Book Review: Birnbaum's Offical Guide to Walt Disney World

I have to admit that I was a little hesitant at first to use Birnbaum’s 2015 Guide to Walt Disney World (The Official Guide) because I was worried that the information was not going to be objective enough.  But it turns out that it has lots of good information in it, and is quite comprehensive in most aspects.  I have to admit that the thing that did get me to take a long second look were all the coupons at the back, because I figured that if I used one or two of them, I would get my purchase price back, or perhaps save even more.  This is one of the things that make this guide unique to the other ones.  And yes, the savings ended up paying for the book!

Information wise, it is filled with detailed outlines on the resorts, the parks, and all the attractions and shows. For the attractions, the summaries include their recommendations for the best ones, and whether or not it is a Fastpass + attraction or not.  They group the attractions by where they are located in the parks.  At the end of each description, there are some cautions such as darkness for little ones, if there is a height restriction, and whether a Fastpass will probably be needed.  Each of the parks section has an excellent, colourful map, which I used quite a bit while finding my way around.  These are one of the book’s best features.

The resorts are also detailed, and are organized according to which park they are closest to.  They list such things as what amenities each offers, dining options, and what the rooms are like.  Another useful piece of information is what Disney transportation options there are.  They best features in the accommodations section are the charts entitled, the Walt Disney World Resort Finder, which simplifies the information so that it is easy to compare, and the Rates and WDW Properties, which offers price ranges during peak, regular and value seasons.  The Downtown Disney Resort area hotels are also reviewed, but not hotels that are not located within Walt Disney World, as are in some other guides.  The restaurants are also detailed in their own section, and give price ranges along with which meals are served there.

Other than the coupons at the back, for Orlando area services and Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) and Epcot dining establishments, this guidebook has other nice features too.  It offers up some hidden Mickey advice, interesting tips about a variety of things, and very useful sections on Crowd Patterns, Holidays and Special Events, and Park Tickets.  Overall, I would recommend this guide as it is easy to read, has some excellent and helpful maps and charts, and the added bonus of the money saving coupons.  It is fun to read, and I would rate it 4 stars out of 5.

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