[ddoll]

My neighbors are taking their granddaughter (who is 5 but has VERY adult tastes) to WDW in Dec. They were looking for advice, but when I realized they had NO idea of anything to do with WDW, I knew they had to start with reading a guidebook. There just is no way to tell them everything they need to know before they can even begin to plan this vacation.

So I figured if they read a good guidebook first, then they could get a general understanding of how it works. Then I could help them plan. But I haven't used a guidebook in many years!

Which guidebook would you guys recommend for Disney virgins?

[DisneyTeacher]

I like the Unofficial Guide or Passporter for people planning their first trip.

[lovemysons]

I agree, they have enough time to read through it between now and December, and it really is a thorough guide book.

[ddoll]

The Unofficial Guide?

How about the one for kids? Is that necessary, or will the regular one be enough?

[lovemysons]

I have not read the one for kids, but the Unofficial Guide has plenty on traveling with kids. I think it will be enough.

[ddoll]

Excellent. Thank you!

[DisneyTeacher]

When my son was young we bought him Birnbaum's Official Guide because it was written for kids and had lots of big colorful pictures to get him excited.

[tinkfans]

my daughter really liked the Birnbaums for kids book. especially for her first visit, we would read a little every night before our first visit. then in the back of it is like a scrapbook area where there are areas for all kind of cute things, like a napkin, your ticket, your favorite ride and a bunch of pages for autographs which we used for our character meals.
then after the visit, we went back through & she could relate to all of the things we were reading.

[ddoll]

Okay, we will check that out too. Thanks.

[allirella]

Thanks for starting this thread, Deb. We're looking to get a guidebook for our next trip as well. Never used one on our previous trips, thanks to the awesome guidance of the MBers. Which should we go with? Birnbaum's or the Unofficial Guide?

[missymouse]

Originally Posted by tinkfans

my daughter really liked the Birnbaums for kids book. especially for her first visit, we would read a little every night before our first visit. then in the back of it is like a scrapbook area where there are areas for all kind of cute things, like a napkin, your ticket, your favorite ride and a bunch of pages for autographs which we used for our character meals.
then after the visit, we went back through & she could relate to all of the things we were reading.

I will second this one. We haven't bought a new copy of Birnbaum's for Kids in about 3 years, but all of my kids love to pull out the 2 older copies often. These books get my kids so excited because they're written by other kids who love Disney.

[staceyheis]

I bought the Birnbaums for kids book and have to agree with the previous posters. My DD loves it! For general guides, I have used both Unofficial Guide and Birnbaums - check them out of the library and use for planning. I don't use them in the parks.

[ddoll]

Just a follow-up here:

I went with my neighbor to Borders to check out the books. The Unofficial Guide was so big that she looked positively terrified and gasped, "I have to read all that?".

I had to agree with her that it looked intimidating for someone who didn't know the first thing about Disney. She was more interested in the Passporter with the fold out maps and tabs for each heading, so that was what we settled on. She also go the Birnbaum's for kids book for her granddaughter, who was quite excited to thumb through it.

I think I will go hunt out some park maps for her too. She really needs a detailed property map.

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally Posted by ddoll

Just a follow-up here:

I went with my neighbor to Borders to check out the books. The Unofficial Guide was so big that she looked positively terrified and gasped, "I have to read all that?".

I had to agree with her that it looked intimidating for someone who didn't know the first thing about Disney. She was more interested in the Passporter with the fold out maps and tabs for each heading, so that was what we settled on. She also go the Birnbaum's for kids book for her granddaughter, who was quite excited to thumb through it.

I think I will go hunt out some park maps for her too. She really needs a detailed property map.

I agree about the UG being too much for some first timers, it's huge. The Passporter is smaller and easier to get through. I'm glad she got something, I hate to hear about people going with no plan or information.

[WALL]

It took us at least 2 months to go thru the UG 09' , but that also included going back and re-reading info on each park. We compared to the shorter version and it was at least fun to go thru and point out what you want to do.

We did enjoy the browsing of the book ... over and over