Tips, Hints and Recommendations
Written: Jul 22 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Updates online, Packed w/ helpful information
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: This book is easy to understand, full of helpful information, and gives you the tools (worksheets) to plan your trip to Orlando.
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| fostrmom2mny's Full Review: Walt Disney World and Orlando for Dummies 2001 Boo... |
This book review is rather hard to write since the book doesn’t exactly tell a story, but rather it lists tons of helpful hints about traveling to WDW and Orlando.
The front of the book says that it includes tips and recommendations from the experts at Frommer’s. It also includes an update website, which I have gone to check out. First you register your book, and then it gives you a list of updates to the book, as well as a list of other “Dummies” books available.
The Table of Contents for the book includes:
Introduction: Welcome to Walt Disney World, a land dominated by a King sized rodent and a modern utopia to many of the young and young-at-heart. For those of us who have been around a while, Walt Disney World is a mystery: Some day, it will run out of gas. (Won’t it?) But to the millions who make the pilgrimage here—a group that includes Super Bowel Champs, a prince or two, and regular folks—it’s a national shrine. That we admit. A crowded shrine at that.
Part I Getting Started
Chapter 1: Discovering the Best of Walt Disney World and Orlando
Chapter 2: Planning Your Trip Schedule
Chapter 3: Preparing Your Budget
Chapter 4: Planning Ahead for Special Travel Needs
Part II
Chapter 5: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Getting to Orlando
Chapter 6: Finding the Hotel That’s Right For You
Chapter 7: Booking the Best Hotel Room Your Money Can Buy
Chapter 8 Orlando’s Best Hotels
Chapter 9: Checking Off Your List: Last Minute Details and Other Things
To Keep in Mind
Part III Settling into Orlando
Chapter 10: Orienting Yourself in Orlando
Chapter 11: Getting around Orlando
Chapter 12: Monetary Matters
Part IV Dining in Orlando
Chapter 13: The Scoop on the Orlando Dinning Scene
Chapter 14: Orlando’s Best Restaurants from A-Z
Chapter 15: Disney Character Dining
Part V Exploring Walt Disney World
Chapter 16 Getting an Overview of Walt Disney World
Chapter 17: The Magic Kingdom
Chapter 18: Epcot
Chapter 19: Disney MGM Studios
Chapter 20: Animal Kingdom
Chapter 21: Enjoying the Rest of Walt Disney World
Chapter 22: Shopping at Walt Disney World
Part VI Exploring the Rest of Orlando
Chapter 23: Universal Studios Florida
Chapter 24: Islands of Adventure
Chapter 25: Sea World and Discoervy Cove
Chapter 26: Other Cool Attractions
Chapter 27: A Shopper’s Guide to Orlando
Part VII Living it up After the Sun Goes Down
Chapter 28: Hitting the Clubs and Bars
Chapter 29: Dinner and a Show: The Orlando Theater Scene
Part VIII The Part of Tens
Chapter 30: Top 10 Cheap Alternatives to the Parks
Chapter 31: Top 10 Fitness Activities (Other Than Walking in the Parks)
Appendix: Quick Concierge
Worksheets
I’ve gone to Walt Disney World twice, and I’m planning a trip for Nov 2001. Each trip I have learned more and researched the trip. Having a plan and idea about what you want to do and see is very important when you go to WDW since there are so many things to see and do, it’s very easy to get off track, and run out of time to see the things that you really ant to see. It’s also important to not be so rigid that you can’t enjoy a spur of the moment event or attraction that you may find interesting along the way. A happy medium is the best attitude to take when going to WDW. Although I already knew many things about going to WDW, here are some of the things that I found in this book that I had forgotten, or never knew.
Here are some of the tips and recommendations.
View fireworks from California Grill in Contemporary resort or from the balcony just off the side on the roof of the Contemporary.
See 'angels' when wearing 3D glasses to view the fireworks. Its very cool!!! Try it!
One of the very *best* views of the fireworks is from Mickey's Toontown Fair. They are set off in Mickey's backyard, and this is as close as you can get to the launch point. (They are very loud) This area is much less crowded, too. Ask a cast member where to stand so you can see Tinker Bell fly.
