Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2004 [Paperback]

Bob Sehlinger (Author)

Book Description

Series: Unofficial Guides | Publication Date: August 22, 2003

The Unofficial Guides? are the "Consumer Reports" of travel guides, offering candid evaluations of their destinations' attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, sports, and more, all rated and ranked by a team of unbiased inspectors so even the most compulsive planners can be sure they're spending their time and money wisely. Each guide addresses the needs of everyone from families to business travelers, with handy charts that demonstrate how each place stacks up against the competition. Plus, all the details are pulled out so they're extremely easy to scan.

The Unofficial Guide? to Disneyland? is a candid guide to the Happiest Place on Earth, offering candid reviews of all the rides, shows, hotels, and restaurants, plus field-tested touring itineraries for adults and families with children. Also includes complete coverage of Universal Studios Hollywood.

The Unofficial Guide? to Disneyland? also includes:

• Every attraction rated and ranked for each age group, based on interviews and surveys of more than 6,100 families
• When to go: the best times of year and the best days of the week
• All the Disneyland? area hotels rated and ranked for value and quality of rooms, plus reviews of all full-service restaurants in Disneyland?
• How to find and meet the Disney characters
• Unvarnished, practical advice for families, couples, honeymooners, and singles

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Tourist's Best Friend! -- Chicago Sun-Times

Indispensible -- The New York Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

The Top 10 Ways The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:

1. Every attraction rated and ranked for each age group, based on interviews and surveys of more than 6,100 families

2. When to go: the best times of year and the best days of the week

3. Comprehensive coverage of Universal Studios Hollywood

4. All the Disneyland area hotels rated and ranked for value and quality

5. Field-tested touring itineraries for adults and families with children

6. Complete coverage of Disney's California Adventure theme park

7. Tips and warnings for first-time visitors and those with special needs

8. Proven strategies for planning the perfect Disneyland vacation with small children

9. How to find and meet the Disney characters

10. Unvarnished, practical advice for families, couples, honeymooners, and singles! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (August 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764526308
• ISBN-13: 978-0764526305
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,579,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bob Sehlinger, a Lowell Thomas Award winning journalist, is best known as the creator and producer of the Unofficial Guide Series published by Wiley Publishing Inc. and sold worldwide.

He is credited with being the first to apply research techniques from the fields of operations research and statistics to travel guides. Among other projects, he was able to develop mathematical models that could save theme park patrons more than three hours of standing in queue in a single day.

Sehlinger and his research team (pictured) have had numerous adventures and developed some unusual methodologies. Here's a sampling from research for The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World:

"We've slept in every Disney resort multiple times and more than 80 Orlando-area properties. Only once did we wake up covered in bugs. (It was a non-Disney hotel.)"

"We test hotel room soundproofing using a sophisticated digital sound meter and a copy of The Who's Greatest Hits."

"The first time we did Orlando spa reviews, one of our researchers had an eyebrow burned off during a waxing that went horribly awry."

"We once logged more than 700 miles in one week on buses to test Disney's transportation system, and never left Disney property. The bus drivers got so used to us being on board that one forgot we were there and took us back to the bus garage when his shift ended."

"We test pillow fluffiness using a measurement process we invented. We intended to use a fake human head as part of the test, but worried about getting it through airport security. We settled on a gallon jug of water, which is about the same size and weight as an average adult's noggin."

"When we test counter-service restaurants, we order at least one of everything on the menu, and break up in to small teams to sample each thing. We've tried every counter-service food item in every American Disney theme park."

"Our crowd prediction models take in to account everything from the day of week and time of year, to the vacation schedules of the fifty largest school districts east of the Mississippi, to weather phenomena including temperature, rainfall and humidity."

Bob Sehlinger is founder and co-owner of Keen Communications, a book publishing company that includes Menasha Ridge Press in Birmingham, Alabama; Clerisy Press in Cincinatti, Ohio; and Wilderness Press in Berkeley, California. The author of twenty-seven books, Sehlinger is a past president of the Publishers Association of the South, and has served at the invitation of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Information Service on educational missions for publishers in Hungary, Romania, and Russia.

