The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2009 (Unofficial Guides Series)

Great Resource

After reviewing most of the 2009 WDW guides, I found that the two best guides for 2009 Disney travelers are:

1. The Unofficial Guide to WDW by Bob Sehlinger
2. The 2009 Healthy Guide to WDW by Dan Green.

Both guides are loaded with info, tips and complement each other. The new Healthy Guide to WDW by author Dan Green focuses more on up to date Disney Dining stratgies, ADR's, menus and fitness options inside Disney. The Unofficial Guide is a great updated compilation of the resort, touring plans and parks. Like most other guests in the Disney community, I recommend that you make it simple and just purchase both guides to plan your upcoming 2009 Disney vacation.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disney World, Here We Come!

TREMENDOUS, for the first time goer! However, if you've been before, this might be an unnecessary purchase. Easy to read, very informative, but not a page-turner, as the Mystery Critics say!

The Perfect Book for 1st Visitors & Veterans Alike!

This book saved us hours of waiting in line. I carried a small backpack so that I could read extra details about the ride while in line. The extra tidbits of history and humor increased my appreciation of each ride.

If you buy it use it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone visiting the Orlando theme parks.
When we followed the excellent advise, we had the best time and were able to enjoy every park with the highest form of pleasure.
When one in our group insisted on deviating, we ended the day disappointed.
In conclusion, if you are planning a trip to the Orlando theme parks buy the book AND USE IT.

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2009

This book was my single best source of information when planning my family's Disney World vacation. I was able to answer most questions and concerns that arose while planning our trip. And, on numerous occasions, was made aware of other relevant information and issues that I wouldn't have otherwise considered! The infusion of reader comments was extremely useful to me as it provided differing perspectives. This book is an invaluable tool for vacation planning to Disney World. There were sections pertaining to most of the major Orlando area attractions, however, I did not use those so am unable to comment on their usefulness.

DISNEY BIBLE

This book has everything you need to know about Disney!!!

Start here FIRST!

I booked my Disney vacation and then a friend recommended this book, so I picked it up. I wish I had done it the other way around. This book gave all kinds of information that would have helped when I was making my reservations. This book has a good amount about everything you can think of and in an easy to use format.

You can read the book straight through or use it as a reference book. The chapters are divided in topics that make it easy to find the information you need. There is information about staying on the Disney Resort or off with the pros and cons of each. There's information about transportation around the resort. There are descriptions and price information about all the restaurants to aid in making your reservations. (Yes, MAKE the reservations as soon as you're able to do so.) There are park maps with "touring plans" to make sure you hit the things you want to hit in the time frame you have. We didn't use the touring plans as much as the information about the best times to hit the certain rides and made up our own plans.

If you are thinking of going to Disney World, or know someone that is, START here. You'll be glad you did.

disney world must!

This book is great; along with the website. I'm very glad I got it so far in advance because I think now with small ones we will have a more relaxed stay.

The best Disney World book in print

If you wish to make the most of your time at Walt Disney World, this book is for you. It can take a potential nightmare of a trip and turn it into a great vacation that your family will never forget.

I purchased this book in 2007 and have purchased this book again in 2009 for a return to Disney World in January 2010. I have been to Disney World many times, and read all the books available, but this book is the best of all the rest. I recommend that you purchase this book as far in advance as possible of your trip and do your homework. Why spend all that money on vacation and not have the best time possible? Enjoy!

A Veteran Learned a Few Things

I have been to Disney about 25 times. I bought this right before our last trip after reading about touring plans on touring plans.com.

I learned stuff that I never knew. It gave insight into some of the rides like the Haunted Mansion (one of our favorites). I pointed them out to my family and they agreed that it was neat to know what I read in the book.

Although we didn't follow the touring plans, some of the basic advice offered is good on ride planning. This would be excellent for a Disney novice as well as an expert.

Excellent Assistance

We especially were greatful for the tip about the laser light show as we did get our seats early and enjoyed the show.

