I truly believe this book made our vacation the BEST ever!!!! We never shood in line once!!!!!!!!!!! I highly recommend it!!!!

This book was such a great help! I purchased several other, but this was by far, the most comprehensive and best written!

Traveling to Walt Disney World without reading this book is dangerous. Understanding the many facets and choices to be made is critical and this book provides all necessary info. I have been there many times and always obtain the latest edition of this book with fabulous results.

This is a comprehensive guide to the enormous vacation spot known as "Disney world." We were able to check out all the restaurants and make early reservations before our last trip. My principal concerns were the very small print and low color contrast in the print. Anyone with any reading problems (such as myself) would not find it convenient to use.

I bought this book along with the PassPorter, and this book blows the other away by far! The thickness of the book may seem overwhelming, but you only have to read the sections that pertain to you and your trip. The information was extremely helpful, and delivered in an amusing voice. This book was certainly written for any reader - neither over nor under the majority of readers' heads. Also the reviews of rides and dining were just right - not too in-depth but certainly very helpful.

I highly recommend this book for anyone planning a trip to Disney!

I bought this book after picking up an older version for 1 in a bargain bin of a book shop. It is a brilliant book to have when you are in the planning stages of your holiday. It has incredibly detatiled sections on hotels, transportation, dining and ticket options. I liked this book because it was unofficial and gave an honest opinion rather than the 'Disney line'. The criticisms were fair and measured in my opinion and not 'anti-Disney' like some reviewers have said. I really liked the fact that it rated each attraction with ratings for different age groups, this was very helpful for me as it was just me and my husband (late 20's) we were able to avoid the real 'kiddy rides'. Also I found the ratings for our age group to be pretty spot on.

The amount of detail in this book is also a con as well as a pro. I really would not reccommend this book if you already have everything planned and booked. This book is too heavy to bring to the parks, so I would suggest getting a smaller book to synopsis the rides. I found that I read this alot before I went and barely looked at it while we were there.

When you purchase this book, you also get free subscription to the website which has a lot of additional touring plans and also a great 'Best Days' calender which gives every day of the year a mark from 1-10 for crowds (10 being maximum capacity). It also tells you which are the best and worst parks for crowds on any given day based on historical entrance and also special events such as Extra Magic Hours or special parties. I fould this very helpful in avoiding the worst of the summer crowds.

I hadn't been to Disney in 2o years and would have wasted a lot of time if I hadn't read this book. We got tickets to eat breakfast with Cinderella thanks to this book. We got to ride Dumbo before the park had been open 10 minutes because of this book. It helped us have the best vacation ever! I won't go back without ordering the newest edition!

I went thru this big book before going to Disneyworld and my husband thought I was mental - until we actually got there.. and indeed we managed to have a lovely day at Disneyworld in mid August, we saw all that we wanted, the kids (5 and 8)loved it and we spared SO much time I cannot measure. We knew where and when to go, we skipped attractions that the kids would not have liked and really enjoyed the day (and I mean, it was almost 100°F, no joke). I had another guidebook but the Unofficial guides gives sound advice and insights.
And it was fun reading it, too!!
I would not go without.

I went thru this big book before going to Disneyworld and my husband thought I was mental - until we actually got there.. and indeed we managed to have a lovely day at Disneyworld in mid August, we saw all that we wanted, the kids (5 and 8)loved it and we spared SO much time I cannot measure. We knew where and when to go, we skipped attractions that the kids would not have liked and really enjoyed the day (and I mean, it was almost 100°F, no joke). I had another guidebook but the Unofficial guides gives sound advice and insights.
And it was fun reading it, too!!
I would not go without.

The book was an excellent guideline for my trip to WDW. I highly recommend it.
There are, however, a few things that I would have liked to see. First, the book should rate rides by 'Couple' as well. Several rides were highly-rated by adults (who probably have kids and so enjoy the rides as well), but I did not like the rides at all and thought that they were too childish for me. So a rating for couples or adults without kids would have been nice. In addition, the ratings for various hotels is not really correct. I stayed at the Dolphin and the hotel did not match the ratings in this book. Which is fine I guess because with rooms it can be a hit or a miss especially with such large hotels.
Other than that, the book is excellent. The touring plans are also dot on - when I followed them, I was done with everything major by noon.

