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The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2011 (Unofficial Guides)

The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2011 (Unofficial Guides)

  • ISBN13: 9780470615294
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
  • In 2008, combined Walt Disney World Resort theme park attendance reached over 51 million, with the Magic Kingdom alone drawing over 17 million visitors. (Orlando Convention and Visitor Bureau)
  • Despite signifcant downturns in the economy Disney theme parks have maintained attendance rates and made gains in attendance at some parks.
  • Walt Disney World Resort theme parks are rated best in the world. earning high marks for things outside of the traditional theme park experience. Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival, which takes place for six weeks every fall and showcases food from twenty-five countries, was rated by Forbes Traveler as one of the Best U.S. Food and Wine Festivals.
  • Unofficial Guides field tested touring plans can save as much as four hours of standing in line in a single day.

Test Your Disney Smarts
Amazon-exclusive quiz from author Bob Sehlinger

1. Which restaurant has the best view at Walt Disney World?
A. LakeView Restaurant, B. The California Grill, C. Cindarella’s Royal Table

2. Afternoon milkshakes for two kids will cost you:
A. .72, B. .38, C. .59

3. Disney Kids’ Meals are available for children of what ages?
A. 3-9, B. 3-11, C. Under 18

4. When is the best time to take the kids on Dumbo the Flying Elephant?
A. Before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m., B. Immediately following lunch, C. At exactly 3:15 p.m.

5. Which Disney theme park is five times the size as the Magic Kingdom?
A. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, B. Epcot Center, C. Animal Kingdom

6. The best time to visit Walt Disney World is:
A. On your child’s birthday, B. The day of your child’s final exam in math class, C. During the period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

Answers: 1)B, 2)B, 3)A, 4)A, 5)C, 6)A

Five Unofficial Ways to Prepare for Your Trip to Walt Disney World
Amazon-exclusive content from author Bob Sehlinger

1. Select the time of year for your visit: Walt Disney World is busiest Christmas Day through New Year’s Day. Thanksgiving weekend, the week of Washington’s birthday, the first full week of November, spring break for colleges, and the two weeks around Easter are also times when visitation can peak at 92,000 visitors in a single day. The park is far less crowded during the off season, but be advised that the parks often open late and close early during that time. You can find detailed charts and info on the best times to visit in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

2. Shape up: Visiting Disney World requires levels of industry and stamina more often associated with running marathons. As you plan your time at Disney World, consider your physical limitations. It’s exhausting to rise at dawn and run around a theme park for 8 to 12 hours day after day. Every Disney World vacation itinerary should include days when you don’t go to a theme park and days when you sleep in and take the morning off. Plan these to follow unusually long and arduous days.

3. Formulate your park plan: First-time visitors should see Epcot first; you’ll be able to enjoy it without having been preconditioned to think of Disney entertainment as solely fantasy or adventure. See Animal Kingdom second. Like Epcot, it’s educational, but its live animals provide a change of pace. Next, see Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which helps transition from the educational Epcot and Animal Kingdom to the fanciful Magic Kingdom. Also, because DHS is smaller, you won’t walk as much or stay as long. Save the Magic Kingdom for last; it’s the park that epitomizes Disney World for most visitors.

4. Create your touring plan: Which rides and attractions appeal most to you? What are you willing to forgo? Planning your day in advance can save you up to four hours of waiting time in line. We have developed a hierarchy of categories that will help you evaluate each ride and plan the best way to enjoy them all. For example, SUPER-HEADLINERS are the best attractions the theme park has to offer – and they usually have the longest lines. MINOR ATTRACTIONS are midway-type rides, small “dark” rides (cars on a track, zigzagging through the dark) and walk-through attractions—which can be a lot of fun, without the long wait. Remember that bigger and more elaborate doesn’t always mean better. See examples of touring plans (and create your own) in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

5. Getting hungry?: There are three lessons to learn before you dine in the parks. One: Theme-park restaurants rush their customers in order to make room for the next group of diners. If you want to linger over your expensive meal, don’t order your entire dinner at once. Order drinks. Study the menu while you sip, then order appetizers. Tell the waiter you need more time to decide among entrees. Order your main course only after appetizers have been served. Dawdle over dessert. Two: If you’re dining in a theme park and cost is an issue, make lunch your main meal. Entrees are similar to those on the dinner menu, but prices are significantly lower. Three: Disney adds a surcharge of per adult and per child to certain popular restaurants during weeks of peak attendance, including Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and in 2009 every day from Memorial Day through July 4.

