What is Guide to the Magic all about?

Guide to the Magic was created to provide people with a source to get the most out of what Walt Disney World has to offer—namely, magic! Many other guide books and websites focus on the nuts and bolts of planning your Disney trip (how to make travel plans, how to save money, and so on). While this information is very useful (and we provide a lot of it in our Planning Your Trip section), we felt that there was very little information out there that would help you enhance your Disney experience once you’ve arrived. Most guide books provide you with a cursory overview of the attractions and the parks themselves, often with no more than a few sentences. Worse yet, many of these guide books focus on the personal opinions of the authors, often giving readers a biased opinion that may not agree with the reader’s personal tastes. Because of this, a reader may bypass an attraction entirely, possibly missing out on something that they would enjoy immensely. (For example, a well known guide book included a particularly scathing and cynical description of the now-closed Alien Encounter, yet it was on of our favorite attractions. Good thing we didn’t read that book before our trip!)

At Guide to the Magic, our goal is to provide lots of information, fun facts and tips on all of the Walt Disney World Resort attractions. We do this so that you the reader will be able to get the most out of every attraction; from little things to look for to the stories behind the attraction. We also try to provide you with enough information so that you can decide whether the attraction is right for you—for example, whether you like high speed thrills or slow, gentle rides. And we’ll give you lots of tips so that you can enjoy the attractions in the best possible way, everything from where to sit and what to look for to ways to beat the crowds.

Our philosophy is that when all is said and done, Walt Disney World is all about magic, not about racing through the parks on a breakneck schedule in an effort to see as much stuff as you can (and thereby missing all the little things along the way). So we do our very best to provide you with tips, information and tools (like our journals and trip books), to let you get the most out of the very best that Disney has to offer—magic!

What are the books and journals all about? Is it just the same content as the web site?

Our guide books and journals are designed to help you create a special one-of-a-kind keepsake of your trip. Unlike other guide books or journals that you may find, the Guide to the Magic books are designed to help you get the most magic out of your trip by combining lot of fun information and interactivity. In addition to the tips and information that you’ll find in the books, you’ll find lots of pages to fill out, things to check off and places to record your special memories.

What do all those icons mean?

Throughout the website and our books, you’ll see lots of icons to help you navigate through all the information:

	Tips Here you’ll find tips that will help you get the maximum enjoyment out of an attraction, including when to tour, things to be wary of and the best places to sit.
	Magical Moments These are little things to look for as you experience the attraction—the special moments that you’ll always remember (and a few you may not ordinarily notice!).
	Facts Points of interest and trivia.
	Hidden Mickeys Hidden Mickeys that you’ll find throughout the attraction. (What’s a Hidden Mickey? See the next question!)
	Secrets Other little hidden jokes or curiosities.
	Attraction Descriptors These will give you a heads up of things to be mindful of (whether the attraction is dark, fast, wild, wet and so on).
	FastPass Indicates whether the attraction makes use of FastPass.
	Is It Scary? This indicates whether the attraction is easy-going (green), moderately scary (yellow) or highly intense (red).
	Alerts Indicates information pertaining to height restrictions and health warnings.

What are these Hidden Mickeys you’re talking about?

Hidden Mickeys, in their simplest form, are three circles arranged to look like Mickey Mouse (one large circle for the face and two more circles for the ears). Imagineers often integrate them into the attractions either deliberately or as an inside joke. The exact number of Hidden Mickeys is unknown and new ones are found all the time. We’ll tell you about the ones we know of, but we look to our readers to send in any that they find!

Imagineers? What’s an Imagineer?

An Imagineer is someone who conceptualizes and/or creates the attractions, shops, restaurants, theming—anything you find throughout Walt Disney World! The word, coined by Walt Disney, is a combination of the words ‘imagination’ and ‘engineer’.

Do you work for Walt Disney World?

Nope! We’re just very big fans…!

I’m ready to go, how do I make reservations?

You can always visit the official Disney web site for hotel reservations. Park tickets can also be purchased in advance at most Disney Stores. For tips on planning your vacation be sure to visit our Trip Planning page.
There are also many websites that provide lots of information on setting up your Disney vacation. Some of our favorites are:

AllEarsNet
A wonderful site by Deb Wills filled with all sorts of information about the parks, how to get there, special accommodations and answers to just about any travel question you can think of.

Mouse for Less
On a budget? This is the place to go to look for money saving tips!

The Luxury Guide to Disney World
For those looking to travel to Walt Disney World in style, Cara Goldsbury provides lots of information about making the most of your Disney vacation.

I have a tip I’d like to share, can I send it to you?

Absolutely! If you have a tip to share you can visit our Contact page or send it to tips@guidetothemagic.com. We regularly publish readers’ tips and comments on our site, and we welcome your submission!

I sent in a tip but I don’t see it, what happened?

Usually that will mean that the tip is a duplication of one already on the site. We’ll also not include a tip if it’s merely an opinion (negative or positive) that otherwise doesn’t include any usable information for our readers (however, we will be publishing polls and questionnaires that will give you a forum to express your opinions!). Also, Guide to the Magic will not publish comments that violate or Appropriate Content policy.

Can I exchange links with you or advertise on your site?

Sure! We welcome and exchange of links with others in the Disney community (we’re one big happy family after all!), and we do accept advertising that would be of interest to our readers. You can learn more about advertising and link exchanges on our Advertising page.

Is there a way I can send you a suggestion for improving the site or send you a correction?

Definitely—we always welcome feedback from our readers on how to improve. And on that rare occasion where we make a mistake, we appreciate being alerted to it so that we can correct it. Please send any comments or corrections to info@guidetothemagic.com.