Customer Reviews

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2009

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Looking for a guide to Walt Disney World? I think I can help. My family, along with two other families, recently spent a week at Disney, and we took five different travel books with us. We thought it would be fun to compare how useful the books were as we planned our trip and as we spent our days at the parks.

This review is the result of our efforts, with book rated from 1 star (awful) to 5 stars (great).

Before I start, you should know that our little reviewing group consisted of three couples, all in their early thirties. Between us we have three little girls, one little boy, a teenage girl, and a pair of grandparents that went along too.

We rated the books based on six criteria:

1. Helpfulness as a Trip Planner
Does the book offer tips on saving money or time? Does it help you get through the Orlando airport? Does it recommend hotels and restaurants to reserve and back up its reasons well? Does it have good advice about the Disney dining plan and which restaurants to eat at?

2. Helpfulness While at Disney World.
Is it worthwhile to take the guide with you? Does it help with last minute decisions? Is it fun to read as you wait for a restaurant table, or in a line for a ride or show?

3. Organization.
No matter how good a particular piece information is, if you can't find it, it doesn't do you any good. This is especially true in travel guides, when you often need a particular piece of information RIGHT NOW!

4. Current information.
Though all of these guides have "2009" in their title, are they really up-to-date? To find out, we picked out three things we know are new at Disney World for this year: The American Idol Experience show, the new promotion where guests get in free on their birthday, and the new room decor at the BoardWalk resort, where we stayed, and checked to see which books knew about them.

5. Addresses family needs
Since so many Disney World visitors are families, how does each book reflect that? Are there specific planning tips for families? Is there advice about which rides are too scary for little ones?

So, on to the reviews!

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2009 2 stars
Once published by travel guru Steve Birnbaum, today Birnbaum's Walt Disney World is an objective travel guide in name only. Now written and published by the Disney company, it offers nothing but cheers for everything Walt Disney World has to offer. Worse, a lazy attitude permeates everything, as if this is something Disney is forced to do but would really just forget about. As you would expect, there's precious little about saving money (except for a recommendation to "save" by buying the extra-cost Disney Disney Plan) and no quality ratings for attractions, restaurants or resorts beyond an occasional "Birnbaum's Best" logo. Chapter titles are confusing: restaurants are under "Good Meals Great Times;" water parks within "Everything Else in the World." The book was 1-for-3 on our accuracy test. It knew the American Idol show existed but had no information about it. Its room description for the Boardwalk Resort was two years out of date. It did not mention the birthday promotion. On the plus side, the book's relative few pages makes it the easiest of the Disney guides to scan through, and there are many illustrations of Mickey Mouse and other cartoon characters.

The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 5 stars
Outstanding organization and a wealth of color photos makes it easy to find particular information in The Complete Walt Disney World. Chapters are color coded, and subjects are grouped together well. For example, a Planning Your Trip chapter has a subsection on the Disney Dining Plan that clearly spells out the pluses and minuses of that add-on, and individual articles titled Saving Money (with 30 numbered tips), another called Saving Time. Restaurant reviews include good insight on character meals. Resort descriptions have more details than the other guides, though the authors provide little opinion beyond a star rating. Theme park information is superb. Attraction reviews, which can go on for multiple pages for major headliners like The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, include "Fear Factors" as well as "Fun Finds," are practical for families and fun for Disney fans. There's a touring plan for each park that we found helpful. The Complete Guide was 3-for-3 in our accuracy test. The only downer: Except for hotel listings, the Complete Walt Disney World focuses exclusively on Walt Disney World. There's no mention of Universal Studios, Sea World, or even the Orlando airport.

Frommer's Walt Disney World and Orlando 2009 3 stars
Frommers is well written, well organized and in many ways thorough, but the author doesn't seem that familiar with Walt Disney World. The book has no tips on saving time or money, and its hotel and restaurant opinions aren't backed up with a lot of facts. Attraction descriptions are short paragraphs with no specifications and few tips. The book offers little take-along value, and hardly any specific information for families. Vague family information. There are no photos or illustrations. The book scored 0 for 3 on our accuracy test. It didn't know about the American Idol show, our new room decor, or Disney's birthday promotion.

