Anyone else very disappointed with the DL UG?

[Zoemakes5]

I have "religiously" purchased the Unofficial Guide to WDW every time I've gone, so when we were planning to go to DL, I rushed out and bought one. I can't tell you how disappointed I was. No in-depth analysis of the food sources, no "average time and temp", etc. etc.

 

[puggymom]

I did the same as you, I'm a WDW vet and love that UG, so when I started planning my DL trip I went and bought this right away. I too was disappointed.

 

[HeatherinNC]

Agreed. I LOVE the WDW UG, the DL version, not so much. I was disappointed to find that some of the reader comments that are in the WDW version are also used in the DL version. It would have been nice to read some experiences that are unique to DL visitors. Along with the lack of restaurant reviews, I missed the attendance ratings for each day.

 

[javaj]

ITA! Just bought it last month for our December DL trip and it was not worth the $15. I think it is "cheating" to use the same reader comments as the ones in the WDW book.

 

[underdesea]

I completely agree. My DH and I have never been to DL, and we will be visiting prior to the August repo cruise. I was really hoping for some in-depth restaurant reviews and information, similar to those found in the WDW version of the guide. And did anyone else notice all the typos? It just felt like this guide was thrown together. I especially "loved" the illustration of the family "staking out their spots for Fantasmic"...when it's clearly the drawing of World Showcase from the Illuminations section of the WDW guide!

 

[HydroGuy]

For my information, which guide are you talking about? I think the two most popular are Birnbaum and Sehlinger. I bought Sehlinger 2005 and thought it was pretty useful. Never been to WDW, and thus never used any WDW guide.

 

[phyllis1966]

Having had nothing to compare it to, I was pleased with the UG to DL. I bought it for our first trip, from which we have recently returned, and although I would have liked in-depth restaurant reviews, too, I felt that the touring plans were priceless! We have a DD(6), so we used the 2-day plan for families with young kids, and we saw, at a leisurely pace, everything we wanted to. DD even got to ride some of her favorite rides 2 or 3 times in a row (we arrived for 7 am early opening, and by 10:30 or so, DL was jammed) before sitting down to breakfast at 10.

From late-morning on, though, it was quite crowded (as we expected), and the evenings were really, really crowded. We're planning on returning after the anniversary is over, so that we can enjoy the parks were fewer people crowding the walkways at night. We sure did have a great time, though! What a beautiful place!

 

[Junebugwv]

Wasn't pleased with it and found a lot of the info very dated.

 

[HaleyB]

For my information, which guide are you talking about? I think the two most popular are Birnbaum and Sehlinger. I bought Sehlinger 2005 and thought it was pretty useful. Never been to WDW, and thus never used any WDW guide.

The Unofficial Guide to DL. The WDW version is much better.

I used to use the UG to WDW but found both last year and this year that it has lost some of its quality. I think the new crowd projections for WDW are plain silly, and they are too negative.

I am a www.tourguidemike.com convert for WDW. For DL I apply the same ideas and make my own plan. But I have been to DL many 100's of times so I can tour it with my eyes closed (except I would run into the people that come to a dead stop on the walk way trying to figure out what to do next).

 

[LucyKate]

Am not able to compare, but I found the UG for Disneyland superb and would recommend it to everyone. We found it very helpful.

 

[HydroGuy]

The Unofficial Guide to DL. The WDW version is much better.

I used to use the UG to WDW but found both last year and this year that it has lost some of its quality. I think the new crowd projections for WDW are plain silly, and they are too negative.

I am a www.tourguidemike.com convert for WDW. For DL I apply the same ideas and make my own plan. But I have been to DL many 100's of times so I can tour it with my eyes closed (except I would run into the people that come to a dead stop on the walk way trying to figure out what to do next).

I think there is more than one unofficial guide. That is why I asked. Who is the author of the one you do not like?

 

[HeatherinNC]

Sehlinger authors the one we are talking about. Birnbaums is actually an official guide.

 

[LucyKate]

Hydro, the official title of the one they are talking about is actually called "The unofficial guide to Disneyland".