Which Guide Book?

[WigglyWiggins]

Ive never bought a guidebook for disney before (cos i think i know my way round the parks pretty well now....) but im interested in buying one just for sheer pleasure of reading before i go. Which one would you all suggest? and where to buy from?

 

[tigger1968]

Gotta go with The Unofficial Guide. I love that book, all 800+ pages of it. I get the new one every year before we go. I have seen the Passporter, and, based on the posts here, I'll have to check it out, but I'm still biased towards the Unofficial Guide.

Incidentally, the same people that put out the Unofficial Guide have another book titled Inside Disney, which is a behind the scenes look at Walt and the story of WDW. I found it to be a great read, in part because it touches on some of the negative aspects of WDW and the Disney company, not just all the positives. I think it provides a great history of WDW, and I re-read it every year before we go. Check it out!

 

[ruby]

:wave:

Here's another vote for the Passporter! Although, I like using it with the Rita Aero books. Using more than one book is a good idea, I think. There are somethings I found in Rita's book that I didn't find in the Passporter and vice versa. However, the Passporter is tops for planning the actual trip and getting you organized!

 

[Liver Lips]

IMHO, the Unofficial Guide is much better than The Passporter.

 

[figmentmom]

Here's another vote for the Unofficial Guide. They also publish The Unofficial Disney Companion, subtitled The Inside Story of Walt Disney World and the Man Behind the Mouse...it's a great read.:animwink:

 

[starsky]

How about "The Brits Guide to WDW and Florida", probably number 1 for UK tourists?
It's updated annually and has some really good tips. It's written by a guy called Simon Vreness (I think, someone has borrowed my copy).

 

[flloyd]

hi there

there are few books that would help on your trip like the rough guide to Florida or beyond the theme parks. if you visit www.floridaflydrives.com you will find a page with a selection of florida books and details of where to buy them. flydrives and www.orlandovillas.co.uk have lots of florida information that might be good for your trip....

 

[DisneyBound]

I have the passporter, birnbaums, and birnbaums for kids by kids. I would have to agree that the passporter rates right up there with birnbaums...very good guide book. The birnbaums WDW for kids by kids is a great book too! My 8 year old loved it and it has a section in the back for autographs as well as a scrapbook section. All wonderful books that have been very helpful. If I had to purchase again, I would buy the passporter and the birnbaums for kids.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

We used Birnbaums for our first visits and found it a very good guide. However, we borrowed The Unofficial Guide from a neighbour prior to our last visit and found it far superior. We went and bought our own copy.
Get yourself down to a branch of Waterstones or a large WHSmith you should find a decent range to choose from.

 

[danamarie27]

I have every Disney guide book known to man I think, and the one I enjoyed the most was passporter. It's objective and informative and gets you in the Disney mood.

 

[WigglyWiggins]

Thanx everyone for all your great ideas and thoughts, im going to have a root around the big WH Smiths near us next time i go, the unnoficial sounds good for us. Thaks everybody!

 

[WDWspider]

POLL

How do you set up the polls that I find sometimes on posts, I think it would be fun to list most of the popular guidebooks and see how many votes each gets for best available. If someone knows how I'd like to know, or if only certain people can do this, I hope they will. We must have Birnbaum's, the Unofficial Guide, and the Passporter, and I know their are others I can't think of at the moment. I know there is one about Orlando or something like that.:wave:

 

[DisneyDadMark]

Think of it this way. Birnbaum's has more pictures. It has some very good information, but when confronted with a controversial issue, it will probably give the party line.

Of the "unofficial" (lowercase) guides, the Unofficial Guide by Sehlinger would be considered the encyclopedia. The Passporter would be considered the handbook/notebook, and Rita Aero would be the tip guide. Of the kids' books, Birnbaum would be the one to get if you want pictures for the kids to look at, Kim Wright Wiley would be the one to get for better reading and more in-depth info.

*Personally*, I currently have the Passporter and Sehlinger books. For future purposes, I would probably not get the Sehlinger book again. I would probably get Passporter again and possibly try the Rita Aero. I'm probably done with Birnbaum purchases. I will probably purchase the Birnbaum kids book for my 3-1/2-year-old just because of the pictures.

As always, Your Mileage May Vary.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[tybroid59]

Originally posted by starsky
How about "The Brits Guide to WDW and Florida", probably number 1 for UK tourists?
It's updated annually and has some really good tips. It's written by a guy called Simon Vreness (I think, someone has borrowed my copy).

Just got this one it looks really good .It is my second one the other was unofficial by bob sehlinger ....mmmm which ne wil be my third :lol:


only 147 days to go :wave:

 

[WDWspider]

Hey everybody... here's a way to save 20% on the new 2002 Passporter.

http://www.passporter.com/store/

 

[Jodigrl328]

I have to vote for the Birnbaum (the original) or Birnbaum (without children) or Passporter. If you are reading for fun and not for info I would not reccomend the Unofficial guide. While it has lots of useful tips it puts down Disney (not something you want to read before you leave to get you excited)

 

[GenerationX]

I have Birnbaum's "Official Guide", Bob Sehlinger's "Unofficial Guide", Rita Aero's "Essential Guide", and the Fodor's WDW Guide. I'm kind of a vacation planning nut, in that I'll do whatever I can before the trip to avoid wasting ANY time on the trip.

My rankings are:

1. Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide. His book takes a methodical, thorough approach to WDW. I used his analysis to rank every attraction before going to WDW last year into three categories (Must See, Sounds Fun, Avoid). Among other pieces of information, he presents the Scariness Factors for each ride. This book is incredibly helpful in avoiding lines/wasted time.

2. Aero's Essential Guide. Of all of the guidebooks, this one has the best format. The indexing is excellent, the page layouts pleasing, and the maps outstanding. Good tips, as well.

3. Fodor's WDW Guide and Birnbaum's Official Guide. I find both of these books to be well below the standards set by the first two. These two are poorly formatted, loaded with spoilers, and lack the age-by-age ratings that the first two have.

I have not read the Passporter book, although I may have to now for comparison purposes ...

 

[Cyberacer]

I suggest any of the Birnbaum guides and the Unofficial Guide to WDW.

 

[Testtrack321]

What do you want?

Press releases? Burnabaums Official
Covers everything? Unoffical Guide to Walt Disney World
Good to Carry Around Parks? Passporter
From a Parent? Kim Wright's Book

 

[Bdis86]

I know Now Inc. will kill me now, but WDW Made Simple. It's on my site, (DisneyCorner.com) and we're planning a 2003 Edition.

 

[pagepayroll]

Unofficial Guide

I used the book one day exactly as was written and we found we coud see everything we wanted to with little waiting but I don;t think we could follow it every day as written. The hints for adults with no children are great. I also have BIrnbaum's and I used them together.