Disney Experts Team Up to Produce New Guidebook to Walt Disney World for Vacationers with Special Needs

For Release August 4, 2004

Ann Arbor, MI -- What happens when one of the most respected Walt Disney World travel web sites and one of the most popular Walt Disney World guidebook publishers get together? We'll soon find out! PassPorter Travel Press has signed Internet legend Deb Wills of AllEarsNet.com/WDWIG.com fame, and AllEarsNet.com Senior Editor Debra Martin Koma to write the first "special needs" guidebook to Walt Disney World to be published in many years -- "PassPorter's Walt Disney World for Your Special Needs."

Why a Special Needs book? According to PassPorter's publisher Dave Marx, "When folks think 'Special Needs at Disney,' they may think of children in wheelchairs, but in opening its "world' to everyone Walt Disney World has created an oasis for people with all sorts of needs. From our perspective, nearly everyone has a special need or will be traveling with someone who has a special need. Our goal, like Disney's, is to include everyone."

Naturally, the book will be a comprehensive resource for people with mobility, sensory and other impairments, but it will also embrace such diverse topics as pregnancy, travel with infants, seniors, ADD/ADHD, food allergies and other special dietary needs, multi-lingual, and plus-size guests. Extended-family visits to Walt Disney World are growing ever more popular, so special attention will be paid to the needs of seniors, who may just need a little help keeping up with their grandchildren's strenuous pace.

"PassPorter's Walt Disney World for Your Special Needs" (ISBN 1-58771-018-8) will deliver more than 400 pages of in-depth information for Walt Disney World vacationers of all abilities. Scheduled for release in spring of 2005, this new addition to the PassPorter Travel Press catalog will offer in-depth coverage of every ride, attraction and resort on Walt Disney World property from a distinctive "special needs" perspective. The book is intended to supplement existing, general-purpose guidebooks, such as PassPorter Walt Disney World, rather than replace them.

Watch for more information and pre-order opportunities later this year at http://www.passporter.com and http://www.allearsnet.com

About Deb Wills: Bitten by the Disney bug at an early age, Deb Wills combined her computer skills with her love of the Walt Disney Theme Parks to create Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide (WDWIG) (http://www.allearsnet.com). Over the past eight years, she has developed the site into one of the most up-to-date, independent resources about Walt Disney World on the Internet. Deb also publishes ALL EARS, a free weekly electronic newsletter with over 51,000 subscribers from around the world. She is widely recognized as a Walt Disney World expert, and was recently featured in the Chicago Sun Times article, "Queens of the Internet." Deb also helps raise funds and awareness in the fight against Breast Cancer, and is herself a breast cancer survivor.

About Debra Martin Koma: A freelance writer since 1989, Debra Martin Koma has written about food, travel and lifestyle issues for a number of publications, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Travel-Holiday magazine, and the airline in-flight magazine, TWA Ambassador. She has visited Walt Disney World more than 30 times in the past 10 years, and enthusiastically shares her passion for the Orlando resort with readers of AllEarsNet and its weekly companion newsletter ALL EARS through regular feature articles and restaurant reviews.

About AllEarsNet.com: According to a recent Disney-released consumer survey, 90% of vacationers planning a Disney vacation turn to the Internet. AllEarsNet.com consistently tops the lists of favorite Disney World information resources. The Wall Street Journal, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, and even Disney's own Disney Magazine have all singled-out AllEarsNet.com as a top pick for vacation planners, and countless individuals on Internet discussion forums recommend visits to "Deb's site" for all kinds of Disney vacation information. Visit AllEarsNet at http://www.allearsnet.com.

About PassPorter Travel Press: PassPorter guidebooks are known for their comprehensive information, devotion to accuracy, and unique planning features. The publisher's flagship title, PassPorter Walt Disney World Resort, is currently in its sixth edition, and features PassPorter's unique PassPocket organizer pockets. PassPorter's Field Guide to the Disney Cruise Line and its Ports of Call is now in its second edition, and is the only guidebook devoted to the Disney cruise. The first edition of PassPorter Disneyland and Southern California Attractions is due out in late 2004. There are over 120,000 copies of PassPorter guidebooks in print. Visit PassPorter.com at http://www.passporter.com.