The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World? 2009 (Unofficial Guides)

By Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa

More than 4 million copies sold! This series is the only one that offers evaluations based on reader surveys and critiques, compiled by a team of unbiased inspectors. - Hotels, attractions, and restaurants in all price categories - Extensive information on shopping, nightlife, and sports - Easy-to-use, two-color design - Detailed, 2-color maps From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World "A Tourist's Best Friend!" - Chicago Sun-Times "Indispensable" - The New York Times Five Great Features and Benefits offered ONLY by The Unofficial Guide : Exclusively patented, field-tested touring plans that save as much as four hours of standing in line in a single day Tips, advice, and opinions from hundreds of Walt Disney World guests in their own words Almost 250 hotels rated and ranked for quality and value, including the top non-Disney hotels for families A complete Dining Guide with ratings and reviews of all Walt Disney World restaurants, plus extensive alternatives for dining deals outside the World Every attraction rated and ranked for each age group; extensive, objective, head-to-head comparisons of the Disney and Universal theme parks

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470285702
• ISBN13: 9780470285701
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 880 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.7" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

A MUST HAVE if taking children

This book and its accompanying website ([...]) are indispensible if you are planning a trip to the Magic Kingdom. I took my family at Spring Break 2007, and could not have done anything close to as well had I not spent hours reading and using the book to plan. A Disney vacation is a serious investment, and we were able to do so much more by hitting the parks at the right times and in the right order. A few words of advice: 1) Use the [...] itineraries, and have 1-2 alternative plans for each day. My 8 year old daughter ended up with a stomach bug one day, and we were able to switch our plans around with minimal fuss and bother to accomodate her and minimize what she missed. 2) If traveling with kids, take the advice about resting during the middle of the day seriously. This allowed us to recuperate for the great shows at night, and we were able to get up and go the next morning early enough to miss out on the biggest crowds at the popular rides. 3) Trust the book - there is so much ridiculously exhaustive research in here that you would be a fool to ignore it. Believe their data, even if it seems counterintuitive.

Saves HOURS of time

My husband & i got the 1990 version for our honeymoon in High season, hot July of that year. We could literally see the crowds just a few minutes behind us. We estimate the book / info / plans saved us 2 hours a day. That trip. And on the subsequent dozen trips with updated versions. The important thing to remember is this needs to be read BEFORE you reserve a hotel or even tell the kids. WDW is an expensive proposition and this book tells you ways to budget your money, time, energy. Totally the best in this arena - the official guide is practically a souviner program by comparison. This book is great at helping you: a) decide IF go - & how much you will spend (if Santa at the mall freaks your toddler - what will a 6' rodent do? and if all they recall is the pool - maybe next year.) b) when to go - what factors to consider (school vs. crowds?) c) where to stay (big decision if you have small kids or older adults or a limited budget - or me!) d) deciding on a plan for touring the parks. Some complain about the authoritative tone - hey - just read the first few chapters and you can understand at least WHY you are broiling under the FL/ CA sun for hours. It's your choice - make it an informed one and you'll be better prepared to roll with the punches. That is the core message here - Have a plan or ... The place has changed a lot in the 18 years and the book has gotten a bit overwhelming. Read it to make decisions then slice out the relevant (or irrelevant) pages for hauling around. BTW: everyone complains about the food cost - but i think it is not as bad as others make out. sure you can tailgate back to your car - but that's between your foot leather and your wallet. It is no more expensive than food @ concert or sports event. & you can't beat the character buffets if you have a fan. & BTW from the rather AR: WDW is the 43 sq. mile property. Magic Kingdom is the cute park with the characters IN WDW. Good Luck!

This book paid for itself immediately

If you're going to Walt Disney World and are serious about getting the most out of your vacation you must get this book. It's that simple. This book has all the insider information that Disney may not want you to have. It is an incredible wealth of information - there is something here for everyone. The biggest payoffs for us were knowing which days would be least busy. By using this book we were able to modify our vacation days so we would have several days with smaller crowds. The book tells you which days are least busy, by park, by day of week. By the time the crowds arrived for Christmas, we had done everything we wanted to do. Another huge tip was the small child switching off policy. If you have an infant you can get a pass that allows one parent to hold the child while the rest of the family rides the ride. Then the family returns, and take the kid while the caregiver uses the Fastpass line to ride the ride. The best part of the switching off pass is that up to 3 more people can ride the ride AGAIN! So it's basically a way for most of the family to ride the same ride twice. No one at Disney told us about this tip, but a cast member complimented us on using this policy. The one part of the book that was perhaps wrong was guiding us away from extended hours. If you stay at a Disney resort you get to stay later. The book told us the lines would be insane. After the Epcot fireworks we did Mission: Space and there was zero line and that was during extended hours.

Best overall guide to WDW planning

This is the guide that I recommend to all newbies and even veteran WDW visitors and I find myself purchasing yearly. Why - it has the most thorough descriptions and experiences of WDW. I typically purchase the Official Guide every year as well for its colored photos primarily however the Unofficial Guide for substance and research. Everyone I have recommended it to was more prepared after reading the Unofficial Guide than any other guide. I also like the Passporter guide and I use them in conjunction with each other (I carry the passpockets). However, If I only could chose or recommend one guide this would be the one. As is the case with most guides that reflect 2009 - they are typically published in 2008. I was pleased to see the the Unofficial Guide did note some changes in the 2009 guide that occurred at press. I also use and appreciate their associated website touringplans.com and have found it helpful when things have changed since the book went to press as well as other items like renovations, construction status (think Contemporary), ride closures etc that are not always known throughout the year. This has saved me in the past from family disappointment as some changes occur without a lot of notice (press events) and would have caused major angst. I do not find the WDW official website to provide an easy navigation experience so the fact that they have this feature in this high speed internet world is an additional tool. I think this is another differentiator compared to other WDW guides. Most do not have associated websites and if they do they may not be updated frequently. I also enjoyed the new pictures and they are a fantastic addition. Another noted feature in the book and website welcomes comments or even corrections to the guide. The previous reviewer has some very specific updates that I encourage him to write to the authors. I don't know that I would have noticed those specific ones the previous review noted but I understand the point being made. A couple of years ago I noted changes that happened mid year that were in the book but I found a bit different when I arrived on property and I figured what the heck I'll send a note to the author via the website and figured I would never hear anything. Not only did I receive a reply but the update was noted on the website. I've never filled out the complete Reader Survey myself but I appreciate the comments from other readers that have done so and I have chuckled at the descriptions or opinions given. I may not always agree with an opinion but have been able to understand what the writer meant by their observation which was in itself helpful. The fact that the book makes references to other websites, books and forum sites is another bonus. I also prefer the use of experts in their research. You don't see this noted extensively in many of the other books I've purchased or perused. Every year I'll pick up a new or try an updated version of a different WDW guide book and am