Synopses & Reviews
With four major theme parks and 22 hotels, Disney World can be daunting and#151; this indispensable travel planner simplifies the process. The authors have been honing their advice, expanding their coverage, upgrading the book's features, and delighting readers for over 15 years. Each park gets in-depth coverage, complete with full-color fold-out maps and a description of every ride and attraction along with extensive profiles of Disney-owned resort hotels featuring detailed maps, color photos, room layouts and the parkand#8217;s 300+ dining options.
With this handy guide, you can create vacation itineraries before you go and keep Disney maps, brochures, passes, and receipts inside the pocket while youand#8217;re there along with recoding memories and expenses on the back to review when you return home!
Another feature is the authorand#8217;s nine-year-old son Alexander rating attractions with his "A-OK!" for kids accompanied by age-appropriateness rankings from his parents, giving adults a heads up on what attractions are suited for kids.
So when the magic of Walt Disney World beckons, pick up a copy of the award-winning PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2014 and discover the world's #1 vacation destination through the eyes of seasoned fans, and be organized and better budgeted than you ever dreamed possible.
Review
"I simply ADORE it! Everyone will be carrying a PassPorter..." and#151; Laura Sterling, CruiseCritic.com
"Of all the Disney guides, [PassPorter] will help keep everything you need in one place." and#151; Family Life Magazine
"...plenty of tips, where-tos, star ratings and maps." and#151; Toni Stroud, Chicago Tribune
"...a travel guide, trip planner, organizer, journal, and souvenir, all in one." and#151; Richard Carpenter, Boston Globe
"...unique and practical format... the book's descriptions, evaluations, and maps are all first-rate." and#151; Robert Feder, Chicago Sun-Times
Synopsis
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 familys 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® 2014: 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 16 editions published over the past 15 years.
Not content to write "just" another guide, the authors continue where other guides leave off. In one neat, spiral-bound package theyve 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 youre 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® 2014 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 Disneys Animal Kingdom gets a detailed layout, complete with full-color fold-out maps and a concise description of every ride and attraction. Disneys 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 Disneys 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!"
One popular aspect of this edition are the fun "TweenTips" and "TeenTips" by 21 year-old Allison Cerel Marx, Daves daughter, who has been providing a kids perspective in PassPorter since she was seven. Allies tips for the attractions are a big help to kids and parents alike. Allie and her nine-year-old brother Alexander also rate every attraction at every park with their "A-OK!" ratings for even younger kids, and Alexander contributes his own ToddlerTips and KidTips. 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.
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® 2014 travel guide. Not only will you discover Walt Disney World through the eyes of four seasoned fans, but youll be more organized and better budgeted than you ever thought possible.
About the Author
Dave Marx is cofounder and publisher of PassPorter Travel Press and along with Jennifer Marx, has co-authored 28
PassPorter guidebooks. He discovered Disneyland in 1975, the Walt Disney World Resort in 1997 and first cruised with Disney in October 1999. He's since booked passage with Disney 18 more times and, as with Jennifer Marx, was aboard for the Christening and maiden voyage of the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy Inaugural.
Jennifer Marx's most noteworthy cruises include the Disney Magic's eastbound Panama Canal crossing in August 2005, and a 2006 Mediterranean cruise researching Disney's 2007 Mediterranean visit. She is the author of more than 30 books, including the guide that started it all: PassPorter's Walt Disney World.
Jennifer and Dave's 9-year-old son, Alexander Marx, is a veteran visitor to Walt Disney World and has cruised the Mediterranean and sailed from Los Angeles to Port Canaveral, FL via the Panama Canal. He offers expert opinions and brings his own 'Toddler Tips' and 'Kid Tips' to this guidebook. They live in Ann Arbor, MI.