The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids [Paperback]

Bob Sehlinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2001 | Series: Unofficial Guides (Book 38)

The Unofficial Guides are the "Consumer Reports" of travel guides, offering candid evaluations of their destinations' attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, sports, and more, all rated and ranked by a team of unbiased inspectors so even the most compulsive planners can be sure they're spending their time and money wisely. Each guide addresses the needs of everyone from families to business travelers, with handy charts that demonstrate how each place stacks up against the competition. Plus, all the details are pulled out so they're extremely easy to scan.

Ask any kid and they'll tell you: Walt Disney World is tops on their list of vacation spots. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids will help parents fulfill their kids' fantasies, offering all our best advice and top picks for the younger set in one compact, easy-to-use package. We'll give you the lowdown on family-friendly hotels and restaurants and send you straight to the best rides and shows for each age group. It's never been easier to introduce your kids to all the magic!

The Top 5 Ways The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:

1. Comments and tips on Walt Disney World? from surveys of more than 11,000 families
2. How to prepare mentally, physically, and logistically for your Walt Disney World family vacation
3. When to go, where to stay, and how to beat the crowds
4. Information on which attractions frighten kids and why
5. How to keep your family happy on vacation and how to return home rested and relaxed

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World

"A Tourist's Best Friend!" ?Chicago Sun-Times

"Indispensable" ?The New York Times

The Top 5 Ways The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:

1. Comments and tips on Walt Disney World from surveys of more than 11,000 families
2. Advice on how to prepare mentally, physically, and logistically for your ideal Walt Disney World vacation
3. When to go, where to stay, and how to beat the crowds
4. Information on which attractions frighten kids and why
5. How to keep your family happy on vacation and how to return home rested and relaxed

This guide is a completely independent evaluation of Walt Disney World and has not been reviewed or approved by Walt Disney World or the Walt Disney Company, Inc.

Great trips begin at Frommers.com

About the Author

Bob Sehlinger is the creator and Executive Publisher of the Unofficial Guide travel series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (September 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764562061
• ISBN-13: 978-0764562068
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,688,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sigh........., March 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids (Paperback)

I have purchased the Unofficial Guide to Wald Disney world once before when we were planning a trip- we didn't get to go, so I purchased the updated one just last month. Along with my order, I decided to add the Unofficial Guide "with kids" because we have 3 small children. I was very disapointed. This could have been a great accompaniment to the regular Unofficial Guide. For starters, in both my situations, the Unoffical Guide was A+ on info, I loved it. The "with kids" seemed to copy and paste bits from that book. But, the confusing part, is that they didn't copy and paste parts that I found to be most useful in the Unoffical Guide. I am confused about why you would need this book- and it lacks some of his personal insight. My guess is that he did not actually do Disney with children and it seems to show. The upside is that "with kids" does give web sites for outside the world hotels that is missing from the Unofficial Guide. I also did find a couple other tidbits like the section on packing and creating uniforms for your family. There is a lot of info on parenting style that is not found in the regular Unofficial guide- but I am still not sure why it is in this one either. I was so excited to see his insight and sad to say he didn't have any. Bottom line IMO is to skip this book, but don't skip the regular Unofficial guide. It is a 6 star book!!

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best guide there is to WDW, March 5, 2000

By 

Gordon C. Duus (Glen Ridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

This book reviews everything there is to review at Walt Disney World--every hotel, every park, every ride, every restaurant, and even most of the neighboring attractions outside of WDW. Unlike the Birnbaum guide, this book has no business connection with WDW, so the author can be as honest as he wants. I bought both books, read most of both books, and this is the only book you need.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to carry and to the point, May 16, 2000

By 

MDK67 (Kernersville, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

I looked at quite a few different books before I decided on this one. I wanted a book that was small, dealt with children, and had a quick and easy references (didn't want it to take 5-10 minutes to look up everything). This book was a winner and I would highly recommend it to any parents taking the trip to WDW. It came in very useful when planning our days activities. Rated each ride/attraction on a 1-5 scale, which included different age group. The book is also small enough to carry with during your trips to each of WDW's parks.