I worked for Disney in "the Park," selling skulls and snakes in Adventureland-- right next to the Jungle Cruise at the palm-roofed hut that was once called "Tropical Imports." This was during my undergrad years at the University of California (translation: I worked at Disneyland, and I'm smart). I was born in Santa Monica, my parents met during a dance night at Carnation Gardens in Disneyland, and my dad and his wife still have annual passes to the park (translation: in case there was any doubt, I know what I'm taking about), yet I still learned many valuable things from this book; it rocks.

This book is such a contribution! I recommend it to every person who's headed to the park. Buy it and take it with you-- follow the advice. The only time-honored recommendations this book somehow misses are:

1. Grab a few mini bourbon bottles on the plane ride to California - they're perfect for spiking mint juleps at the Blue Bayou (no alcohol is served at the Magic Kingdom - DCA across the street is the closest supplier).

2. Bran muffins, power bars, and canned coffee drinks are the breakfast of Disney champions. Throw a few in your backpack and gnaw on them at 7:45am when you're waiting for the ropes to drop.

3. Bring a water bottle

4. Wash your hands - ask park employees and they'll tell you they wash their hands BEFORE and after using the facilities. You don't know who grabbed that _______ just before you did.

5. Load up everything you'll carry with you to the park, wear the shoes you're planning on, get junior in the stroller, put on the sunscreen, and take a 5+ mile walk every Saturday the three weekends prior to your departure. Either that or run 10Ks every weekend - one way or the other you'll remember to bring the ibuprofen.

Enjoy!

bought this before our trip and it was well worth it - saves you ALOT of time!

Love it, love it! I actually just purchased my second one - this one as a gift. Being raised in California, I had been to Disneyland more times than I could count. But someone suggested this book to me to plan a seamless first time trip for my best friend. I would not have done the trip without it! I reccomend this to anyone planning a first time trip, if you have never been it can be quite overwhelming: you will waste most of your trip wandering around and waiting in queues. Families will especially find the ratings guide handy when planning which rides would best keep the kiddies entertained.

A number of friends told me about the book before our trip and being a single mom to a 6 year old I thought it was just good planning.... This guide was so helpful and wouldn't go on another Disneyland trip without it. Yes it is a little heavy and cumbersome to lug around with you but it saved us time and frustration more than once. The guide was right on about rating of the rides, particularly for a younger child. Next trip this book will be the first thing in the suitcase.

We took 4 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 21; a 72 year old and I am 51; the advice was spot-on; our only disappointment was no fireworks because the weather was too windy; otherwise, we did both parks in a three day driving turnaround from Phoenix during a quick fly-in Spring Break for the teenagers! A great time was had by all. Grandma DID get to celebrate her birthday in STYLE! Thank GOD for the motorized wheelchairs! They were a real lifesaver! -and worth every penny!

I have used this book in planning my Disneyland trip. I love all the information that is given and how easy it is to find what your looking for. It tells you all about the Hotels Disneyland and Good neighbor Hotels and if they are a great value, what amenities you get, how far it is from the park, and if the people working there are friendly. It also tells you about the restaurants, fast food, fine dining and more at Disneyland at Disney California Adventure and Downtown and they tell you about the quality of food value such as if it is $5.00 if it is really worth it, and what time you should go. I thought this book was such great help, this is not my first trip to Disneyland but it helped me more then I ever thought. I now know where I am going to eat stay and so on because of the help this book gave me. I think that anyone should get this book if they are going to Disneyland. I don't have kids but this book had lots of information on what rides are great, a plan of attack for kids walking and so one and more, if you have kids then you really need this book. Buy it you wont be disappointed.

Two years ago I bought the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. What a terrific resource! I had high hopes for the Disneyland edition, but have been somewhat disappointed. It does have a lot of useful information, but the Disney World guide was much more insightful. The Disney World Guide gave a lot of strategies regarding the parades etc. In general I am pleased and I like their format, I just wish it had as much info. as the Disney World Guide.

This is a great, well-written and organized reference for planning a trip to Disneyland. While I'd been to the park several times, I'd never planned a trip for others until last March. The Unofficial guide was extremely helpful and the trip went beautifully. So many people go to the park and are clearly having a challenging time; this book will really help alleviate the stress. It has many tips and tricks to avoid the major pitfalls and enjoy your vacation as much as possible. Bob helped me make the transition from someone who thought the park was a drag to enjoying it immensely - even during the height of summer. Very highly recommended!

I am veteran of Disneyland, having been there many, many times throughout the years. I purchased this guide primarily because it gives a lot of guidance on Hotels in the area and that is something I'm always looking to improve. What I didn't expect and was incredibly pleased to find is great guidance for inside the park's, something I didn't think I needed since I've been so many times. I found it to be incredibly useful, especially the advice about seeing the Finding Nemo ride (Something I'm glad I didn't wait in line to see - it was worth a five minute wait...not any more than that.) and other park tour guides. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for first time visitors, and would even recommend it for veteran's of the park such as myself. Buy this book - you won't regret it.

Consider this a confession from a travel book junkie. Having read multiple Disneyland guides, I give The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2008 my full endorsement. I found the book well organized and suggestions in the book were useful. There are countless websites and blogs which provide information a book simply can't. The material becomes stale the day before publication. What's great about this selection is that its most important feature is "stale proof".

That most helpful feature is the park navigation system. The reader is provided with a systematized plan of attack; what to ride, when to ride it, and how to maximize your time. There are plenty of plans and guides of what to ride and when. This plan was the most straightforward and easiest to follow. If you just want one book to take with you to Disneyland, this is it.

This guide was recommended to me by a friend and it ended up really helping me prepare for our Disneyland trip. There is information in here you probably won't be able to find in other guides. The best part about this book were the reviews and ratings on each ride. It includes a rating for several different age groups so we knew which rides our children would enjoy the most. My only complaint was that some of his price information was out of date. For instance, the prices at Ariel's Grotto were quite a bit higher in reality than in the guide. Also, stroller prices have gone up. The author's opinions differed from my own from time to time, but overall, the guide gave me a good idea of what to expect, where to go, when to go, and even which line to get into.