Guide book for kids worth the money?

[ashleymrush]

My DH and I are taking our oldest son on his first trip to WDW for his 5th birthday in June. Right now we just discuss what WDW is like "in case we get to go one day". I've been looking into purchasing a guide book for kids to help with the process. I'm very knowledgable about WDW so I don't know if I should just continue to educate him myself or if purchasing the book would be worth it. Also is 5 too young to even bother with the book?

 

[Happyjen27]

If you get the book from the local library, it's definitely worth the money! Our library allows us to search the catalog on the internet and reserve a book. then they deliver it to the library close to my home. It's like ordering from Amazon; but free!

I was a Disney Newbie, so I really did need the book, you might not. By evaluating the attractions based on a child's point of view, it helped me sort out which rides would be welcome and which I should skip or forewarn them about.

 

[lnuss1988]

Where do you purchase a "WDW Guidebook for kids"?

 

[ashleymrush]

I found some on Amazon. The first search result has 5 stars and seems to be the best.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We had the kids guide book for the trip when DS was 5 and we gave it to him when we told him about the trip, about 3 weeks out. The book is really good. It's written on about 3-4grade reading level but totally understandable by a 5 year old if you read it to him. Pictures are great and gives a clue to what the ride may look like. The only issue we had was the descriptions sometimes state that the ride may be scary or intense as a warning. I know my child well enough to know if you tell him something is going to be scary.....he will be scared where if you don't even mention it might be scary....he may be fine! Not really an issue as I had looked through the book enough to know what parts to just skip as we read it together. I would recommend the book.

 

[mm1971]

I don't remember the name of it, but there is a workbook type children's WDW book available on all ears.net that we got offered on the earsthedeal newsletter. We got that one for our kids when they were young. It was a great book and they actually still look at it once in a while. It was $10 I think.

I don't think they really need a book. My kids love to read so it seemed like a good fit. You could get more out of showing him some youtube video's.

 

[wiigirl]

I found some on Amazon. The first search result has 5 stars and seems to be the best.

 

[monorailmom]

My kids have always loved the Guide to the Magic books. Even though my son is now 13, he likes to have one to read up on what's new, and likes to use the journal pages at night before bed to record the events of the day. I have the old ones saved up, and reading his thoughts from when he was younger is priceless! It really is a well done book, and worth the cost.

 

[720L]

I buy the Birnbaum's "Walt Disney World For Kids" every year. My kids love this book. Lots of pictures and good descriptions of the rides etc. It's become a tradition now, since my kids are older, but they still love getting this book.

 

[palpluto]

My son got this book at 5 and loved it. He loved talking about what he was going to do, and after the trip talking about what he did. It is looking very ragged from use.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I buy the Birnbaum's "Walt Disney World For Kids" every year. My kids love this book. Lots of pictures and good descriptions of the rides etc. It's become a tradition now, since my kids are older, but they still love getting this book.

That's what I was going to suggest, too. The photos in the book are very good, especially for kids who want to see what is there.

 

[CashKeenanHenleysMom]

I got the "Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids" for my 5 and 3.5 year old before our Nov trip the both really liked looking at the photos and talking to me about the park maps. One thing that also really helped us get excited is the free planning dvd that you can order. We watched it more times than I care to admit We still watch it now just because we are suffering from major Disney hangover since our trip is over and we won't be going back until Nov 2015 Oh and I also got the free maps that you can make on Disney.com of all the parks. We would read about the rides and attractions and then mark it off on our maps.. You can get large ones mailed to you and also print them off your self. I also googled videos of the parks, rides, performances and meet and greets of their favorite characters so they knew what to expect when we were there. I didn't want them to be dealing with surprises and hesitation. They did great! Hope this helps!!

 

[eb021]

For our first trip in 2012 we bought our daughter the Birnbaum's Walt Disney World For Kids and she still loves it even though it is a little outdated with the Fantasyland expansion.

Highly recommend the guidebook for kids especially if it's their first trip as the ride descriptions are very helpful with calming fears of not knowing what to expect.