Which guide book for kids?

[Donald is #1]

Hi everyone! Which guidebook would you recommend for 2 kids (9 & 10 now, 10 & 11 during the trip? I am going to take my niece and nephew to WDW for a long weekend next fall and I was thinking about buying one of the guide books for kids and wrapping it up for this Christmas as a way of announcing the trip.

Background: This will be the kids second trip and this trip will be much shorter (only 3 park) days than their first trip in '06. They are fairly up on the WDW attractions. Also we will only be doing parks for 3 days and will either be going to DTD or staying at our resort (AKV) the first day.

Please give me your opinions and if you have a different choice, please post it.

Update: I am looking for a book for the kids to read.

 

[buffalogirl]

I bought the "Birnbaum's for Kids 2008". We'll be returning soon for our second trip. My kids like reading about the attractions they enjoyed last time, and researching some of the things we missed. It also has a section in the back for autographs and keepsakes. It has lots of pictures and the attraction reaction (loud, dark, scary,etc) is helpful. BTW my kids are 11 and 8.


What a great gift!!!! You must be a very special aunt or uncle.

 

[Elmo888]

Do you mean for the kids to read? I think that the Birnbaum's is the only one on the list that is meant for kids (I could be wrong.) I think that the other books that you listed are guides for adults about taking kids to WDW. I bought a copy of Birnbaum's for my DD7 to announce our trip for Christmas.

Another one that you might add to your list of possibilities is Guide to the Magic for Kids. It is at amazon. I don't have it and haven't found a lot of people that do, but it looks great. Here is the web site...

http://www.guidetothemagic.com/shopping.htm#kids

I'm going to see if I can find it at a book store, but I might buy it (and possibly the autograph books) without seeing it.

Another book that I bought for DD7 is the Hidden Mickeys book. Your niece and nephew might like that one, too.

Have a great trip!

 

[Donald is #1]

Do you mean for the kids to read? I think that the Birnbaum's is the only one on the list that is meant for kids (I could be wrong.) I think that the other books that you listed are guides adults about taking kids to WDW. I bought a copy of Birnbaum's for my DD7 to announce our trip for Christmas.

Another one that you might add to your list of possibilities is Guide to the Magic for Kids. It is at amazon. I don't have it and haven't found a lot of people that do, but it looks great. Here is the web site...

http://www.guidetothemagic.com/shopping.htm#kids

I'm going to see if I can find it at a book store, but I might buy it (and possibly the autograph books) without seeing it.

Another book that I bought for DD7 is the Hidden Mickeys book. Your niece and nephew might like that one, too.

Have a great trip!

Yes, I meant for the kids to read. I am thinking that getting them a guide book would be a great way for them to start help planning the trip.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Guide to the Magic. I will look into it.

 

[feet1]

I purchased Guide to the Magic for Kids for my kids, we are going in 17 days

It is a great book with a page dedicated to each attraction, pages in the back for keeping track of the days, what was done, what the weather was like...a place for autographs, and a ton of stickers. It really seems more than just a book for them to read, but a place for them to write in and keep a trip report for themselves! My son, who will be turning 8 while we are in the world is looking for ward to using hte book while we are there!

 

[Elmo888]

I purchased Guide to the Magic for Kids for my kids, we are going in 17 days

It is a great book with a page dedicated to each attraction, pages in the back for keeping track of the days, what was done, what the weather was like...a place for autographs, and a ton of stickers. It really seems more than just a book for them to read, but a place for them to write in and keep a trip report for themselves! My son, who will be turning 8 while we are in the world is looking for ward to using hte book while we are there!

Since you have the book - will your son use it for autographs or use something else? I really like the look of the Guide to the Magic autograph book with a page for pics, autographs, notes where the character was found, character checklist and Epcot passport-type pages. Also, the GttM autograph book seems more convenient and has some good reviews at amazon. I am just wondering if buying both the GttM autograph book and the GttM for Kids book for one child is redundant.

I am wondering if I need to buy the GttM for Kids plus 2 autograph books, one for each DD (whether it is GttM autograph books or some other version).

Thanks for your help!

 

[my3princes]

I just bought this one for my neice and nephew as well as my 3 boys. It has a lot of neat aspects. Here is the link

http://www.guidetothemagic.com/shopping.htm#kids

 

[Minniemouse07]

We have Birnbaum's For Kids by Kids and when I got it I was very disappointed. I find the book really "thin" on content/substance and dd (6yo) looked through it once and then never sought it out again.

