• In 2008, combined Walt Disney World Resort theme park attendance reached over 51 million, with the Magic Kingdom alone drawing over 17 million visitors. (Orlando Convention and Visitor Bureau)
• Despite signifcant downturns in the economy Disney theme parks have maintained attendance rates and made gains in attendance at some parks.
• Walt Disney World Resort theme parks are rated best in the world. earning high marks for things outside of the traditional theme park experience. Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival, which takes place for six weeks every fall and showcases food from twenty-five countries, was rated by Forbes Traveler as one of the Best U.S. Food and Wine Festivals.
• Unofficial Guides field tested touring plans can save as much as four hours of standing in line in a single day.

From Susan Casey, bestselling author of The Devil’s Teeth, an astonishing book about colossal,  ship-swallowing rogue waves and the surfers who seek them out.

For centuries, mariners have spun tales of gargantuan waves, 100-feet high or taller. Until recently scientists dis­missed these stories—waves that high would seem to violate the laws of physics. But in the past few decades, as a startling number of ships vanished and new evidence has emerged, oceanographers realized something scary was brewing in the planet’s waters. They found their proof in February 2000, when a British research vessel was trapped in a vortex of impossibly mammoth waves in the North Sea—including several that approached 100 feet.

As scientists scramble to understand this phenomenon, others view the giant waves as the ultimate challenge. These are extreme surfers who fly around the world trying to ride the ocean’s most destructive monsters. The pioneer of extreme surfing is the legendary Laird Hamilton, who, with a group of friends in Hawaii, figured out how to board suicidally large waves of 70 and 80 feet. Casey follows this unique tribe of peo­ple as they seek to conquer the holy grail of their sport, a 100­foot wave.

In this mesmerizing account, the exploits of Hamilton and his fellow surfers are juxtaposed against scientists’ urgent efforts to understand the destructive powers of waves—from the tsunami that wiped out 250,000 people in the Pacific in 2004 to the 1,740-foot-wave that recently leveled part of the Alaskan coast.

Like Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, The Wave brilliantly portrays human beings confronting nature at its most ferocious.

The New York Times bestselling memoir of pilgrimage and metamorphosis by the author of The Secret Life of Bees and her daughter.

Sue Monk Kidd has touched the hearts of millions of readers with her beloved novels and acclaimed nonfiction. Now, in this wise and engrossing dual memoir, she and her daughter, Ann, chronicle their travels together through Greece and France at a time when each was on a quest to redefine herself and rediscover each other.

As Sue struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming bees into a novel, and Ann ponders the classic question of what to do with her life, this modern-day Demeter and Persephone explore an array of inspiring figures and sacred sites. They also give voice to that most protean of human connections: the bond of mothers and daughters.

Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World, the most respected and well-known name in travel guides, takes readers to the world’s most popular tourist attraction. Since ours is the only guidebook that’s official, this book includes the most accurate information on prices, changes, and new attractions for 2010. Highlights include the scoop on Magical Beginnings, Walt Disney World's specially tailored, money-saving vacation plan for families with pre-schoolers, and updates on Pleasure Island's new venues, eateries, and shopping opportunities.

This new edition includes detailed accounts of all that's new in the World, including shows, attractions, and restaurants. Readers will relish in insider coverage of the latest eateries on the WDW scene, such as Paradiso 37 (Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island), Kouzzina by Cat Cora (BoardWalk resort), and Portobello (Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island). Also featured are updates on the ever-popular Disney Dining Plan and tips on how to book tables at popular WDW restaurants before everyone else does. For guests who want to plus their vacation, this year's guide contains an insider's look at new theme-park-alternative adventure opportunities, such as hot air ballooning, archery, stock-car-driving, and more. It also includes updated tips and coverage of Disney After Dark—including lounges, dance clubs, karaoke, and other nightlife scenarios. With new photographs of favorite attractions and WDW landmarks, and more money-saving coupons than ever before, this guide is a must-have for every Disney World guest!

