If you have never visited Disney World before, this book is invaluable. It shares the 'ins and outs' of a vacation at the House of Mouse. It made scheduling quite simple. The explanations are simple and direct. This book came highly recommended to me and I pass that sentiment along to you......

This is an excellent guide and really helped me with all phases of planning my Disney vacation. Highly recommend!

This book has been very helpful in the planning of our trip to Disney in Florida. It has useful information about rides, dining, resorts and more. I will let you know how well it worked when we get back from Florida in November.

I guess I expected a bit more detailed, helpful info.... I purchased the same book about 11 years ago, (the 1996 version) and as I recall it contained a lot of useful info and more helpful hints....This issue did not really tell me anymore than I already knew from reading on the Disney website....The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World proved for far better reading...

Once again, Birnbaum's doesn't disappoint. Easy, fast reading. And packed with great ideas and information.

We are planning a trip to Disney World with our children and grandchildren. I was told that this is the best book to read for planning such a trip. I agree. I bought it for us and also for our children. It is very complete and gives information for all levels of budget. I especially liked the "tips" included for each category. I would suggest that anyone planning such a trip get this book before doing anything else.

I purchased this along with many other Disney books and found it a huge disappointment. It is filled with beautiful color pictures which is nice but the information is all extremely simple and not helpful at all.

Disney is very expensive but certainly a worthwhile trip. It is very necessary to do a lot of research before planning to get the most for your buck and from your trip. I highly recommend THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO WALT DISNEY WORLD and the PASSPRTER GUIDE for extensive research, guidance on everything needed to plan an amazing trip.

For pictures of what you will see when there get this book. For me it ruins the surprises and some of the memories I want to make on my own.

Disney is truly magical and shop wisely for the necessary guide books.

I have been going to WDW for the last 3 years, this year will be number 4 and this book has help me to find NEW things to do and NEW restaurants to try. Will definitely be taking it along!

Birnbaum's Official Guide to Walt Disney World is the perfect book for someone who doesn't want to have to read thousands of pages or spend hours planning out every detail of their visit to WDW. It is a summary of the basic information that one would want to know before visiting Walt Disney World. It may not be as comprehensive (or critical) as the Unofficial Guide, it may not be as fun to read or as colorful as The Complete Guide, and it may not offer the planning and organizational tools of the PassPorter, but it's the perfect book for someone who wants the basic information in the fewest words.

Good reference tool for first time travelers to Disneyworld. Excellent information on lodging and park ticket resources.

This is a great book for navigating around the Disney parks. It has specific information about all the restaurants both fast food and full service. It has tips on when the lines are longest, where to spot the characters and anything else Disney that you can imagine. My 8 year old is enjoying it as well. Great to plan your next Disney vacation!

I purchased two guidebooks to help me plan our upcoming family vacation, this one and Passporter's. This one is very in depth, but no places for taking notes. Overall, it gives a lot of great, helpful information.

We used this book on a previous trip a few years back and able to get lots of helpful information and ideas that made the trip a lot more enjoyable.

Disney is a complex labyrinth! Without the proper tools, including preparation, it can be a frustrating experience. Birnbaum's guide provides helpful details about each park - from rides to dining to accomodations, it is extremely informative. Another key point is that it includes information regarding rides that have height requirements and/or may be more frightening to children than others. The "Birnbaum's Best" ratings were on target as far as we were concerned. The maps were very useful as were the tips regarding when to arrive at the parks. Children tend to revel in Disney World regardless of crowds, etc. but as an adult, stress levels can be high. Birnbaum's Guide is truly valuable in terms of simplifying the navigation of Disney World and therefore, reducing the potential stress of what should be a wonderful experience for the whole family.

This is exactly what we needed to plan our trip. Extremely helpful tips and planning guide. Thanks so much.

