Customer Reviews

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2005: Expert Advice from the Inside Source

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i bought my first copy of Birnbuam's Guide to Disney World way back in 1988 before my wife and I went there for our honeymoon. We were back in 1995 with our first child and plan on going back again next year with our second child. Even though I've only been there twice in 17 years, I buy a copy of this guide EVERY year because i love Disney world and I love to read about all the new attractions and features of the Magic Kingdom.

Birnbaum's guide is like an old friend I visit every with every year. It's the guide I trust the most, the best written and most comprehensive. Each attraction is rated with info on what age group its geared towards. Hotels, restaurants, transportation throughout the Magic Kingdom? You'll find all the information right here.

Tips on the best times of the year to visit, best times of the day to visit certain attractions, average wait time in lines..all this and more is covered by Birnbaums guide. And perhaps most important, tips on planning your trip and saving money to get the most bang for your buck. I cannot possibly imagine going to Disney World without consulting the latest edition of this book first. A must have!

I was very excited to order this book up until the time I received it. The pictures are glossy and there is lots of character art but there is little in the way of substance. In fact, I was shocked at how thin this book was given its cost. It really seemed as though I was paying for the Disney copyrighted art and photos rather than information. Most of what I read in this book was something I had found on various online sources. The best part were the large colorful maps even though they aren't up-to-date (for example, the resort map doesn't show Crescent Lake near Epcot even though it shows the vague location of the resorts surrounding it). The Park maps are also quite colorful and easy to read. If you want a really basic guidebook that glosses over a lot of information without providing much substance then this might be the book for you. If you are looking for much more however, check out the web and save your money.

I love this book. It was the very first guide that I read. However, it has to be taken in perspective. This book is even better en tandem with The Unofficial Guide. Then you have all the information you could possibly need. The Unofficial Guide provides much needed balance, to the official line. This book will get you excited and high as a kite about your trip- which is great. It will tell you about all the wonderful things there are to do and great opportunities that are largely missed. The Unofficial will then proceed to give you a reality check about them and help you set realistic goals and have realistic expectations. This helps so that you're not disappointed. I used these two guides plus the Passporter (for organization) and we had the best trip in the world. We went in August, stayed on property, got around without having to rent a car or wait in long lines in the heat. We saw people looking like they were gonna pass out from heat exhaustion, but we sailed through our trip like a breeze and can't wait to go again. I read Fodor's, Frommer's (excluding the Irrevernt Guide), the Everything Guide, Rita Aero's,Eyewitness (waste of paper), Hassle Free Disney and tons more thru the years- NONE of the others are needed. The best plans are in the Unofficial guide, the best maps are in the official, the best planner is in the Passporter. The others were not used and not needed and a big waste of money.

This book has lots of useful information. The book is somewhat dated already. I realize that Disney changes frequently. If you are planning a trip for the end of 2005 or 2006 I would wait for the 2006 book to be released.

This book is basically a guide to Walt Disney World that seems to be basic info you'll find at a Disney website. It has lots of good photos, but they're nearly all just old promo shots. This book has old park maps (I'd say from 2001 or so) and the information is brief about most subjects.

All in all this is an okay guide but very thin. It only runs about 150 pages long, and is NOT worth its price.

For the last eighteen years, whenever my family took a trip to Disney World, we always got Birnbaum's. Every single year, I remember the car ride down there, and fighting over who had read more out of the book than the others. I'm 23 now and have worked at Disney World twice, both times buying the newest edition, getting myself even more excited for the couple months I'd be down there. This summer I'm taking my best friend for her birthday, and now that she's read this book, she's more excited than she's ever been to be visiting the Happiest Place in the World. I highly reccomend this book to ANYONE planning their trip.

Birnbaum`s has existed now for many years, making their expertise Walt Disney World. I discovered the book in 1994, a bit skeptical that any book could cover all that Walt Disney World contained, I picked the book up, read it and have not missed a copy since. This book does not drop the ball either, being the most extensive volume of Birnbaum`s yet, with all of the new attractions being received from Disneyland`s 50th anniversary, such as Soarin`, and the Auto Stunt Show, expected in the Disney MGM Studios by summer. This book does not slack about any of the attractions, giving in depth explanations of all of them, from Cinderella`s Castle, to Soarin` this book will cover every one of your Walt Disney World whims. Even if you will not be attending Walt Disney World this year I recommend that you pick up this book to see what you are missing, and (get to Walt Disney World as soon as possible.)

This book is a wonderful planning guide that gives you every insight that you will need for planning your trip, including listing times of the year that are the least and most crowded, even the average weather. It gives a general overview of each attraction and dining facility, as well as area maps. My family and I have planned 2 trips in the past by the Birnbaum's Walt Disney books!

I have been angsting for this trip for weeks, and it's in 3 weeks. Well, I know all about Disney World thanks to this very book. The reason why I'm giving this 4 stars is because you can find a little more at www.allearsnet.com.

I'm a Disney World fanatic and I buy a copy every year, even when I don't visit, just to keep up-to-date on new attractions, resorts, restaurants, etc.
If you're new to Disney vacations, this guide will help you plan your trip from start to finish, leaving no stone unturned. I can't even recommend any one section as being better than the rest because they're all equally thorough and informative. If you're unfamiliar with Disney's eateries, be sure to read the restaurant chapter - there are so many themed and character meals you won't want to miss. Enjoy your trip!