Lonely Planet Orlando & Central Florida (Lonely Planet. Orlando and Central Florida, 1st Ed)

Rating:
Summary: Reasonable not more
Review: After reading through the first couple of chapter you get the feeling that the writer didn't enjoy her stay in Orlando. Instead of providing more helpful information to the reader it seems that the author is focused more on sarcasm and snotty remarks. Still the book is an okay guide nothing more !

Rating:
Summary: Usual Excellence Marred by Fear of Rednecks
Review: I normally reach for a Lonely Planet guide before any trip and follow them as my bible of the road. They are consistently helpful, accurate and reliable.

This book does have good information, but the way author Wendy Taylor writes about Southerners ("rednecks" in particular, which for her may be a strikingly broad category) really hurts the book's value. She suggests that the traveler ignore rednecks and leave them to wallow in their ignorance. This advice is actually presented as a safety warning. I doubt it would have been published if she had written something like that about any other group of people in the world.

There are various other snide and unnecessary comments of a progressive nature sprinkled throughout the book. I suppose she wants us to travel to Florida, just be really careful of the natives. If you want a more open-minded approach to travel, look for another guide book.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of info packed into a small book!
Review: I used this book for a recent trip to central Florida and found it very helpful. The book has lots of information on the theme parks and which shows and rides are most worthwhile. We only visited Disney's Animal Kingdom park, but found Taylor's suggestions right on the mark. We did not follow her advice to arrive early and boy, did we wish we had paid attention to that detail! I appreciated the information on the natural areas of Florida. Based on the book's recommendation, we spent a wonderful day at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore. We also spent time in Ocala, and this book has information on the sites in that area. Taylor is right: Silver Springs is a lovely, low-key attraction.

The main downside to the book is the lack of information on hotels --if you like detailed descriptions on hotels, you'll want an additional book or will need to use an online resource such as tripadvisor.com.

All in all, a great little book. Follow Taylor's advice to carry plenty of change for Florida's toll roads, and look beyond the few scattered comments in the book. I think good guide books have some personality, and I did not find the comments in this one offensive. For many travelers, myself included, some aspects of traveling in the South do come as culture shock, including the confederate flag that we saw flying above an orange grove right off the Inter-State!

Rating:
Summary: The author's response
Review: I'm glad you found the information useful - I certainly worked hard on it! And I'm sorry you were personally offended by my remarks. In my defense however, I think my statement about "rednecks," taken in context, was not so bad.

For the readers' interest, here's the text:

"Rednecks, who refer to themselves as just that, can be found in many areas of Central Florida and are easily identified by their foul and racially derogatory language. Leave them in peace to wallow in ignorance, and don't go striking up any debates. In fact, if someone tries to engage you in one, you may just want to smile, nod and say 'uh huh' - it's just not worth the effort."

I agree, these are bold statements. But first of all, I'm talking about people who self-identify as "rednecks." And second of all, I think it's fair to say that people who speak derogatorily regarding race can be classified as ignorant. Either that or just plain mean, but knowing people personally who have derogatory impressions of nonwhites, I know that the latter (ie, "mean") is not necessarily the case! Some real sweethearts are racist.

Also, this wasn't in the warning section at all, just under "Society & Conduct" (right after some text about the wonders of Southern hospitality). In the previous paragraph, I made a statement about how nonstraight couples should be careful about their conduct in such regions, but I didn't comment on the possible consequences. But I think it's safe to say that gay people should be aware that it's not a good idea to show same-sex affection in some of those areas.

Since many readers of this book will be from other countries, I thought this information to be not only useful, but necessary. We can't expect foreigners to be familiar with US cultural norms from region to region.

I definitely made bold comments throughout the book; some things I loved, some things I liked, some things I didn't like, and some things I hate. But Lonely Planet is known not only for being informative, but also opinionated - that's why people love the books.

Again, I'm sorry you didn't like some of my opinions. Take heart that I love the South, have family in the South, and take pride in the South.

Wendy Taylor