Are you considering a Disney family vacation next year? I’m not surprised. Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort is the MOST popular family vacation destination on the planet, with its Magic Kingdom the most visited theme park in the world. The property is twice as large as Manhattan, as sprawling as Boston, and comprises 43 square miles of Central Florida wetlands. Walt Disney World contains four world-class theme parks, two highly themed water parks, 35 different hotels (in four different luxury levels) plus a campground, a shopping & entertainment district, and 100+ different restaurants. If that wasn’t enough for you, just down the road from Orlando, you can hop aboard a Disney Cruise Line vessel to help Captain Mickey fight back Pirates IN the Caribbean. With all these vacation options, it’s no wonder a cottage industry has propped up to help families get the most out of their Disney vacation. If you’re not familiar with The Unofficial Guide series of travel books, and you’re considering a Disney vacation, you owe it to yourself (and your travel party) to check them out. Better yet, to kick start your vacation planning, we’re GIVING AWAY two of the Unofficial Guide books, The Color Companion to Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line, to one of our readers. Continue reading for details on how to enter to win this book bundle, plus our review of The Unofficial Guides.
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is the most comprehensive guidebook you’ll find on the market. At nearly 900 pages, you’ll discover the plusses and minuses of every hotel on Walt Disney World Property – what rooms can you see the fireworks from, how far of a walk is it to the food court, and how soft are the sheets. These are but a few of the minute details you can discover. The Unofficial Guide to WDW offers reviews of every theme park attraction, ratings of who likes it the best, average wait times, when you should ride, and more. Want to know where to eat? The authors have ratings of every restaurant, buffet, and turkey leg stand on property. The downside to The Unofficial Guide to WDW, the enormity of the text can be overwhelming. That’s where The Color Companion to Walt Disney World comes in.
As its name suggests, The Color Companion to Walt Disney World, is just that, a companion to The Unofficial Guide. Think of it as a lean, mean, graphic novel version of the weighty tome, but still packed with tons of information, and pictures. If a picture’s worth a 1,000 words, then The Color Companion to Walt Disney World has 600,000 words (or 600 full-color images for the math challenged).
You will also find reviews of all the Walt Disney World resorts, with plenty of pictures to give you a feel for the guest rooms, recreation and pool options, and theming. With its many images, The Color Companion, in many ways, provides a better overall picture of the resort. You’ll also find restaurant and attraction reviews, along with the history of the park and insight into why things are designed the way they are. The Color Companion to Walt Disney World is perfect for Disney fans who know their way around the resort and property, but are looking for a second opinion (or perhaps just enjoy the photography). In addition, The Color Companion to Walt Disney World would be great for those families with little to no experience with Disney, and just want to figure out how to start their vacation.
Are you considering a Disney Cruise for your family vacation? Well, they’ve got a Guide for that too. The Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line takes the same approach as The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. The authors put all four Disney Cruise ships (the Disney Dream, Fantasy, Magic, and Wonder) under a microscope and reveal tips for how to save money (book as early as possible), and review all the restaurants, entertainment venues, and itineraries. As most families are probably not going to take a Disney Cruise on each of the four different ships in a single year, The Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line may be more information than you necessarily need for your cruise. However, it is fun to compare all the options – especially when you are in the planning phase of your vacation.
The Unofficial Guides are essential companions to get the most out of your Walt Disney World or Disney Cruise Line vacation. For example, Michigan mother of two, Julie Helmreich purchases the new addition of The Unofficial Guide book each and every year,
We would never plan a trip to Orlando without The Unofficial Guide. The book is entertaining and informative. We have found their website, including crowd calendars and touring plans, and mobile app with wait times to be invaluable.
OK, I can talk until I’m blue in the face about how great The Unofficial Guide book series are for trip planning, but the best way is for you to check out the books yourself. Therefore, I’ve partnered with The Unofficial Guide for one of our readers to win a copy of both The Color Companion and Disney Cruise Line books. Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter. You can come back and enter every day until December 28, 2014. Good luck!
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