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.

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World

Credit: touringplans.com

Copyright: touringplans.com