Talk to the bus driver, he may give you a cute little card that says Assistant Bus driver on it.
Ride up front with the driver on the Monorails & ask for a monorail certificate. (Be patient as this may take a little while to get the “front car” view.) The best times to try this is on your first day there when you don’t have any PS plans and a little bit of time, or on the last day when you have time to wait.
Make sure to have an autograph book and a fat pen so the characters can hold it easier.
Have your children sit on the outside of the table at character meals so the characters can interact with them. (Remember to take pictures of the children’s faces as they react to the characters.)
Minnie’s Strawberry Fruit Bars have only 80 calories, 0 of which are from fat.
Bring a nightlight for the hotel room, if your children are used to sleeping with one. When the drapes to your room is closed, it is very dark in the room, and leaving on the bathroom light can get too light and not allow you to sleep as deeply.
Bring a pre-paid phone card with you, and use a pay phone in your resort or at the parks. This means leaving your room to make the calls, but if you’re on a budget, it is a big $$ saver.
Give your children a disposable camera to take their own vacation pictures.
Buy a disposable waterproof camera take it to the waterparks & hotel pool for some really cool underwater shots!
Many people use the two way radios at the theme park. This seems like a great idea, except, there are only just so many channels and others have caught on to this so most all the channels are jammed with other families. Sometime trying to listen for your family member can be distracting and take away from the enjoyment of the park. Cell phones are a better way to go. (But of course more costly)
Live performances in Epcot can be found at: http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/EPCOT.htm.
Buy the Epcot Passport, for $8.95 you get a button, plus a passport and a set of stamps for each country
Find the Living Statues at Epcot's France pavilion.
Be first of the day to ride the Norway boat ride, and get a Viking hat with a certificate that says ‘Viking of the Day’
Look for the key under the mat at Muppets 3D.
Open the wooden crates next to the AFI shop at the Back Lot Tour ride. The book didn’t say what you would find, but I’m looking at our Nov trip and I’ll get back and tell ya
Outside of Indiana Jones is a rope that goes into a well..... Pull it! Again, the book didn’t say what would happen, so I’ll get back to you on this one as well.
Go to the second showing of Fantasmic. It is supposed to be less crowded.
At the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids play area, climb the stairs between the Garden hose and the slide coming out of a roll of film. There is a dog nose. Put your hand in the nostrils. The dog sniffs you!
At Downtown Disney, get a FREE Sticker Hunt book from a Disney store CM in the Marketplace. There are 15 stickers to collect from stores. Just ask them at the checkout counter of the stores.
Stop in the Art of Disney store! They run a trivia quiz every day and give out prizes if you get them all right!
On the Buzz Lightyear ride, you can score more points by holding the button down for the duration of the ride. (You also can smell the inviting scent of honey!)
Tug on the Liberty Bell rope in Liberty Square. (Again, I’m not sure what it does.)
Find the wedding ring embedded in the cement outside of the Haunted Mansion.
Make a wish in the well outside the castle. This is also a great place for pictures.
Toontown is uncrowded about an hour before closing.
See characters, at Toontown rope drop. Each character chose one child to personally escort into Toontown! Rope drop at Toontown is the "opening" of Toontown each day. On Early Entry Days, Toontown typically opens at 9 a.m. On non-Early Entry Days, Toontown typically opens at 10:00 a.m. Characters come out to facilitate the rope drop, and each character will select a child to escort into Toontown.
Ask at the Front Desk of the Wilderness Lodge for a FREE kid's activity/coloring book/goodie bag.
At WL see Disney's version of Old Faithful (erupts on the half-hour).
FREE ladybug release: Thurs. at WL at 10am and at Poly (back entrance of the Great Ceremonial House) at 11am.
I found this book to contain a lot of helpful information, and I learned some things to consider for my up and coming trip. I have used some of the worksheets and found them easy to understand and follow. I would recommend this book for anyone who is planning a trip to WDW or Orlando/Universal Areas.
It has some very good maps of the area, the only place that I’ve seen maps that are more clear are at a few websites, so these can come in handy.
Recommended:
Yes
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Location: Choctaw, OK
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