Great reference book to Walt Disney World, I am going their in October and this book has given me a lot to think about and has already guided me as to what to do and not to do. I would recomend this book to anyone planning a trip to WDW!

I found this book to be helpful it has a lot of information so you can enjoy your vacation at disney

I purchased this book since we were going to be first time visitors to Disney World and it was very accurate and helpful. The book contains many good suggestions and helped ease our planning. I really think it saved us a lot of time on our trip. (We read it before we left.) Highly recommended to anyone wanting to learn more about visiting Disney World.

This book does contain some wondefull detailed information about Disney world but it tends to be more of the negative and whiny variety. Most the reviews listed are definatly on the negative and belittling and demeaning quality. But if your looking to get as much Disney info as possible its a good companion to other books of a more favorable reviewing. This way your more rounded and prepared for your trip. It has a lot of detail which is good and the info for the most part is right on.However you can come aaway from reading this thinking the author has a positive outlook on Disney. Its a good read but dont take it word for word

In the past I bought a 2002 edition, and it is really good to see this stays as comprehensive up to date resource for plannig a trip to the parks.

This is the second time I bought and used these books for Walt Disney World. The first time I went to the parks with my husband and the second time we had two children. I truly believe if you spend the money on this type of vacation (because Disney World is not cheap) spend the money for the book and save your family time and money with all the tips and hints this book gives. We had an awesome time, both times!! The daily itineraries were invaluable. My husband who doesn't like crowds, heat and waiting in line was so thankful for this book. It really made a big difference in our vacation.

I read and reread this book and when we got Disney I followed most of what the book recommended and our trip was awesome. We hardly had any waits for rides (my kids are 2 1/2 and 5) and throughly enjoyed our stay. When I go back in a few years I will get the most updated version again. This book was perfect!

I can't say it any better than the title. This book gives great tips about everything inside and outside of the park. In parts it's a little over the top, but definately worth the extra cash to make sure you think of everything to make your WDW trip perfect.

This is a terrific guidebook that, as mentioned elsewhere, pulls no punches and doesn't just spout the Disney party line. I've been to Walt Disney World about eight times and thought I had no need for a guidebook, but I was clearly mistaken.

If you're new to WDW, the degree of comprehensiveness in this guide can be a little overwhelming, but stick with it. If you've been there a few times it's pretty easy to "cherry-pick" the information you need that will make your next visit even more fun. The visitor comments about the park, and about the guide itself, run the entire range from "loved it" to "hated it" and will help you to make some truly informed choices.

Read the book thoroughly before your visit, as far in advance as possible. Some tips note that you need to make some plans as much as 180 days before your travel date. (For instance, if you want to have a Character Breakfast at Cinderella's Castle, you have to call within a very small time window on a very specific day, and they recommend PRACTICING making your call for a week prior.) Take some time to digest what you've read and then look through it again as your final plans start to take shape.

I can see where some people would recommend the PassPorter book as well, and it's not a bad guide, but if you have to choose between one and the other, then this is the one to choose.

While giving us some insight for our trip, because of the "commando approach" to touring Disney World, it took away from the "Disney magic." It made us feel if we didn't follow the plans exactly we would be sorry. It also did not give clear instructions for those of us who were "park hoppers." No good instructions on touring one park in the morning and another one later. Basically, we figured that out on our own and did not need to spend the money on this book. We found the Passporter guide to be much easier to read, more organized and not as Disney critical.

When we first started planning our Disney World vacation, we were overwhelmed by the number of choices and decisions we had to make. This book put us completely at ease. We felt as though we had our own tour guide by our side during the planning stage as well as on the actual trip.

We anticipated not getting to many of the activities we wanted to see and do because of the anticipated crowds, but we followed all the touring plans listed in the book and managed to do everything we looked forward to, with our wait times reduced to a minimum. The touring plans even include a succinct list of restaurant choices at each park with ratings, type of service and food available. All this information at your fingertips!

