Julie Neal

I got a digital advanced reading copy of this book through netgalley.com. I am a frequent Disney World vacationer and have been there numerous times. Now that my son is three we are getting ready to take another trip to Disney World and I was hoping this book would help us plan our trip. Overall it is a great resource for Disney travelers.

The book starts with a short chapter on the things that are new for 2010. This is great is you have frequented Disney World before and are mainly interested in what's new there. The second chapter is the most useful of the book and goes into great detail on trip planning. There is a wonderful chart on the different types of park passes and their costs. The planning section also goes into great detail on more obscure things that I have never used at Disney World before; like meal plans, fast passes, and child swap. There are great tips on how to save both time and money to make the most of your trip. They also talk about transportation, restaurants, etc. The section on special diets is really small, only a paragraph or two. I have two family members that have celiac's disease, so I was a bit disappointed this wasn't gone into in more detail. Especially since in my previous personal experience Disney World is one of the best places in the world to vacation if you do have food allergies.

After these first couple chapters the following chapters focus on each of the four parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Each park section features your normal information with a map, a list of restaurants, and shopping available. There is also much more unique and useful information such as average wait times for each attraction by time of day, a chart of fastpass return times, a section stating which rides have height restrictions, and a section discussing which rides have portions that may be too scary for younger children. A day (or two day) suggested itinerary for exploring each park is given which tells you the most efficient way to see all the major attractions in the park if you have limited time. Following all this awesome information are page long (on average) sections describing each individual attraction. On these pages you get a little history about the attraction, a description of it, fun facts about it, and average wait times by day.

My only problem with the park chapters in this book is that there is basically only one suggested itinerary for each park; also these itineraries assume that everyone is over 58". All the itineraries have you hitting the big rollercoaters...which for a family like mine with a small child is not an option. It would have been more helpful to have itineraries for family's with small children and then itineraries for older groups; I have to imagine the two groups are going to be interested in different things overall. I know when I went to Disney World as a young child I was interested in completely different things than I was when I went back as a pre-teen, teenager, and adult.

Following the park chapters are chapters on Water Parks, Downtown Disney, Recreational Sports, Accomadations, and Special Events. All of these sections are very detailed with excellent information. There is, of course, an index following this. The back page lists a variety of useful Disney numbers.

All in all I was very impressed with the amount of interesting and useful information this book gave on traveling to Disney World. The only weak points were a lack of information for special diets (it's there but very very brief) and a lack of itineraries. One itinerary is given for each park but they assume family members are 58 inches or taller. Other than those two issues, I thought this was a superb guide.… (altro)

"Twice the size of Manhattan, the 47-square-mile Walt Disney World is the No. 1 vacation destination on the planet. It includes four theme parks, two water parks, a sports complex, a shopping and entertainment district and 19 resort hotels. A visit here is not just an escape from day-to-day doldrums, it's a reawakening of that free-spirited, good-natured soul who lives deep inside you--the one your spouse married, the one you want your children to emulate. No other man-made vacation land so embraces creativity, optimism or a sense of wonder about the world." - From The Complete Walt Disney World 2010

Our first and only visit to Walt Disney World was in 2006, and oh, how I wish I had Julie and Mike Neal's annual guide for that trip! The good news, however, is that since 2007, the Neal's have published their fantastic annual guide not only for those who've never been to WDW and need to know what to expect, but also for those who want to revisit the wonders of the WDW.

A colorful smorgasbord of 550 color photographs, insider information, fun facts, event overviews, show snapshots, ride debuts/retirements, restaurants, hidden Mickeys, parades and so much more, The Complete Walt Disney World 2010 is the only guidebook to the parks and surrounding area you really *need* to have in your possession (although you may *want* more).

Right of the bat, the Neals tells us everything that's new at Walt Disney World, which is especially helpful for those who've been to the parks before. For example, Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from Disney's The Princess and the Frog make their debut in the Magic Kingdom, as does Barack Obama in the all-new Hall of Presidents (he even has a speaking part!).

In addition to the gorgeous photos and fascinating facts, The Complete Walt Disney World 2010 includes:

* A quick, accessible overview on how to plan your trip
* Comprehensive information on Magic Your Way ticketing and Disney Dining Plan, including prices for various time frames
* The five biggest mistakes WDW newbies make (and how to avoid them)
* 31 practical ways to save money (including free stuff at the parks, discounts and where to get coupons and saving codes)
* Navigating the parks with special circumstances (e.g. disabilities and children)
* Hour-by-Hour wait times for every ride and event
* Park Resources and prices (e.g. parking, lockers, ATM locations, etc.)
* Attractions at-a-glance including symbols for price range, fun factor, ride description, average wait time, length of ride/event, character meet-and-greets, etc., as well as mini-reviews (the Neals aren't afraid to say when something is cheesy, irritating or undesirable--but not in a mean-spirited way like in another WDW guide).
* Colorful, easy-to-read maps for each park
* Hundreds of Fun Finds, Fun Facts and Hidden Mickeys (for example, The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios fills 95,000 square feet with more than 60 Audio-Animatronic characters. The James Cagney robot wears one of the star's actual tuxedos, donated by his family.)
* Complete list of characters and where they'll be for photo ops and autographs
* Planned days in half-hour increments for those who want an organized day planner
* Fastpass information and return times
* In-depth overviews for each park (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom), as well as Downtown Disney and other recreational areas
* Restaurant descriptions, recommended fare, pricing and advice (for example, find out which restaurants are kid-friendly, which are noisy, which are pricey, etc.)
* Accommodations, including hotel descriptions, location, and pricing
* Special and seasonal events
* WDW telephone directory

At 352-pages, The Complete Walt Disney World 2010 is the finest guidebook to the parks and surrounding areas (I've bought all the popular ones, including the ones published by Disney). I have every edition of The Complete Walt Disney World 2010 (since 2007) and this outstanding guide by the Neals just gets better and better every year. After all, they've visited WDW over 1,000 times and go there at least once a week--experts, indeed!

So if you're wanting to visit Walt Disney World for the very first time (just you wait--it's an indescribable experience) and you're not sure which book will be the most helpful, accessible and informative, look no further: you want The Complete Walt Disney World 2010. It's not only good for those who want (nay, need!) the inside scoop on the parks, but also entertaining for the whole family with its eye-popping color photos, insider information, behind the scenes peeks and intriguing facts.

Highly recommended!

-- Janet Boyer, author of Back in Time Tarot… (altro)