which planning guide book

[cricket429]

What planning guide book does everyone prefer. I havent bought one yet but it seem "the unofficial guide" seems to offer alot. Does any of them offer coupons for dining or shopping at Disney?

 

[dcmbshafe]

I personally recommend TourGuideMike, which is a subscription website. The Unofficial Guide is also good. Disney with Kids is great if you have young children. I don't think any of them offer coupons for restaurants.

 

[Brian Noble]

I have both Unofficial and TourGuideMike. Both are great: TGM cannot be beat for information about which parks to see when, and what to do while you are there. UOG is better for "out of The World" stuff (offsite restaurants, driving directions, offsite hotels, etc.) I have not compared the two for on-site resorts closely, but based on what I've seen would give the edge to UOG.

I strongly recommend both. You're paying several thousand dollars for this vacation, another $40 to get good advice about what to see when is well worth it.

If you can only buy one, I would buy TGM. UOG for 2005 has the *old* Extra Magic Hour info and the *old* ticket info. This means that, for exmaple, the UOG's "best parks on which days" table is probably going to be wrong more often than it will be right once the new schedule is in effect.

Edit (Dec 10): as Len notes below, the UOG web site now has a corrected "which parks on what days" list. Depending on which printing you get, your physical copy might have the right dates too, but if it were me, I'd depend on the web site this year, since it will be hard to tell which one you have without checking carefully. So, buy both!

 

[jcemom]

If you're only going with one guide, then I would choose TourGuide Mike. However, as Brian stated, with all the money you'll be spending on the trip, it's worth it to get both TGM and the UG. It's a small price to pay to have a great vacation!

 

[lentesta]

Brian, we've posted corrections to our website for the entire 2005 calendar, based on the new EMH schedule: www.TouringPlans.com/BestDays.htm. We'll post the new ticketing options within the next week, too, and all other corrections are posted to our website as well.

The second printing of the Guide, scheduled for January 2005, will include all of these updates.

Sincerely,

Len Testa

 

[Mainebound]

I love the UOG. It is so clear and comprehensive. It is funny and full of information. I also subscribe to TourGuideMike but I have to admit I have gotten nothing from that site that I couldn't get from the DIS or UOG, after two trips. I still find it impossible to quickly navigate TGM, even after the new version, and I find it interesting that the traditional in-print tour guide (UOG) has been faster to to respond to the new WDW changes than TGM. My personal view of the TGM thing is that this is one young person trying (very sincerely) to do too much, and barely staying afloat. With UOG you have a team of people, who have support and resources from a major publishing house. Just my 2 cents.

I also buy the Official Guide which is great for pictures and which my kids enjoy thumbing through.

Passporter is another guide many DISers love although I have never wanted to buy it.

None of these will break the bank, so pick a couple that sound good and enjoy!

 

[HillPete]

Whilie TourGuideMike has very up-to-date info and the UG has every bit of info you might need, the Passporter has, far and away, the best maps. They are more detailed, less commercial and easier to read than the ones you get onsite. If you're a map junkie, or don't know the exact location of every ride, shop and eatery in the county, then check out the Passporter.

Have a great trip!
--H

 

[Tinks]

The Unofficial Guide is the best. It gives you the straight scoop. I buy this for my friends and family who are planning trips to Disney (as a matter of fact I just ordered one this week for my SIL!) I enjoy the Passporter Deluxe for organizing my materials.

If you only buy one, buy the Unofficial Guide.

 

[drumflower]

I like all of them, the more the better! But I go to the library and check them out for free! They carry the most recent ones, then sell the old ones at the book sale!

 

[lark]

I think the unofficial guide is indespensible; definitely for those who have never been to WDW, or have only been once or twice and feel they did not take full advantage of their time while there. I don't think there's another source out there better to help you manage your time and organize your trip before you go.

For those who has been many times, you need to sort of pick and choose depending on what's most important to you; each of the various sources here have their strengths -- particularly if you're travelling with kids. But I go back and find stuff in the UOG that I didn't even know was there because it didn't matter to me the time before; the section on WDW for expectant mothers, etc.

 

[Brian Noble]

Thanks for keeping on top of this, Len. For better or worse, I have a copy of the first-run '05 printing. That's what I get for being on the ball this year.

 

[the kabuki]

I have a first run 05' also, and while the unofficial guide has posted updates to the 05' best park days calendar, I feel that the maps are substandard. On the maps, the MAIN WDW area ones,they list the old exit numbers off of I-4. According to another site, those exit numbers have been switched since 2002. C'mon, 3 years and still the old maps. When I went to the site and clicked on 2005 updates, the last update showed Sept. 2004. Couldn't find anything about any updates to maps.Funny how they were putting down Disney maps as not very good, when the official Disney map at least had the right exit numbers. Also, I have the unofficial guide from 99' and the restaurant listings were much easier to navigate than the 05' edition.

 

[QuickGold]

I'd recommend the Unofficial Guide. It's a great resource.

 

[trstno1]

There are really two main print options, the Unofficial Guide, and the Passporter. The Unofficial Guide is, to me, the hands down winner. The passporter is good also, and it's more of an organizer than simply a tour book. I have been fortunate enough to have both, and I use both, but I would buy the Unofficial Guide if I could only have one.

The touring plans in the Unofficial Guide are great, but they can't make generic touring plans for every family situation. Well, actually, they can, but it costs $20 on their website. I'm a little bit of a systems analysis/techno geek, and I love how they created a computer simulation to optimize wait times. They have so much data, that I generally trust their suggestions over that of another source.

I have also used Tour Guide Mike, and I really like it. I would not think less of his site simply because he hasn't posted the changes announced last week. The ticket pricing change is official, but the EMH stuff all over the boards is still unconfirmed from Disney, and I'm not sure that anyone knows how it will affect touring in the parks. When I took my young children, ages 2-3, I found that the touring plans from TGM were much better for my family than those in the Unofficial Guide. Recently, you could get TGM for $13, or so. I'm not sure if that's still in effect.

 

[NCombs]

I used the Unofficial Guide and the Passporter on our trip. I recommend both. The Passporter was worth the price for the great maps alone. I removed them from the book and took them with us to each park. I think they were much better than the official Disney maps.

The Unofficial Guide has great information. I highly recommend this book.

I just subscribed to TGM as they were offering a discount and it gives me something to do while sitting a my desk over lunch. It's good too.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I have over the years used everything from the Unofficial Guide, Fodor's, Passporter, and this year TGM for the first time.

I absolutely love TGM! I don't find it difficult to navigate (if you use TGM's steps), and the information is very up to date. I am sure one reason Mike has not updated re: EMH is that Disney has not posted official information. Mike prefers to stay with official news and not rumors.

Mike has kept up with the hours changing in the parks this month, and I specifically plan to use his touring plans as we will be there the week before Christmas. We have never gone at this time and we know it will be swamped, therefore I wanted help getting around.

I also believe that TGM has a satisfaction guarantee - so therefore, if you aren't happy, he will return your money - can't say that about a book store.

Check out his website.