One of the nice features of the book is that the authors give their opinions, followed by both positive and negative comments from readers who shared their opinions with the authors. This enabled us to obtain a more complete picture of each activity. Since we range in age from 8 to 73, it was very helpful to read comments and suggestions from the authors and their readers applicable to different age groups.

We had purchased another guide book as a companion book, but it was completely unnecessary. The Unofficial Guide was all we needed. We wouldn't dream of doing Disney without it!

So glad that I purchased this book before we went to disney world, mgm and Sea World. The tips were so accurate. A must have for lots of fun....

We just got back from Disney World and this book was a lifesaver. We followed the clip out guides in the back of the book and never had to wait longer than 30 minutes at any attraction. Their reviews on places to eat was right on. It made our vacation so much better.

I love this book. I've purchased earlier editions too for when I've gone to Disneyworld years ago. Even if you don't get into the suggested itineraries, you can find hotel, restaurant, and ride reviews that are honest and to the point. Plus, you can get the real story instead of the "company line" you'll find in official Disney publications.

When I hear somebody is going to Disneyworld for the first time, I buy them this book as a present because it's that comprehensive. Seriously, don't leave home without it.

It has it all, or at least everything you and I would be interested in learning. It is well laid out, easy to follow and encompasses all the information you will need to enjoy your visit to the World. There are endless suggestion on what to do and see. Clear directions on how to get there inside the World and out. For a grownup (an I mean GROWN UP) on her first visit, this book meets all my needs and then some. See you there, I will have my book in hand.

This book was so helpful to us in planning our June trip to Disney World! As first-timers, we had no idea where to start, but this book has so much great information to aid in trip planning. In fact, when I first picked it up I was overwhelmed by all of this info, but I read it little by little several times before we left. When the time came, we felt well informed and ready for fun! We read over the touring plans each night before we went to a park, planned our route and our must-see attractions, and we did not wait in line more than 30 minutes - and that was only a couple of times. People cannot believe us when we say we went in June, saw everything we wanted to, and did not wait in lines for hours. Read this book - you'll be glad you did!

We found this to be an accurate and comprehensive guide to Disney World. We were pleased to find very useful information on Universal Studios and Orlando as well. We consulted it many times each day and tried several of the recommended restaurants. We all completely agreed with the ratings they received. Their advice on park attractions was absolutely flawless.
The only caution - we were quite disappointed in the Dixie Landings "moderate" resort and wished there had been a more frank assessment of housekeeping and the condition of the rooms, which has slipped tremendously since our last visit. Better advice is to dip into the college fund and stay in a top tier resort. They were correct in stating that the French Quarter was nicer than Riverside as it has recently been renovated, but they failed to mention that their housekeeping is so poor. Some employees were obviously disgruntled and bashed Disney openly. It's sad to see what has happened to the "happiest place on earth."
That aside, we all had a wonderful time, thanks in part to this book. This is the only book needed to get the most out of the parks, but it is advisable to study up the day before and remember to tear out the handy summary page provided at the back of the book to keep in your pocket while at the park. Buying supplemental books which have more maps would have been helpful to us.

This book was very helpful for our recent trip to Disney. I would recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Disney, especially with young children.

This book provides a wealth of information and could be overwhelming at first glance. It certainly doesn't sugarcoat your anticipated visit. The price on Amazon is also much better than retail bookstores.

Just returned from WDW and used book as research before and during trip. Very informative and when used with index you will find what you need fairly quick. Nice grouping of subjects...(what appeals to toddlers or senior, etc.) I would have give 5 stars but book was too bulky to carry in the park, for that I used EZ Fun Guide to WDW. That guide was ringbound, easier to carry, maps were easier to navitgate with. But unofficial guide filled in all the FYI gaps.

I recently purchased this book and the official guide, while both are very informative, this book gives more details and tips, my friend used it for her first trip to Disney, and she and her husband called it the Disney "Bible", she followed it's advice pretty closely and they had a wonderful time! I have been sharing it with our other friends also, because we aren't going until December--we all love it!!!

Excellent source to read before you book your trip to Disney World. I get a new guide every year to track the changes and plan our trip.

