Vegas Releases Odds For Next Unofficial Guide Cover

Because everyone knows you should be able to place a bet on anything Vegas released odds for the next Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2012.

Primeval Whirl - odds 2-1
After being the first crappy attraction to appear not once but twice on the cover Primeval Whirl is the front runner.

Mission Space - odds 5-1
Normally Mission Space would not be a front runner but the last two years have shown us that the crappier the ride the better the odds of getting on the cover.

Spaceship Earth at night - odds 7-1
The first attraction that would actually make sense.

Pioneer Hall - odds - 100-1
Some experts feel that the time has come for a non-park icon to be used on the cover.

An overweight person on a scooter - odds - 200-1
What better could representative could you find of modern day Disney?

The Tequila Bar in Mexico - odds 1-10
Insiders say that one of the Unofficial Co-authors will pull rank and put his favorite location on the cover.

Len Testa - odds - 10,000-1
Hey it might happen by accident some day.

Review: The Color Companion to the Unofficial Guide

A few months ago I did a review of “The Complete Guide to Disney World.” At the time I recommended teaming it up with the Unofficial Guide to have everything you could possibly want in a guide book - the Unofficial Guide for planning and the Complete Guide to get you pumped up. I even got my overall opinion read on “Inside the Magic” episode 259 in the listener feedback section.

I have to retract that recommendation.

The Color Companion to the Unofficial Guide is here. It’s bigger, has more photos, more information and is funnier than the Complete Guide. This is basically the guide you’d get if the Unofficial Guide and the Complete Guide had a kid.

I’d state the good but that would take a while and it would sound like my Complete Guide review. There isn’t much bad about this guide either. There are only two areas where the Complete Guide beat the Color Companion. The first is the paper quality. The paper quality of Complete Guide is slightly better than the Color Companion but the Color Companions paper is better than the Unofficial Guide.

The second are the Complete Guide beats the Color Companion is in the quality of the photos. Don’t get me wrong, the Color Companion has amazing photos but the photos in the Complete Guide are nearly flawless.

Those are the only two areas I could find. The Color Companion is better in every other way.

If you are in the market for a guide book here is my recommendation:

If you can only buy one – The Unofficial Guide

If you can buy two – Unofficial Guide + the Color Companion

If you can buy three – Unofficial Guide + the Color Companion + Complete Guide

I’d recommend all three because you will get two different viewpoints if you have all three. Using Amazon you can get all three for less than $50. In other words for less than $50 you’ll have enough info to answer almost any Disney World vacation question.

Review: The Complete Guide to Disney World: 2010

I recently purchased "The Complete Guide to Disney World" by Mike and Julie Neal. This is a top notch Disney guide book.

Visually the "Complete Guide" is stunning. Not only does it have a lot of color photos, the photos are top notch. Many of the photos make you want to get off your butt and run down to the parks. I don't I've ever seen a guide book with better photos.

The guide isn't that long. It's about on par with the official Disney World guides and about a fifth of the size of the Unofficial Guide. You could bring this guide book with you but you'd want a backpack for it. It's a little too large to fit into a cargo pant pocket.

The information in the guide is diverse and they attempt to cover a lot of subjects. For the size of the guide there is a decent amount but if info is on the top of your list you'll want the unofficial guide. One thing this guide does well is adding a list for "fun finds" and "hidden Mickeys" for each ride.

The quality (wear and tear resistant) is very good. They used high quality gloss paper. This makes it slightly water resistant and helps to reduce wear and tear.

Overall this is the guide that will get you pumped up for your trip or help you while you are on your trip. If you are researching your trip, buy the Unofficial Guide. If you own both you will be prepared for all things Disney World.

Massive Fire in NC Linked to Podcast Personality

The cause of a massive fire that broke out in North Carolina last week has been found. It appears that an iPhone was abused to the point combusting.

“It appears the iPhone was altered to boost its battery power and get better reception,” stated a local fire marshal.

The iPhone was owned by a one Leonard Testa, coauthor of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, Professional Van Halen Fan, WDW Today Personality, and Tequila Guzzling Alien. It appears the alterations were made in an effort to get better 3G reception while in doors. The primary reason for wanting the better reception appears to be improving the Mouse World Radio stream onto the iPhone.

Mr. Testa is a known MWR addict and has been through multiple stints in rehab to break him from the habit. All efforts had failed and in an effort to get a better fix Mr. Testa pushed the iPhone beyond its limits causing it start to glow and then combust.

Witnesses said that Mr. Testa knew the iPhone was overheating. One even said in a statement “He had a frying pan and was using the iPhone as a hot plate to cook breakfast while singing along to the Splash Mountain Medley. At first I thought it was cool. Who wouldn’t want a phone that can be a hot plate? But then it burst into flames and ignited the cooking oil. Before we knew it the entire place was up in flames.”

Mr. Testa escaped the flames but left the scene before authorities arrived. Witnesses said he jumped in his car and took off for the nearest Apple store so he could replace his iPhone and get his MWR fix.

The damage from the fire is estimated to be 3.2 million dollars.

If you didn’t know the above story is factious. Len Testa is not an alien (that’s debatable). He did not jerry rig his iPhone to get better 3G reception to listen to MWR (but if he could he would). He has not gone to rehab for an MWR addiction (whether he should or not is another issue). He does not use his iPhone as a hotplate but he has admitted that he’s gotten it hot enough to fry an egg while listening to MWR.