Customer Reviews

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have purchased the Unofficial Guide to Wald Disney world once before when we were planning a trip- we didn't get to go, so I purchased the updated one just last month. Along with my order, I decided to add the Unofficial Guide "with kids" because we have 3 small children. I was very disapointed. This could have been a great accompaniment to the regular Unofficial Guide. For starters, in both my situations, the Unoffical Guide was A+ on info, I loved it. The "with kids" seemed to copy and paste bits from that book. But, the confusing part, is that they didn't copy and paste parts that I found to be most useful in the Unoffical Guide. I am confused about why you would need this book- and it lacks some of his personal insight. My guess is that he did not actually do Disney with children and it seems to show. The upside is that "with kids" does give web sites for outside the world hotels that is missing from the Unofficial Guide. I also did find a couple other tidbits like the section on packing and creating uniforms for your family. There is a lot of info on parenting style that is not found in the regular Unofficial guide- but I am still not sure why it is in this one either. I was so excited to see his insight and sad to say he didn't have any. Bottom line IMO is to skip this book, but don't skip the regular Unofficial guide. It is a 6 star book!!

This book reviews everything there is to review at Walt Disney World--every hotel, every park, every ride, every restaurant, and even most of the neighboring attractions outside of WDW. Unlike the Birnbaum guide, this book has no business connection with WDW, so the author can be as honest as he wants. I bought both books, read most of both books, and this is the only book you need.

I looked at quite a few different books before I decided on this one. I wanted a book that was small, dealt with children, and had a quick and easy references (didn't want it to take 5-10 minutes to look up everything). This book was a winner and I would highly recommend it to any parents taking the trip to WDW. It came in very useful when planning our days activities. Rated each ride/attraction on a 1-5 scale, which included different age group. The book is also small enough to carry with during your trips to each of WDW's parks.

I found this book to be a major disappointment. Of the many turnoffs, one being the section titled, "Types of Parents and Types of Children" where Mr. Sehlinger goes into way out-of-touch psycho babble. "In the context of a Disney vacation, it is useful to locate your, your partner's, and your combined parenting type on the parenting continuum and your child's basic personality type on the personality continuum." Please! However, Kim Wright Wiley's book, "Walt Disney with Kids 2000" is much more informative and leaves the parenting to the parents.

I have never had any desire to visit Disney World, until I read this book. In addition to the many choices you have for hotels and dining, I particularly found the "tips" to be very useful. As far as the prices - I never rely on published books: it has been my experience that prices are hardly ever the same no matter how "fresh" the book.
What I particularly liked about this book was the fact that you can engage a child to read through it with you, as you plan your trip. They can read the passages written by the kids in the book. This is a fun way to get your kids involved in planning the trip.
A great read even if you don't go to Disney World. Travel books should not be a step-by-step guide to what you should do on vacation. One should explore and decide what is appropriate on one's own. A travel book should be entertaining and kindle the desire to visit a place. This is just that kind of book!

We've been to WDW three times with our two small children in the past 2 years. We decided to become Annual Passholders because its cheaper. We have now read 9 books on WDW - hey, saving on the trips if you are going to take them requires planning. Of all the books we own or have borrowed this one just plain reads like an attempt at a fast buck!

On a factual level: There are so many errors in here about when things happen, which characters are where, etc that it is a complete waste of money. In addition to the factual errors, the authors arrogance about what they like (as opposed to describing the quality or characteristics of something so the reader can decide for themselves) is just too ever-present.

Pass on this one and look elsewhere if you actually want to know what to do with the kids at WDW. We were VERY disappointed in this book on our trip this month! The best choice for us, and MANY of the families we know and work with, has been the PassPorter series!

The unofficial guide to Walt Disney World with Kids.

This guidebook is full of information, funny in tone yet a real tool for anyone who understands that planning is the most essential step when preparing to travel. When I started to read The unofficial guide to Walt Disney World with Kids, I felt overwhelmed by the density of the information because it was not immediately clear how to approach it. Clearly I was not going to read every single word. After all it IS a guide book. But to determine its value as a guide book meant not only that it be well researched and relatively timely; but also that its content be accessible for the enjoyment of a wide cross section of prospective readers who travel with kids--grandparents, single parents, blended families.

Notwithstanding fluctuations in Disney prices which could affect the accuracy of fees mentioned, the essential information compiled by the authors can withstand the test of time. They have done all the research and walked at least a mile in the reader's shoes: compiled websites, identified pertinent telephone numbers, reviewed budget, weighed housing options inside and outside DW, and considered babysitting options. They have even included a selection of dining options with commentary prepared by travelers others than the authors. All this while holding the reader's hand on a visit to each of the theme parks. Each park and even the characters inside the park are discussed with clip out touring plans included. I especially liked the discussion of age appropriateness as it relates to attractions, a concern for mixed age groups.

There's more than enough information for a huge variety of people to wrap their heads around. And not just those traveling with kids. I thought the funny images of Liliane, juxtaposed with Bob on a bicycle and the input from the teen (Idan) and tween (Ian) make this a book that all ages can use to prepare for a trip to Disney World. I mean, really, what`s not to like?

I've noted some of the more negative reviews of this book, but quite honestly I thought this book did the job. Yes, the main Unofficial Guide has even more info than this book (it's quite a brick), but if you are traveling with kids and especially if you are planning to stay at a Disney resort or hotel you will find this book pretty informative. If you aren't traveling with kids, need to know about practically every hotel in the area, or you have a lot more time to research everything to death then by all means get the main Unoffical Guide, but either way you won't go wrong. I think the authors did a fine job on both books, and ultimately helped us get the most out of our vacation.

I've used versions of this book every year for the past 5 years and it has proved invaluable. I have always found their information up to date and if it isn't it's because Disney is constantly changing their rules/hours/number of days to call in advance for reservations etc., etc., etc. It has definitely helped me find the best hotels, restaurants and things like tips on where to sit for parades and what time to get there (and if you've ever been to a parade at Disney, you know just how rough it can get).
As far as ride reviews, all kids are different as to how they react to rides. They also have a website you can subscribe to to get up to the minute info and it's cheaper than many other similar sites. As far as who writes the book, one review was so off base. They have many researchers, former Disney employees, they solicit opinions from the public. It is not just one woman and 2 kids as suggested, which of course would be ridiculous. I mean what publisher would put out a book like that?
Bottom line, a great book I've used for years and you can't beat the price.

I thought this book was extremely helpful for our trip with 2 & 4 yo kids. It is full of info that is directly relevant to taking children of various ages (from nursing babies to teenagers) to Disney. I particularly appreciated the detailed descriptions of potential fright-factors of various attractions. We also loved the top 10 snack list, although some of it was out of date. The touring plans are really smart. The chapters on the physical and emotional aspects of Disney family trips were awesome - I really found them helpful in managing expectations and planning our day to day to keep everyone from becoming tired and cranky. The book is small enough that you can carry it with you into the parks, and we referred to it throughout the day. Really added a lot to our trip.