This book is an excellent book for anyone wanting information on visiting Walt Disney World. It covers every area of planning your trip and even gives detailed exit information, etc. when driving down to Florida. Excellent choice!

money well spent, use just one coupon from the back and you at least tripple your money for the book, dinning, special tours, lodging plus more. an excellent plan guide for limited time at the disney resort!!!!!!!!!!!!

I purchased this book in preparation for our first trip to WDW in Orlando. I should have purchased it much earlier. It might have saved me $ on the trip arrangements, but it DEFINITELY would have saved me time at the different WDW parks. The book is very informative on all the rides, where to find the characters, what each restaurant offers and the like. It is reasonably well organized and an easy read with extra tips about events in each park. Well worth the investment, especially if purchased at the beginning of the planning stages.

I must say that this guide was exactly what I needed, but also I must confess that another thing came up since I have been traveling to Europe for some time now. I didn't realize or wasn't even thinking about travel insurance?? I mean we all have insurance, that covers us while we are in the US, but not for traveling abroad. I recently planned a second trip to Germany, but wasn't sure if my insurance company policy would take care of minor details in my policy for things I am not sure I have thought about. I am not saying I might or might not be covered, but I need peace of mind when it comes to my family. I then called my HR to find out general things about traveling abroad and "What would happen if" scenario's. I wasn't going to read my lengthy policy, even if I did I wouldn't understand the legal double-talk anyway not being a lawyer and all.

My HR told me everything would be ok, and I shouldn't worry. But some thing in the back of my mind said call again and asked the same questions to see if the results would be the same from another Representative, to my surprise, it was. Ok then, not feeling a warm feeling of confidence in my HR responses. I didn't have much time to keep doing the research, so I looked up travel insurance and started to focus my attention on getting some basic package to cover me and family while we were abroad. There are a lot to choose from, but again this became confusing. So I came across www.securemytravelonline.com which had an aggregate of different well known insurance companies. I choose AIG with a basic plan and the rest was history. Also I didn't know you can insure your travel and luggage also in case of theft, flight cancellation etc. I thought I would share something from one avid traveler to the next. Overall a GREAT Guide and I have bought another copy for my friend.

Take care.
Carl>

I've been buying a version of this book for many years and have always found it the most easy to follow. Seems that everything is in it. The only negative is that there is nothing negative said about anything. As much as I love Disney World, not every restaurant and attraction is perfect! This is an exageration of course.

As some reviewers have said, this is not a guide for things to do in Orlando. There is some information, but the book is primarily about Disney World, and it doesn't claim to be anything else. This is also not a book for those who want nitty gritty details, the good and the bad, spelled out for them. But if what you want is a guide to getting the most enjoyment out of your trip to Disney World, a book that adds to your anticipation and excitement of the trip, then this is the best book out there. It will give you tips for all the "must see" attractions (because you really can't see everything in one trip) and let you familiarize yourself with attractions, maps, hotels and dining. And it evokes the feel of Disney World better than any other guide currently on the market.

This is an excellent planning tool. The remarks are candid and we found them to be right on target.

This is an excellent planning tool. The remarks are candid and we found them to be right on target.

Birnbaum's Guide are fantastic for first time Disney World travelers. It contains phone numbers and references that can certainly come in handy.
I purchased one for my families first trip back in 1999. It gave a lot of useful advice and helped us plan out parts of our adventure ahead of time. We have returned to Disney World several more times and I buy a new Birnbaum Guide each time. Each year's book is pretty much alike with the occassional new ride or attractions added, but for some reason we just like to have it in our hands to look over before our trip and to have on hand once we're there. It's like an informative keepsake to us of each years trip.

I have to disagree with all the previous reviewers about how bad this book is. I agree that the The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 is better for maybe those with children, but there's really nothing wrong with this one that any adult really cares about. It's just a big amusement park, so what's the big deal? It's still the only Official Disney guide book, plus there are coupons in the back. To sum it up, it's not a great book by any means, but not awful either.

