WDW unofficial guide

[10sne1]

just read through the unoffical WDW guide book and thought it was very informative & it had some very good suggestions for meals, rides, when to and when not to go !.... loaned it from the library.


has anybody ever followed the park plans in the back of the book without varying it to much. it seems so well organized.... i would like to hear about any stories, etc... good & bad.... I realize eveybody should have some type of plan when they enter the parks as it can be over whelming at first.... especially for first timers...



:brick: :hammer:

 

[tinkrbel]

did you mean Birnbaun's guide? I buy the new one every year ..there are some really great tips even for people that have been over and over again.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by tinkrbel
did you mean Birnbaun's guide? I buy the new one every year ..there are some really great tips even for people that have been over and over again.

The birnbaums is official...there is a guide that is called the unofficial guide to WDW.

 

[tenchu]

Bob sehlinger edits it i think. I've never followed all of a touring plan, just bits of it, but they will work, if you want to miss the crowds. It's just a matter of wether you can get the people in your group to actually go where you need to go!

 

[tinkrbel]

Originally posted by DisneyInsider


The birnbaums is official...there is a guide that is called the unofficial guide to WDW.

oops your right my bad .. I have sorta glanced at other guides in the book stores ..but never bought any of them.

 

[10sne1]

I never read the official birnbauns' guide. I might give that 1 a glance 2! i wonder what the differences r. i imagine the official guide is endorsed by disney and the other 1 isn't. The unoffical guide gave you a park plan to follow that could save you up to 3 hrs waiting in lines.... wow.... I would like to try it at least for the first day, but with fass passes implemented i wonder if u would need to follow the course of plan??

 

[tinkrbel]

I think no matter what you use .. you have to follow it your way really ..while any advice/books/tips from boards may help .. in the end it seems everyone has to find what really works for them .. we have made "plans" only to change them .. and that works for us ..some people stick to plans like a religion.. and that works great for them. Its like when someone ask whats the best resort .. I dont think that would help me much if it was my first time to go ..because as you can see we all have our favorites and I think everyone is right .. there isnt a WDW resort I have been to yet that I didnt love ..some just more then others. It will be the same with tips on how to get the most out of WDW .. somethings will work great for some people and some things wont. But its really great to have an idea about what to try

 

[figmentmom]

I bought, and read cover-to-cover, both the Birnbaum guide and Bob Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide before our first visit. I loved them both, but the Unofficial Guide was definitely more useful as far as information on how to avoid wasting time. For my first visit, I would definitely use it again. After that first visit, you'll know which attractions you loved, and which ones weren't worth a long wait. The touring plans in the back of the book really work, especially if you're going during a very busy time of year; on subsequent visits (and visits during less-crowded times of the year), you won't need them. By the way, the Fastpass has been incorporated into the newer touring plans in the Sehlinger Unofficial Guide, so they still work.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by 10sne1
I never read the official birnbauns' guide. I might give that 1 a glance 2! i wonder what the differences r. i imagine the official guide is endorsed by disney and the other 1 isn't. The unoffical guide gave you a park plan to follow that could save you up to 3 hrs waiting in lines.... wow.... I would like to try it at least for the first day, but with fass passes implemented i wonder if u would need to follow the course of plan??

the official guide tells you nothing about rumors since it is edited by Disney. They tell Birnbaum what to put in it. The unofficial guide might tell you a few extra things Disney doesn't want you to know. The official guide is good for first timers and if you want to learn about other things outside the parks. It is a very thorough guide and really informative. Also I recommend the Passporter WDW guide. It is really informative and offers opinions and includes a couple of extra trip planning things. www.passporter.com

 

[Disney4648]

No its not the Birnbaums guide altough it is a very great guide. The unofficial guides are a bit better becuase they comment the good and bad about WDW and give tips that an official guide wouldnt.

 

[Dwarful]

I also buy the Disney Guide books, but I also like the one written by Kim Wright Wiley. Especially the ones before the 2002 edition that give great hints on empty restrooms, avoinding crowds and the like.

 

[stephenkay]

Negative Comments

Hi Everyone,

We are DVC owners and visit Disneyworld on annual basis for 14 days so the need for speed is somewhat less than those who get 2/3 days at the parks. My main gripe is that the unofficial guide is too negative about the Disney resorts and restaurants etc. An example is than a negative comment on the Grand Floridian is that is to far from parking the car to the hotel entrance, well if you can aford the GF you can pay for valet paking!, any closer parking would spoil the views. Another gripe is the Guide is outdated, while to keep up with everthing that is going on is impossible but you do expect better from the unofficial guide, often the charater meals have changed or they mention early entry at 7.30 am well never on a July morning in the last 2 years at MK. They need a complete rewrite and that goes for Birbaums as well.


:hammer:

Regards

Stevie Kay
Inverness
Scotland

 

[DisneyMom0324]

I thought the Unofficial Guide was very negative too, but other than that I found it to be very useful. I've never followed any of the touring plans, but I might if I ever go on a trip without my son (right...like I can go to Disney World and not take my Disney-crazy child....lol). I also have the Birnbaum's guide and thought it was good for basic info. I like the Passporter the best though. I just think it's a neat guidebook.

 

[stephenkay]

Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Tyler






Regards

Stevie Kay
Aged 35

I often wonder what it would have been like to have been to wdw in my formative years?

