This Walt Disney World guidebook may be the new kid on the block, but it has so much to offer that this book may be the most perfect Walt Disney World guidebook available today.

Where do I start? This book offers so much that it would be a shame to leave out any of those special features that makes it standout such an unconventional standout.

This book packs an incredible amount of information in fewer than 300 pages. I also like the spiral bound pages because they are easy to flip and you can open the book to any page, and lay the book flat.

On the inside cover is a calendar for 2002 and 2003, with a small table underneath with planning milestones and areas to make entries. What a great idea for those planning their vacation a year in advance.

The inside cover also has an area to jot down your name and contact information in case you lose this book.

In addition, an elastic band attached to the book allows you to hold the book nice and snug.

The book contains a number of handy pages that most readers should take advantage of, including:

• Attractions at a glance - provides concise one-page-per-park information on attractions
• Back page reference information - lists important phone numbers and addresses
• Budget worksheet - helps prepare a vacation budget
• Hidden Mickey sheet - reveals hints on some hidden Mickeys
• Meal worksheet - helps plan and record meals
• Notes and autographs - substitutes for an extra autograph book
• Packing list - provides a ready-made list, with space for customization
• Pocket Pages - provides room to keep important information and important items like coupons, maps, tickets and other essentials
• Priority seating worksheet - keeps track of priority seating meals
• Resort comparison chart - compares Disney resorts in almost 30 categories
• Touring plans - provides information about touring, with or without children
• Travel worksheet - documents important travel information
• Touring worksheet - provides a page to jot down schedules, cost, and other notes
• Vacation at a glance - presents an overview of the vacation
• Web site index - lists over 90 sites which can provide additional vacation information

These features help to make PassPorter more than just a guidebook: They help develop the book into a customized tool to use before, during, and after a vacation.

First-timers to the Walt Disney World resort should particularly welcome the maps in this book. Each map is rich with information. There are nearly 30 maps that concentrate on resorts, theme parks, water parks, Disney Quest, and Downtown Disney, and one even shows a seating chart of the Cirque du Soleil theater.

Information is easily retrievable in this book. There are two tabbing features: the side tabs take readers to general areas such as Planning, Getting There, Touring, while the top of each page uses a four-tab system to navigate within a general section. For example, the Touring section includes such top tabs as theme parks and Downtown Disney.

The book's combination of narrative text, information boxes, tables, graphs, and maps provide a wealth of information to the reader. These pieces complement each other make this book a delight to use.

Although I cannot pinpoint the font, it is a nice comfortable font that is easy on the eye, and which reminds me of a Disney font.

The book contains an attraction-at-a-glance page for each park. The authors also provide an attraction box, which contains:

• Description of the attraction
• Checkbox to mark if you want to visit it
• Map coordinates to locate the attraction in the PassPorter map
• Ratings for the attraction
• Attraction type
• Attraction scope (attraction level)
• Appropriate age
• Thrill factor
• Average wait
• Attraction duration

These boxes provide a quick snapshot of the attraction for first-timers, although I would caution against taking wait times too seriously. Touring plans for park attractions are given for each park, and are geared both for traveling with or without children.

The PassPorter treats Disney hotel information in a very precise manner. The section on resorts begins with a discussion on choosing a resort, and offers readers a very well-constructed resort comparison chart that compares amenities, eateries, recreational activities, and park access. An overview provides general information. Each resort section covers resort ambience, room layout, eating and drinking establishments, recreational and shopping opportunities, and transportation options. There is a map for every resort, and each resort is rated in various areas to help determine a resort destination.

The book also provides hotel information for hotels off the Disney property.

Before detailing information on specific eateries, this section introduces the reader to the importance of meal planning, such as how often to eat, what to budget for, where to eat, and how Priority Seating works. The section also includes time- and money-saving tips..

The book uses a format similar to the attractions description to profile each eatery, using boxes that include what meals are offered, average cost of a full adult dinner, eatery type (table or counter), cuisine, noise factor, wait times, and priority seating needs. A short narrative describes the eatery the menu. Using the same box format to describe eateries helps provide the reader's with an immediate comfort level.

A section on character dining includes everything about character meals, and includes a character dining location chart.

A section lists dinner shows, such as Hoop Dee Doo and the Polynesian Luau, fully describes the meal, entertainment, cost, and a few worthwhile tips.

The table of contents provides a good snapshot of what the PassPorter has to offer, although the authors may have been a bit too cute with some of the section headings. The section on resorts is titled "Staying in Style" and the section on restaurants is called "Feasting." Those section titles make for a little adjustment on the part of the reader to understand what each section contains.

Also, there should be some general bolded text on specific areas like theme parks, water parks, and restaurants. Other than those shortcomings the table of contents for the PassPorter does the job.

This book has a very good index with attention to secondary entries. I found the index to be lacking a bit in some cross-referencing areas but not to the point where these omissions would seriously hurt the overall functionality of the index. Most of what you would be looking for in this fine guide is available via a trip to the index.

Besides the authors, this book has a "PassPorter Team" that provides some expert knowledge and years of Walt Disney World experience. You might recognize Deb Wills, founder of the Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide (WDWIG), and Bruce Metcalf, long-time, theme-park employee and Disney aficionado. The authors acknowledge those who helped with this guidebook, including MousePlanet.

Three pages are devoted to the authors, PassPorter Team, and many more contributors to this work. I found this book to have a high degree of experienced Walt Disney World experts behind the scenes and thus had a comfort level with the credibility of their work.

This book has many contributors who possess the background necessary to provide this information the others also help.

Mike's Take

Passporter is not just any book. It's a tool, a mentor, and a friend that guides you through the planning process, whether you are a first-timer and a seasoned WDW veteran. It can hold your hand, show you the ropes, and provide you with ways to put together a fine vacation plan for you.

The best compliment I can give the PassPorter is that it is the only Walt Disney World guidebook that I wish I had written. A tip of my hat and a thanks to Jennifer, Dave, and Ali for there efforts in putting together something that in the long run will make sure families have a successful and memorable trip to Walt Disney World.

Next time: The Granddaddy of them All: Birnbaum.

Class dismissed.