Monday, July 6, 2009

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids 2008


Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids 2008

In Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids, the most respected and well-known name in travel guides takes adult readers through the world's most popular tourist attraction. Because our guide is the only guide that's official, this book includes the most accurate information on prices and attractions. None of the other guides have access to the information that our authors do. This book focuses on the resorts, attractions, restaurants, and special places that adults will most enjoy and probably never realized existed. 

This year's edition is packed with information on new attractions and tips and insights especially tailored for the young at heart, plus expanded coverage of Walt Disney World's quartet of spas, the lowdown on Downtown Disney Pleasure Island's ongoing transformation, and News for Night Owls: a listing of spots for those who, unlike Cinderella, can stay out past midnight. Other features include updated sample schedules, info on the newest restaurants, and a streamlined guide to Walt Disney World transportation, with more color photos than ever before.

  
Customer Review: No real substance
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids is meant to be a companion to the Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2008 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World). For a book like this to be useful, it needs to provide extensive information on things that would be of use to adults yet not was deemed unworthy of inclusion in the main guide. After all, if it's in the main guide already why do we need this book? The guide also needs genuine critiques of restaurants and hotels that would be most suitable for romantic (or at least quiet) outings. Detailed reviews of dinner shows would also be a plus. These are just a few examples that single adults and couples might find useful. The key is that readers need good details and honest evaluations for a book of this type to have any value. The only other guide of this type that I have read was The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World for Grown-Ups (Unofficial Guides) and it failed to offer enough of value to justify its purchase. Did Birnbaum's fare better? One undeniable strength is that this book retains the high production values of the Birnbaum's series. It's loaded with very nice photos. The writing is clear and concise making for a quick, easy read. In other words, the form is wonderful. But the substance, that's where we stumble. There are no real critiques or comparisons offered. The coverage is too shallow to allow you to truly discrimiate which places would be best suited to your needs. There is also too little material that isn't available in the standard guidebooks for the area. In the final analysis, there just isn't enough substance here to make it worth buying. If you're looking for a guide to Orlando primarily composed of photos and basic coverage of the area, then the Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2008 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World) is by far the better choice. If you want a more substantial book that is packed with detailed information then the The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (Unofficial Guides) is your best bet. If you really want the full picture, buy both of them. But whatever approach you choose, save your money and skip this one.

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