Which guide book?

[cissy]

I posted this in the family section as well, but thought that I might get some good answers here, too!

Hello! Using the board, we took the most amazing trip to Disney for Christmas in 2007. We are now looking to do a land and sea in the Spring of 2011. I have pre-ordered the Passporters Cruise Guide but I was wondering which other book I need.

On our last trip, I lived by the Unofficial Guide with Kids but I am not sure if I should get the same book but updated or if I should get the original as my kids will be 9 1/2 and 11 when we go in 2011.

Any advice? I am just not sure how different the two books are in content.

Thanks so much!!!

 

[sters]

I like Passporter. Most of the information is up to date, I like the maps and pockets and that the time duration for each ride is listed. Some of the advise is suspect. For example, who would suggest taking a 20 minute train ride around the MK first thing into the park? So much can be done the first 20 minutes after rope drop, I'd save the train ride for later in the day. Apart from a few differences in opinion about park strategy, I do like Passporter best.

 

[kathy884]

I've gotten three different editions of the Unofficial Guide over the years and although very enjoyable, the book doesn't change that much. I love the touring plans, though. And the rides and strategies change from year to year and are even customized by day (high season vs. low), what the park hours are, what EMH are, etc. What I do now is pay $10 to get the touring plans, crowd calendar, (park, ride, and attraction descriptions are on the site too) on touringplans.com. Your subscription is good for a full year, and you can print out / get all the touring plans you want. I never go to Disney high season without this.

 

[disneymom1980]

I like the Unofficial Guide books best, but, in agreement with previous posters, they don't change substantially over the years. Most of the information is basically the same between editions.

 

[tink&stitchsmom]

I notice you said you had the Unofficial Guide kids, but I always get the regular Unofficial Guide - it has a pretty comprehensive kids section.

 

[nottingham]

Unoffical guide is excellent. Very thorough. Also found the complete guide to walt Disney world a really good book

 

[Princess Figment]

We've been using the Unofficial Guide forever (since I was a kid and my mom was the one bringing them on vacation). Their touring plans are always spot-on and save us tons of time. You're right- they don't change much from edition to edition, but I always have to have the latest one.

Most guidebooks are available at your local library and are generally the latest edition. This is a great, inexpensive way to read a bunch of books before you go if you want to look at others and compare.

 

[Tomh]

For our first trip in '08, I used the UOG. In '09 we were spending 10 days in the parks and the UOG touring plans just didn't really fit for us. I bought the new version of UOG none the less, but the changes from year to year are minimal, and I really felt like I needed touring plans that would fit our schedule better, so I tried Ridemax. I'm not hooked. We picked the rides, plugged in meal times and locations, shows, and parades, and it made everything fit for us. Best of all, it spits out the times you should be arriving at each attraction, and leaving for the next, and how long it should take to get from point a to point b. This all may seem ridiculous, but with the UOG plans, we had no idea what time we should be at what attraction, so it was hard to tell if we were doing good on time, or if we were going to miss shows, or parades, or ADR's. With Ridemax, everything is listed with the corresponding time. It tells you what time to see each show, when to get in place for a parade, etc. You check the time as you are leaving each attraction, and you know if you are falling behind, if you need to skip something, make up a little time, or have some time to spare.

 

[cissy]

Thanks for the replies. If the regular guide has a good kid section, then I might get that one as I have the UOG from 2007 anyway.

Thanks!!

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I have always loved the Birnbaum Guide to WDW. It's good for kids and adults. There's the kid's edition too that even kids who have been to WDW many times still love.

Enjoy planning!

 

[Sagginit]

i used one called the complete walt disney world 20__. it had a red on the top part of the cover with white font. we liked this one so much we re-newed it and took it down there with us. most of the books i got at the library were so so but this had really good detailed ride and restaurant info which was nice since we hadnt been in a really long time. i thought the info was accurate and i like the photos, plus they had things like ride times which i found was helpful. birnbaums was good for planning our ADRs and figuring out a basic schedule but the complete guide was more useful for the specifics.

 

[red15sox]

Gotta go with Unofficial guide. I have read a lot of books over the years, and Unofficial is the best. Idiots guide is eh, and Burnbaum's is official and makes things seem better than they are sometimes (Stitch's Greatest Escape is a a culprit of this)

 

[cissy]

After our first trip I am pretty hooked on UOG so I think that is the way to go. I was really just curious as to the difference between the regular one and the one for kids. I will definitely get the Passports for the cruise as that is the one most recommended on the cruise forum.

Thanks again!

 

[Rose DiVerona]

Yeah, I'm pretty addicted to the Unofficial Guide.

 

[julieneal]

i used one called the complete walt disney world 20__. it had a red on the top part of the cover with white font. we liked this one so much we re-newed it and took it down there with us. most of the books i got at the library were so so but this had really good detailed ride and restaurant info which was nice since we hadnt been in a really long time. i thought the info was accurate and i like the photos, plus they had things like ride times which i found was helpful. birnbaums was good for planning our ADRs and figuring out a basic schedule but the complete guide was more useful for the specifics.

Thanks so much! I'm glad our book was helpful on your trip

 

[Sadie22]

I ordered a copy of The Complete Walt Disney World 2010 just today. I had checked the 2009 version out of the library and loved it. It has a lot of information but is small enough that I can comfortably carry it everywhere.

I also have my deluxe Passporter refill in the binder ready to go. It will probably stay in the room.

I think the 2010 Unofficial Guide came out in August so that's how long I've been reading it. I feel like I practically have it memorized by now.

 

[kittycat9]

If you don't need strategies (like timing rides) what book would you recommend? We get a special pass for our son, so we end up skipping the lines. I'm more interested in not missing things - not skipping from end to end of the parks, finding out about more of the shows (including dinner shows that might be worth linking up with our dining plan), events or things to see at resorts, etc. We're going during the beginning of christmas and as I understand there is quite a lot to see. I'd love to know more about the best way to tackle it all.

 

[Sadie22]

If you don't need strategies (like timing rides) what book would you recommend? We get a special pass for our son, so we end up skipping the lines. I'm more interested in not missing things - not skipping from end to end of the parks, finding out about more of the shows (including dinner shows that might be worth linking up with our dining plan), events or things to see at resorts, etc. We're going during the beginning of christmas and as I understand there is quite a lot to see. I'd love to know more about the best way to tackle it all.

Every source has something to offer and the ones mentioned above are all great. I recommend reading these forums as much as you can. I also subscribe to TourGuideMike's service.

As far as the one book I am going to carry into the parks with me, that's The Complete Walt Disney World by the Neals. Color photos, ratings, back stories, and "Fun Finds" sections describe sights that might otherwise be missed, all in one slim volume. It seems to be put together the way I think. This trip my husband won't be with me every moment to carry the backpack, so I was looking for a way to carry all the info with me yet not have to carry much weight, and I was very impressed by this book.

 

[dzorn]

I'm partial to passporter myself.

Denise in MI

 

[ZoZo]

I notice you said you had the Unofficial Guide kids, but I always get the regular Unofficial Guide - it has a pretty comprehensive kids section.

I agree - I'd get the regular UG. I don't like the Passporter much (it's more for people who bring their guidebook with them on vacation and want to use the maps, organize their receipts, etc.). I use my guidebook mostly for doing research ahead of time - I don't carry it with me in the parks. I find the UG to be a great source of opinions about which restaurants to go to, etc. Many of the other guidebooks don't rate the restaurants and attractions; they simply provide information, but no recommendations.