Planning Books...To get or Not To get...That is the question

faberj · #1 11-12-2007, 04:11 PM

I was wondering if it is worth it to get the planning guides that are out there and if so which ones to get???

I was looking at The Unofficial Guide 2008, Passporter 2008, and The Complete Walt Disney World 2008.

DH and I have been to Disney twice and I have learned a lot from these boards, but not sure if the books will help me plan better.

Any advise??

Strmchsr · #2 11-12-2007, 05:42 PM

Honestly, all of the information that is in any of those books can easily be found on the internet. In fact, scan through Info Central here on Intercot and I seriously doubt you'll find anything in those books not there. The only reason to buy one of those guides would be a.) The Passporter has lots of little charts and such that some people like. I'm perfectly capable of making my own spreadsheets, so that's worthless to me, but it's useful to some or b.) Just to have as a keepsake.

irish1967 · #3 11-12-2007, 07:43 PM

Or an alternative would be to check them out of your public library! You can peruse them at your leisure, absorb the good, and forget the stuff that isn't useful.

I tend to check out a WDW travel guide once a month from my library

More if we are coming up on a trip!

teambricker04 · #4 11-12-2007, 08:01 PM

[QUOTE=irish1967;1472309]Or an alternative would be to check them out of your public library! You can peruse them at your leisure, absorb the good, and forget the stuff that isn't useful.[/th from QUOTE]

Agreed. Check them out and see which you like best. Then if you want to buy one, you'll know which one! Really, they all have some of the same info, it is just how you like the lay out or the writting.

I like the books in addition to the internet sites as I am not always on the computer or have access when I want some info.

SAHDad · #5 11-12-2007, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strmchsr

The only reason to buy one of those guides would be a.) The Passporter has lots of little charts and such that some people like. I'm perfectly capable of making my own spreadsheets, so that's worthless to me, but it's useful to some or b.) Just to have as a keepsake.

Or c) generally speaking, a book is easier to take on a trip than a laptop.

We have the current Unofficial Guide, and have checked out all the others at various times. To be honest, not much changes year to year - a few things are always out of date by the time they go to press (this applies to all travel books, actually), so even if you are buying them, every other or every third year is pretty sufficient.

Of them, I found the Unofficial the most useful, but just check with the local library first.

DVC Mike · #6 11-12-2007, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faberj

II was looking at The Unofficial Guide 2008, Passporter 2008, and The Complete Walt Disney World 2008.

Those are my three top choices, in the order you listed. I would add the official Birnbaum guide as my #4 choice.

I've learned things from each book that I didn't find out about online, so I find them useful, especially to quickly look something up.