Birnbaum or Unofficial Guide??

[Sleeping Beauty fan]

We are Disney World veterans thinking about our first trip to California and, of course, Disneyland. I am thinking about getting a guide book, but am unsure if I should get the Unofficial Guide or Birnbaum. Both just came out with their 2017 Disneyland books. Any thoughts or experiences with these? Thanks!

 

[Tomh]

Birnbaum tends to be sort of like Disney propaganda, where as the Unofficial Guide tends to give you all the dirt, or at least that was my experience with the Disney World guide books. I would assume it to be similar for Disney Land. If I were to choose between them, I would get the Unofficial Guide for certain.

 

[Accident]

you might want to also post this in the disneyland forum to see if you get any different responses including some recommendations that you may not know about.

 

[Disney Rose]

I have both, and I'd agree that the unofficial guide is less like a marketing brochure and has more useful information. However, I have been disappointed with their very cursory handling of all the closures for Star Wars land. I'd been hoping for tips on how to manage movement around the park without the train. But no. This board is actually more useful than any guidebook.

If you really want one - Birnbaum has more pictures, and the unofficial guide has better ride descriptions and ratings.

 

[chickapin parterre]

i recommend the unofficial because of the all the dirt.....the problem with advice here is that it tends to point a rosy picture or just arrive at the gate and let the magic happen....the unofficial was very helpful to my non-disney wife, she would come at me with all these insights and I would respond WHAT? ARE YOU SURE? and she was right -on pointing out every helpful hint from Unofficial, even though she hates Disneyland, etc.

 

[Darkbeer1]

FYI, Birmbaum is now owned by Disney and has been for many years, so yes, you get propaganda....

 

[Leopardstars]

I would get theUnofficial Guide. My husband and I used it when we went to Disneyland in 2010 and just bought the 2017 version for our March trip with our 5 year old. The touring plans are great and they try to give balanced advice and their ride descriptions are the most detailed I've found. This forum and the DLR Prep School Website are what I use in areas that the Unofficial Guide misses - i.e. Photo pass.

 

[Abbey1]

I have both (older versions), and have definitely found the unofficial guide to be more useful- it has much more information and is more objective overall. I still enjoyed looking through the Birnbaum guide, but if you are wanting more in-depth information and reviews, definitely go with the unofficial guide!

 

[heffalumpz]

We tend to get Birnbaum now because we love the style of it, but when we were newer to the parks we did the Unofficial Guide. It's much more text heavy and goes over strategies and is more honest.

 

[darph nader]

I like the Unofficial Guide myself. A touch of humor makes for a nice read.

 

[lalasmama]

There's always the option of checking them out at your local library

 

[Jrsy Boy]

There's always the option of checking them out at your local library

This was going to be my suggestion. You may find copies that are dated but at least you can read through both and determine for yourself which you'd rather purchase.

 

[Darkbeer1]

One big difference, Birnbaum is owned by Disney and has the exclusive rights to use photos throughout the guide, so if you like pretty pictures, it is nice. But the info is not as updated as well as the Unofficial Guide, which also features a lot of info on the Hotels in the area, including the non-Disney ones, and a section on visiting Universal Studios.

 

[Winnowill]

Our first trip in 2013, I got the Birnbaum. It was completely useless as far as advice, which is what I want our of a guidebook. It's good for description but, as a for instance, it did not mention the fact that FPs for RSR run out quickly and that, if you intend to ride it without a huge wait, get them early. As a result, since we didn't have park hoppers that trip, we never had a chance to ride it. I've since gotten the Unofficial Guide for both WDW and DLR, and they're terrific for giving good advice.

 

[sheetz]

I haven't bought it recently, but Ridemax usually has lots of good planning advice beyond the ride planning software.

 

[Sagginit]

Another vote Unofficial Guide. Several years ago I took a bunch of WDW books out of my library and I found this one was better than just buying one book at random. I would try your local library as even if the book is last year some guidebooks have much better pictures than unofficail. My mother was really unsure of certain rides and I found a guidebook that was almost like a kids picture book, it had each ride on its own page with full details including ride times and a photo. She picked out the rides she wanted so I could fit them into a Touring Plan that I based on details in the Unofficial Guide. I used my Unofficial DL I bought last year for my first trip as a refresher when we planned this years trip, the main issue with an older version is for Touring Plans out of the book things may have changed, such as with the opening of the Frozen Show and all the work being done for Star Wars land.

You will also need to use this site or other sites to find out the rides that will be down for refurb on your trip to plan around that. Once you read over the guides and have a feel the boards is a good place for more detailed advice on hotels, FP strategies, dining etc. or random questions you might have.

 

[Darkbeer1]

The Unofficial guide runs a website with current info...

https://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort