Passporter or Unofficial Guide?

lizabu

Disney Maniac
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
6,960
I'm trying to decide which book to buy. like that Passporter has maps and pckets etc but I'm not so sure I need all that. IDK...whch book should I buy? Do you own either one? Do you love it or would you skip it? TIA
 
We got the passporter for our wedding and used it for our honeymoon 8.5 years ago. Since then we have had 3 other trips and are planning our 4th. This is a life saver.

We don't really use it all that much for the maps and the rides anymore (just due to knowledge of the parks), but we use it for the restaurants.

When we were on the Deluxe dining plan, this was a godsend. We were able to maximize our value and basically save about 20% on all the food.
 
Passporter has the best maps - IMO much better than Disney's own maps.

I cut the maps out of the book, copy one for each park day and write my plans, ADR confirmation #'s, etc. on the blank part of the copy - works great!
 
I have both and I think there is merit in each. I really like the unofficial guide because it gives you information you don't normally see. Having said that, not everyone needs or wants that type of "information overload". ;) And it is a huge book that takes some time to get through. Fun reading, though IMHO.

The Passporter is much more succinct. Extremely focused and helpful with lots of visual aids. It is enormously helpful with organizing your trip.
 

I love the UG! I use it mainly for "research' before my trip. I do bring it in my suitcase, but it stays in the hotel room (I don't carry with me in the parks). Has tons of great information, including reviews of restaurants, hotels, and attractions, etc.

I have never been a Passporter user because I don't carry a guidebook with me in the parks (one less thing to weigh me down!). I know folks like it for the maps, the compartments to hold your receipts, things like that. But since I don't carry a guidebook with me at the parks, its cool features are wasted on me.
 
Thanks everyone. I couldn't decide for sure so I bought both :blush:
 
Where did you get the UG!? I just joined the pass porter boards and I am getting my first one from there!:cool1:
 
Where did you get the UG!? I just joined the pass porter boards and I am getting my first one from there!:cool1:

I just walked into borders and got one.

We bought are first 1 almost 20 years ago and it worked so good that the book went to WDW 23 times!

We used it 2 times and loaned it out over and over again.:idea:

It got to the point of falling apart. lol
 
I bought them both on Amazon. I subscribed to the Passporter newsletter for the discount code but even with the newsletter discount code amazon had it for $3 less (plus free super saver shipping)..(about $30). This was a preorder of the 2011 deluxe edition. They will mail it to me in March when it's released. The Unofficial guide is being mailed right away and was around $17 on Amazon. I bought another book I wanted and got super saver shipping
 
I bought them both on Amazon. I subscribed to the Passporter newsletter for the discount code but even with the newsletter discount code amazon had it for $3 less (plus free super saver shipping)..(about $30). This was a preorder of the 2011 deluxe edition. They will mail it to me in March when it's released. The Unofficial guide is being mailed right away and was around $17 on Amazon. I bought another book I wanted and got super saver shipping

I prefer to get it right from PassPorter when I can, even if it is slightly more expensive. This gives more $$ directly to the authors over giving Amazon a cut. ;)

...and if you pre-order directly from PassPorter, they give you access to the entire book electronically upon purchase of your pre-order and typically they get their pre-orders shipped out before Amazon's.

Just so you have the info! :)
 
I'm trying to decide which book to buy. like that Passporter has maps and pckets etc but I'm not so sure I need all that. IDK...whch book should I buy? Do you own either one? Do you love it or would you skip it? TIA

Honestly, go to tourguidemike.com and sign up for that info. If you want to know how to never wait in line again and have a really smooth really relaxing Disney vacation I highly suggest tourguidemike.com!!! It's really cheap like $20 bucks for a few months and gives you everything you need to know! That guy is a genius.
 
I like the Passporter but I don't carry it into the park. I usually study it, make notes, etc. before I leave for WDW. I then transfer info onto a 3 X 5 index card, then laminate it. I then study my book each night, making certain that every thing I want and have noted is on my index card. I make certain it includes my ADR times and number.

I usually make photocopies of the maps from Disney's web-site to carry with me as well. These are so much lighter than any book!
 
I usually make photocopies of the maps from Disney's web-site to carry with me as well. These are so much lighter than any book!

I actually take the PassPorter maps into the park w/ me. I opted for the Deluxe edition a few years back so removing them from the looseleaf is easy. They would be easy to pull out of the bound version though as well!

I find the PassPorter maps to be the best out of all published maps. They include all the info, are super easy to read (and color coded!), and they have approximate walking times to/from different areas of the parks!:thumbsup2
 












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