 

[Jodigrl328]

I have also read both the official and unofficial guide. My advice to anyone who is going to WDW for the first time: PLEASE DON'T BUY INTO ALL OF THE NEGATIVITY!!! While it was great for tips and advice, I thought they were way to harsh on the resorts and restaurants.

The advice they give for both the resorts and restaurants are a little outdated and Disney has improved greatly over the years. For example they say the food at the sci-fi is horrible. I just went in January and loved it. If I would have read this prior to going I probably would not have ate at the sci-fi, and it ended up being one of my favorite restaurants!!! So please, listen to their tips, but don't let them discourage you from doing things that sound interesting to you.

 

[tinkrbel]

Originally posted by Jodigrl328
I have also read both the official and unofficial guide. My advice to anyone who is going to WDW for the first time: PLEASE DON'T BUY INTO ALL OF THE NEGATIVITY!!! While it was great for tips and advice, I thought they were way to harsh on the resorts and restaurants.

The advice they give for both the resorts and restaurants are a little outdated and Disney has improved greatly over the years. For example they say the food at the sci-fi is horrible. I just went in January and loved it. If I would have read this prior to going I probably would not have ate at the sci-fi, and it ended up being one of my favorite restaurants!!! So please, listen to their tips, but don't let them discourage you from doing things that sound interesting to you.

oooo the Sci-fi has been one of our favorites !! never has the food been bad there ...I kinda miss the popcorn they use to serve before your food came though

 

[ibaDisNut]

The unofficial guides are great. Try to get them all and get them used. The older ones are still 90%+ accurate and cheap! Try Amazon or any other bargain book place. Besides, leading up to your trip these books really help those sleepless nights pass more quickly. :snore:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by tinkrbel


oooo the Sci-fi has been one of our favorites !! never has the food been bad there ...I kinda miss the popcorn they use to serve before your food came though

My only problem with Sci-Fi is the selection. The menu is so small that you really don't have much to choose from. But what I got was good and the setting was unbelievable.

 

[2much2do]

I have both guidebooks, and they are both great for different things. I find I use them both in my planning. The Unofficial guide has more info about stuff outside WDW and also can give you the other side of the coin argument about a lot of things. I think they are very negative about stuff, and that is why I come here and also use the Birnbaums. For balance. Also, as someone mentioned, we have been there a lot and so we know what we like/don't like etc. The very first time we went as a family I did the commando planning and tried to follow the Unofficial guide tour plans. I have no doubt they would have worked to see everything in the parks with the least wait. BUT, my family hated being that regimented, hated waking up so early, hated rushing, hated skipping things to come back to them later. So, we stopped and followed some of the rough outlines i.e. which rides to save till the end of the day, how early to start waiting for the parades and where to stand, etc. but basically made up our own thing which worked wonderfully for us. We feel that part of the magic of Disney is to take it all in in our own timeframe. We always go for at least 12 days and have plenty of time. We also don't ever feel the need to get the most bang for our buck by riding all the rides. It's about the whole atmosphere and the feeling we get while we are there, not so much how many attractions we experience, which is what the Unofficial guide seems to be all about. And they are outdated about stuff. No where do they mention Mickey's BBQ and some other newer things that they should know about. They also seem to think everyone out there wants a gourmet meal cooked by Emeril or Wolfgang at every fast food place in the parks. we love eating at Disney and they often encourage eating outside. All in all, it's a good book, but don't revere it like the Bible

 

[Disneynutcase]

I personally have had decent experience using the Unofficial Guide plans, at least following their suggestions for first few hours of touring.

The trick is to be at the parks before they open so you can zoom from ride to ride for the first 45 minutes or so. If you're not there when parks open, pretty much the Unnofical Guide is moot.

I've gone with their adult plan using both the recommended 1 day touring, hitting Space Mountain first and enjoyed a minimal wait. I've also gone a bit counter-advisory, doing their 2-day touring plan in reverse and did Splash and Big Thunder first. Heavy recommendation if you do this: make sure it's a really warm day because getting soaked on Splash 1st thing sometimes isn't fun.

Now that I have little ones, we've even applied the unofficial theory with their kid touring plan, and always do Dumbo first. Of course, this be an absolute "must" after we deciding to save Dumbo for later in the day and resultingly suffered from an hour wait. It is far more satisfying and fun to go on this ride with only a 2-3 ride cycle wait (meaning you only wait for 2 or 3 full Dumbo flights to finish before you get to ride) than it is to stand there for what seems like forever. And there's no way you can ever talk a little one out of walking away from this ride--not without the kid pitching a fit.

Fast Pass helps tremendously. Last time at Disney we estimated that we saved 2 1/2 hours using 5 Fast Passes over the course of the day. I still can't believe that more people don't use Fast Pass for the popular rides. They are an absolute must for Splash Mountain and Space Mountain (and Jungle Cruise on very packed days). For some reason, I can tolerate waiting in line for Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion.

I'm also starting to believe that you need to use Fast Pass for the Pooh Bear Ride or you'll suffer the consequences of a short but cute ride versus way too long of a line (making it far less "cute".

Use the Unofficial Guide Plans for the first two hours or so, then do your own thing, then use the touring plan as a fall-back. It always works for us. Hope this helps.

Nine more days 'til we see the mouse! :sohappy: :sohappy: