Birnbaum's or PassPorter?

[jekajekalynn]

For me, UG is the GOLD standard of Disney guide books. Without UG , I wouldn't have ever found out about the DIS!

A lot of ppl are critical of UG though because they think it is so blut. I guess those ppl most love the official "everything and every situation in WDW is beyond perfect!" line that some books (ahem Birnbaums) gives.

I like Passporter too, but it's not as detailed as I would like it to be.

I agree with everyone else in that the only thing Birnbaums guide is good for is pictures to get you psyched.

 

[wifemomkate]

I bought all 3. I definitely regret buying Birnbaum's book. It seemed a total waste of money. PassPorter and Unofficial Guide are worth every cent and are invaluable to planning a trip.

If you want my Birnbaum book, let me know.

 

[jtnsami]

Since this is our first trip to Disney, I've purchased almost everything available. I prefer the Passporter and UG. At first I thought the UG was way to brutal on Disney, but it cuts to the chase. I'd prefer honest opinions to smoothing it over anyday. Birnbaums is just a fun book to look at and get a quick overview on lots of things. My son seems to think I'm obsessed because I'm always looking at both books at the same time. I figure it's a good way to compare notes.





Me Jt(11) Sami(5) Ethan(2)


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[ReggieB]

I too have a lot of Disney guide books. I will always update to the newest versions of UG, Passporter and Birnbaum. I know I'm not going to get any unfavorable opinion in Birnbaum's which is fine, you wouldn't pick up a negative travel brochure would you? It's a bit like the Disney planning videos/DVD's..you would be a little horrified if that manic girl (sorry can't remember her name) and her pals started saying how bad the rides where!! I get it for the official line! I love UG because it does go into depth and I love Passporter for it's brevity! Passporter probably eeks them all out as being my favorite, it's just so easy to navigate.

 

[Mamiamjo]

I have the UG and the Passporter. I've purchased Birnbaum's in the past. I also subscribe to Ride Max, TGM & Touringplans.com

As far as an overall best "guide book" I'd pick the U.G.

I like Birnbaums for the pictures

I like Passporter for the maps (the binder is nice if that's something you're interested in

TGM has a lot of great info in it but the website is a little cumbersome to navigate and you have to print off everything that you want to have on hand.

Ride Max is a neat site that allows you to customize your own touring plan, but there isn't a lot of actual guide book information.

Touringplans.com is based on the UG information and has a number of pre established tour plans available for you to download.


What I'd really like to see is TGM to make his user interface a little more intuitive. Have more printer friendly articles and plans. You could then choose which articles and things (park hours for the days you're there etc) you want a hard copy of (like from a cafeteria list) and then print them all out and put them into a binder. Maybe he could then add a Ride Max type feature where you could input the rides you want to go on and it would spit out a touring plan based on the info TGM sees everyday in the parks.

That, to me would be the best of both worlds.

 

[Wendy1953]

I voted other....since I couldn't vote for both PassPorter and Birnbaum's.....We use both of them for planning, and up until this year never heard of PassPorter.....bought it, love it....but won't give up on Birnbaums either!!!!!!

 

[DrTomorrow]

Unofficial Guide beats both of them hands down....

 

[RoseRoni2]

I love my passporter, but I would recommend the ultimate guide as well much more information. I love the passporter for the maps and pockets.

 

[ZoZo]

I'm a huge fan of the Unofficial Guide. I don't carry my book around with me at the parks, but do tons of research before I leave home. I like it because it gives opinions about things, not just factual information (like the type of food a restaurant serves). Whether you agree with the opinions of the UG in any given situation, at least it gives an opinion! I find they give things a pretty balanced review.

For me, Birnbaum's has some good info, but doesn't give me the opinions I'm looking for (like restaurant ratings, hotel ratings, etc.). Since it's the "official" WDW guidebook, it doesn't provide negative feedback.

I haven't ever used a Passporter because it seemed like they're made to be toted around the parks, which I don't do. But lots of people love Passporter!

 

[DVC-Don]

UG. Passporter is getting stale. And the last couple of years, by the time they ship it is well into the year.

 

[clombardi]

The Unofficial Guide is the best Disney book ever!

 

[wdwholic1206]

Go to amazon.com and buy all three of them. Your total will come to $37.63 with free shipping and no tax. Not bad considering a Passporter will cost you $21.95 + tax.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to do that! I was planning on getting a new Passporter and trying UG.

 

[KJHawley]

As for Birnbaum's being the official guide...
I have no idea who "Birnbaum" is or was, but the Birnbaum guide is more than just the official guide- it's actually published by Disney.
So, think of it as a big, hardcover brochure that you're paying for. Not to say that you might not like it, but as others have said- if you want an actual "guide book" it's not for you.

As to which guide is "up to date" - both guides have updates on their web sites. Every guide is out of date as soon as it's published- the Passporter is published later in the year than the UG, but that means it also has more current information in it.

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

The Passporter / UG combo works for me.

 

[kaelarad]

Ditto for me also for the passporter/UG combo!

 

[Luv4Disney]

The Passporter and UG are too bulky for me. I can't imagine lugging the Passporter around the parks. I take as little with me as possible.

 

[grinningghost]

As for Birnbaum's being the official guide...
I have no idea who "Birnbaum" is or was, but the Birnbaum guide is more than just the official guide- it's actually published by Disney.
So, think of it as a big, hardcover brochure that you're paying for. Not to say that you might not like it, but as others have said- if you want an actual "guide book" it's not for you.

As to which guide is "up to date" - both guides have updates on their web sites. Every guide is out of date as soon as it's published- the Passporter is published later in the year than the UG, but that means it also has more current information in it.

Birnbaum was Stephen Birnbaum. He was the originator of the guide. Now that he's gone, others have taken over, but what drives me totally nuts about this guide, is that much of the ORIGINAL WORDING is still used in the book. I don't care how much something has stayed the same at WDW, if they really want to sell updated guides, they should at least re-word things to make the book fresh.

And yes, because it's the "official" guide, it is very much a Disney travel brochure, but that said, if you are looking to get totally pumped for a WDW trip, Birnbaum's is a good start. There's virtually no negativity in these books, so there's nothing to bring down your expectations.