The deepest cave on earth was a prize that had remained unclaimed for centuries, long after every other ultimate discovery had been made: both poles by 1912, Everest in 1958, the Challenger Deep in 1961. In 1969 we even walked on the moon. And yet as late as 2000, the earth’s deepest cave—the supercave—remained undiscovered. This is the story of the men and women who risked everything to find it, earning their place in history beside the likes of Peary, Amundsen, Hillary, and Armstrong.
 
In 2004, two great scientist-explorers are attempting to find the bottom of the world. Bold, heroic American Bill Stone is committed to the vast Cheve Cave, located in southern Mexico and deadly even by supercave standards. On the other side of the globe, legendary Ukrainian explorer Alexander Klimchouk—Stone’s polar opposite in temperament and style, but every bit his equal in scientific expertise, physical bravery, and sheer determination—has targeted Krubera, a freezing nightmare of a supercave in the Republic of Georgia, where underground dangers are compounded by the horrors of separatist war in this former Soviet republic.

Blind Descent explores both the brightest and darkest aspects of the timeless human urge to discover—to be first. It is also a thrilling epic about a pursuit that makes even extreme mountaineering and ocean exploration pale by comparison. These supercavers spent months in multiple camps almost two vertical miles deep and many more miles from their caves’ exits. They had to contend with thousand-foot drops, deadly flooded tunnels, raging whitewater rivers, monstrous waterfalls, mile-long belly crawls, and much more. Perhaps even worse were the psychological horrors produced by weeks plunged into absolute, perpetual darkness, beyond all hope of rescue, including a particularly insidious derangement called The Rapture.

James M. Tabor was granted unprecedented access to logs, journals, photographs, and video footage of these expeditions, as well as many hours of personal interviews with surviving participants. Blind Descent is an unforgettable addition to the classic literature of discovery and adventure. It is also a testament to human survival and endurance—and to two extraordinary men whose relentless pursuit of greatness led them to heights of triumph and depths of tragedy neither could have imagined.

Includes a 16-pg full-color insert


From the Hardcover edition.

A fabled country with a reputation for danger, romance and intrigue, Brazil has transformed itself in the past decade. Brazil on the Rise, written by the go-to journalist on Brazil, intimately portrays a country of contradictions, a country of passion and above all a country of immense power.

A unique look at the history, culture, tradition, and environmental impact of honey

The Honey Trail is a global travel narrative that looks at different aspects of how honey and bees are being affected by globalization, terrorism, deforestation, the global food trade, and climate change. This unique book not only questions the state of our environment and the impact it is having on bees and honey, it also takes readers on an adventure across Yemeni deserts and Borneo jungles, through the Mississippi Delta and Tasmania-s rainforests, over frozen Siberian snowscapes and ancient Turkish villages all in search of the liquid gold known as honey.

Including fascinating insights such as:

- A bee produces only a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime

- China is the world-s largest honey producer

- Honey is only used as medicine in Borneo

- There are more than thirty-five mono-floral honeys in Tuscany.

Universal Orlando, the preferred destination for sophisticated adult fun-seekers and thrill-seeking teens, celebrates its 20th anniversary with the hottest new set of attractions in the business: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This new edition not only provides the first printed in-depth reviews of every attraction in Harry's world but adds color photography to better communicate the excitement of Universal's two theme parks, CityWalk entertainment district, and luxury resort hotels.

Nobody knows Argentina like Lonely Planet. Whether you want to tango though the night in Buenos Aires, climb glaciers in Patagonia, gallop with gauchos across the Pampas, sample Malbec in Mendoza or savor the world’s best steak, our unbeatable 7th edition will show you how – and make your journey unforgettable.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.

In This Guide:

Inspiring color highlights section introduces the best of Argentina
Stylish city coverage with the best eating, shopping and nightlife
Full-color outdoors chapter with hiking, cycling, skiing and more

The Top 6 Ways The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:

• Comments and tips on Walt Disney World from surveys of more than 12,500 families
• Advice on how to prepare mentally, physically, and logistically for your ideal Walt Disney World vacation
• Information on which attractions frighten kids and why
• When to go, where to stay, and how to beat the crowds
• Field tested touring plans that can save you up to four hours of waiting in line.
• How to keep your family happy on vacation and how to return home rested and relaxed