PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2016 (ePub)

The size and scope of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is enough to make the most seasoned traveler shiver. Disney has packed four major theme parks and 22 resort hotels into those fabled 47 Florida square miles. With all those choices, how can an everyday Mom and Pop hope to deliver a family vacation to remember? "Planning!" say Walt Disney World vacation veterans Jennifer and Dave Marx. "The vast Walt Disney World complex is not designed for procrastinators or last-minute travelers. Without a plan, a Disney vacation is nowhere near as much fun, and can quickly sink a family's finances. A plan and a budget will keep your vacation happily afloat."

The Marxes put their advice where it could help others with their award-winning travel guide, PassPorter's® Walt Disney World® 2016: The unique travel guide, planner, organizer, journal, and keepsake! The Marxes have been honing their advice, expanding their coverage, upgrading the book's features, and delighting readers in 18 editions published over the past 17 years.

Not content to write "just" another guide, the authors continue where other guides leave off. In one neat, spiral-bound package they've combined a 362-page guide with 14 organizer "PassPockets," creating a proven planning system for the perfect vacation.

What do you do with a PassPocket? Write your vacation itinerary on the front of each pocket before you go, store maps, brochures, passes, and receipts inside the pocket while you're there, and record your memories and expenses on the back to review when you return home! Printed front-and-back with fill-in-the-blank sections for itineraries, To-Do lists, notes, expenses, meals, photos taken, and cherished memories, PassPockets make organized travel a snap! One pocket is dedicated to travel plans, another pocket is for lodging, ten one-a-day pockets are dedicated to vacation fun, another pocket is for an extra day or a special event, and a final pocket saves special memories and creates a trip report.

Although the PassPockets put PassPorter's® Walt Disney World® 2016 in a league by itself, the travel guide section easily stands on its own. The Disney-owned resort hotels get special attention, including detailed maps, color photos, and room layouts. "Visitors can spend more on lodging than they do at the theme parks," Jennifer notes,"so we dedicate at least four pages to every resort hotel owned and operated by Disney. You can change your mind about a ride, but your lodging decision sticks with you for your entire visit."

The theme parks also get the full PassPorter treatment. Each of the four major parks - Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom - gets a detailed layout, complete with full-color fold-out maps and a concise description of every ride and attraction. Disney's two water parks, the Downtown Disney dining and shopping complex, ESPN Wide World of Sports, the Disney Vacation Club and the Disney Cruise Line are covered, too.

Meal times are fun times at Walt Disney World, and with over 300 dining options, the PassPorter team had its work cut out for them. Special worksheets, average meal costs for every restaurant, and other features help planners make the most of Disney's pay-one-price Disney Dining Plan. Every full-service restaurant on Disney property is rated and reviewed, as well as every counter-service eatery in the parks. "We give you a good taste of every restaurant and still keep it concise, which is important in a book people carry with them all day," says Dave, who loves to eat and cook. "We also give a complete rundown on Disney's Character Meals, where Mickey, Peter Pan, or Pooh Bear pay a visit to every table. Believe me; grown-ups love this just as much as the kids!"

The entire Marx family puts their mark on this guide. Eleven-year-old Alexander Marx and his 23-year-old sister Allison Cerel Marx have rated every attraction at every park, starting with their "A-OK!" ratings for younger kids and moving up, as they've grown, to ToddlerTips, KidTips, Tween Tips, and Teen Tips. These are accompanied by age-appropriateness ratings for park attractions from their parents, giving parents an extra heads up on what attractions are suited to their kids. Allison began sharing her kid's perspective in PassPorter when she was seven, and Alexander started contributing nearly from conception, "visiting" often during Mom's pregnancy and rounding-out his parents understanding of travel with kids of all ages and stages.

Every map, photo, chart, illustration, and worksheet is in full color on glossy stock, with additional use of color to highlight important points, such as items that are new or have changed at Walt Disney World since the publication of the previous edition.

So when the magic of Walt Disney World beckons, pick up a copy of the award-winning PassPorter's® Walt Disney World® 2016 travel guide. Not only will you discover Walt Disney World through the eyes of four seasoned fans, but you'll be more organized and better budgeted than you ever thought possible.