For ages there have been two main travel guides to Disney World, this one, which is the No. 1 travel guide in the country, according to Amazon, and Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World), which is published by Disney. Now a third book has been getting a lot of attention, The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World, a new one that has a lot of photos on Disney World as well as lots of theme park information. Since Disney is so huge, and your time and money is so precious, choosing which book, or books, to buy can make all the difference. And, to me, reading the reviews of these books doesn't help that much, as they all seem to have their fans and each book has its own take on things. So I thought that instead of writing just another review, I would do a comparison test. I bought all three books, drew up some comparison criteria, and sat them down in front of me on my dining table.

I compared the books in six categories (which are, frankly, the things that are important to me in a guidebook, you may have other ideas) and wrote down how they stacked up. Here are the results:

1) Ease of use. 1st Place: The Complete Guide. This isn't close. The Complete Guide has a completely different look than the other books, with magazine-style articles and lots of photos and color. The main chapters are color coded (Magic Kingdom is red, Epcot orange, etc.). Each attraction review is very easy to find, as each one starts on its own page. Second place: Birnbaum. It too has color-coded chapters.

2) Fun to read. 1st Place (a tie): The Unofficial Guide and The Complete Guide. The Complete Guide has an amazing number of little tidbits about the Disney attractions, so if you love Disney it's really fun to read. The Unofficial Guide has a lot of guests complaints about Disney, so if you're a Disney cynic it will make you laugh. Both have witty writers, and both made me laugh out loud. They each have their place. Birnbaum isn't a bad read, but it comes off more like a big brochure than the other two.

3) Information about Disney World attractions and activities. 1st Place: The Complete Guide. It spends probably 10 times as much space on each attraction, offering up the story of each ride, some real good "Fun Finds" and all kinds of helpful specs that the other books ignore. Plus, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Second place: Unofficial.

4) Information about attractions outside of Disney (Universal Studios, Seaworld, etc.). 1st Place: The Unofficial Guide. Hands down. The Birnbaum guide doesn't mention anything outside of Walt Disney World, and the Complete Guide only has hotel listings.

5) Information on hotels, restaurants and shopping. 1st Place: Unofficial. This one is close. The other books have photos of every Disney resort, which Unofficial doesn't, and the Complete guide is well organized and has all kinds of hotel specs, but the Unofficial Guide just goes crazy with its listings, rating each resort nine ways to Sunday! For shopping, the best Disney info is in the Complete Guide, the best outside-Disney info is in Unofficial.

6) Maps, photographs and illustrations. 1st Place (another tie): Birnbaum and the Complete Guide. Nothing comes close to the Complete Guide for photographs, but this is an area where the Birnbaum guide does have something special -- Mickey, Donald and all the Disney cartoon characters! They're included on many pages. Both Birnbaum and the Complete Guide have good maps. Unofficial has good line drawings of the interiors of hotel rooms.

So, which one's best? You know, I think you'd have to pick two: The Unofficial Guide and The Complete Guide. Unofficial is pretty dull to look at, but it is so thorough in its coverage about everything outside of Disney and offers so much "cynical" insight that it just can't be ignored, and it has the best hotel and restaurant info. The Complete Guide, on the other hand, is a joy to look at and read, and is just stunning in its amount of fun and useful information on Disney attractions. As for Birnbaum, I say skip it, and, if you've got children, instead buy the children's version, Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids, by Kids 2007 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids By Kids). It's not much money, and that way you'll still get all the "Official Disneyness" of a Birnbaum book AND have something for your kids to look at.

Well that's the end of my test! I hope it is helpful. I'm posting it as a review at the pages for all three books. I should mention that there are many other Disney books out there too (the Fodors one is pretty good, too), but for time (and money) I only went with the three main titles.

This was a wonderful help in planning our first trip to Disney World! I would recommend it to anyone that is planning a trip (whether it's your first or it's just been a while).

This book covers it all....good to read up on in advance as it is cumbersome to take with you to the parks. Can answer any question you have and offers terrific advice/insight.

I love this book. I love to plan my vacations and make reservations in advance for restaurants. This book is great for that and so much more. It gives you inside tips so you can find the perfect spot for viewing parades and the fireworks! Especially great for 1st time Disney visitors.