I came across Guide to the Magic for Kids a few months ago and when that arrived dd adored it! I feel there is a lot more in the book as well. Things to search for and keep track of (photos, monorail colors, etc.), stickers for every ride/attraction, and the wonderful journal at the back.

We plan on definitely taking the book to Epcot for stamps and CM signatures, but I'm going to go w/ a separate autograph book for dd for characters.

We leave next week and dd is going to color in all the flags for the Epcot countries tomorrow. I want her to be familiar w/ them before we go so she can recognize them!

Hands down I think GTTMFK is the best WDW book for kids... dd thinks so too!

 

[Donald is #1]

Everyone thanks for the replies so far! Please keep them coming.

Unfortunately, I can't edit the poll to add Guide to the Magic, but the running total for Guide to the Magic is currently at 4.

 

[feet1]

Since you have the book - will your son use it for autographs or use something else? I really like the look of the Guide to the Magic autograph book with a page for pics, autographs, notes where the character was found, character checklist and Epcot passport-type pages. Also, the GttM autograph book seems more convenient and has some good reviews at amazon. I am just wondering if buying both the GttM autograph book and the GttM for Kids book for one child is redundant.

I am wondering if I need to buy the GttM for Kids plus 2 autograph books, one for each DD (whether it is GttM autograph books or some other version).

Thanks for your help!

I am not sure what we are going to do, I am going to bring it in the parks and see hwo it works out for signatures. It seems like it will be great, almost like a scrapbook that he can do while we are there!

 

[amery]

I must confess how amazed I am to see that the Birnbaum Guide is the overwhelming choice here.

I used to buy these guys (not the ones for kids) for years until I realized that what I was reading was what they (the authors) wanted me to read and NOT what I needed to read. It ihas been for this reason alone that I began buying the Ultimate Guides.

IMHO, they are far more informative and insightful while also being accurate and unbiased.

 

[tiggerfan1]

I like the Unofficial Guide to WDW. It really came in handy for me on my recent trip to WDW. It gives a lot of good, practical information. I think that the Complete Guide to WDW is also good.

 

[buffalogirl]

For my kids, I prefer Birnbaum's for Kids. For myself, I prefer the Unofficial Guide over Birnbaum's. Not familiar with the Ultimate Guide.

I must admit after reading these posts, I'm seriously considering checking out the Guide to the Magic

 

[tink713]

I bought the book Disney with Kids 2008. I dont even have kids and it was great. Very informative.

 

[Clubhouse Mickey]

My vote is the Birmbaum Guide for Kids, esp at that age. That would be my pick.

 

[Donald is #1]

Thanks everyone! Hmm, now I just need to decide between Birmbaum's for Kids or the Guide to the Magic. I wonder if i can find a Guide to the Magic at Barnes & Noble so that I can look at it.

 

[DizzyFORDisney]

Hi,

I agree with everyone who voted for the Guide to the Magic guide books.

There is a guide book for adults, one for kids, plus the two activity books (the autographs and sticker book, and the journal).

Here is a link I found that lists all of them plus some others (for whatever type of person you need a book for).
http://www.plan-a-magical-vacation.com/disney-gifts.html

I want to order that Lost Journals book for myself! It looks so neat. It is listed under the Hidden Mickeys, Treasure Hunts, and More section. My son would probably confiscate it though....

My oldest son also really likes the Imagineering books.

Good luck!

 

[Amyshubby]

Guide to the Magic!

We bought it for my soon to be 7 year old son. He LOVES the book. He has already read it twice and can't wait to fill up the itinerary and autograph pages. We looked at Birnbaum's but thought this was much better.

 

[Donald is #1]

Well, I ended up giving the kids the Birnbaum guide but I may still pick up the Guide to the Magic and give it to them later.

They were very happy when the opened the present from me and found out that they were going to Disney!

 

[my3princes]

My kids and my neice all opened there Guide to the Magic for kids today. They were a huge hit and a wealth of information. The adults were eagerly reading it too. It has nice photos, spaces for comments and ratings for each ride, room for notes, small souveniers and autographs, room for a 2 week itenerary and much more. They were well worth the money, especially for a child that hasn't been much or may not remember their last trip