Two far better books are The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 and The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World 2008. They are both far more reliable and offer lots of good ideas to help you get the most out of your Disney vacation. This one started out as a fine publication back when Steve Birnbaum was in charge, but since he passed away a decade or so ago it just keeps going downhill. This is the worst edition yet. Much of the information is still word-for-word what it was in 1980, and some of the attraction descriptions are 10 years out of date. The basics about tickets and other planning information is up to date, but there's nothing about the Disney Disney Plan. It's hard to believe this is a Disney product. In short, don't waste your money.

I love Birnbaum's Walt Disney World books and have been buying one a year for the past several years even if we don't go to Disney that year. (I like to compare what's changed from year to year.) This is an extremely informative book about everything in Disney World and more. When I'm preparing to go to Disney, I hghlight everything in the book I want to see and make a list from there. I also make notes of what I don't really want to see that year. If you're planning a trip to Disney World, this book is a must. My suggestion, though, is to buy it several months in advance so you have time to read it and study it so you can make the most of your trip.

This book is excellent. It gives great tips on all the parks, on places to eat and how to make resrvations for things. My 5 yr old son has me read it to him like a story book and in anticipation of our trip he is deciding what he wants to go on and what he doesnt. I also bought the Kids version for him as a Chritmas Gift.

This book simply gives you everything you need to know about Disney World. It made our visit much much easier and more enjoyable.

When I ordered the book it has "Rev Ed edition (September 18, 2007)" next to Publisher. Also the cover that they have posted is different from the first edition. When I received the book it was the same book as the one that I picked up about two weeks before (Of course I returned it). I was hoping for updated information regarding 2008. The Haunted Mansion refurb, EPCOT - Spaceship Earth refurb, wand removal, something about EPCOT's 25th Anniversary, MGM Studios name change - Effective Jan 1st '08 it is being changed to Hollywood Studios (from what I have read). But I guess that I'll have to wait and see if Birnbaum indead does do a revision to the book. I'll be going down in February. Can't wait!!!

I thought I knew all there was to know. I just wish I had bought this book BEFORE I booked my trip. If you're thinking of going to Disney soon, be sure to pick up Birnbaum's, you'll be glad you did.

Great book to have. Lot's of interesting info. We are huge Disney fans and we found lots of great info in this book.

We are going to Disney in January , so I purchased this book because I wanted to see the changes for 2008. I was surprised, and quite dismayed, to see that they had nothing about updated ticket pricing or the changes to the dining plan. This book was not worth the money to me. I expected that since they are the official guide to Disney, they would carry this information. I am going to return this book and just use my 2007 edtion!

Birnbaum's markets itself as the official guide to Walt Disney World and the book is so polished and professional that you could almost believe that the Disney people had a hand in preparing it. They also have the distinction of being one of a very few guides with extensive color photographs of the Disney World parks and hotels. The photos are uniformly excellent and do a great job of offering a window into the look and feel of the parks. Thera are also maps and graphics that are top notch. This certainly brightens up the book and for those who have never been to Disney World, it will help you gain a better sense of what the area looks like. The writing is very light in tone, it's easy to read and comprehend. When it comes to production values, this book is a beauty from cover to cover.

The downside of all the photos is that they leave less room for information such as in-depth coverage of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment outside of the parks. This is doubly true because Birnbaum's starts off with the fewest pages of any major guide to the Orlando area. While the authors have wisely added almost 50 pages to this year's effort, the largest guidebook to the area still has more than three times as many pages, and even the average size guides are nearly double the size. And those books are not filled with photos, they are packed with hard information and useful advice. In effect, Birnbaum's has sacrificed the detailed coverage to give you the beautiful photos and graphics.

In certain respects, this book is less well suited as a tool for in depth planning as it is a means to get excited about your trip. It is useful to the extent that coverage is provided for all the attractions and hotels. But it is of limited use since each entry is carefully phrased to emphasize the positive while doing almost nothing to offer honest comparisons, tell you where the best values are and which places are a bit overpriced, or tell you where you would really be best off spending your time. The authors certainly don't need to resort to snarky negativity, but a basic acknowledgement that some restaurants, hotels, and attractions are lacking in some way would add greatly to their credibility when praising the rest.

