World Hotels - The Everything Travel Guide to the Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios, and Greater Orlando: A Complete Guide to the Best Hotels, Restaurants, ... and Must-See Attractions (Everything Series)

Packed with seemingly endless things to see and do, the Orlando area is the number one vacation destination in the country. In this third edition of the wildly successful Everything® Guide to The Walt Disney World Resort®, Universal Studios®, and Greater Orlando, travel expert Jason Rich shares his latest tips on how your whole family can have a great time-without breaking the bank.

This completely revised and updated third edition features a system that rates all the rides, shows, and attractions for each member of your family. In addition, the book includes a fully updated hotel/motel resource guide, along with rated restaurant listings and the inside scoop on all the latest additions to the theme parks.

You’ll find authoritative information on:

-Area water parks

-Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park®

-Disney’s MGM Studios®

-Disney’s Wild World of Sports®

-Epcot Center®

-Magic Kingdom® Park

-Nighttime entertainment

-Sea World® and Discovery Cove®

-Universal Studios® Florida

The Everything® Guide to The Walt Disney World Resort®, Universal Studios®, and Greater Orlando is the only resource you need for you and your family to make the most of your vacation.

When my family first started planning our trip, we knew that there was no way for us to be able to see everything we wanted to in this visit. We wanted to make the most of our travel dollars and visit only places that the whole family can enjoy. This book was extremely useful in giving us information on accommodations, restaurants, parks and their must-see attractions. For each ride/attraction/show within the major theme parks, for instance, the author provides a star rating system based on the individual's age (e.g. 2-4 years, 5-10 years, and so on, including Senior Citizens) as well as information on the attraction itself. There are also "Helpful Hints" sprinkled throughout the book as well as "Travel Tips," "Hot Spots" and "Fast Facts." I found this extremely useful in helping us determine which theme parks would provide the optimum enjoyment for our family.

To give you an idea of how much this book covers, I have listed the chapters below:

1. Preparing for your Vacation
2. Choosing your Accommodations
3. Admission to the Disney Theme Parks
4. Orlando-Area Dining

5. Introduction to the Magic Kingdom
6. Exploring the Magic Kingdom
7. Kid-Oriented Areas of the Magic Kingdom
8. All About Epcot
9. The Disney-MGM Studios
10. Disney's Animal Kingdom
11. Disney's Water Parks
12. Disney Nightlife
13. A High Seas Adventure (Disney Cruise Lines)
14. The Universal Orlando Resort
15. The Universal Studios Florida Theme Park
16. Universal Escape's Islands of Adventure
17. Universal City Walk
18. SeaWorld and Discovery Cove
19. Exploring Greater Orlando
20. Planning Your Trip

In addition to this extensive list are maps, important phone numbers, an attraction selection worksheet and daily itinerary. In short, I would have to say that this book gives a lot of bang for the buck. It would recommend it to those with families who are planning to visit the Orlando area and plan to enjoy Walt Disney World as well as the other non-Disney theme parks.