Nov
23
Mousejunkies!: Tips, Tales, and Tricks for a Disney World Fix: All You Need to Know for a Perfect Vacation
Filed Under (Tips) by admin on 23-11-2009
Far more than one obsessed travel writer’s take on Walt Disney World, Mousejunkies! is a collection of amusing travelogues and savvy insider’s tips gleaned from a group of seemingly rational adults who find themselves inexplicably drawn to the Magic Kingdom. It covers all the essential topics — when to go, where to say, what to do, and where to eat — as well as experiences not found in other guides. Readers learn how to indulge in an all-day beer and football orgy at the…
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First I should start off by saying that I am not a “Mousejunkie”. I have only been to Disney World once and it was so long ago I can barely remember it. What I am, however, is a Guidebook Junkie. I don’t go anywhere on holiday without buying at least one guidebook first. I figure that this may be my one and only chance to visit each of these destinations, I may as well do them right the first time. With this in mind, I initially regarded this book with quite a heavy dose of skepticism. It was actually a very last minute decision to take `The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World out of my Amazon’ shopping cart and replace it with this wildcard. For starters, I couldn’t actually work out what Mousejunkies was supposed to be; a reference book, a journal, an advice column??? (It is in fact aspects of all three). But also I was worried that I would find the book biased and cheesy. After all it was put together by a man who visits Disney World so many times he has titled himself a `Mousejunkie’. What I was to discover was that yes, the book is somewhat cheesy (particularly the first and last chapters) and yes, it is sometimes biased. However, it also turned out to be perhaps the most refreshing and enjoyable guidebook I have ever read. Why? Because it was different. This is not your conventional guidebook. If you know nothing at all about Walt Disney World then this is perhaps not the best place to start. Because Mousejunkies is largely full of personal stories and anecdotes, it does not have the space or time to make mention of every single hotel/ride/restaurant etc in all of Disney World. Rather, the book maintains a personal feel and places are only mentioned if they hold some sort of significance – good or bad – to the author and his friends. Likewise the book contains no photographs or maps that might help a person plan their upcoming trip. If you are after a conventional guidebook that allows you to flip to the index, look up Splash Mountain, and then flip to the page that tells you about it’s wait times and height restrictions, then buy another guidebook instead. Or better yet, buy another guidebook as well as this book. Along with Mousejunkies, I also bought The Complete Walt Disney World. The Complete Guide tells me about absolutely everything that I can do at Disney World, while Mousejunkies gives me a sense of what it’s going to feel like being there. Mousejunkies is put together in such a relaxed, easy-to-read way, reading it is like being immersed in a good novel. You don’t really flick through it like most guidebooks, but instead you start at the beginning and find yourself reading every page in order right through to the end. I got so engrossed that I finished the whole book in one weekend. I enjoyed the largely adult-perspective of the book and the way the author put about as much emphasis on Disney’s food and hotels as he did on the rides and the attractions. I also appreciated that despite his obvious love of Disney World, he wasn’t afraid to criticize the things he thought were truly unworthy of people’s time. Like I said at the start, I might not a Mousejunkie but I am a Guidebook Junkie, and this is one guidebook that I really rate.
Reading through Mousejunkies was like hopping a flight down to Florida and hitting all of my favorite parks from the comfort of my couch! Planning a trip to the Disney resorts can be daunting; visitors are faced with endless dining, hotel and entertainment choices and this guide should serve me and others well when planning the next trip. This is not your run-of-the-mill travel guide; it’s as much a breezy, fun travelogue as it is a collection of tips and advice. Mousejunkies is a must-read for anyone who is planning their first trip to Walt Disney World or for the seasoned WDW veteran planning their annual, semi-annual or monthly (weekly?) trip back.
As a year round Florida resident, sometimes I find that I take my proximity to the Disney property for granted. Well, no longer. I found this to be a fantastic how-to guide on getting the most out of your Disney vacation. The tips contained within have already inspired me to plan my next trip to see ‘The Mouse’ and do it right – meaning the Mousejunkie way. The years of accumulated experiences contained within are quite insightful, and I laughed at how some of them were learned the hard way. I agree with most of the reviewers; this is a must-read for any Disney traveller.