Great book. Lots of information and more than we were expecting, special back-routes to park, how to time rides, one parent at a time so that as your child is exiting the ride, they can be passed to parent in line to ride again! Best advice when going during non-peak times, but nonetheless a valuable tool!

This is teh second time we have purchased an edition of this great resource. The 2001 edition was our first purchase and it was a godsend! Now the book has been expanded and includes such helpful features as tour plans and restaurant guides. I had one small question that wasn't resolved by the book so I emailed the author. He replied the same day with all the information I needed. Although this is a resource book, it isn't some old stuffy dry read that you'd expect out of Oxford, Harvard or Cambridge. This book is full of snarky witicisms and clever remarks, more like a product out of UW - Madison ;). It is actually fun and refreshing to read. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I first picked up the Unofficial Guide to WDW 18 years ago, the last time I visited. It easily saved us, as promised, four hours of waiting in line. I had no idea how much more complicated WDW had become since then. The Guide is exhaustive, not only in terms of how to tour the parks, but also hotels, meals, and other items of interest in and around WDW. The Guide is well worth the price, if you have time to read it all. If you're looking for a quick reference to read on the plane while you travel to Orlando, or to carry with you as you tour "the mouse", this is not your book. But, if you have a month or two, and love to do research, this Guide is a great read.

We buy this book every year even though we have been to Walt Disney World several times. The book is full of useful info and is honest which is quite refreshing after reading some of the other overly "nice" guidebooks. This author pulls no punches which is helpful when deciding what to do.

Our WDW vacation doesn't start till september but I feel well prepared. We have never been to WDW before. We being Mom, dad and three kids. This guide was highly informative. Many of my first timer questions were answered. With so many choices as to where to stay? Where to eat? Character dining? What attractions to see? I was overwelmed. Now my trip is booked, all ADR's are made and how to get from here to there is figured out. Great guide. But read it twice! It has so much info!

My wife and I have been to WDW a total of 6 times in our lifetimes. When we decided to take our children back in December 2001, my wife bought the 2001 edition of this book. At the time I thought it was a little silly, since, as I mentioned, we had both been to the properties so many times previous. But as I was soon to learn, this book was to prove an invaluable guide to planning the perfect trip.

My philosophy regarding the purchase and digestion of this book is very simple; you have a finite number of dollars to spend, a finite level of energy, and only so much time to spend on this, the most fantastic of vacation experiences. You owe it to yourself to invest some time preparing for the trip. This guide helps you learn about the WDW experience in an unbiased, unsentimental, practical way. The authors share the good, the bad, and the ugly--all for the purpose of empowering the reader/consumer to maximize their entertainment dollars and time spent in at the Disney resort.

Some WDW Kool-Aid drinkers may be a bit put-off by the brutal honesty of the authors. I, for one, was not. I appreciate their candor, their thouroughness, and honesty in assessing/reporting about all things Disney. You have to keep in mind that when you undertake to go on a vacation of this magnitude, you are in for the ride of your life, financially speaking. The price of the park tickets, for example, has increased 100% since 1989. The food at the fine restaurants in the park is incredibly expensive, and the souveniers...I don't want to get into how I feel about a corporation that ensures that the exits for the most popular rides are positioned right at the gift shop!

Still, it is an exciting and fun place to take the family. So if you are planning your first trip, or you are returning, do yourself a favor and get some smarts before you go. When we return to Disney within the next 2-3 years, we will purchase this book again and plan accordingly. It is the only way to ensure you are getting the most for your money. Believe me, Disney has designed an entertainmnet experience to TAKE as much of that money as they can; you owe it to yourself to be a wise consumer.

Have a great trip!

This book is awesome and is very informative! Everyone should buy this book before they make the trip to Disney World. I have learned so much and will follow the advice of this book. Our trip is scheduled for August 2007 and I'll have another review after that.

