Choosing WDW Guidebooks

There are many invaluable guidebooks and much of the information that I use when planning my trips to Disney World is garnered from the ones that I read. Before my first trip, I started out by checking out a few guidebooks from the library to see which ones that I found to be the most helpful. You won’t usually find one for the current year, but try to find one as recent as possible. Most of the information will not change, and you can choose to purchase any that you find will be useful, both for your planning, and to take to the parks. The guidebooks explain all the attractions in detail, including what rides might scare young ones; suggestions for renting or bringing strollers; hotel information and recommendations for both inside and outside Disney World; and restaurant information, including character meals.  A few of the Disney World centered guidebooks now also include a section on Universal Studios Orlando too.

In my opinion, the guide that is the best for pre-planning is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa. It has over 800 pages of information on everything related to Disney World. The best thing about this book is that they include quotes from actual families so you get an idea of what people like yourself experienced. It also has many different time saving park touring plans, that if followed could save you hours of time. It even includes suggestions on where exactly to stay in each resort.  The Unofficial Guide service series of books have a corresponding website called Touringplans.com with its own Facebook page. 

There is also a version of the book specifically for families entitled, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids, by Bob Sehlinger and Liliane J. Opsomer,  which I have reviewed in a previous post.  It is this version for kids that I have chosen for my most recent trip, and I have purchased and begun using the 2017 edition for my upcoming one.  I love it for it's humour, great advice for making your trip less stressful and very enjoyable, and detailed ride and attractions ratings.   The authors also view Disney World through a variety of lenses: a young child's, older child's, teenager's and a parent's viewpoint. 

One of the best books for taking to the  parks is The Passporter’s Guide to Walt Disney World by Jennifer, Dave, and Allison C. Marx . It includes fold out maps, planning sheets, and pockets to hold information, tickets.  The one difficulty that I had when I brought and used this for our first family trip to Disney World was that it was very bulky, and the fold out maps were difficult to read.  I decided not to buy or use it on our last trip, or on our upcoming one.   But it is worth taking a look at, as it is also filled with valuable information and tips. 

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World: The Official Guide is also very good, and includes valuable coupons in the back for such things as restaurants in WDW and stroller rentals. Some reviewers and readers do question the bias of the opinions given, because it is written on behalf of Disney. But I still find the information very useful, especially on explaining the ins and outs of the Walt Disney World Resort.  Birnbaum's also outlines the resorts, restaurants and rides  quite well, and has a comprehemsive section of the crowd levels and which holidays and events most effect attendance. It even outlines some Hidden Mickey's that you can find throughout the parks.   I will be using the latest edition of Birnbaum's on our upcoming trip, as I did on our last one.

Other popular travel guides such as Frommer's have annual Walt Disney World and Orlando guidebooks too.  I prefer to get guidebooks that focus mostly on Disney World, rather than just a section.  But if Disney is only going to be a part of larger trip to the Orlando area, these could be useful.   AAA and CAA offer a guidebook for central Florida including Orlando but the information is quite limited.   However; it is free for members.  There are also condensed, pocket versions of some guides, and Birnbaum's even has one especially for your kids to read which includes autograph pages. Happy reading and planning!

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