Planning Theme Parks

[skram79]

We are planning on doing 5 days the last week of February and I am wondering if the unoffical guide to Disney World is worth purchasing. I have a 1 and 4 year old so we will doing the parks at a slow pace but would like some help avioding the busiest park. Has anyone used this book and did they find it helped? Also any helpful tips would be appreciated.

Thanks
Rob

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We love the Unofficial Guide. It is a great "reading" book, and will give you lots of ideas of what your kids will like/won't like to do. It has a lot of detail, and is quite fun :mickey:

We don't use the touring plans, but we go at somewhat slower times of the year.

[Disney Doll]

I have purchased this book in years past, but now that so much info is online I usually don't bother with guide books. Look through the info central tab here on Intercot and check out some other planning sites.

My tip for avoiding crowds would be to get an early start. We usually try to get to the parks right at opening and then we have a couple of hours to do things before the crowds start to pick up. Given the ages of your kids I would imagine that you'll be spending a lot of time in MK. Head straight to Fantasyland and get those rides done first. Fantasyland becomes horribly crowded in the afternoon and the congestion of all the strollers makes it worse.

[Verolovesdisney]

I've bought the Unofficial Guide several times and think it is a great book. There is obviously tons and tons of info available via the internet, but it's nice to also have a book where everything is "centralized".

As per the above post, best advice (and the Unofficial Guide will also echo this, over and over...) is to get an early start. Last week of Feb in normally not too busy, but it's a great feeling to get going early, get the main rides done first and be able to truly enjoy the parks.

Have fun!

[Greenlawler]

The above is certainly true, with your little ones I would head for Peter Pan first at the MK, at DHS not not hesitate do not stop head straight for Toy Story Midway Madness and get a fast pass for later while your there. At AK go striaght to the Safari, and at Epcot well you won't have to deal with lines too bad unless your four year old is big enough for Soarin or Test Track (mine was).
But if your crazy like us and your kids take naps during the day. We always enjoy the late nights at the parks, they are usually line free around 11:00, probably becuase all the rational people are in bed.

[Ropachs]

It's a great book. I recently got the 2009 edition. There is a crazy amount of information though, and you can probably learn what you need to right here. You'll be fine either way...

[brewcrew26]

I actually don't like the Unofficial Guide. As someone else mentioned, I like using the Web more now with the abundance of information. I also feel that the dining guides in the unofficial guide aren't as good as some resources online that are able to provide more in-depth reviews as opposed to a 5-6 sentence summary that doesn't change from year to year.

I also felt that some of the plans they have for attacking the parks are ridiculous. I'm sure they've tested them out and they work, but they seem so go-go-go and no time to really enjoy the little things.

[MickeysEars]

I have the 2009 edition too and find that the touring guides and info are contrary to how we travel. The book caters to a fast-paced do-as-much-as-can-in-4-to-5-days traveler. We love the World and enjoy just taking in our surroundings. We don't try to see it all, because you CAN'T. We just live in the moments, it makes for a much more enjoyable trip. Some may disagree, however, we have been enough times that we don't feel we need to cram as much as we can into our trips.