Fodor's Walt Disney World 2009: plus Universal Orlando and SeaWorld 2 star
Like a weaker version of the Frommers guide, the Fodors one is less organized and offers even less planning advice. Its ride and show descriptions seem to be edited versions of those in the Unofficial Guide, which this company also publishes. Like Frommers, the book scored 0 for 3 on our accuracy test.

The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2009 4 stars
Is there an editor in the house? Packed with advice and information, the 848-page Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is like your grandmother's attic: there's a lot of good stuff in there but so much junk to shift through! Actually it depends on the subject. If you have hours to dig through it, this massive tome can be a great planning tool. Page after page is devoted to subjects such as saving time or saving money. Incredibly detailed resort information includes which rooms, by number, offer the best views. Attraction summaries have details such as ratings by age group, but the authors comments are often so cynical they have value only if you find them funny. The Unofficial Guide scored 2 out of 3 on our accuracy test. It didn't know about Disney's birthday promotion. The book includes various Touring Plans, which offer step-by-step guidance for a day, or two, at each of the theme parks. These looked useful, but our group had too many individual interests to follow them. In short, this is a good book for those who aren't really fans of the Disney company, but want to take months to plan out a visit to its mecca.

So that's it! We determined that the Unofficial Guide and the Complete Guide are the best two books out there. As for which is the best for you, I think if you like Disney (or want a book that includes photography) you will like the Complete Guide best, but if you are headed there reluctantly (like, say, only to keep your kids happy), or also want information about SeaWorld or Universal, you will find the Unofficial Guide more to your liking. But either is a good choice.

Birnbaum's markets itself as the official guide to Walt Disney World and prospective buyers should realize exactly what this means. Rather than a third party guide, this is literally written and published by the owners of Disney World. Having said this, it doesn't mean that the information is inaccurate or that the book has no merit. But it does explain the lack of any critical descriptions of any kind and I do think that readers should be aware of the source.

The first thing that one notices about this guide is that it the production values are top notch. There are extensive color photographs of the Disney World parks and hotels and the photos are uniformly excellent. This offers a window into the look and feel of the parks that is unrivaled by virtually any other guide. There are also maps and graphics that are well done. This certainly brightens up the book and for those who have never been to Disney World, it will help you gain a better sense of what the area looks like. The writing is very light in tone, it's easy to read and comprehend. When it comes to production values, this book is a beauty from cover to cover.

The downside of all the photos is that they leave less room for information such as in-depth coverage of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment outside of the parks. This is doubly true because Birnbaum's starts off with the fewest pages of any major guide to the Orlando area. The largest guidebook to the area has more than three times as many pages, and even the average size guides are nearly double the size. And those books are not filled with photos, they are packed with hard information and useful advice. In effect, Birnbaum's has sacrificed the detailed coverage to give you the beautiful photos and graphics.

In certain respects, this book is less well suited as a tool for in depth planning as it is a means to get excited about your trip. It is useful to the extent that coverage is provided for all the attractions and hotels. But it is of limited use since each entry is carefully phrased to emphasize the positive while doing almost nothing to offer honest comparisons, tell you where the best values are and which places are a bit overpriced, or tell you where you would really be best off spending your time. The authors certainly don't need to resort to negativity, but a basic acknowledgement that some restaurants, hotels, and attractions are less worthy than others would add greatly to their credibility when praising the rest.

The Birnbaum's guide certainly has many fans, but before you buy, you should carefully consider what it is you're looking for. If your primary objective is to get a sneak peak of what Walt Disney World looks like and get a basic description of the area then this is an easy purchase. It will be a quick read and you'll have a decent idea of what to expect when you visit. If you have children, this would also be an excellent book for them to explore.