Top Ten Unofficial Tips for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Amazon-exclusive content from author Bob Sehlinger

1. To avoid the worst of the crowds, either be at the turnstiles 45 minutes before park opening or visit the Wizarding World after 8 p.m. If the park closes at 8 pm or earlier, visit the Wizarding World one hour before the park closes.

2. See Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey first. If you haven’t seen it before, use the regular queue that includes a tour of Hogwarts Castle.

3. If you want to repeat the ride portion of Forbidden Journey, use the singles line – you’ll be able to ride in 20 minutes or less.

4. One of the coolest things in Wizarding World is the Wand Selection demonstration at Ollivander’s Wand Shop in Hogsmeade Village. See it immediately after experiencing Forbidden Journey.

5. On busy days, there are lines for everything including shops, the restaurant, the pub, and even the Butterbeer vendor carts. Try to complete your shopping early in the morning or return to shop in the two hours before park closing.

6. To buy Butterbeer without a long wait go to the rear patio entrance to the Hogs Head Pub.

7. Butterbeeer comes in both a regular and frozen version. Most visitors prefer the frozen version.

8. Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods, which also doubles as the exit for the Forbidden Journey attraction is one shop you can visit without waiting in line, though you’ll have to buck the tide of exiting riders.

9. Note that on busy days, if you exit the Wizarding World, you cannot return except by joining the end of the line of those waiting to enter.

10. If Florida schools are back in session, try to visit on a weekday. And be sure to check out Wizarding World in the evening when the lighting gives the park a totally different and magical look.

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The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2012 (Unofficial Guides)

The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2012 (Unofficial Guides)

This best selling and definitive guide to Disney World is bigger and better than ever!

Exhaustively researched and packed with insider advice that will save you both time and money

  • Tried and tested touring plans that save as much as four hours of standing in line in a single day
  • Tips, advice, and opinions from hundreds of Walt Disney World guests in their own words
  • Almost 250 hotels rated and ranked for quality and value, including the top non-Disney hotels for families
  • A complete Dining Guide with ratings and reviews of all Walt Disney World restaurants, plus extensive alternatives for dining deals outside the World
  • Every attraction rated and ranked for each age group. 
  • Coverage of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter including best times to beat the crowds, the best places to buy Butterbeer, and the scoop on all the shops in the village of Hogsmeade.
  • Walt Disney World Resort theme parks are rated best in the world. earning high marks for things outside of the traditional theme park experience. Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival, which takes place for six weeks every fall and showcases food from twenty-five countries, was rated by Forbes Traveler as one of the Best U.S. Food and Wine Festivals.
  • In 2011, Disney not only launched its new cruise ship, the Disney Dream, it also announced plans of a complete overhaul of Pleasure Island set to begin construction and reopen as Hyperion Wharf

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Reader’s Digest – Great Wonders & Splendors of the World Reviews

Reader’s Digest – Great Wonders & Splendors of the World

  • Explore the world s greatest creations, from the natural to the man-made, that have left indelible impressions on countless generations with their beauty, scale and style. From Australia s Great Barrier Reef to China s Forbidden City; the Great Pyramids to the Grand Canyon -travel to the world s most breathtaking sites, monuments, palaces and natural wonders.Disc 1: Wonders of Nature – Although na

Explore the world’s greatest creations, from the natural to the man-made, that have left indelible impressions on countless generations with their beauty, scale and style. From Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to China’s Forbidden City, the Great Pyramids of Giza to the Grand Canyon of the United States–travel to the world’s most breathtaking sights, monuments, palaces and natural wonders.

Disc 1: Wonders of Nature – Although nature’s many miracles evoke a sense of wonder, specific examples of magnificence are revealed to us in many different and special ways. The Grand Canyon, The Serengeti, The Sahara Desert, Iguazi Falls, The Amazon River, Ayers Rock, and The Himalayas.

Disc 2: Wonders Sacred & Mysterious – Experience six supreme examples of man’s attempt to honor the mysteries of life by creating monuments of astonishing beauty. Stonehenge, The Great Pyramids, Hagia Sophia, Borobudur, St. Peter’s Basilica, and The Taj Mahal.

