1 comments about Hidden Florida Keys and Everglades (Hidden Guides).

1. This book is basically an advertisement, the only difference being that you pay for it. Although it does list a couple of places that are okay, but most of the listings are those with the biggest advertising budgets (and NOT the best deal/facilities/services). It will send you to some real stinkers!!! Save yourself some time and just Google "Florida Keys Chamber of Commerce". They have web sites, or can send you brochures that list everything this book does, plus MUCH more.

5 comments about Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids: Expert Advice for Fun-Loving Adults (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids).

1. This book did not provide any information that was useful in making a decision. It breifly described the resorts, restraunts, and theme parks, but never made a recommendation. I am planning a trip to Disney World in 2003. We do not have kids, and wanted to plan a trip geared towards adults without kids. This book did not give a single recommendation to help with the planning.



2. As a regular visitor to WDW, I have been extolling the virtues of Birnbaum's guides to my friends for years. I am currently helping some friends plan their trip to WDW without kids, and recommended this guide; after they bought it, I went out and got one myself. Now I am so embarrassed I don't know what to say to them - this guide is terrible, nothing like the normal Birnbaum's guides, or the previous editions of this book.

   There are many problems with this guide: just one example is the recommended tour of Epcot. They stress that "not to be missed" attractions in the World Showcase are Canada, France, the American Adventure; other countries' showcases are "not to be overlooked." I suppose if you assume that most purchasers of this book will be Americans with absolutely no sense of curiousity and adventure, and will only enjoy what they will feel "comfortable" with, then this is a good recommendation; however, most adults I know enjoy the many other countries represented in the World Showcase much more than these three "must sees," as they are more interesting and exotic. Also, they recommend making dinner reservations at Les Chefs de France, which is a perfectly good restaurant, but you can get French food in almost any city - why not the Moroccan or Norwegian restaurants? LCDF is also one of the most popular restaurants in Epcot, and difficult to get into - why set people up for disappointment?

   This guide is also seriously lacking in graphics. Personally, I like a guide that shows me a photo of what they're trying to tell me about - and this guide has few. Just because it's a guide for adults doesn't mean that it has to be a novel. I could go on and on about what's wrong with this guide.

   All in all, I have to give this book a big thumbs down. I will be purchasing another guide for my friends and delivering it post haste, as this one is just plain bad.




3. First of all, I don't agree with a lot of their "don't miss", "don't overlook", and "don't knock yourself out" lists (having already been twice in years past (once as an adult) helps). Of course, the "thrill" rides are "don't miss". Not all adults can handle thrill rides, and not always because they're pregnant or have pacemakers (motion sickness and a fear of thrill rides occur in all ages). And the "Country Bear Jamboree", which is just an elaborate "Chuck E Cheeze" without the pizza, arcade, and ball pit, a "don't miss" (no offense to those who like it) and "Cinderella's Golden Carousel" a "don't knock yourself out" (carousel's aren't just for kids, and can be romantic)? I was also appaled at their thinly-veiled discouragement for staying in a cheaper resort hotel (mostly because families with kids frequent those). Even without kids, not everyone has that kind of money (most of us are lucky we can even afford admission, plane tickets, etc.). And there's really nothing else to speak of. No very detailed information, no real recomendations, no nothing! And yet Birnbaum's guide for families has much more information, something I find a little odd...

   Anyway, if you're planning a Disney vacation without kids, try "Walt Disney World For Couples". It has better information, and their reccomedations go beyond the "E-ticket" attractions.




4. I read some of the other reviews listed for this book. I can't believe that there are people who think that this is a waste of money, it is anything but...I go to Disney almost every year. The first thing I do every october is buy the newest version of this book. Don't get me wrong there are some other really good books out there, but this one has to be the very best by far. If you go to Disney often you realize that they are accurte about lines and times and a whole bunch of other stuff. So if you are looking for info but not to munch info. Get this book, or any of the other books they put out. I use this one and the general disney book as I am not traveling with kids.



5. I have 2 editions of the "without kids" guides. I think they're great! But I am speaking as someone who has been to Disney World multiple times in the past & is just looking for a refresher on the highlights & current info. I also really like this book for when I'm questioning whether an attraction is too childish for my husband & I, who don't have kids yet. If it's in this book, I know it's ok. :) It is a small book, which I think is great -- very easy to carry around with you at the park! On our 2 last trips, I have actually purchased both the "without kids" guidebook along with the regular Birnbaums guide, which provides more detailed information when you need it (but I don't carry that one around!).

No comments about A Brit's Guide to Orlando and Walt Disney World.

1 comments about Mobil Travel Guide 2002 Florida (Mobil Travel Guide : Florida, 2002).

