In "How to Use This Guide", the five "$" system for accommodations is detailed, and a four "$" system for restaurants is detailed. This guide also uses a symbol to indicate "the most luxurious accommodations, restaurants, and entertainment."

In the "Appendix: Suggested Itineraries", we are given suggestions for:
One day at the Magic Kingdom for adults with young children
One day at the Magic Kingdom for adults with older children
One day for touring Epcot
Two days for touring Epcot
One day for touring Disney-MGM Studios
One day for touring Disney's Animal Kingdom
One day for touring Universal Studios for adults with young children
One day for touring Universal Studios for adults with older children
One day at Islands of Adventure for adults with young children
One day at Islands of Adventure for adults with older children

In addition to providing the companion website for the guide, the guide itself and the website also list many other websites to help you plan your visit. LaughingPlace.com is not listed. I'm sure that's just an editing mistake.

The book is fine to pack with you, and to carry around in a backpack, but would be a little much to carry in your hand all day. It's an extensive guide that would be better on the eyes if the pictures were placed throughout, instead of all at the beginning.

Among the many helpful lists of tips and things to note in the guide, there are:
Travel tips for the busiest times
Tips for first-timers
Tips for romance
Romantic places
Annual events
Benefits of staying on-property at the Walt Disney World Resort
Character greeting spots in the various parks
Quiet spots
Tours
How to dine with an Imagineer

Both guides are paperbacks and both are very useful in their own ways. If you buy the Luxury Guide, the official Dining Guide will not be of much use to you – unless you really want those recipes. However, if you just want information about dining at the Walt Disney World Resort, the official Dining Guide is the better value. Remember that Disney also offers a general Birnbaum Walt Disney World official guide.

The Walt Disney World Resort and the surrounding area offer so much to do, that even someone who has been to the area many times can learn a lot from these guides. If you've never been before, these guides can be essential. It's easy to miss things when you're rushing to and fro on an excitement-packed vacation or intense business trip. They more than pay for themselves by helping you to make more informed choices and get more enjoyment for your dollar.

The inherent drawback to these kinds of publications is that a lot can happen in the months between when the subjects were researched and you make your trip – especially with prices. Checking up by visiting sites like LaughingPlace.com, the official websites of Walt Disney World Resort and other area attractions, or making phone calls is a good idea.

Pack-ratting Disney aficionados and armchair historians like me love to have these guides so that we can look back in ten years and see what's changed.

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Related Links

• Purchase at the LaughingPlace Store: Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Dining Guide 2006 or The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World Resort
• List of all Ken's Reviews
• List of all Kenversations Columns