Rating: 
Summary: Invaluable time saving tips
Review: Expertly written by a former travel agent and agency owner Cara Goldsbury, The Luxury Guide To Walt Disney World is an impressively informative vacation planning guide for any individual or family seeking to maximize their experience of the "Disney magic" to the fullest. Invaluable time saving tips concerning how to avoid the crowds, which accommodations offer the most rewarding experience for their price, where to get the neatest souvenirs, sample the finest cuisine, and a wealth of other practical travel advice make The Luxury Guide To Walt Disney World a first-class guide all the way. Also included is plenty of up-to-date information concerning Florida's two other main tourist attractions closely adjacent to Walt Disney World: Universal Orlando & SeaWorld as well. If you are planning a trip to Walt Disney World, then you want your own personal copy of The Luxury Guide To Walt Disney World!
Rating:
Summary: Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World
Review: I am so glad I purchased The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World. I used this book on our trip to Disney World December 2004. I was guided to order tickets ahead of time for the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade and the Candlelight Christmas Dinner Package. This helped us get to choose which day we wanted for each show and no worries about missing anything!! My family and I got to see Jim Caviezel and it was GREAT!! I highly recommend this book to any family going to Disney World. Patti from Alabama
Rating: 
Summary: A good guide but short on luxury
Review: I'm a compulsive buyer of Walt Disney World planning guides--they are my favorite virtual escape from the pressures of real life. So I was really excited when this new guide became available! After a thorough reading, though, I was in the end disappointed. It's very well written and the author displays more knowledge of the travel business than the author of any other WDW guidebook I've read. However, it fails to deliver on the promise of "Luxury" which I hoped to be something to make this book really special. Instead, it thoroughly covers the same ground as many other guides with more of an emphasis on value than on the really high-end opportunities at WDW. This guide failed to capture the magic and excitement of Walt Disney World for me.
Rating:
Summary: Hmm..too general, and too many shill reviews?
Review: I'm about to visit WDW this fall, and looking to see what is new and interesting in books, this one showed up. However, about half the reviews read like press releases, which gives more importance to the rest of the reviews, which seem to tell a different story. Even when you go to the book's website, you think it would give you at least a few of the high-end bits, such as how useful the all-inclusive packages are, Victoria and Albert dining options, the tours you can take.
After reading the book, it unfortunately tries to be both an all-inclusive book that covers WDW, Universal and Sea World, and a book that points out the luxury options. Since it tries, you must skim through lots of lists on everything, rather than reading opinions of just what are the best options. There are plenty of guidebooks out there that will cover everything - a repeat visitor like me would wish to see more detail of the special stuff. Or for the new visitor, or one in a hurry, start with a quick "what you must see list" for each park," and the best order to see them, that will give the luxury-bound the best value for their time.
The book seems to do a good description of resort rooms, and some of the tours you can get at the Animal Kingdom lodge, but that is only part of the experience. I would like to see much more detail on the special tours, dining experiences, and the like. I would rather see comparisons of high-end "gold" packages versus buying a-la-carte, and what experiences are really hard to book, even with a package.
Overall, this book will cover all you need to know at the resort, but don't expect a true guide to only what is "luxury" and worth visiting.
Rating:
Summary: not your typical disney guide
Review: I've been to Disney many times and have to say this book was great. I'm not a fan of the guide book genre because I like to experience things spontaneously. However, this title intrigued me and I read it from cover to cover. We will be going again in 2 months and there are many items in this book that I didn't know existed around the World and will be ready to conquer them! If you've never been, this is an excellent guide and if you've been many times, I'm sure you'd still find something of interest!
I think part of the disappointment people find with this guide is they expect the usual with touring tips and such. That's not the point of this one at all! It's to give you tips the other guides tend to miss!!!
Rating:
Summary: How to make that trip extra special
Review: If you are going to Florida and thinking about visiting the Walt Disney World area you will want a copy of this book to help plan before you go. There are a lot of places on the Internet where you can get information on Disney World tickets, attractions, hours, and other information. The problem is that you have to go all over the net to get the information. Just this last year I went to Disney World and had to go to three different sites to get information about the hours of operation, ticket prices, places to get discount prices, and other basic information. In "The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World" author Cara Goldsbury has done all the research and put together a complete guide in a single book. This is by far the most complete book on Walt Disney World that I have ever read. Not only does she cover the usual information on standard ticket prices, hours of operation, and the various attractions, but also ranks the hotel accommodations by price, descriptions, and offerings. She covers the discounts available, reservations information, categorizes the accommodations by what you are looking for (like best pool access, best park access, most romantic, etc.), and provides information on the menus and operating hours of the various restaurants. For each theme park she provides maps, fastpass offerings, special activities for people staying at the resorts, gift shops, suggested itineraries for different age levels, special tours and packages, and even when to go for the shortest lines. As a resident of Florida I can attest that Walt Disney World can be a wonderful and exciting adventure or an absolute nightmare that will make you swear you will never return. The difference between the two experiences is planning ahead and knowing what to expect. This guide does an excellent job of giving the reader all the information they need to ensure that their trip is one to remember fondly and is a highly recommended read for anyone planning a trip to any portion of Walt Disney World.