1. Mobil Travel Guide is one of the three guides that I reviewed during my two week driving vacation through Florida and it came in last (Frommer's #1, Fodor's #2 [see my reviews]).

   For 44 years Mobil has been rating lodgings and restaurants using a demanding and defining star system. According to the book's preface, every establishment listed in this guide was supposedly evaluated and "inspected by EXPERIENCED field representatives". I have doubts about that.

   The standards used by Mobil to inspect and evaluate restaurants are stringent. In Florida there are NO five star restaurants. There are 23 four star restaurants (four star "reflects superb dining choices, where remarkable food is served"). In tandem, there are only three lodgings that get five stars and seventeen that get a four star rating. Considering there are 22,000 restaurants and lodgings listed in this tourist guide, a five star Mobil rating should be near true perfection. Initially, until I used the guide, that was impressive.

   I am very impressed with the restaurant ratings, BUT I am disturbed by the hotel ratings. The restaurants that I used the guide to find were what the guide promised. The lodgings were not.

   In Ocala, Florida the guide gave a three star rating ("professionally staffed, beautifully appointed and the lodging experience is truly excellent") to a major chain. I stayed at this recommended property and, it was a good hotel/motel, but not as the guide states: an "excellent lodging experience". The guide gave the same rating to a much better national/international chain hotel. Go figure.

   Worse was to come. In Ft. Lauderdale another three star rating was given to a major name Resort and Spa Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. I stayed there and it was such a run down "has been" of a hotel (bad Service, dirty building, rotted wood railings, refrigerator door broken, hole in blanket, housekeeping did not clean counters or empty trash), that I wrote the company and to their credit, I got a full refund. The guide states that "three stars" means: professionally staffed, beautifully appointed and the lodging experience is truly excellent. NOT!

   Another swampy side of the guide is the abysmal layout. There is no index to speak of; only an attraction, lodging and restaurant list. You find name after name of lodgings or restaurants with no index to a page: None. Go figure.

   To complicate and make this guide "user inhospitable", there is no separation of lodgings or restaurants by price or even rating. The publisher listed them alphabetically. So a five star is followed by a two star, then a three star, one star and a four star. Unlike the other guides which give you structures (very expensive, expensive, moderate) with this guide you just surf through the listings and select.

   The listings have NO commentaries to speak of, just the star rating and factual information (credit cards, time, cost, facilities etc.). Only restaurants with four or five stars get a small, ittty-bitty commentary.

   The Maps, provided by "Mapquest", are few and far between, and appear to be an after-thought. They lack the usefulness found in the city maps of other guides (Foder' & Frommer's). Good city maps, that legend and mark clearly the recommended restaurant and hotels, are a prerequisite for good guides, and the `Mobil Travel Guide' fails totally here.

   Though the guide does have Internet addresses and web sites, and though its star rating system (only for the restaurants) is commendable, it cannot compete with either Zagat or Frommer's as a primary guide. Conditionally Recommended. 2 stars

No comments about Zagatsurvey 2004 Palm Beach Restaurant Guide: Boca Raton, Jupiter and West Palm Beach (Zagat Survey: Palm Beach Restaurants).

No comments about Florida: A Camping Guide (Camping Guides).

No comments about Tampa, Fl Slicker.

No comments about Florida.

4 comments about Iggs' Florida Adventure.

1. I purchased Iggs' Florida Adventure Book for my kids while in Florida, and they loved it. The artwork is outstanding. It certainly entertained them on the flight back home, which made the return trip better for me and my husband. The roadmap gave them a good idea of where we were, and the fun we had at those locations. I wish I bought it from Amazon before my trip.



2. I like this book because it is very colorful. I took it to school and showed it to my teacher. She loved the pictures, and she let me read it to the whole class!! My best friend liked the horse picture in Ocala, but my favorite picture is where Iggs is in Miami. He has parrots on his tail, and a big whale ready to splash him.



3. My son would choose a toy over a book any day, but to my delight, he selected Iggs' book in a childrens' gift shop while vacationing in Orlando. The book was thin, and it didn't look like it had many pages. I realized after I browsed through it that they used a special kind of glossy paper which helped bring the images to life.



4. I recently ordered Iggs' Florida Adventure book for my 4 year old son. I read it to him on a plane ride down to Florida. He loved it. I read it to him about 10 times before the plane landed. It's only about 20 pages long, but the artwork is great. Best of all, we actually saw many of the things that we read about. It was great to read a colorful book to my son, and then see the images come to life. My only problem is that now he wants an iguana and he'd like to move to Florida (from Chicago). Great job Iggs.

No comments about Florida and the Nation 2002.