Birnbaum's first edition

[sbkline]

Does anyone have the first edition of Birnbaum's Official Guide? My Mother in Law found the 1986 edition in her house the other day while doing some cleaning and she gave it to me. Now they've never been, nor had any interest in going as far as I know. So the only thing I can think of is that her sister (who has been a few times) gave it to her...perhaps trying to persuade her to take my wife and my wife's sister, since they would have been kids at the time. Regardless of how she got it, she had it and gave it to me. And from looking at it, it looks as if it's the premier edition. Now the reason I ask is because in my 2008 edition, it mentions 1981 as the first year, but I wonder if that may be a typo. But from reading this 1986 edition, everything seems to point to that one as the first issue. Either way, it's pretty awesome looking through it and seeing how much has changed in 22 years....and how much cheaper everything was! LOL

 

[marni1971]

I`d love a first ed; I have all of them since 1992.

I saw a 1984 ed on ebay a while back. A lot of the writing is copied each year, so what seems to be the first is just a copy of the previous years text.

 

[DizWiz]

Yes, I have a copy of every Birnbaum edition dating back to the first one: 1982 (published late in 1981). I love these books, and it's a lot of fun to look back at years past and see what the resort looked like and what was offered. It's like a moment frozen in time.

 

[KC82271]

I have a 1983 edition - published in late 1982. It's been through the mill - dogs chewing it over the years, and now my 3 YO DD is fascinated with all of the books - so for the last 1.5 years, she has abused it.

 

[sbkline]

Thanks for the info, guys. Apparently, then, mine is not the first issue. Kind of a bummer, as it was kind of neat thinking that I had the premier edition. Oh well, it's still neat to have and to see how everything was back in 1986...just a year before my first visit. So basically, that book describes WDW as it was when I went there in 1987. It really fooled me though, because as I said, the notes at the beginning of the book and the comments on the back inside cover really made it appear that it was the introductory edition.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

1984 is the earliest edition that I have.

Pam

 

[wolf359]

1982 is indeed the first edition of the Birnbaum's guide to WDW. The earliest one I have is an '83, which is mentioned as being the second edition. In the '83 book EPCOT gets a pretty minor mention, but by '85 the coverage had expanded quite a bit.

I went on a big Birnbaum's guide kick last Summer, and I managed to collect the odd-numbered years from '83 to '93, and I already had '94 until present, so there's only a few of the '80s books left for me to get. As already mentioned there isn't an awful lot of change from year to year, but having every-other year paints a pretty good picture of the changes WDW went through.

The old guides pop up on eBay from time to time, you just have to be patient and persistant in your searching. They make a great time capsule if you're interested in the big and little ways WDW has changed over the years. I also like how the older guides are actually a little critical of Disney at times. That honest attitude has long since disappeared from the Birnbaum's guides, having been replaced by nothing more than the standard Disney company line.

 

[DisneyBuffinDE]

My first issue is from 2006 so I'm late in on it but I now get one every year. That would be cool to have all of them from the very first issue. I always suggest these to anyone who asks.