From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide(R) to Walt Disney World(R) "A Tourist's Best Friend!" - Chicago Sun-Times "Indispensable" - The New York Times The Top 10 Ways The Unofficial Guide(R) to Disneyland(R) Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip: Every attraction rated and ranked for each age group, based on interviews and surveys of more than 6,100 families When to go: the best times of year and the best days of the week Comprehensive coverage of Universal Studios Hollywood All the Disneyland area hotels rated and ranked for value and quality of rooms Field-tested touring itineraries for adults and families with children Complete coverage of Disney's California Adventure theme park Tips and warnings for first-time visitors and those with special needs Proven strategies for planning the perfect Disneyland vacation with small children How to find and meet the Disney characters Unvarnished, practical advice for families, couples, honeymooners, and singles This guide is a completely independent evaluation of Disneyland and has not been reviewed or approved by Walt Disney World or the Walt Disney Company, Inc. Find us online at frommers.travelocity.com
Bob Sehlinger, a Lowell Thomas Award winning journalist, is best known as the creator and producer of the Unofficial Guide Series published by Wiley Publishing Inc. and sold worldwide.
He is credited with being the first to apply research techniques from the fields of operations research and statistics to travel guides. Among other projects, he was able to develop mathematical models that could save theme park patrons more than three hours of standing in queue in a single day.
Sehlinger and his research team (pictured) have had numerous adventures and developed some unusual methodologies. Here's a sampling from research for The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World:
"We've slept in every Disney resort multiple times and more than 80 Orlando-area properties. Only once did we wake up covered in bugs. (It was a non-Disney hotel.)"
"We test hotel room soundproofing using a sophisticated digital sound meter and a copy of The Who's Greatest Hits."
"The first time we did Orlando spa reviews, one of our researchers had an eyebrow burned off during a waxing that went horribly awry."
"We once logged more than 700 miles in one week on buses to test Disney's transportation system, and never left Disney property. The bus drivers got so used to us being on board that one forgot we were there and took us back to the bus garage when his shift ended."
"We test pillow fluffiness using a measurement process we invented. We intended to use a fake human head as part of the test, but worried about getting it through airport security. We settled on a gallon jug of water, which is about the same size and weight as an average adult's noggin."
"When we test counter-service restaurants, we order at least one of everything on the menu, and break up in to small teams to sample each thing. We've tried every counter-service food item in every American Disney theme park."
"Our crowd prediction models take in to account everything from the day of week and time of year, to the vacation schedules of the fifty largest school districts east of the Mississippi, to weather phenomena including temperature, rainfall and humidity."
Bob Sehlinger is founder and co-owner of Keen Communications, a book publishing company that includes Menasha Ridge Press in Birmingham, Alabama; Clerisy Press in Cincinatti, Ohio; and Wilderness Press in Berkeley, California. The author of twenty-seven books, Sehlinger is a past president of the Publishers Association of the South, and has served at the invitation of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Information Service on educational missions for publishers in Hungary, Romania, and Russia.
Before becoming involved in writing and publishing, Sehlinger was CEO of SAGE, inc., a wilderness arts teaching and expeditional company that produced courses in kayaking, rock climbing, survival, and backpacking (among others) for high schools and universities in a 7-state area. During this period Sehlinger served as president of the Eastern Professional River Outfitters Association. Sehlinger makes his home in Birmingham, Alabama where he continues to be an avid river runner and mountain biker.
