Unofficial Guides vs. The Complete Walt Disney World

[twix123]

Which book should I get. We are going for our first trip in Oct. and just want to make sure that we know enough about the parks. We already have hotel and tickets mostly looking for which book is best about the parks and some nice travel tips too?
Hope this makes since

 

[jerlove]

I have purchased both in the past and have found the unoffical guide to be more indepth and more accurate.

I think I hear more discussion around her about the unofficial guide as well. Heck if you want to be sure buy both.

 

[beccasmom]

We like the Unofficial Guide the best. Especially for first-timers, it gives LOTS of great information -- it's a huge book! . Even as a WDW veteran, I have it downloaded on my Kindle for reference.

I think it is very helpful and written in a humorous style. It is irreverent, honest and quite detailed.

 

[ses1230]

Another vote for the Unofficial Guide!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

For details, the Unofficial Guide can't be beat. The Complete Guide has beautiful color photos, and I love it, but I consider the UG to be the best as far as planning and info are concerned.

 

[disnut8]

Both. I have used them a lot in the past when I was just starting out with the Disney stuff and found information in both of them to be invaluable. The Official Guide will give you the photos and all the, well, official stuff. And that's great to have. The Unofficial Guide will give you practical which is also great to have.

For about five years running, I bought both and never lived to regret it. Had about 12 great vacations with them.

 

[kleigh1969]

I think the Unofficial Guide would be the best if you are only getting one (make sure you don't get the color companion by mistake; that isn't really all that helpful).

The Unofficial Guide is very helpful with when to go, where to stay (very detailed info about hotels down to the lighting and the pillows), and how to maximize your time at Disney (without spending your whole vacation in line). They give a fair amount of detail about restaurants too.

I love the Complete Walt Disney World too. As others have mentioned they have beautiful photos and give very detailed descriptions of the attractions along with some history and trivia. It almost serves as a souvenir book - I love looking at it every so often.

They are both very different, helpful, and fun to read. I would get both if you can - it wouldn't be like you are buying essentially the same book twice.

 

[LisaTC]

Actually I have 3!!! UG, Complete & Passporters. All different, all useful. The one I love is UG, I like Complete and Passporters is great for a keepsake.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Unofficial Guide has the most information. They really break everything down. It's a great reference book!

 

[Dizfanatic9]

I love the Complete Guide not only for its hundreds of gorgeous photos, but also for its depth of info about attractions. Each ride or show gets its own page or pages, with tons of fun details and helpful info like average wait times and fear factors. It has the best and worst aspects of each park. I've never seen better water park photos or information. I also like the new section this year about pre-trip planning ideas to do with the kids, like Disney movie nights and making a countdown chain. For me, the Unofficial Guide is too negative, too inaccurate and too hard to find what I want. It's a giant black-and-white doorstop.

 

[ZoZo]

We like the Unofficial Guide the best. Especially for first-timers, it gives LOTS of great information -- it's a huge book! . Even as a WDW veteran, I have it downloaded on my Kindle for reference.

I think it is very helpful and written in a humorous style. It is irreverent, honest and quite detailed.

I completely agree! I like the Unofficial Guide the best!

You might try seeing what your local library has, too. This would give you a chance to see what the different guidebooks have to say, without buying them all!

 

[castmember19]

The Unofficial Guide is like my Disney Bible. I hope that doesn't sound sacrilegious. We have the book for every year we've been. Comes with touring plans as a bonus. Have never used the Complete WDW so I can't compare, but I went through a phase where I tried to read every WDW guide I could and nothing compared to the Unofficial Guide.

 

[Niki in NJ]

The Unofficial guide is so helpful! We used it for our first two trips and it was so incredibly useful. It has a lot of in-depth information and tips.

 

[mcd2745]

I know most people here have no use for it...but for a first-timer, I usually recommend that you first read Birnbaum's Official Guide. It's a quick, easy and colorful read that just covers the basics - albeit with an overwhelmingly pro-Disney bias. After you're quickly done with that, then move on to the Unofficial Guide for the more detailed and unbiased info and tips.

 

[cannmom]

If you haven't looked at Passporter I recommend that guide. That said I also like the Unofficial guide. As a matter of fact I'm thinking about buying the most recent copy for my Nook. Passporter is really cool though and gives a lot of park info. Whenever we go back I will be buying another Passporter.

 

[quagmire0]

Honestly, I think if you go with the Unofficial Guide and Disboards, you'll be perfectly fine. Throw in easywdw.com for crowd forecasts (although treat them the same you would the weather forecast ). Unofficial Guide is very thorough and is packed with tons of tips and actual customer commentary on their WDW experiences. The touring plans are pretty reliable too. Not sure when the 2012 guide comes out, but it may be worth the wait.

 

[leebee]

UG all the way!! I like it so much that I've purchased copies of the UG for other places (yes, there are other places to vacation!). I have the UG for Boston, DC, NYC... I really like their style, openness, and sense of humor, in addition to being the BEST resource out there!