Disney World guide book?

[Oak Knoll Mom]

What's the best Walt Disney World guide/tour book? We're going this fall and need to start planning. It's going to be me, my husband, and three boys ages 4-9.

 

I'm so excited!

[AmyP]

My favorite is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids. The Passporter one is good too, but nowhere near as much information. If you just pick one, I recommend the Unofficial Guide with Kids.

 

Don't forget to checkout http://www.touringplans.com and http://www.disboards.com . Lots of information there. I LOVE Disney World.

 

Have fun!

Amy

[Melabella]

:iagree:The Unofficial Guide is the best! I love the two site mentioned above. Also check out www.allears.net and www.mousesavers.com.

 

 

Have fun!

[DarlaS]

Get the "with kids" one for sure.

 

The for kids one rates rides according to height requirements & scare factor. It also discusses at length the various events you might not want to miss.

 

I got both guides when we went three years ago with kids aged 2 - 12. We hardly even looked at the other books we bought (However, we had already decided on accommodations etc.).

[Liza Q]

Another thumbs up for the Unofficial Guide! While I don't agree with everything he says (I mean, we *never* take the nap!!) or his hotel and restaurant reviews (I've read mediocre reviews for some of our favorites - go figure!), he does cover everything! After I read it I felt that I knew enough to ask the right questions and make a great plan for our crew.

 

As for websites. I recommend you start with allears for descriptions and photos of everything and the disboards for any questions you may still have - they are so helpful there!

 

I also think that http://www.tourguidemike.com/ is the bomb! It's not too much money, I think, and his touring advice was dead.on.target! It was hard to navigate at first but I found ideas and tips there that I had not seen anywhere else. He does not have touring plans, exactly...it is more like a philosophy that you can apply in advance and on the fly! My only quibble is that he is a little too relaxed about seeing *everything* - my family does not roll that way ;)

 

Have fun!

 

{slightly jealous here - our oldest is starting college this year and it looks like we will have 1-2 kids in college for the next 12 or so years, so we are not planning any vacations for a while...}

[joannqn]

The Unofficial Guide. We used it when we went to Disneyland. I grew up 1 mile from Disneyland (14 years) and went several times a year before I moved here. Our one trip to Disneyland with the Unofficial Guide was BY FAR the best visit I've ever had.

[Oak Knoll Mom]

I signed up with Tour Guide Mike and really like it. I'd still like a book, though.

 

Some of you have said Unofficial Guide and some have said Unofficial Guide with Kids. Is there a big reason to get the kid one and not the regular one?

[abbeyej]

The Unofficial Guide, definitely. I didn't even know there was a "with kids" one. I've been through at least two of the "regular" one, and it had everything I could possibly imagine needing to know. :)

[Ria]

We are at Disney this week (we were there for the past five days, are on the gulf coast for one day, and are going back to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow). We looked at several books and chose The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 by Julie and Mike Neal. It has been fantastic. Without this book we would never have gotten on all the rides we wanted to go on (the lines this time of year are horrific and the book tells us when to get to the park, which rides to do when, when to get Fastpasses, etc).

 

Look at the books at your library and pick the one you like best. That's the best way to do it.

 

And, my goodness, the Aerosmith roller coaster at Disney Studios is the most fun ride EVER! We also enjoyed Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom....very, very fast and fun.

 

Ria