Before becoming involved in writing and publishing, Sehlinger was CEO of SAGE, inc., a wilderness arts teaching and expeditional company that produced courses in kayaking, rock climbing, survival, and backpacking (among others) for high schools and universities in a 7-state area. During this period Sehlinger served as president of the Eastern Professional River Outfitters Association. Sehlinger makes his home in Birmingham, Alabama where he continues to be an avid river runner and mountain biker.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great but already out-of-date!, November 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2001 (Paperback)

This book is a great find because it tells it like it is--it gives you both the good and the bad of Disneyland and its attractions. The problem is, since this book has been released, many more rides have FASTPASS options, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Small World Holiday, and Pirates and Haunted Mansion are almost done. Plus, if you purchase flex passports and take advantage of early admission, you can do five major attractions within two and half hours in the morning. For early admission, Space Mountain and Star Tours have basically no wait. Matterhorn gets a bigger line but still manageable (usually only Fantasyland and some of Tomorrowland is open during early admission). After riding those three rides, and a few other Fantasyland rides, jam up to Splash Mountain when the park officially opens and ride that with no line. Then hustle back to Indiana Jones and grab some Fastpasses. Go ride Pirates and Haunted Mansion with minimal wait, and then use your Fastpass on Indy Jones. You can probably squeeze in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, also. Then, you've got the whole day for whatever else, and you can use Fastpasses later for Autopia or Small World Holiday. This book doesn't work as well with early admission days, that's why I'm telling you all this. Go on an early admission day (sometimes as early as 6:30, but more likely 7:30 or 8:30--check the night before, it often changes) and you will not be sorry. We did all of this the day after Thanksgiving, between 7:00 and 11:00 in the morning. This book is especially valuable in giving reviews of the rides, and touring plans, but as I said, it's now off because of all the new Fastpass options and early admission (or Magic Morning). If you're not sure what Fastpasses are, you simply insert your passport into a machine at the entrance to the attraction and it tells you when to come back (within an hour block) and you can ride with minimal (5-10 minute) wait! Go back to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon and come back in the evening for parade and Fantasmic! and you've had a great day! If you don't have early admission options (one day visit) then good luck. Use the touring plan in this book and keep your fingers crossed. My advice--go for three days using a three day flex-pass which gets you at least one early admission, and make sure one of the days you go is an early admission day--not all days at Disneyland have early admission. Currently, Sundays and Wednesdays don't, but of course that could change. If you get the five-day flex passport, you can go in early admission all of the days it is offered during your visit.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book on strategy of visiting disneyland, April 7, 2000

By 

+++ (OR, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2000 (Paperback)

Disneyland is a relatively small park, and it is quite possible to experience everything within a day or two and enjoy it - unless you have to stand in long lines. Unfortunately, the latter happens most of the time. The strategy how to avoid long waiting in lines and to make the most of your visit to Disneyland is the most valuable part of this book. Description of the rides is interesting, but you most likely do not need it since once you came to Disneyland, you will not leave until you experienced all of them. Description of places to eat in the park is also not that important because food is not the purpose of your coming to Disneyland. A hotel can be booked on the web or through a travel agent, you only sleep there anyway. The only thing you really need is to be smarter than the crowd, and this is what you will get from the book in full. I bought this book and I learned from it when I whould go there, how long I will need to see everything, and where to go to first thing in the morning, and where to in the afternoon. This book saved me and my family much more time and money than I paid for it, and made our trips there so much more enjoyable than the could have been without the "Unofficial guide".

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Disneyland Guide Book Available!, August 28, 2002

By 

David Wilson (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide(r) to Disneyland 2003 (Paperback)

Complete and up-to-date! Covers Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Includes hotel and restaurant ratings. The guides for getting the most out of your trip to Disneyland are worth the price of the book alone. Of course, you don't have to follow the guides exactly. But, by reading them through they give you great insight into how to maximize your time in the park and see what you what to see in the time you have ... even with crowds. I wish I had this book on my previous trips. I know they would have seemed a lot less frustrating and harried

I had been to Disneyland twice before I found this book so I can tell you first hand what a differnce this book makes in trip planning and in making your day at DL the most complete. The book covers every ride and attraction at DL. It has great information on the local hotels. It has goobs of information on going to DL with kids of all ages. If you are not experienced at doing DL, then get this book. Because of the information in this book you'll be able to see and do twice as much especially on busy days at the park. If you are going to Disneyland, do yourself a favor and get this book. It's worth its weight in gold. 5 stars at least!