Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World: a Must-Have for Your Trip

We recently returned from a week-long trip to Walt Disney World. The trip had been a year in the making. While many visit The World frequently, this was to be our one-time splurge, so I wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible. I read dozens of books designed to enhance the Disney experience. Hands down, the most helpful was The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

The first thing that told me the Unofficial Guide (hereafter referred to as "UG") was serious was its size: over 700 pages. I cannot think of any aspect of Disney that UG doesn't cover. What really makes it stand out, though, is its tone. It describes rides, hotel rooms, the dining plan, you name it - just as you might discuss it with a friend: in down to earth, real, conversational terms. It's not just a commerical for Disney, either. Both good and bad points are mentioned.

I began with the book's section on when to visit. The authors have actually developed a formula where they have computed the crowd level in the parks on each day of the year. This is listed in some versions of the books, and also on the book's website at www.touringplans.com. This was extremely helpful to me in determining not only what time of year to visit, but which day of the week to visit the different parks during our stay. For each day, they list which parks to visit and which to avoid. Generally, they recommend AVOIDING the park offering Extra Magic Hours because that perk tends to increase the number of visitors to that park. We followed this strategy and were pleased with the results.

The book describes each Disney resort in great detail, and includes floor plans, ratings on noise level, food options, pricing, etc - the amount of information is really hard to overestimate. Off-site hotels are listed and rated as well. Also covered in detail are options for getting to Disney, traveling while at Disney (either using Disney transportation or your own), how to get tickets most reasonably, whether or not the Disney Dining Plan makes sense for your family, etc.

A favorite feature for our family were the chapters on each individual park (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios). There is an overview of each park, and then each attraction is described individually in detail. You will get a rating on each attraction by age (preschoolers, grade schoolers, teens, young adults, over 30 and seniors), length of attraction, whether or not FASTPASS is available, etc. Beginning several months before our trip, I would read about a different attraction each night after dinner. This really got the kids excited for our trip! It also was helpful in letting us plan which attractions were must-sees and which we felt we could skip.

An important feature of the book are its "touring plans" for each park. Based again on their formulas, the book lists plans for touring each park: when to arrive, which order to see attractions in, etc. According to them, you will see substantially more in each park, with less wait time, than if you just wander in and go from attraction to attraction without a plan. I have to admit that, since we visited during a slow time (early January), we didn't use these plans much, but I think they would be a must if you visit during a busier timme of year.
There are many more treasures in this book: each Disney restaurant is described, rated by stars, price range listed, etc. There is a chart about "fright potential" - which rides could possibly be scary for kids and adults with fears of all types. Something that made the book interesting to read was its wealth of comments from readers (after your trip, you're also invited to complete a survey and your comment may appear in the next edition). After each attraction, comments would appear. While some of these verge on the ridiculous ("This attraction ruined the entire day for my child! Don't ride it!"), if you can take them with a grain of salt, it does add to the book's neighborly tone and does give an added viewpoint that you may want to consider.

Other topics covered in the book include how to book reservations for Character Dining, tips for doing Disney if you're disabled, and also brief overviews of other Orlando parks.

I even toted the book around during our trip. While we were waiting for a bird show to begin in Animal Kingdom, I was reading the show's description to my family when a man turned around. "Hey - that's got to be the Unofficial Guide! I would recognize the language anywhere!" IHe pulled out his copy, and it was a fun shared experience as we discussed how much we had each gotten out of the book.

The book is updated annually, and if you have the latest edition you can use all the features of the website free. Without the book, a year's subscription to the website would be well worth the $7.95 cost. Here's wishing you a magical trip! With the help of the Unofficial Guide, that's one wish that will definitely come true.