What Disneyworld "Bible" to get?

[03badger]

So I go to Barnes & Noble to get a "guide" for Disneyworld...there are about 10! From Fodors, to the "Unofficial Guide", to Frommers. Which one would you chose?

It's our DD's first trip and my DH's as well. As I'm sure every other family wishes: I want this to go as smoothly as possible. I'm thinking a guide would help.

Thanks everyone!

 

[yakkin' yeti]

I love, love, love the Unofficial Guide (they have one just for parents with kids and one that's more comprehensive). I'll read it just for fun, if I'm missing Disney. (yes, it's a sickness.) Lots of great advice, they'll tell you if a ride is too scary for kids or not worth waiting in line for 45 minutes to go on, and their touring plans can really help you save time.

 

[Lovin Mickey]

I went to the store and picked up a few. I read through them in the store and bought a few that I liked. If I didn't like it after reading more at home then I brought it back and got different one. I liked Passporters but didn't buy. May go back and get it. We ended up with The Unofficial Guide (very informative) Disney on a Dime and Disney with Kids(includes some hidden Mickeys. We got one from AAA for booking with them but my parents have it and I can't remember the title. I think it is the Official line though. It's cute but you'll find better touring info in the others. Good luck planning and enjoy you trip. I like planning almost as much as the trip. Don't worry I said almost.

 

[Doc CW]

I myself prefer the Official Birnbaum's Guide myself just because I like the layout and everything better in it, but thats just me

 

[Wendybird55]

Personally I wouldn't recommend Birbaums - DH got it for me as one of my B'Day gifts because we had out trip planned. It's the 2008 version and there is so much that is out of date! It's a nice book to look thru for pics and just to read about Disney, but I don't think it will offer you anything mroe than you can get online.

Actually most of your best information will probably be from online sources such as the DIS boards and allearsnet.com and WDWinfo because websites can be updated regularly as books can't. Though I know it's is nice to have a book to look thru.
From what I've read from people on these boards the Unoffical Guide seems to be good, plus I think they have a website to go to for updated information and the coveted crowd charts.

 

[Pluto_fan]

If you still have a bit of time before your trip, you might try checking out various choices from the library to read through at your leisure and decide which suits you best. They almost certainly won't have the most current edition, but you can get a good feel for their format and contents.

Having said that, I would probably end up with the "Unofficial Guide" for planning purposes (unless your trip is soon, I'd wait until the 2009 version comes out in mid-August). I'd also get Birnbaum's for the DD--either the "for kids, by kids" version if she is younger, or the regular one if she's a teen. I remember having a 1983 edition of Birnbaum's that I practically memorized (the beginning of my Disney obsession!) I also like Passporters for the daily planning pages and pockets.

 

[proteus]

After checking out all of them myself we settled on the Unofficial Guide. Been so often now that we don't need a guide but I still check boards here and other sites for hard to find information.

 

[Aliceacc]

I like the Unofficial Guide along with its companion website www.touringplans.com

I like that they seem to cover what's important to ME. For example, when I was on the fence about resorts, I was able to find typical travel times to the various parks, noise ratings, even pillow firmness ratings. They do the same thing with the offsite hotels, which is something I haven't seen elsewhere. Then they tell you which rooms/sections to request if you're so inclined.

When I was thinking about ADRs, I was able to find reviews of each of the restaurants. And the touring plans are great: everything from the manic "I need to do it ALL TODAY" style to the laid back "touring plans for people who don't want a touring plan" style.

 

[1rileydog]

I like Birnbaums "Official Guide" best...seems to have the best layout, maps, etc.

 

[jenb1023]

Unofficial Guide is great if you want lots of detailed information and touring plans! It is a lot to wade through if you just want general, basic information. For general information, I recommend Passporter which was a great take with you guide or Birnbaums. If I were new to WDW and only wanted one book and did not want to be overwhelmed with information, I would buy Passporter and use the internet. I think it was a Frommers (maybe it was Fodors) that had tons of incorrect information so I would avoid those for sure.

 

[james'mommy]

I prefer the Unoffical guide.

 

[whitneyNC]

UNOFFICIAL is the only way to go. If you follow their advice, you will get done what you want. Birnbaum's is all sunshine and roses, not realistic. I've bought a truck load of guide books since 1999, and keep going back to the lastest version of the Unofficial Guide. It has never failed us!

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

My two favorites are The Passporter, and The Unofficial Guide...I usually just borrow the unofficial guide from the library but I buy The Passporter every year.

 

[spectrecat]

LOVE the Unofficial Guide. It's long, but if you're doing planning at all, it answers just about any question (at least in our experience).

 

[Brian McGee]

My wife and I have been to Disney more times than we can count, and we're 19 days from our glorious return. She got the unofficial guide for Christmas a couple of years back, and I'm amazed how much new information had eluded me before I read this book. It's a great planning tool if you have kids, because it gives a number of websites you can refer to and let them be part of the planning.

There may be other good ones, but the UG is worth every nickel...