Don't flame me, but I haven't
purchased any of the WDW guide books. I borrowed them from the library, and am compiling documents with the information that is of particular interest to
our family. For instance, we know from past experience that Disney is only a
part of our Florida vacation, and we have found less expensive, more spacious private villas or condos off site that fit our needs better. Therefore, all the pages in the books that deal with lodgings are of no use to us. Likewise, (and again, please don't flame me), we don't choose to spend the money
and time for sit-down meals in the parks. We eat a filling breakfast at our home-away-from-home, take snacks and lunch with us to the park, and wait till we're back "home" to eat a late dinner. So, all of the info in the books about dining is of no interest to us (other than to remind us how much money we're saving.)
Also, we plan to skip Animal Kingdom, so there's another big chunk of the tourbooks that we won't need.
This December will be our first trip back since Christmas of 2000, and our group now includes my daughter's wheelchair-bound fiancee - so there's a whole 'nother level of issues to be researched - in regard to which rides and attractions will be accessible to him, etc. The Unofficial Guide is my true "bible", and then I check Frommer's Guide as a backup for slightly different descriptions of the attractions. (I also borrowed Fodor's Guide, Walt Disney World for Dummies, and Birnbaum's Guide, but I quickly returned them to the library - as they didn't seem to provide any information that I didn't already know - or could find in the UG.) If I had to
purchase only one, it would be the UG. (The only "child" in our group is my 14-year-old granddaughter, so we don't need specific hints about touring WDW with young children, but I can see that books geared toward their issues might be good for other families.) BTW, the UG
does include information relevant to all ages. The guide lists the appeal of each ride and attraction by age group - Preschool, Grade School, Teens, Young Adults, Over 30, and Seniors. The UG also includes some very interesting "Peeks behind the scenes with Jim Hill". Here's one example:
When the Imagineers were building Spaceship Earth, they were told to cut corners whereever they could. So rather than sculpt all new faces for each of this attraction's figures, they just recycled some of the heads from the Magic Kingdom's Hall of Presidents. That sleeping monk in the monastery scene? Woodrow Wilson. The large bald slave in the Egyptian set? William Howard Taft.
One thing I would definitely suggest, no matter which guide book(s) you decide to purchase -
don't wait till you're on the plane on your way to Disney to read! First of all, you won't have enough time to absorb everything you need to know if you haven't been reading ahead of time. Secondly - (at least for me) - a great deal of the pleasure in the vacation is the planning and
anticipation! We aren't going for almost nine more months, but I love having the images in my head as I read about each attraction and picture us all there.
This will be my daughter's fiancee's first trip to Disney World. Having been wheelchair-bound for most of his life, in a family who didn't have the means or desire to go traveling, he is understandably apprehensive about how things will go for him. Of course,
I know from experience how disability-friendly Disney World is, but I'm trying to supply him with all the information and pictures that I can - so he can start getting
excited about our trip, instead of having his head full of questions and apprehension. My ultimate plan when we get to Florida is to bring out the information pertaining to the park we're going to visit the next day. (My DGD has ADHD, so it's pointless to present the information to
her any further ahead than that.) We'll go over the descriptions of each ride and attraction, and let each of the four of us give their opinion as to whether this is a "must do", "do if we have time", "don't want to do at all", etc. That way, we can make our very own plan for the following day -
before we get to the parks - based on each member's wishes (and current moods
). Of course we'll allow for flexibility if we find any lines too long, etc. And - if any one of us (i.e. DGD) can't be bothered to participate in the decision process, then they will just have to go along with the group.
Oops, sorry this got so long. My answer to the original question is that I would recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, which also includes about 40 removable pages at the back - with maps of all the WDW parks (as well as Universal) - and one-day plans, etc.
Family Christmas at Disney World! Can't wait! 
). 
