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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 41 customer reviews )
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40 of 43 found the following review helpful:
 The Official Book of Disney World Sep 20, 2006
By Janet Boyer
"Author, Blogger, Radio Host"
My husband, son, and I just got back from Disney World a few weeks ago. We planned the trip in just a month's time, and WDW guides were very helpful!
The first two guides we bought were the Birnbaum's 2006 Official Guide and the Birnbaum's 2006 guide for kids. Because these are official books, no drawbacks or negatives are discussed. However, at 273 pages, there's a lot of great basic information on WDW.
For example, this particular guide features lots of colorful pictures on its glossy pages, as well as descriptions. It's an excellent guide for first timers who don't know what to expect and want to pore over the book in anticipation!
In addition to describing attractions, shows, restaurants, and hotels, the Birnbaum Guide to WDW provides several charts--such as the Walt Disney Resort Finder. A picture of each resort is displayed, as well as information on location, setting/theme, what types of people favor a particular resort (e.g. honeymooners, families, conventioneers, etc.), amenities, and more.
The Disney Dining Plan is also described, as is Disney's Magical Express Service. There are directions to getting to the parks from the Orlando International Airport (MCO), the average temperatures and rainfall for every month, park hours, admission prices, new attractions, most/least crowded times and so on.
I found the maps to be especially helpful, and tore them out to use when we went to each of the parks. The WDW Birnbaum guide is a great book for first timers, but I would also get the The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2007 as well--especially if you're the type that counts pennies and enjoys strategizing. However, the Birnbaum guide is replete with solid information, great pictures, helpful maps, and feel-good enthusiasm. It's a great primer for getting into the Disney spirit!
Edit 6/07: There's a new book you may enjoy: The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World by Julie Neal. Unlike the Unofficial Guide, it has hundreds of color photographs. It was just published in April of 2007, and a second edition of that book will be published at the end of 2007.
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Could be good for you, if you've not booked a trip yet. Jan 19, 2007
By cmp
I picked this up because I've already booked a trip to Walt Disney World, to stay at one of their hotels. I wanted information about park strategies, ride restrictions, and restaurants, so I thought I'd get a guide.
This book offers a LOT of great suggestions on when to plan a trip. That didn't help me, though, since I've already booked. They have nice details about the sizes of rooms at all of the resorts, but not a lot of maps. And, I suppose since they are the "official" guide, they don't offer much in the way of comparison or preference. I'd have liked to see more about what they think is better, with some actual downsides, which of course they don't provide.
There are a few suggested park itineraries, and they do have information on each and every attraction at all of the parks. But, again, other than picking "Birnbaum's Best" they don't say too much about preference. I didn't find the schedule too helpful.
I really would have liked to see more information on the restaurants, again mentioning both great and bad things, plus a little more of the menus. I understand that the menus can change seasonally, or otherwise, but it would still help more to know if there's anything my little ones will eat at any given place. There are web forums and chat sites that offer this kind of information, so why not in the official book? Again, they have a "best" section at the end of the dining guide, but it's just along the lines of "best burger", "best ice cream", "best romantic dinner", but nothing too specific.
I could see this book being very useful if you are still in the very early "we'll go soon, but don't know when, where or how" part of a trip to the World, but if you have some idea of what you're doing already, it's not going to give you much new information. I have heard (though haven't read yet) that the Unofficial Guide gives much more unbiased - and slightly snarky - info, and that may have been more what I was looking for. I will be checking it out very soon.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Awesome Book For The Perfect Trip !!! Sep 20, 2007
By M. Calcione
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World is all you'll need to plan the perfect Walt Disney World vacation!
This book tells you everything you need to know from A - Z. After reading it, you'll feel like you just got back from Walt Disney World.
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World is perfect for first time visitors or for returning vacationers. It will help you pick a hotel, decide which rides to ride, where to eat and when to go. This book is a priceless vacation tool.
You will find because Walt Disney World is always changing that some of the information is outdated, just make sure you get the most recent edition. For instance, if you're going in 2008, get the 2008 edition instead of this 2007 edition.
This is a fabulous book!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Great trip planner!! May 09, 2007
By rain4me
There are lots of Disney guides out there and it's overwhelming! I read many reviews before selecting this guide. I am SOOOO glad we had it! Although we planned our trip to WDW at the last minute and didn't have a chance to use any of the planning ahead tips, there were still MANY other tips that helped us! Especially the restaurant guides...we were on a tight budget with lots of kids and it helped us choose the best budget friendly choices. Like eating at the Mexican Cantina at Epcot about 30 minutes before the Illuminations show began was AWESOME! Front row seats for a very crowded attraction at an affordable price :) I spent a lot of time reading Disney Forum advice from WDW die hards, but having this guide in hand each day helped us navigate the parks and decide how best to spend our time!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Birnbaum's Feb 16, 2007
By R. Smith
This is the second edition of Birnbaum's Walt Disney World we have purchased. After reading it I am glad we purchased this edition, as there are many new attractions since our last visit. I would highly recommend this guide to anyone planning a visit to Mickey's place. We also ordered the Unofficial Guide to Disney World 2007. This book goes deeper into detail about how to save money, the best times to ride certain rides, and how to plan your stay there.
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