Vacations Books

**The following is from the back of the book; I DID NOT write it**

We heard the roar of an engine and looked up in time to see a dusty blue car hurtling toward us. I expected the driver to slow down when he saw us on horseback, but he didn't. Instead, he seemed to increase his speed.

"Look out!" I shouted at Rebecca. "That madman is going to run us down!"

What starts as Kimberly's peaceful, relaxing holiday on her cousin's stud farm in Portugal, builds to a nightmare of treachery and deceit. From the moment the sinister Mr. Merlota threatens to cause trouble for Rebecca's mom, things start going terribly wrong. Rumors of animal cruelty plague them, disturbing photographs appear, and worst of all, their prize stallion, San Silvo, the foundation of the stud farm, goes berserk in his stall. Is he sick or is someone doing something to him? The girls have to get to the bottom of the mystery before Rebecca and her mom lose everything...

**My Review**
I did not really like this book. I thought that the photographs in it detracted from the story and that the characters' lines were stilted. In my opinion the author's other book "Dangerous Summer" was better written and more believable.

"You get what you pay for" The information was nothing new. It had some good points and summaries. I would not put this publication on the top of my best buys list.

This books is entitled "great eastern rv trips". however, the book does not contain much rv specific information. I think a general tourist book would cover the material that they cover better.

This book is many steps below the capabilities found in Kathleen and Robert Fish's Book: "Pets Welcome".In fact there are many locations in Great Vacations which do not accept any dogs or only one. I would strongly recommend Pets welcome or the AAA "Traveling With Your Dog " before this book.

Unfortunately, "The Hassle-Free WDW Vacation" did not help decrease our WDW "hassles". Actually, I suspect that anyone who tried to follow any of the "Touring Plans" detailed for the WDW parks would end up feeling like their vacation was more work than play. Here are some of the reasons I would not recommend buying this book:

1) The book is essentially a book of lists..."what to do on arrival day" (a confusing array of suggestions), "what to do on departure day"-that list includes "revisit attractions (!) , look for Hidden Mickeys" -(..hmmmm-there's a "Hidden Mickey" book also written by this author) , and what to pack (this is the one helpful list!)

2) The bulk of the book is a series of minute to minute one and two day plans broken down by visitor age groups.
I suppose some WDW visitors would wish to "attack" the parks, list in hand with the plan to run to the most coveted ride at opening, sprint to the first FastPass in the next 20 min, "exit and turn left" and approach the character greeting place, etc. However, these plans are going to fail at the first changed mind or missed step. Also there is a lot of generalization about what would appeal to an age group without taking into account individual needs.

3)The plans also include suggestions that have actually (believe it or not) been tested for accuracy and disproved elsewhere...such as the frequently stated (by this author) "choose the left queue". That "truism" is at the level of an urban myth by now.

4) If visitors do want to attack the park this way- following plans step by step- the weather, time of year, crowd level and make-up all need to be considered. These plans do not take these factors into account.
(For example if you go to WDW-as we did- when school is "in"- Fantasyland will be packed with the tiny tots, while rides appealing to grade school and older kids will be less in demand. For the few times we actually "went on attack" it really helped to take this factor into account.)

5) There are frequently vague suggestions in the plans such as "Take in a show"...there is significant variability as to the amount of time a visitor needs to set aside for each and every show in any of the parks in WDW- Each show is different and needs specific timing and cannot just be randomly plugged into a timed out "plan for the day".

6) There is little other helpful information or details in the book.

I would only recommend this book to someone who has one or two days to spend at all of WDW and wants to seriously prioritize. And if you are one of those people, check the book out at the library, look over the ideas then make your own schedule, using information from guide books that are a better buy for the money.

I ordered this book with the hopes it would give me extensive details about accomodations, restaurants and attractions. The book delved somewhat into that area but still left me with a lot of questions as I ponder my upcoming trip to Hawaii. More "meat" is needed in this book.

I have found more information on the internet regarding handicapped access in Hawaii than I found in this book.

This book shows a lot of fine images of what a "hideaways" hut looks like. But I did't find any further drawings that can give me more helps...

The storyline of this book is pretty weak, but the illustrations of various Disney World rides will make the reader recall theme park memories with nostalgia, if you've visited. These endearing, detailed drawings never fail in helping our family recall fun times at Disney. Look through this book at your library, then buy it here!

I bought this in my local bookstore and tried to use it to plan a weeklong trip to Orkney. Unfortunately, while it helped me decide where to go and what to see, it failed me once I tried to make concrete plans. Many of the B&Bs had changed hands and were no longer accepting guests and those that were had often TRIPLED their prices. Save your money and visit the websites of VisitScotland and Historic Scotland which will do a better job on trip planning for free.

These books were a waste of time. Little plot development, no character development, they're just a series of stories that have little point to them. Sinister and Dexter are two Gunsharks in the future city of Downlode. They pick up contracts and kill people. There you go. That's the plotline of each story, with a few unnecessary panels inbetween.