Little Black Book of Walt Disney World: The Essential Guide to All the Magic (Travel Guide) [Kindle Edition]

Rona Gindin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Travel Roundup: Best Travel Series of the Year, 2008. Hooper, Brad (author). FEATURE. First published September 15, 2008 (Booklist). We select the Little Black Travel Books as our travel guide series of the year. The main reasons for designating these guides as best of the year are their portability and user friendliness. (The spiral binding allows the reader to keep the book open to a certain page.) Individual volumes are small enough to fit into a pocket, but in terms of helpfulness, they are twice their physical dimensions. The other reason these guides are so worthy of praise is the fact that each volume has a neat, tidy, and nicely detailed foldout map to the particular area under discussion. The chapters in each volume correspond to the geographical areas into which the authors divide the city for the tourist. Each chapter gives basics on places to see, available art, and entertainment venues, places to eat and drink, where to shop, and where to stay. You can study a range of guides before your actual trip, but this is definitely a commendable candidate for carrying with you on site. Little Black Travel Books (Peter Pauper Press). --Booklist (American Library Association)

When I buy a guidebook, I usually look for the Frommer's $ a Day budget guides -- Washington D.C. from $80 a Day, Paris from $95 a Day, etc. Why? Well, mostly because I'm a creature of habit. I started buying the Frommer's and Let's Go guides years ago because they focus on budget travel. Let's Go is great for backpackers and those on a really tight budget. Frommer's is a bit more mature but still budget-minded (think hotels rather than hostels), and I like their ''Suggested Itineraries'' section and their maps (Frommer's maps are among the best). But now that there are so many other guidebooks to choose from, I buy Frommer's mostly because I can be in and out of the store in minutes rather than hours and I know I'll come home with a reliable guide. Then, just this past month, everything changed... I discovered something new... You see, when I went to the bookstore to pick up guidebooks for my upcoming honeymoon, I got an idea... Since we're going around the world with stops in Milan, Lake Como, Dubai, Shanghai, and Tokyo, and I needed to buy a guidebook for each destination. Why not, I thought, buy five different guidebooks (from five different publishers) and compare them to find my favorite. So that's what I did. I bought one brand for each stop and then, on my way out, I saw a little Paris guide I'd never seen (or heard of) before. So I picked that up too. (I go to Paris at least once a year so I can never have enough Paris guidebooks.) Here's what I found... and it surprised me: My favorite book of all -- for both pre-trip planning and on-the-ground support -- is The Little Black Book of Paris. The other guides I bought are all divided into sections this way: Where to Stay, Where to Eat, What to Do. But The Little Black Book of Paris is divided by area. And each area has its own fold-out map (which, to be honest, blows the Frommer's maps out of the water). While the guide doesn't have an entire history or culture section like most of the others do -- Lonely Planet, TimeOut, Fodor's, etc -- it's well written and there's an overview of each area at the beginning of each section. I liked the guide so much I went back to the bookstore to buy more. Unfortunately, they don't have guides for my other destinations as they're a fairly new series. They do, however, have one for Washington D.C., where I live, so I bought that. After reading both guides -- Paris and D.C. -- cover to cover, I got so excited about these guidebooks I called the publisher to see what other books they have in the works. Turns out, Paris, D.C., New York, and Rome are the only guides on shelves to date. But San Francisco and London are due out later this year (July and September respectively). And they hope to publish four a year from now on, with Boston and Disney World on their 2008 list. These books are a real find, and I'm glad I stumbled on them. I encourage you to check them out. --Lori Appling - The Travel Writer's Life

Product Description

Expect to be swept up in the magic that surrounds Walt Disney World. You'll find yourself buying a mouse-ears hat or whistling ''It's a Small World Afterall.'' Tuck this book into your pocket to make the most of the Disney experience. Here are the insider tips you need to navigate the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, accommodations, and all of Disney World's recreation venues, including water parks and golf courses. Includes everything you need to know about the rides and shows, restaurants and snack bars, and shops and hotels. Top Picks direct you to not-to-be-missed attractions. Has handy notes pages. 248 pages and 7 fold-out maps.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• Print Length: 248 pages
• Publisher: Peter Pauper Press (January 1, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0024NLHLM
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #141,843 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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  Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Travel > United States > States > Florida

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Possibly one of the worst Disney resource books- ever, August 23, 2008

By	Kelly Hendrix "disney fanatic" (Hattiesburg, MS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Little Black Book of Walt Disney World: The Essential Guide to All the Magic (Travel Guide) (Spiral-bound)

While the "Little Black Book of Walt Disney World" did include the info that you'll find in most Disney guide books, it's clear that Rona Gindin did little research on the subject before publishing. Firstly, she mentions several attractions and parades that no longer exist, then omitted one table service restaurant that has been open since November 2007 (the Yak and Yeti). It's true that many of these attractions only closed in 2008, but Disney sites, as well as Disney fan sites, normally have closings posted for at least a year in advance, so it's not as if their removals were a sudden surprise. Other 2008 guide books all had the updated info. On top of that, Gindin also gets the story-lines wrong for certain rides (i.e. Dinosaur), doesn't know the names of the main characters from Cars, and calls Star Wars fans "trekkies." (I'm well aware that this last point is pretty trite, but in my opinion, anyone who publishes a book on any subject should have all their information correct.) This book may suffice for people going to Disney for the first time, but that doesn't change the fact that they will be armed with incorrect information. My advice- spend a few more dollars and buy the Passporter for Walt Disney World. You'll never need another guide book again.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ok for the beginner, February 20, 2008

By	S. Miller "MillerDisneyMom" (West Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Black Book of Walt Disney World: The Essential Guide to All the Magic (Travel Guide) (Spiral-bound)

This book is small enough to tote along to the parks but it is not very exciting. I prefer the "Pasporter" which can fit into a small backback and has more to offer. This book is ok for first-timers to WaltDisneyWorld, but if you are looking for more information and more in-depth descriptions and suggestions buy something else.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars compact and complete!, February 26, 2008

By	lucidbooks (NEW YORK, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Black Book of Walt Disney World: The Essential Guide to All the Magic (Travel Guide) (Spiral-bound)

We just got this - it looked like the best 'insiders' guide out there. Love it! Small enough to carry and arranged so you can zoom straight to what you're looking for. We're not WDW regulars and won't spend a whole lot of time there so for us, this is ideal for planning and taking along on our trip.