The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 (Complete Walt Disney World) (Complete Guide to Walt Disney World) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Mike Neal (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A thorough overview. Also makes a nice souvenir. --Boston Globe

Should leave fans of Mickey smiling from ear to ear. --Chicago Tribune

The most visually stunning and deeply researched Disney guidebook on the market --Orlando Sentinel

Product Description

The definitive Disney handbook
The only photo-driven guidebook to the No. 1 vacation destination, The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 is a must-buy for anyone planning a trip to Walt Disney World. Filled with over 400 photographs and packed with more factual information than any other Disney guide, the colorful book includes in-depth information on attractions, activities, restaurants and resorts that you just cannot find anywhere else.

Completely revised and updated
Though it does have all the latest Disney news, The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 is more than just an annual update. The new edition adds a eight-page What's New summary right up front, as well as incisive articles on saving time and saving money. New At a Glance summaries make it easy to find what you need in each theme park chapter, while attraction articles now include hour-by-hour wait times as well as lists of Fun Finds, Fun Facts and Hidden Mickeys. Insider tips appear at the bottom of nearly every page.

Winner of four national book awards
In the past year alone the book has been honored with four national awards. It won the coveted Nonfiction Book of the Year award at the 2008 Writer's Digest ISPBA and was named Travel Guide of the Year at the 2008 NIEA. It won Best Southeast Nonfiction (Silver Medal) at the 2008 IPBA and was named one of three finalists for Best Travel Guide at the USA Book News 2008 NBBA. The Walt Disney World Moms Panel praises the book for its "fabulous behind-the-scenes info about the parks."

With photographs on nearly every single page, The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 is printed in full-color on gloss paper.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Coconut Press; 3rd edition (December 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970959680
• ISBN-13: 978-0970959683
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 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.

38 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Disney Guides, February 20, 2009

By	Tinker Bell "Oh, Peter!" (Neverland FL) - See all my reviews

I have bought so many Disney World guides I have lost count. But I know one thing: this one is the best. Though it has less words than the brick like Unofficial Guide. I have found the Complete Guide to be better organized, more accurate, and therefore much more helpful.

I can see why they called it "Complete." There are plenty of photos, very helpful ride specifications (more on those in a moment), and a lot of interesting, fun, and helpful information on the theme parks, resorts, restaurants, sports and recreation options, etc.

Fortunately, it is organized and written well, so finding what you need is always pretty easy.

About those ride descriptions. This is an area where the Complete guide really excels. Though the ride descriptions, which sometimes go on for a few pages, can get a little long winded for the non-Disney fan (my husband grew tired of me punching him with all the history tidbits for Its a Small World), each one begins with a little collection of spec, which includes the length of the ride, how old it is and the scariness for children. (Don not underestimate how scary it is! I wish I read the section on Voyage of the Little Mermaid before we took our 3-year-old!) Each ride description also has a little box that shows the average wait time for each hour of the day, so say, it is 1 p.m. you can easily decide what to do.

Another unique thing about this book is that the ride descriptions have lists of "fun finds" and "hidden Mickeys," which I have discovered that reading and making plans to look for as you do wait in line is a great way to keep children excited and happy.

The resort articles are much like the ride descriptions. Each opens with an exhaustive list of specs, including not just regular things like room rates, but also such helpful stuff as how far each resort is from each theme park. Then the regular writing includes such things like swimming pool details. Again, very Complete!

Well you can tell I really like this book. But perhaps the main point I want to make is if you want to have a good time at Disney, you need to buy some book and plan out your trip. The place is gigantic, everything is expensive, and tensions can rise quickly when you "just try to wing it." Both the Complete and Unofficial Guides understand this point and offer lots of helpful advice. Unofficial might have more ways to save money (at least its chapter is thicker), but this one has more ways to save time, including outstanding ways to take advantage of the free Fast Passes. Regardless, neither actually costs you any money, because you will easily make it up by getting the most out of the thousands you have already spent to go there.

So to sum up, whether it is your first time at Disney, or, like me, you have been there many times, the Complete guide is a good buy.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Disney guide, January 29, 2009

By	Naomi Judge (Orlando) - See all my reviews

This book has a lot of good stuff in it. I will be using it a lot, not just for my family but for all the relatives who always seem to "drop in." A common thing here in Orlando! The descriptions of the rides and shows start off with a very handy list of specifications, such as the length of the ride and how scary it is for children. My sister says she wished she had looked at it before she took my niece on the Tower of Terror! I also liked the list of character locations they include for each theme park. So handy, especially when you have a child who MUST meet Lilo! Now I know where she is! Well to sum up you should know I have bought many Disney World guides over the years, but there isn't anything that compares to this new Complete Guide for helping you have fun and enjoy your visit. Better than ever!