Rating:
Summary: How to make that trip extra special
Review: If you are going to Florida and thinking about visiting the Walt Disney World area you will want a copy of this book to help plan before you go. There are a lot of places on the Internet where you can get information on Disney World tickets, attractions, hours, and other information. The problem is that you have to go all over the net to get the information. Just this last year I went to Disney World and had to go to three different sites to get information about the hours of operation, ticket prices, places to get discount prices, and other basic information. In "The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World" author Cara Goldsbury has done all the research and put together a complete guide in a single book. This is by far the most complete book on Walt Disney World that I have ever read. Not only does she cover the usual information on standard ticket prices, hours of operation, and the various attractions, but also ranks the hotel accommodations by price, descriptions, and offerings. She covers the discounts available, reservations information, categorizes the accommodations by what you are looking for (like best pool access, best park access, most romantic, etc.), and provides information on the menus and operating hours of the various restaurants. For each theme park she provides maps, fastpass offerings, special activities for people staying at the resorts, gift shops, suggested itineraries for different age levels, special tours and packages, and even when to go for the shortest lines. As a resident of Florida I can attest that Walt Disney World can be a wonderful and exciting adventure or an absolute nightmare that will make you swear you will never return. The difference between the two experiences is planning ahead and knowing what to expect. This guide does an excellent job of giving the reader all the information they need to ensure that their trip is one to remember fondly and is a highly recommended read for anyone planning a trip to any portion of Walt Disney World.
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable Tips for Sophisticated Disney World Vacations
Review: If you're planning a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando - and you hate lines and like to do things up right - read this book! Author Cora Goldsbury is a former travel agency owner who has spent many vacations at the most magical place on earth. This indispensable guide contains over 500 pages of detailed specifics on when to go, how to have the most enjoyment, which luxury accommodations to pick, what restaurants to dine in, and on and on and on. Using The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World is like having a highly paid guide customize your experience and escort you through the whole wonderland. Marilyn Ross, author of Shameless Marketing for Brazen Hussies.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent and encyclopaedic resource
Review: There are very many guides to the Walt Disney World (WDW) theme parks. For a guide to be valuable, it needs to have easily accessible information and be easy to use, plus, it also needs to tell you things you wouldn't otherwise know or easily find out. This new book by Cara Goldsbury easily meets all these requirements and is recommended accordingly. You're given a wealth of information to help you at every stage of your Disney experience, from pre-trip planning (when is the best time to visit, how to get the best deals) through the obvious 'where do I go and what do I see and how long will it take me' type issues of an actual visit, and including ride by ride and restaurant by restaurant descriptions, and recommendations. Although titled the >luxury< guide, there's plenty of information for everyone, on any budget. The information is fresh, accurate, and sensible. Author Goldsbury says 'I never critique a resort where I haven't spent plenty of time or a restaurant I haven't dined at several times' and this is obvious by the quality and depth of her descriptions and suggestions. Although I've visited WDW very many times, and consider myself an expert, I learned many new things from reading this book, and consider the cost of it a small and very sensible investment in the enjoyment of my next visit. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent and encyclopaedic resource
Review: There are very many guides to the Walt Disney World (WDW) theme parks. For a guide to be valuable, it needs to have easily accessible information and be easy to use, plus, it also needs to tell you things you wouldn't otherwise know or easily find out. This new book by Cara Goldsbury easily meets all these requirements and is recommended accordingly. You're given a wealth of information to help you at every stage of your Disney experience, from pre-trip planning (when is the best time to visit, how to get the best deals) through the obvious 'where do I go and what do I see and how long will it take me' type issues of an actual visit, and including ride by ride and restaurant by restaurant descriptions, and recommendations. Although titled the >luxury< guide, there's plenty of information for everyone, on any budget. The information is fresh, accurate, and sensible. Author Goldsbury says 'I never critique a resort where I haven't spent plenty of time or a restaurant I haven't dined at several times' and this is obvious by the quality and depth of her descriptions and suggestions. Although I've visited WDW very many times, and consider myself an expert, I learned many new things from reading this book, and consider the cost of it a small and very sensible investment in the enjoyment of my next visit. Recommended.
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