Comprehensive guide to planning your Disney World and Orlando vacation

This is the second Ultimate Guide to Disney World I have purchased to plan a DW vacation, the first was the 2006 edition. These guides are a very practical tool to use in making the myriad of decisions a family must make in planning the WDW experience.

I enjoy this guide because of its comprehensive approach of WDW and all the other Orlando options. This book is not trying to sell its readers on anything disney, it is brutally honest and completely unbiased and due to that, I trust the information.

The major differences in the 2006 and 2009 versions are the day to day crowd expectation table in the 2006 version that I missed in the 2009 version. Deciding when to go has been a major factor this time around, and while this is addressed by an entire chapter, I really would have liked a detail breakdown of crowd size expectations. On a postive note, the colored illustrations added some excitement for my younger daughter who wanted to know why mommy was so interested in a book about WDW that just had a lot of words (where's Mickey?)

My family is not the plan to the minute style of traveler, but using this guide, I feel like we are planning to make the most of the experience. When spending this much on a vacation, it is important to go in with some knowledge, and this book is a perfect tool. I would recommend this guide to any family (any age, any disability or not, or any income level).

A 'must have'

We have purchased an updated version of this guide every time we have headed for Disney World, and have always been glad we did. The information in this guide is invaluable - whether you are a family with small children, adults on their own, older travelers, you name the group. One might ask - if lots of people buy this, how much help can it be? In fact, the tips and tricks all DO work, and the advice is great, no matter how many copies are sold. Fun to read and get psyched for your visit to the Mouse.

Don't leave home without it

This book was indepensible! So worth the money. We followed their schedule for the Magic Kingdom the first day amd it was magical! We added/subtracted from the other schedules, but this book helped make our trip wonderful. Don't go to Disney without it!

Essential Disney World Planning Guide

One of the best for planning a magical vacation.

The best guide to Disney World (and SeaWorld)

I can't say enough positives about this guide to Disney. It is the best out there. No fluff, honest reporting, and "Consumer Reports" style research and more for Disney. We have bought the book five times to help us plan our last five trips to Disney and we have loaned it to friends and family to help them plan their Disney trips. We have also ripped out the detailed tour guides in the back of the book to take with us into the parks at Disney and hauled the book (it is thick and full of great information) in our suitcases to Disney because we have wanted to reference it while we were at Disney. The first few times I used this guide, I compared it to other Disney guides I bought and it always came out on top. So now we only buy this one (it is updated each year). The web site by the same authors is also useful. The philosophy is "we love Disney, but it is expensive, so let us help you make the best of it."

In-depth detail of useful information

This is not the first Unofficial Guide we have bought. Like the last, it has been very helpful when planning our trips. I cut out the guides as suggested in the back, laminated them against the rain and used them daily. The information about the room suggestions at Disney Hotels was wonderful. We were able to request (and get) great rooms and great views. I would give the book 5-stars for our needs!

Note: Because Disney changes some things from year to year, not all the information can be accurate, so it might not be a book to save after several years except for the memories.

It is What it Says It Is

Excellent. Lots of information, easy to find, excellent resource, accurate

This book is an essential when preparing for a trip to Disney World

Full of information to make the most of your visit. All practical, useful information written in an entertaining format. Whether you want to ride as many of the rides as possible, save as much money as possible, see as much of the park as possible, you can use this book to plan it all out. The reviews of the hotels and restaurants were pretty accurate. The book must be repurchased at least every other year in order to have the most accurate, up to date information. We use our copy and then pass it on to a friend.

A Must For First Time World Disney travelers

It really helped me plan our upcoming trip with the all the informations and tips. Especially making advanced dinner reservations for the restaurants in the parks & resorts. Also an added feature is the website you can go on and get more info. You can even e-mail any questions you have and you will get an answer back! Mine was anwsered by Len Testa himself! So cool! I would definetly recommend this book to anyone who is planning a trip to the World.