Have I mentioned that I am addicted to Walt Disney World guidebooks? Okay, good. I didn’t want to catch anyone by surprise if I suddenly show up on an episode of TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive.
In all fairness though, I don’t buy all of them. I can’t imagine purchasing Walt Disney World for Dummies, for example. And it didn’t take me long in my guidebook purchasing obsession to discover that companies that specialize in travel but not Disney (Fodor’s and Frommer’s, for example) aren’t going to be as in-depth or replete with Disney knowledge as, say, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World or PassPorter: Walt Disney World. Those I buy every year, whether I’m planning a trip to Walt Disney World or not. But even amongst the classics, I have my favorites, and the latest addition of one of those finally arrived in the mail last week.
The Complete Walt Disney World 2011 by Julie and Mike Neal is a great read for Walt Disney World fans and visitors from start to finish. Loaded with beautiful photos, timeless tips and great maps, it is a helpful tool. But my favorite features in this guidebook are the extra jewels of information provided on the parks and attractions. For example, did you know that the “Howdy folks” guy at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is also the voice of Benjamin Franklin at Epcot’s American Adventure? Or the swamp wallaby (found at Disney’s Animal Kingdom) can drink salt water and is known as “the stinker”? (Hey, that’s my daughter’s nickname!) Or that you can find a Hidden Mickey under the tail of a clownfish in the Toy Story Mania! queue? I just adore these kinds of details. Would you like to learn more? Buy the book!
Of course, not all of the 2011 guidebooks that I’m eagerly anticipating have made it off the presses. Case in point: if Bill Burke’s latest addition of Mousejunkies doesn’t get released soon, I may start stalking him on Facebook…
What Walt Disney World guidebooks do you tend to revisit like old friends? Please let me know over at http://www.facebook.com/disneygene!