Due to our schedules the only time we had to visit WDW was in our April school break (along with half of middle America!) and because we had other things on our agenda such as visiting near-by grandparents we only had 1.5 days at WDW. Thanks to this book, we were able to make all the correct decisions as to which days of the week to go, which park to visit, and how to structure our visit for maximum efficiency and enjoyment. I can't tell you how many miserable ill-prepared families we saw standing in long lines while we had a fabulous two days! Due to their recommendations we got to ride all the rides we wanted and greet Ariel (a must-do for our 3 year old) without significant waiting in lines. The best part of the day was when we got to have dinner in Cinderella's castle with the characters and watch the fireworks from the windows (esp. as it poured rain during the display)! I can't recommend this book highly enough and am buying the unofficial guide to disneyland next to plan our next trip out to LA......

This book is awesome and is very informative! Everyone should buy this book before they make the trip to Disney World. I have learned so much and will follow the advice of this book. Our trip is scheduled for August 2007 and I'll have another review after that.

As one of the top tourist destinations in the world, it is no surprise that Orlando is the subject of many travel guides. In this competition for readers, you can find all of the big name publishers. With all the guides offered, you would think it would be difficult to pick a clear winner but it isn't. The Unofficial Guide is hands down the finest guide to Orlando. Note that it does not simply cover Walt Disney World as the name of the book implies. There is full coverage of both Universal parks as well as basic information on Sea World as well. Since these parks are well worth visiting, this is an important addition.

The one criticism I've heard about this book is that it is only for hard-core planners. That really is misleading. If you travel to the area in the summer when the parks are jammed you would do well to follow the author's daily plans to the letter. If you prefer to completely ignore the detailed plans, however, this is still the most useful guidebook by far.

Want to know the best places to eat? You'll find full restaurant reviews from the authors as well as reader feedback. The same is true of hotels. Personally, I love being able to compare what the authors thought of a place with what ordinary travelers felt. When both rated a place very highly, then I knew we had a winner. Beyond specific hotels, restaurants, and attractions, the book is absolutely loaded with general information that is highly useful. For example, one spends a great deal of time walking in Orlando (and walking, and walking). Blisters are quite common and they tell you the best way to avoid them or deal with them if you act too slowly. My wife actually had this problem while we were there and it worked like a charm. This is just one example but there are many more useful gems tucked away in this volume.

Even though I've traveled to Orlando a number of times, I find myself spending hours going through this book each time. It truly is great for both first-time visitors and veterans of WDW. Forget the other guides, buy this one and enjoy using the finest resource you'll ever find for planning an adventure in Orlando.

This is the book i've been looking for with answers to the most detailed questions I had about all aspects of WDW! Being a plan-a-holic, I especially appreciated things like the chart containing travel times to the parks and Downtown Disney from each WDW hotel. All of the detail can make you a little crazy if you feel you need to know ALL of it, but, chances are, if you have any questions about how to plan your trip, they are answered here. Only downside being, the realistic look at WDW and associated attractions can damp down a bit of the magic (if you let it).

Buy this book if you want to save lot's of time on your trip. This book clearly states how to make the most of your time and money. A must for those who are looking to enjoy themselves at Disney!

I purchased this guide book about a month before our 2 week family vacation to Orlando. While I had been to Disneyland several times before as a single and parent I wanted to get a better feel for the larger Disneyworld. This book is packed with info and would be especially helpful for someone or a family that had NEVER been to either one of the Disney parks. The information is accurate and well presented. We were able to gleam a few helpful tips and it helped with our planning of what parks to visit on what days although we did not follow the suggested touring plans verbatim. You're spending thousands of dollars on your Disney vacation. For under $15 this book will help make sure you get the most for your money.

This is the type of book that could be read 5 times with new discoveries made at every reading. I quickly discovered that a highlighter and flag tabs were necessary to help me remember the location of key information. The most surprising thing I got out of the book was the decision to stay off property. The transportation system, size and cost involved helped us decide to stay in a time-share off site. We definitely would not have made that decision without this valuable guide. My only concern is that it is too big to take into the park with us. While we have been before, we have never been with small children and that task is a little daunting. We ordered Birnbaum's Disney Guide for kids and they loved it because of the photos but for me the Sehlinger Unofficial Guide provided a wealth of information re: children and associated activities. This is must buy for Disneyworld visitors.