Guidebooks

[Neoshoegal]

New girl here... We're going to Disney World next year in March for my hubby's 30th birthday. We already booked the fligths and hotel. I'm looking for some good guidebooks. I know there's loads of info to find here and on the net, but I like to have a book to keep on the bedside table...
Anyway, it's just the 2 of us, no kids, although we do tend to behave like kids... What are the best guidebooks you can recommend???

THANKS!

 

[WaltD4Me]

I got all the guidebooks for the last big trip, but the one I kept going back to and the one I took on our trip was The Passporter. Tons of information, but not too much, easy to read and user friendly.

 

[toystoryduo]

My top three guidebooks are:

1. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World~ A ton of information!

2. Passporter~ Lots of great information, great maps, wonderful planning tool!

3. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World guidebooks~ Good info/ great pictures

There are lots of other good guidebooks out there too. You may want to check and see what your local library has before buying any books. Hope this helps!

 

[youngdizluva18]

You can try Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids 2005 : Expert Advice for Fun-Loving Adults. It has a ton of info for adults and you can buy it on amazon.com for $11.16. You can also save money by purchasing a used book.

 

[babar41]

1. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World~ A ton of information!

2. Passporter~ Lots of great information, great maps, wonderful planning tool!

3. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World guidebooks~ Good info/ great pictures

Totally agree! Especially in the order. The unofficial guide gives you a wealth of info and is really my favorite. I buy a new one ever couple of years. The passporter is good, but does not go into the depth that the unofficial guide goes into. Birnbaum's goes into even less depth, but they have one out for "Walt Disney World Without Kids".

If you were only going to buy one, I would strongly suggest the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

 

[Briarmom]

My top three guidebooks are:

1. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World~ A ton of information!

2. Passporter~ Lots of great information, great maps, wonderful planning tool!

3. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World guidebooks~ Good info/ great pictures

There are lots of other good guidebooks out there too. You may want to check and see what your local library has before buying any books. Hope this helps!

Ditto!

 

[Danauk]

I used the Unofficial guide on my last trip and found it useful. This trip I am using Passporter (I love being able to add my own info to it to keep track of everything) and Tour Guide Mike (I print off my TGM pages and put the info for that park in the Passporter pocket for that day.) Passporters are available at book stores and at www.passporter.com Tour Guide Mike is an internet based planning guide found at www.tourguidemike.com (Mike runs a VIP tour guide service so he is in the parks each week and can update his site quickly with new schedules, recommended plans etc.) I think I prefer my Passporter/TGM combination the best.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

My cousin suggested the Birnbaum guide, so that was the first one I bought. But then I saw the Unofficial Guide and I KNEW that was the one for me! The UG has SO much information and it is so much more detailed than the Birnbaum. They are both good books, and I carry them both around with me. There are some details about Epcot that I found in the Birnbaum book the other day that I totally missed before. They are probably in the UG, too, but maybe not.

You do need to be aware that most guide books for 2005 were published before the new Magic Your Way program was announced, so they have had to be revised. When you buy them make sure you have the most updated versions. The info changes so often that it's hard to keep up, but you don't want to buy a book that is already outdated!

 

[NCombs]

The Unofficial Guide for all the detailed information.

The Passporter for the great maps and places to record information.

Both have good descriptions and reviews of the attractions and the restaurants.

 

[NCombs]

The Unofficial Guide for all the detailed information.

The Passporter for the great maps and places to record information.

Both have good descriptions and reviews of the attractions and the restaurants.

I have a subscription to Tour Guide Mike. I think it's great. There are a lot of great tips and a ton of information.

 

[WDWendy]

One more vote for the Unofficial Guide and the Passporter. They are both awesome, terrific, wonderful, and enjoyable. Can you tell that I really liked them both?

 

[8 Ears]

Passporter; enough said.

Oh, and the Disboards!

 

[pooksma]

For our first trip I bought the Unofficial Guide. In planning for this trip I picked up both the Birnbaums and Passporter. I really liked the UG as a first timer for all its detail. IMHO it was a lifesaver.
now that we are going again, we had a better idea for what we wanted to do and the Passporter has been invaluable. Birnbaums has been helpful but the other 2 were more so.

 

[HeatherinNC]

Another vote for the UG. I have read this book over and over. At this point, I practically have it memorized! Very well researched and detailed. I also bought the Passporter and Birnbaum's. I know the Passporter is a favorite of many, but I didn't find it that useful. And Birbaum's, to me, is just a big Disney brochure. I took all three books with us, and the UG was the only one I would refer to (constantly!) during our vacation.