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

by Bob Sehlinger (Author), Len Testa (Author)
Key Phrases: world showcase, guest services, typical room, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Find out how to avoid queuing and pay less in... Frommer's unofficial guide books to Disneyworld and Disneyland." ("TNT Magazine," Monday 5th November 2007)

Find out how to beat the queues, which rides to avoid, where to shop and dine, and how to cut costs." ("Junior," February 2008)

Product Description
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:

1. Exclusively patented, field-tested touring plans that save as much as four hours of standing in line in a single day

2. Tips, advice, and opinions from hundreds of Walt Disney World guests in their own words

3. Almost 250 hotels rated and ranked for quality and value, including the top non-Disney hotels for families

4. A complete Dining Guide with ratings and reviews of all Walt Disney World restaurants, plus extensive alternatives for dining deals outside the World

5. Every attraction rated and ranked for each age group; extensive, objective, head-to-head comparisons of the Disney and Universal theme parks

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; Revised edition (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470285702
• ISBN-13: 978-0470285701
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,088 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comparing the Disney World travel guides, February 28, 2009

By	Terry Vallee "Mr. Dad" (Boston Mass.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best overall guide to WDW planning , August 17, 2008

By	Bennet - See all my reviews

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 typically not wowed. The free touring plans and very helpful. I admit being initially skeptical about them, however having utilized them, I now highly recommend reviewing them to get a sense of various viewing options. The book has also grown substantially over the years. I typically use it planning before a trip and I do not carry it to go to the park but will review it when I get back to the hotel. I don't carry the book due to its heft however I have cut out the plans and other items in the back of the book which is great that they keep this up.

I frankly have found this book has made the difference between people arriving on site being completely overwhelmed and lost vs. being prepared. Being prepared doesn't take the mystique out of WDW - its an incredible place, but its easy to be swept away not like floating down the Lazy river in a tube but tumbling feet over head landing in a 90 minute line with no fast pass, exhausted, crumpled map in hand wondering why this is fun?! You do not need to be a "commando" tourer to appreciate this book. While this was my style in years past I found as a casual tourer reviewing some of the suggestions and guidelines makes a huge difference in alleviating stress. WDW is huge and vast and exciting and magical. We try to visit at least twice a year and even then I am always amazed at how many things change year after year.

32 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You will either love it or hate it, August 27, 2008

By	Ken Hanson (Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have both the 2008 and 2009 Unofficial Guide, and honestly, my summary is that this is a good, necessary companion to the Birnbaum guide, but it is poorly executed as a stand-alone. I find myself vascillating between loving it and wanting to throw it off a freeway overpass.

First, the good. It is certainly a very indepth guide. It is updated with reasonable amounts of materials between the editions. It treats most subjects much more thoroughly than Birnbaums. The off-property hotels, for example, are excellent compared to Brinbaums. The tour plans are also a neat idea, and I look forward to trying them. The letters from customers are also a nice touch (adding customer insights, tips etc) but are a tad over-done.

Now, the bad. This book screams for a good technical editor. The information is fairly inaccessible, given the number of pages, the poor organization and the hideous indexing. (Honestly, in any book about Disney, should anything be indexed under "Disney's XYZ"? I wanted to kick my dog when I tried to index some attraction and the index said "See Disney's <attraction.>) I research for a living and have a doctorate, and the amount of work you have to go through to find every last scrap of information in this guide about a given subject is really inexcusable. The information is in there, and thorough, but dear me you really have to flog the thing to get it out. I find myself constantly referring to a Birnbaums guide just to get myself oriented and try and get the full context of what it is I need to extract from the Unofficial Guide's multiple sections.

A final complaint that I have, that some people might consider a benefit rather than a detriment, is that this book has a bunch of non-disney stuff in it. While it is a nice touch to make people aware of what else there is to do and get them "off property," I personally consider it cluttering up the book with unneeded information. The title is U.G. to WALT DISNEY WORLD 2009, not Universal Studios, not Gatorworld etc etc. Honestly, for people who want to know what there is to do off property, let them buy a book about stuff off property a la "Unofficial Guide to Everything But Disney." Don't junk up a guide that is supposed to be about Disney with non-Disney stuff. It is just more stuff to slog through in an already bloated, unorganzied reference work. (Again, I readily concede some will consider this non-Disney information a benefit, but the book isn't "Disney and Stuff.")

I like the book, it has great information, but it is poorly executed and really could benefit from serious editing/reogranization. As it stands now, most people will probably benefit from having the Birnbaums guide as a kind of concise Concordance to the Unofficial Guide's sprawl and bloat.

P.S. I ordered from Amazon online on a Friday with standard shipping and had it on Monday.