WDW Vacation planning books

[RobinRocksDisney]

Hello...I was curious, which vacation planning books have you used and did you like them?

I have one year until my trip and I am in serious planning mode!

Any help will be greatly appreciated:mickey:

[Mackflava99]

There are so many, its tough-
In reality- Intercot is the best place-

[Zippy 1]

:mickey:I used PassPorter for our last trip. I will never use anything else again. It is full of up to date info, has pages for your ressies and pocket pages for each day of your trip to record what you did and put maps,etc in the pocket. I think it was the best purchase I ever made. Have fun planning your trip!!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I have the Passporter 2008, the Unofficial guide 2008 and Complete Guide 2008....all are nice but have their differences....the Complete Guide has a lot of pictures if that's your thing, the Passporter has removable pages and places to make notes if you want to take them in the park with you and the Unofficial Guide is the largest of the three with lots of information....one thing I found, is that each varied on what their opinions are on the best restaurants, hotels etc...which just goes to show you how varied people and opinions are, I don't know if I have a favorite but I enjoyed all three:)

[DisneyBabies]

Ok, I get three different books and I get them for different reasons.

Birnbaum's- Pro- Full color and lots of pictures, has info on average weather temps and the 'when to go' section is easier to make sense of. Also, there are coupons in the back that may be of interest (for % off tours, dining and shopping).
Con- Not as good for planning, since they don't include a lot of new info that comes out right before or right after they go to press (they go to press early).

The Unofficial Guide to Disney World- Pro- This book has almost everything. Love the guest comments and they review every restaurant and every ride. Also, they have in depth info about every resort including floorplans. They have great touring plans in the back of the book for all sorts of situations and there are more online.
Con- They have an early press date as well, so there is some missing info. I also found a few things that should have been updated before they went to press but weren't (changes that were made long before they went to press; you can look up new changes on their site for free). There are also parts in the book called 'Disney Dish With Jim Hill' that some people will take to be true because they don't know better; just understand that 99% of this info is just guesses on his part. Also, this book contains info about places outside of Disney, which kind of gets on my nerves since I bought a book titled 'Unofficial Disney Guide', but I just skip those parts. And the last thing (although some may not think of it as a con) is that the Unofficial Guide discourages stops for character greetings; they want to help you do all the rides and attractions as quicky as possible and character greetings definately slow you down.

The Complete Walt Disney World- Pro- Since this book goes to press later, it usually has the most correct info. It has color photos and lots of fun facts, so I like to read this book with my DS (even though he hasn't been to WDW yet :blush:). There is also a character greeting list which I think is great. Also, the restaurant and shopping is listed for each park instead of being it's own section which makes things a little easier.
Con- I wish they went as in depth as the Unofficial Guide when it comes to the resorts and dinning, but they don't do too bad a job.

Not sure if this will help or seem more confusing, but the bottom line is that I LOVE all these books and get them all when I am thinking of taking a trip.

[SAHDad]

The only one I actually purchase is the Unofficial Guide, but as others have noted, it does have its drawbacks. (I ignore their plans, however - I'm looking for other information when I read it.) I do read as many of the different guidebooks as possible, or at least all of the ones which the local library carries.

[dmosher]

I have read, seen and even contributed to a few of them and my favorite as an all-around book is still the Passporter. The downside is that they sell out for the current year rather quickly (i.e 2008 is gone).

Aside form that I do have a few favorites I have amassed over the years. They vary depending on your interest but here are a few.

Vegetarian Walt Disney World and Greater Orlando - Susan Shumaker & Than Saffel: While a little of this book is outdated now, it has some VERY useful articles for vegetarians as well as picky eaters.

Imagineering Field Guides to EPCOT, MAGIC KINGDOM & ANIMAL KINGDOM. - The Imagineers: While die-hard WDW fans (like myself) may know most of the information in these books, I guarantee you will learn a few things as they are very informative and fun to read.

Passporter Walt Disney World - Jennifer, Dave & Allison Marx:
The Passporter is a great in the park guide as well as pre and post trip item. With lots of pockets, and sections to prep for your trip as well as places for daily receipts and tickets, photo logs, etc. As an added bonus, at the end of every day there is a page to "wrap up" what you did. We do this before bed every night at WDW as a great way to remember each day and often refer back to it between our trips.

For fun:
Passporter's Treasure hunt at Walt Disney World - Jennifer Marx & Kimberly Larner:
This fun little book is tall but slim and easily packed into your day pack in the parks. Inside it has a WIDe variety of Treasure Hunts and Finds broken down by park as well as location in the each park. Some are easy and some left us scratching our heads trying to find them (and we are both serious WDW veterans). If you get really lost or confused or too frustrated, there are sealed sections in the back of the book with the answers.

Hidden Mickeys - A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secrets - Steven M. Barrett:

If you have never done a Hidden Micket Hunt or are still new to it, this book is a requirement to get you interested in it. If you have been doing it for years, then this book will give you even more Mickeys to find. With more than 700 Hidden Mickey clues in this book it should keep both amateur and veteran hunters busy for their whole trip, if not a few trips (like it has for us).

MY all time favorite guidebook sadly is no longer in production but it was Walt Disney World - The Essential Guide to Amazing Vacations - Rita Aero:

I remember this was my very first guidebook that I bought and loved it. I still go back read it just for the memories and to see attractions, etc long gone. It has great maps, wonderful chapters on food and ratings for EVERYTHING. At a time when I was really immersing myself into Disney, this book was perfect for me.

hope these helped a little, feel free to drop me a line for more details on this or other titles.
:pipes:
D

[RobinRocksDisney]

Thank you everyone!

I have the 2009 Passporter preordered so I know that will keep me very busy when it comes:D

Thanks for replying!

[Boojum]

We prefer the Walt Disney World With Kids books by Kim Wright Willey. She releases a new one every year. It's broken down into an easy-to-read-and-find-stuff format.

She describes the parks, the rides, the resorts, and the restaurants. She gives info about prices and suitability for kids. She provides the pertinent telephone numbers.

She also has sections about the Disney Cruise Line and Universal Studios.