Disc 3: Wonders of Man’s Creation – When the urge to build is combined with a vision of beauty, man leaves behind an enduring mark on an ever-changing world. The Colosseum, Machu Picchu, The Great Wall, The Kremlin, Versailles, The Statue of Liberty, The Eiffel Tower, and Mount Rushmore.

Disc 4: Splendors of Nature – Travel the world to experience splendors unknown to past generations. Witness the incomparable beauty of the natural world: Bengal Tigers of Autumn, Snow Monkeys of Winter, The Great Barrier Reef in Spring, Caribou of Summer, and Victoria Falls.

Disc 5: Ancient Splendors – Take a world tour of the wonders, mysteries and achievements wrought by long-ago civilizations. Temples of Egypt, Lost City of the Maya, Acropolis of Ancient Greece, and Angkor Wat.

Disc 6: Imperial Splendors – See rare and beautiful monuments of powerful empires and splendid courts. Ponder the bittersweet reminders of those who once conquered, ruled and flourished. Xanadu, The Forbidden City, Alhambra, Summer Palace, and Neuschwanstein.

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Around the World in 80 Treasures

Around the World in 80 Treasures

  • Join Dan Cruickshank as he takes a global tour of the most breathtaking treasures man has ever created. Exciting and intrepid, intimate and engaging, this series explores some of the world’s outstanding man-made spectacles. Traversing the globe, Cruickshank visits every continent to reveal awe-inspiring temples, towers, castles, ruins, monuments, and artefacts. From the exquisite castles of Japan

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 TREASURES – DVD MovieIn this engaging and often surprising travelogue, architectural historian Dan Cruickshank traverses the planet in five months, visiting 34 countries to see 80 of the world’s greatest treasures. Cruickshank’s quest is really to go far beyond the intrinsic value of each profiled treasure to unearth the stories behind them, to see what they have to say about the cultures that created them, and ultimately how they define human civilization. It is a fascinating–and frequently surprising–journey. Some of Cruickshank’s choices are very unexpected, and maybe even controversial (the 1876 Colt revolver pistol, the Volkswagen Beetle), others you’d expect to see here (Machu Picchu). But the treasures themselves are just a starting point. From there Cruickshank enthusiastically advances like a modern day Indiana-Jones-meets-Rick-Steves to learn what it says about the society that created it, whether it’s an ancient stone statue on Easter Island, or a chair designed by a 20th century Bauhaus artist. The breadth and diversity of the achievements is astounding to see, and Cruickshank’s infectious sense of wonder and curiosity makes this a fun watch. For anyone interested in travel, adventures, world history, art, Around the World in 80 Treasures is a must-see. –Daniel Vancini

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Gulliver’s Travels (2 Disc Set with Gulliver’s Fun Pack)

Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda, School of Rock) is larger than life in this epic comedy-adventure based on the classic tale. When a shipwreck lands a lowly mailroom clerk named Gulliver (Black) on the fantastical island of Lilliput, he transforms into a giant — in size and ego. Gulliver’s tall tales and heroic deeds win the hearts of the tiny Lilliputians, but when he loses it all and puts his newfound friends in peril, Gulliver must find a way to undo the damage. Through it all, Gulliver may just learn that it’s how big you are on the inside that counts. Gulliver’s Travels is about as marginal as the trailers suggest; it’s a tepidly entertaining, irreverent, and sometimes crass comedy starring Jack Black that takes some gigantic liberties with Jonathan Swift’s classic story about the land of Lilliput and its tiny inhabitants. Mailroom loser Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) is stuck in a dead-end job and living a dead-end life until the promotion of a fellow employee spurs him to speak up and take action. While a trip to the Bermuda Triangle may not be the date with crush Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet) that Gulliver had envisioned, the voyage promises to take his career in a new direction, and it eventually delivers him to a kingdom known as Lilliput, which is populated by miniature people. After initially being captured and locked away in a dungeon, Gulliver wins the hearts of the Lilliputian people by saving their princess (Emily Blunt) from being kidnapped and rescuing their king (Billy Connolly) from a fire in a most unorthodox and unsavory way, and he quickly finds himself in a position of gigantic influence. Problem is, Gulliver is completely unprepared and unqualified for his new leadership roles, both on the personal and professional levels, and his ineptitude puts himself and all of Lilliput in extreme danger. Grade-school humor abounds in this fairly mindless film, something Jack Black always excels at, but viewers will find that the chuckles and the message about the power of believing in oneself fade equally as fast as the credits roll. (Ages 9 and older) –Tami Horiuchi

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