If you're more of a planner and want a lot of information, if you're curious about anything outside of the Disney Resort area, or if you want more general advice on how to approach a trip to Orlando then this book will not help you nearly as well as almost any other guidebook on the market. The acknowledged king of the detailed guides is The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2009 (Unofficial Guides). You'll find that Fodor's Walt Disney World 2009: plus Universal Orlando and SeaWorld (Fodor's Gold Guides) and Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando 2009 (Frommer's Complete) are also solid efforts even if they are not as detailed as the Unoffical Guide. Depending on what you're looking for, it may well make sense to buy more than one guide.

A trip to the Orlando area is usually very expensive and, especially if you have children, problems and disappointments can be somewhat traumatic. Don't stint on the advance planning as it can greatly enhance the experience once you arrive. Good luck and have a great time visiting Walt Disney World!

This is not a guide book. This an advertising piece. And not a very good one at that. It does not give true opinions, offers little insight, and rarely goes into enough detail to make reading it worthwhile. It has some photographs, but they are often poorly taken, like rejects from an marketing shoot. Like a big brochure, it gives you the basics about Walt Disney World in a shallow, perky writing style. You can get that from a park map.

My family has been going to Walt Disney World every other year for the past 11 years, and we love it. If we didn't live so far away we would probably go more often.

Birnbaum's is that simple travel guide that people buy that gives them a taste of Disney. It is by no means the best book on the market to prepare you for Walt Disney World(and yes, you should do a lot of preparation), but it is a great place to start if you have never been before. I say that because it has pictues and animation that get your brain turning for Mickey and Co.,

With that said here are the cons of the book:
1. It is by no means exhaustive, it is not going to tell you the details of things that you need to know. So what that means is if you have never been before and have no clue what do do, then buy this book plus another one that is far more detailed (I would suggest the Unofficial guide or the Disney Passporter).

2. It doesn't change much. The Birnbaum guide is released every year, but I've noticed that very little changes in the book over time. If you have this book from as far back as 4 years ago, you probably don't need to buy a new one. I buy this book every time I go, and yes I know I'm not following my own advise, but I have a major Disney addiction. Yes, my name is James, and I have a problem. But back to the lack of change, I have a birnbaums books that date back to 1998 and they have some pictures in that guide that they still use in the 2009 guide.

3. There is definitely a Disney slant to the guide. If you are looking for an honest critical review of Walt Disney World then go to another book(unofficial guide) because you won't find it here. You can tell that Renfro and Birnbaums had to make some type of deal with Disney to become the "official" guide, part of that had to be an agreement not to critisize the mouse. Honestly, at times the reviews almost sound like propaganda rather than a travel guide.

But with all that's going against the guide, Birnbaums is great casual reading for the person who has never been before, and is a must the Disney addicts like my self.

Disney makes some great products, but this has to be one of the worst. I happen to know a little bit about Disney World, because I recently finished a college internship working there. Its a great place. But whatever division of Disney that puts this thing out must never visit the place, or care about its visitors. The book has a gee-golly persona that just begs you to slap it. Worse, so much of it was written like a decade or two ago (I know, my parents have a couple of these from the 1980s and many of the words ARE EXACTLY THE SAME.) If you know nothing about Disney World and think a bunch of often outdated promotional copy can be called a guide to it, then go for it dude! But if you want a real GUIDE buy something else.

This was a great guide to get me started on my Disney vacation. It provided me with a great lay-out for all the parks, tips on making the best use of time, and guides for deciding where to stay and where to eat. I enjoyed the "Birmbaums Best" monikers on many of the attractions so that I would be clued into the absolute "must see" attractions. Overall, this is a good book for getting started at Disney World, especially if one has never gone to the theme parks in the past.

This product is very comprehensive and well worth the money. Not only can you lay out your trip ahead of time, but the comparative expenses make it easy to budget for a vacation. I would like to have had it before I went - good information.

Good basic book about the WDW complex if you want a nice over view. Weak on specifics but help to some degree.

We have traveled to Disney World 6 times with family members. I have bought this book each year we have traveled and there are always new helpful ideas.

I had bought this book several years back and it seems it was cheaper and packed with alot more information. Although this addition was still helpful it wasn't as packed full of information as I had hoped.