The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2002 (Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World) (Paperback)

by Bob Sehlinger (Author) "In addition to this guide, we recommend that you obtain: 1. The Walt Disney Travel Company Walt Disney World Vacations Brochure This full-color booklet describes..." (more)
Key Phrases: attraction visitation times, transportation loading areas, crowded middle part, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Touring Tips (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
While Walt Disney World stands for fun, fun, fun, let's face it--it comes at a hefty cost: long waits, huge crowds, and high prices. "When it comes to Walt Disney World," writes Sehlinger, "you either need a plan or a frontal lobotomy." As the huge complex of theme parks has grown to roughly the size of Boston, so has this guide, from less than 200 pages to over 700. While that may seem formidable, every one is chock-full of invaluable information for making the most of your time and money, with the least amount of hassle. Sehlinger is an excellent guide--witty and readable, and he and his research crew have done a commendable job figuring out the most efficient and economical ways to spend your time at Walt Disney World. They even researched traffic patterns at each of the parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom) and devised touring plans tailored to a wide range of needs--visitors with or without kids, seniors, disabled guests, and even expectant mothers (who cannot, unfortunately, go to the Mad Tea Party). Visitors who use these touring plans typically spend over three hours less in line than those who wing it (how can you not love this book?). You're not, of course, restricted to the tours. Each attraction is given a lengthy description and evaluation, including ratings for age groups, probable waiting time, and when to go. As if all that handholding isn't enough, there are just as thorough reviews of each of the hotels and eateries both inside and outside the park. Finally, Sehlinger has the sort of tips you aren't going to get from Disney, but really need, such as how to get in before the official opening time; how to cut down time spent in lines; deciding when to go, right down to the day of the week; coping with children's needs, from bathrooms to blisters to fear; and how to navigate Disney's transport system. With the average cost of a day at Disney for a family of four coming in at $391, the price of this guide is a small outlay to ensure that your time at Disney World truly is magical. --Lesley Reed

Review
&I can't think of anything not covered in this guide, and I'd recommend it to anyone going to Disney World& -- Wdisneyw.co.uk

"...I can't think of anything not covered in this guide, and I'd recommend it to anyone going to Disney World..." -- Wdisneyw.co.uk

"...I cant think of anything not covered in this guide, and Id recommend it to anyone going to Disney World..." (Wdisneyw.co.uk)

"...as a guide to "doing" Disney we found the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World absolutely essential..." (Sunday Express, 19 October 2003)

"...I cant think of anything not covered in this guide, and Id recommend it to anyone going to Disney World..." (Wdisneyw.co.uk)

"...as a guide to "doing" Disney we found the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World absolutely essential..." (Sunday Express, 19 October 2003)

"...as a guide to "doing" Disney we found the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World absolutely essential..." -- Sunday Express, 19 October 2003 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 806 pages
• Publisher: Hungry Minds; Revised edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764564218
• ISBN-13: 978-0764564215
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (259 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,276,194 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This comprehensive guide helped me save hundreds of dollars!, February 9, 2003

By	debvh (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2003 (Paperback)

For some families a trip to Walt Disney World is an annual ritual, for others it is a one-time rite of passage. For all who go, it is a big-ticket vacation destination with seemingly limitless choices of lodging, attractions, dining, and entertainment. This encyclopedic guide provides you with all the information you need to make the most of your time and money. Their recommendations are based on their own staff's experience as well as surveys of Disney vacationers and Unofficial Guide readers.

I wish I could give more than five stars to the vacation planning chapters of the book. Monthly attendance data plus subjective pros and cons of visiting during each season helped us decide when to go; detailed reviews of hotels within and outside the "World" helped us decide where to stay; an outline of all the available ticketing options helped us determine what sort of park admission to buy. All in all we saved hundreds of dollars - and planned a more suitable vacation for our family - as compared to following the advice of friends and co-workers.

The chapters pertaining to each park rate four to five stars. Each ride, show, or attraction is described in detail and given a star rating for each of several age groups. Careful attention is paid to factors affecting how long you will wait in line. The author provides touring plans designed to get you to as many of the "best" attractions as possible with the least amount of waiting in line; 1-day and 2-day touring plans for families with and without young children are provided for the Magic Kingdom. Occasionally the reviews are a bit idiosyncratic but on the whole they let you know what not to miss - and what to pass up with no regrets. The guide also includes chapters on Universal Orlando and Sea World.

The chapters reviewing Disney dining deserve four stars. Again, the coverage is vast and detailed, with reviews not only of restaurants in and out of the "World" but even of counter-service (i.e., fast food) within the "World." You will either shake your head and roll your eyes at the hints for landing a breakfast reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table, or you will rush to synchronize your clocks with Disney reservation center time and start warming up your dialing fingers. I agree with other reviewers that the restaurant reviews are overly harsh and discount the extent to which a sit-down meal in some Disney restaurants can be an attraction unto itself. There is also no index to table-service restaurants in each park.

This guide contains far more information than any one traveler is going to need, and at least some of it will seem like common sense - but one person's common sense is another's startling revelation. As with any guidebook some information will be out of date; some specific issues noted by prior reviewers have been corrected in the 2003 edition. If you are a true believer in Disney magic you might not like the blunt tone of the author's remarks. However, if you are a Disney skeptic, a novice, or simply a vacationer trying to get the most out of a big-deal vacation, the Unofficial Guide is an excellent resource.

102 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real World Disney Planning, December 15, 2000

By	R. J. Vaules "disneydig.com" (Idaho) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2001 (Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, 2001) (Paperback)

If you are going to Walt Disney Word and looking for the book to cut through the publicity machine that Disney is, you will want this book. Its tone, can be skeptical (some say cynical), and not always the Disney "cheerleading" guide that some purists insist only be written about Disney properties. Please know that there are no pretty pictures of the Disney parks in this book. It is a "battle" guide that does not pull punches. The author(s) are traffic gurus and are looking to get you through the park, not standing in lines.

If you are an "easy going", "take things as they come" type of person, then this book is not going to be your cup of tea. If you are looking to get the most from your dollar by avoiding lines, bad food, and brutally honest opinions, then this book will do you well.

If you have kids, this will show you the way to limit stress, and keep everyone happy with planning tips and schedules appropriate to age groups and interests. It is okay to get the Birnbaum book for the kids. Let them see the pictures and read the descriptions of the park, but if you want to be serious about minimizing the stresses of a family vacation, use this book.

I have used editions of this book for the last 10 years, and I will always by a copy of this book when planning my future vacations. I have saved time and money, and always find this book to improve the quality of my trip. My three tips for YOU to make your WDW vacation the best; 1. Stay onsite and use the Disney transportation system; 2. Take an afternoon break from the parks and get off your feet; 3. Use Fast Pass - Make Fast Pass your friend...

89 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference, take it with a grain of salt, January 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2000 (Paperback)

This is a great book, we used it for our two recent trips to Disney and most of what was written turned out to be true. Now we are planning another trip in 2000 with our 1 year old and friends and their kids, and we're sending them a copy of this book (they've never been). We've been reading the section about traveling with kids and know now already which attractions to avoid and which ones to head to; based on honest advice that you won't find in any "official" guide.

However, you do have to keep in mind that this is someone's opinion and not necessarily fact (but it is the opinion of someone who has traveled to Disney World far more times than the average American). They print actual reader comments, usually pitting contrasting comments side by side, as a reminder that their advice is just that, advice and not fact. We went to a few attractions despite the written reviews, i.e. Alien Encounter, and found the reviews to be accurate insofar as the experience, however, our opinion of how good or not-so-good the attraction was differed from what was written.

A good reference, highly recommended.