Kate ArmstrongLonely Planet Pocket Orlando & Walt Disney World® Resort (Pocket Guide)

Very pleased as always with Lonely Planet publications

Ok

Creating a useful guide to America's top tourist destination in the form of a 176 page book no bigger than a stack of 4X6" prints is a task that's probably considerably tougher than pulling together a traditional guide of four or five times the word count.Jennifer Denniston does pretty well, and she's not even a local to the area. The names and attractions have changed some since our middle child, now teen, was a toddler, but it's interesting to note how much hasn't changed in and around the environs of Walt Disney World/Universal Orlando. Color coded sections are quickly thumbable, and interspersed with sometimes extended sidebars under the header "understanding", sharing both the history of the region and tips for making the most of your Central Florida experience.Coverage of accommodation and dining destinations around the park and area attractions are necessarily limited but hit the high points, from Victoria and Albert's to The Brown Derby. (Also probably some places at Universal, but we've always been Disney fiends.) Cost planning and strategies abound, which by itself makes the book a tremendous value, considering the expense of visiting the parks. You could probably "do it all" with this book, along with plenty of pre-planning using the parks' own websites, Tripadvisor, and the myriad other resources online for travelers.A couple omissions in this guide struck me:1) There is virtually no mention of Kissimmee/St. Cloud, which is the area directly to the South of the Parks, famed for budget and "overflow" accommodations/attractions for the area. I realize that Kissimmee has some perennial problems/issues (as does greater Orlando!) but to only see it mentioned for its Amtrack Station seemed odd.2) Sea World was covered in one scant paragraph, with a mention of the animal treatment controversy very much in the news lately, particularly after the release of "Blackfish". Compare that to coverage of not THAT much larger Universal Studios (30 pages in this guide) or cheesy Gatorland (2 pages) and it seems likely to be a deliberate and philosophically grounded snub. This troubles me: First, I'd like to think that SeaWorld can eventually be forced to face its issues and may yet turn its fate around through responsible action. If it merely disappears, that will be a great loss; for whatever unconscionable misdeeds, SeaWorld has also helped to fuel a passion for ocean wildlife conservation over the decades with an immediacy to the experience that books and IMAX movies simply can't duplicate. Second, I remember it as a lovely garden-like place apart from the attractions -- a great place for young families with babies to get away from the crowds of Disney and Universal.Photos are not really what this little guide is about, and really this small format can't do justice to the beauty of the parks, the hotels, and the wildlife of Central Florida. (That's okay, you'll probably buy some gorgeous souvenir book while you are there.) General guidelines are given to help the traveler pick a time of year to go, but you also won't find any calendar of repeating annual events in the area or things of that nature. I'd suggest the events page on the Orlando Sentinel website as a starting point for that, particularly as you get close to your travel date.There also isn't much guidance here for micromanagers who want to minimize their in-line time and maximize the number of activities that can be planned during their stay. There's an argument to be made that a "workbook" for those already at the park (and settled on accommodations, general itinerary, etc.) might be more useful in pocket size than a guide largely given over to pre-planning, but if you are comfortable scouting online and are only going to buy one guide, why not make it a portable one?

Although only lightly exposed to other attractions in Orlando, I consider myself a true Disney veteran. Mega-parks are not really my cup of tea, but we honeymooned at Disney in 1977, and over the years took our daughters nearly yearly. We have now taken our 6 sub-teenage grandsons (and still, the daughters) three more times. My point is, I know Disney well (and to a lesser extent, Orlando) as a retail customer and have seen good and bad guidebooks.This little Lonely Planet Pocket guidebook is a very good to excellent resource. The size allows you to keep it with you, which is an important factor when you are weighing every ounce and every cubic inch of bulk that you will be schlepping around all day. And an empty hands guy like me can truly keep this comfortably in a pants pocket. Ironically, the tidy size forces the information content to be manageable. Some of the larger manuals are overwhelming and cannot be quickly digested or easily navigated. Do use the big ones if you have time to prepare. If not, this little pocket book will do nicely.The quality of the information content? Great! I thumbed through the Disney part and repeatedly found myself recognizing and agreeing with the various tips and restaurant reviews. I quickly "stumbled across" my favorites. This does NOT cover everything, but does hit the must see items very well.Maps: There are numerous small maps included on applicable pages. Inside the back cover is a nice fold-out map of Orlando city and Walt Disney World Resort. This will be soooo handy when you are lost.Finally - Although I've focused on Disney as a point of reference, Walt Disney World is only a fraction (less than half?) of what this book covers. Universal Orlando is covered, as well as Downtown Orlando and communities such as Winter Park and other close attractions. The book does such a good job with Disney, I feel pretty good about the way it must handle the other locations --- and I am already planning on using it for visiting some of those non-Disney sites.

One day when things are more settled, I plan on doing a little bit of traveling. I have a couple of good friends in Orlando, and Disney World's always been a place I've wanted to visit. On top of that, I do have a thing for travel guide books, so this was an instant order when I saw it. Lonely Planet offers a true pocket sized guide book to Orlando, not just focusing on Disney World (it's not even half the content!) but essentially EVERYTHING you could ever want to do there.Normally with a good guide book, I'd provide a video review so you can take a look and see if you think it's worth the money or not. This one in particular contains mostly text. Yes, there are a good amount of photos inside, but definitely nowhere near as much as you'd normally get in a travel guide book. This one's all about giving you the information and locations, no fluff. Every store, site and location has just enough info to make them all sound worthwhile. I had no idea that there was a 50s style diner where waitresses dressed up in pink and white checkered outfits, and had a little fun with you if you didn't finish your meal. I had no idea there was a Duff brewing company from The Simpsons where you could get a Flaming Moe. I didn't know that Harry Potter fans were still so crazy that they'd be willing to wait 5 hours in line to get into some of the rides at Universal. And when I glanced over the Disney World section, that really put into perspective just how massive the place was. It seemed like I could spend a whole month just there and only scratch the surface.Cheap, perfectly sized, and packing a fold-out map, this little book is everything you could ask for.