"After Disney: The Other Orlando" by Kelly Monaghan and Seth Kubersky
Universal Orlando 2011: A Book Review
Well this is a case of perfect timing. I have been getting very excited about my next trip to Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World. It has been a few years since I visited Universal and I thought it was about time. In the past, I have enjoyed Kelly’s Universal books and thought they were very helpful.
Of course, the big news this year is the addition of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure. Like many of you, I have been trying to gobble up as much information as I can.
So this book review will be a little different. Not only will I be talking about this very good book, but I am creating a list of things I don’t want to forget in anticipation of this trip. Don’t be scared.
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Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation: A Book Review
The 2011 edition of The Hassle Free Walt Disney World Vacation guide marks two milestones this year. The first is this is the 10th year, I believe. Secondly, it includes several pages of color pictures.
Steven Barrett checks in with the regular updates and mentions of new/changed attractions that you would expect to find, including recent changes like the addition of Captain EO as well as mentions of the upcoming changes to Fantasyland. The Hassle Free guide follows the same easy to read format of the previous editions. There is a brief description of each park, then one of each attraction with some notes/comments, followed by touring plans for various age groups and lengths of stay.
The color photos I mentioned above come into play for the new photo quiz for this year, color really does make the difference and adds to the fun!
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Paris Movie Walks: A Book Review
One of the strongest reservations I have against filmmakers becoming overly reliant on the use of a green screen is that – especially in a time of unparalleled job loss and economic uncertainty – one of the best advantages of the cinematic escape is by instantly transporting us to exotic locales that may not exactly be in our budget.
When your world view gets smaller and everything begins to look suspiciously alike, you’ll lose that sense of adventurous wonder that goes with the sense of joy you feel when a film can transport you to Meryl Streep’s farm in “Out of Africa” … or wherever the story being told just happens to be set.
And to this end, fortunately I’ve discovered that so many filmmakers and enthusiasts seem to share my weakness for films set in France – especially French-made titles whether they’re from the New Wave of Godard (including “Breathless” pictured on the book cover) or Truffaut or the more contemporary fare of filmmakers such as “Amelie” director Jeunet.
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The Eclectic Gourmet Guide to Greater New York City
A book review
Nothing excites a certain type of New Yorker more than discovering a new, offbeat, off-the-beaten-path, usually ethnic restaurant where the food is authentic, the quality high, and the prices so low it’s hard to believe you’re still in New York. They delight in dragging visiting friends and relatives to little known corners of the Bronx for spicy calamari and linguine or to Harlem for succulent smothered pork chops. These places are secret treasures these New Yorkers keep to themselves, sharing the intelligence only with a handful of trusted friends, hoping against hope that the newspaper food critics (for whom “chowhounding” has become very chi-chi) won’t “discover” them and ruin it for everyone.
Waterpark Pioneer Tells All, A Book Review
If the guy on the cover of “The Wave Maker,” Tim O’Brien’s as-told-to biography of the creator of Wet ‘n Wild and SeaWorld, looks like he’s been through the wringer, it’s because he has.
The Wave Maker” is the story of a man who believed in himself, who never thought of giving up, even when faced with health set backs that would have sidelined most of us. He had in his arsenal a tremendous sense of creativity, a strong work ethic, and an unshakeable belief that his ambitious projects would reach a successful conclusion.
George Millay, for that is the name of the battered survivor on the book’s cover, is a visionary, an innovative, restive, and determined risk-taker who created two major theme park genres.
PassPorter’s ‘Special Needs’ Guide to Walt Disney World
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Time was when, if you were lucky enough to find a travel guide that addressed the needs of the “disabled,” it was all about wheelchair access. Boy, how times have changed.
The new PassPorter’s Walt Disney World for your Special Needs covers seemingly every possible situation, from ADHD to Vision, with 18 others in between, including some that aren’t really disabilities at all (religion and senior citizenship, for instance), but which can raise very genuine concerns for some vacationers.
Written by Deb Wills and Debra Martin Koma, this massive compendium represents an enormous amount of research (they cite nearly three dozen “peer reviewers”) and all the hard work has clearly paid off. Their book is the de facto encyclopedia on special needs at Disney World and it is unlikely that their achievement will ever be duplicated, let alone surpassed. As with any PassPorter publication the exhaustive attention to detail leaves no cleverly themed stone unturned and no question unanswered.
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“A Year in the Merde”, A Book Review
A Rauncy Riposte to “A Year in Provence”
Stephen Clarke’s A Year in the Merde chronicles the misadventures of a young British marketing man hired to help a French company launch a chain of Brit-themed tea shops. He experiences French charm, French inefficiency, sublime French food, slimy French corruption and political intrigue, a seemingly endless series of strikes, and more sex than he can shake his weakened British stick at.
At first blush it seems to be yet another of those memoirs (Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence, preeminent among them) that allow the reader the vicarious pleasure of living among the unfailingly charming, but inevitably infuriating French. In fact, the cover makes a subtle design nod to the cover of Mayle’s megahit.
“Gringos In Paradise”, A Book Review
When I was young, “The People’s Guide To Mexico” was my favorite book about Mexico. Now that I am (ahem) older, Barry Golson’s engaging memoir “Gringos in Paradise” is pushing it aside on my shelf of favorites.
This is a supremely engaging account that succeeds on two levels. First, it will satisfy the armchair traveler’s desire for vicarious pleasure. I was reminded more than once of “A Year in Provence” and, indeed, Golson’s book has some of the same sure-fire elements — “colorful” locals and quirky tradesmen, shrewdly observed and nicely evoked takes on the local folkways and manners, and an engaging cast of supporting expats.
