to need a different guide.

This guide to WDW is invaluable to first time adult visitors and a great refresher course to repeat visitors. Concise and well written, it provides an honest review of attractions, hotels, restaurants and entertainment. Here you'll find how to book a room, a round of golf or a cruise on the lagoon, what's available for room service, which rooms will be the most convenient and quiet, and what kind of weather and crowds to expect. The review of the parks is packed with time and energy-saving tips designed to help adults fully enjoy the experience. It's a little bit larger than pocket size, it's just the right size for a purse. A must for Disney lovers!

I have visited Walt Disney World six times over twenty years. For the last few trips, I've bought several travel guides. I find two to be the most useful: the Birnbaum guide and Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide. The Birnbaum book contains up-to-date essential information and is invaluable for choosing hotels, dining experiences and planning your stay. However, I must say that this is not the most objective guide -- you won't find too many critical evaluations here. The latest edition is a big improvement in layout and content over the previous year's version -- it's fun and easy to read, and packed with useful tips. The Unofficial Guide is a far more cynical and critical book -- buy both books and get everything you need for a great time at WDW!

Hyperion & Hearst published the book and B. Dalton's sold it, but it might as well have been mailed to me free of charge by the folks at the Disney marketing department.

While the authors occassionally give a luke-warm review of certain Disney attractions and services, they seem to give just about everthing an equally unabashed, THIS-is-the-BEST-thing-since-sliced-bread recommendation. Even if it's true, it's not helpful.

A terrifically informative book, with some time-saving and fewer money-saving ideas, for those seeking a "guide" in the true sense of the word.

The New York Daily news calls it "'official' yet insider..." but the "insider" here isn't exactly a whistle-blower.

For those looking for a book to frankly tell you, "Don't waste your time or money here"--you'll have to turn to an "unofficial" guide.

This book is a well sized tome - over 450 pages - but that covers both Walt Disney World as well as many other parks. If you're only seeing Walt Disney World, you only get the first 271 pages.

First, there are the obligatory pages about when to go, the temperature and rainfall amounts. Advice on travel websites to get plane tickets from, etc. None of this is much different than any other book I own, or in fact the web. I understand they need to include it, but in reality it's pretty worthless. Hopefully everyone on the planet knows how to determine average temperature and airline tickets of a place they want to visit.

The hotel section is pretty feeble. Hotels are underdescribed or barely detailed. If I was choosing to stay at a hotel, I definitely wouldn't go based on this book. There are a number of better websites and books for that purpose, with photos and full details. Then there's a VERY short section on going with kids, and we launch right into the park descriptions.

The park descriptions are reasonably good, but not full of detail. Again, there are enough websites and other books that really provide great details, photos and tips that in comparison this book comes up short.

The restaurant descriptions give the basics, but not any special tips. It's the same problem. I wouldn't choose a restaurant based on what I saw here. Then that's it. We go right into Universal Orlando.

The book touts the coupons it holds - but pretty much *none* of them are for Disney. You get:

10% off $100 or more from Samonite; $10 off Arabian Nightes dinner show; 25% off Nauticus & other Norfolk VA items; $1 off Brevard Zoo in Melbourne; $5 off 6 bottes from Florida Estates Winery; 2 for 1 to Polynesian Islanders Review; $4 off per person for Murder Mystery at Grosvenor; Free coupon book at prime outlets of Ellentown; $5 off at Sleuths dinner show; $10 off Ocala carriage tour; 2 for 1 at Flying Tigers exhibit; 10% off at Loyalty Homes.

I purchased this book because I already had the Unofficial Guide to WDW 2004 (my WDW bible!!). But I must say this is a good guidebook in it's own right. While The Unofficial Guide is a little bit more review-oriented, Econoguide was a bit more fact and interesting tidbit oriented. I learned some fascinating facts about my fave rides and landmarks. This book would be good even if you're not planning on a WDW trip because of all the Disney facts in here as well as Universal Orlando too. And both guides do give you tips on saving money. Econoguide also has coupons in back--especially useful if you're not planning on all Disney, all the time. If you buy both books, you've got WDW and Universal covered! So I'd say if you're looking for opinions, defintely use "The Unofficial Guide" for some factoids, give "Econoguide" a try!

I bought 4 books, went to several different websites, and signed onto online email lists, all in preparation for my trip to Walt Disney World in June 2004. I found that the Econoguide was helpful, but not to the extent that The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World was, mostly because about half the book is taken up by reviews of other parks, such as Seaworld and Universal Studios. If you're going to all Orlando park attractions and only wanted one book, however, this would be a great reference for you. But for those of us who will only be doing WDW, there are better books out there.

I really loved this book. It is written by an adult for adults. You csn appreciate that the author is a journalist. I depend on his observations every time I take my family to Florida.

I have read all the others and none come close to the quality and accuracy you get with this guide. Check it out.

I own every guide to WDW on the market, and this one is by far, the worst. I was very disappointed with it. I knew more about WDW BEFORE I read this. On one of his descriptions, he even has the INCORRECT height requirements for the ride, which to someone who is making a once in a lifetime trip, could make a huge difference! Pitiful resource. Buy the Passporter.

The book was okay. It had a lot of good pictures but it was predictable. It was cute but not a big surprise ending but I still liked it.

The Olsen Twins are going to sell. Anything with their likeness means big bucks. This is a silly story that is boring and not funny. To the good, it is suitable for family viewing. It still stinks, however. The Olsens are just cute kids who bring in big dollars on anything with their images.

this is one of the cutest books for anyone who loves the olsen twins.my daughter hannah and nephew ryan loved the book because of all the great pictures.they liked seeing all the places we went last summer.there were pictures of all their favorite placesat all the parks.great story too!!

Sehr umfängliche Auflistung der fotogenen Punkte des Grand Canyon.
Ich hatte eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anweisung erwartet. Es werden zwar die einzelnen Spots alle aufgeführt, aber nicht alle durch ein Foto dargestellt

"Viewing his amazing images might lead to discouragement, however...Those Grand Canyon visitors following Annerino's advice of how and where to take perfect shots will undoubtedly visit scenic locales worthy of superb photographs."

Southwest Books of the Year

I purchased this book in the hope of finding just a few helpful tips on photographing the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Although the introduction made some great promises, the rest of this short work didn't live up to its title. Instead of providing any information on the popular South Rim area of the Grand Canyon, the author (John Annerino) focused on obscure, difficult to reach locations. And although I concede that some photographers might find it useful to know about these distant locations, I found Annerino's information terse and lacking even in those areas. For the popular South Rim area, there is a complete lack of information. I was looking for a book that contained some basic observations as to which locations might be best for sunrise and sunset photography. This book didn't contain any of that information. From the photographs found in this book, John Annerino appears to have a nice portfolio of Grand Canyon photography. However, I found the book a poor excuse for a "Photographer's Guide." Don't waste your money. You can glean more information from the "Frommer's Grand Canyon National Park" or from a short search of the Internet.

I have taken one star out for illustrations. There is none.
However, the book is very helpful if you're traveling with a tight budget. Price admissions in one chapter is very handy as you don't need to travel between chapter back and forth.

The rankings for each attraction according to different ages helped me out in choosing which parks to visit with my 5 year old child.

There is even a chart to help you plan your days and how much you'll spend in them.

This is a waste of money the information is VERY clear quote "regarless of the vehicle you drive, you need to know where you are going." you would think if you want to go to Disneyland you would know where it is or already have a map to it. my opinion dont buy this it is stupid. there is some information but it isnt worth buying. I like the " The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, by Bob Sehlinger."