The Birnbaum's guide certainly has many fans, but before you buy, you should carefully consider what it is you're looking for. If your primary objective is to get a sneak peak of what Walt Disney World looks like and get a basic description of the area then this is an easy purchase. It will be a quick read and you'll have a decent idea of what to expect when you visit. If you have children, this would also be an excellent book for them to explore.

If you're more of a planner and want a lot of information, if you're curious about anything outside of the Disney Resort area, or if you want more general advice on how to approach a trip to Orlando then this book will not help you nearly as well as almost any other guidebook on the market. The acknowledged king of the detailed guides is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (Unofficial Guides). You'll find that Fodor's Walt Disney World® 2007: with Universal Orlando and SeaWorld (Fodor's Gold Guides) and Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando 2008 (Frommer's Complete) are also solid efforts even if they are not as detailed as the Unoffical Guide. Depending on what you're looking for, it may well make sense to buy more than one guide.

A trip to the Orlando area is usually very expensive and, especially if you have children, problems and disappointments can be somewhat traumatic. Don't stint on the advance planning as it can greatly enhance the experience once you arrive. Good luck and have a great time visiting Walt Disney World!

Birnbaum's touts itself as the official guide to Walt Disney World and the book is so polished and professional that you could almost believe that the Disney people had a hand in preparing it. They also have the distinction of being one of a very few guides with extensive color photographs of the Disney World parks and hotels. The photos are uniformly excellent and do a great job of offering a window into the look and feel of the parks. This certainly brightens up the book and for those who have never been to Disney World, it will help you gain a better sense of what the area looks like. The writing is very light in tone, it's easy to read and comprehend.

The downside of all the photos is that they leave little room for information such as in-depth coverage of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment outside of the parks. This is doubly true because Birnbaum's starts off with the fewest pages of any major guide to the Orlando area. While the authors have wisely added almost 50 pages to this year's effort, the largest guidebook to the area still has more than three times the page count, and even the average size guides are nearly double the size. And those books are not loaded down with photos, they are packed with hard information and useful advice. In effect, the Birnbaum's series has sold its soul to be the most graphically pleasing of all the guides and the price it pays is that there is relatively little information to be had from them.

This book is not so much a tool for in depth planning as it is a means to get excited about your trip. Every attraction is described in glowing terms, every hotel is wonderful, etc. Each entry is carefully phrased to emphasize the positive while doing almost nothing to offer honest comparisons, tell you where the best values are and which places are a bit overpriced, or tell you where you would really be best off spending your time. The authors don't need to resort to snarky negativity, but a basic acknowledgement that some restaurants, hotels, and attractions are lacking in some way would add greatly to their credibility when praising the rest.

The Birnbaum's guides certainly have many fans, but before you buy, you should carefully consider what it is you're looking for. If your primary objective is to get a sneak peak of what Walt Disney World looks like and get a basic description of the area then this is an easy purchase. It will be a quick read and you'll have a decent idea of what to expect when you visit. If you have children, this would also be an excellent book for them to explore.

If you're more of a planner and want a lot of information, if you're curious about anything outside of the Disney Resort area, or if you want more general advice on how to approach a trip to Orlando then this book will not help you nearly as well as any other guidebook on the market. The acknowledged king of the detailed guides is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (Unofficial Guides). You'll find that Fodor's Walt Disney World® 2007: with Universal Orlando and SeaWorld (Fodor's Gold Guides) and Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando 2008 (Frommer's Complete) are also solid efforts even if they are not as detailed as the Unoffical Guide. Depending on what you're looking for, it may well make sense to buy more than one guide.

A trip to the Orlando area is usually very expensive and, especially if you have children, problems and disappointments can be somewhat traumatic. Don't stint on the advance planning as it can greatly enhance the experience once you arrive. Good luck and have a great time visiting Walt Disney World!