Critiques of Published
Guidebooks
(Click on Any of the Pictures to
Purchase the Books From Amazon.com)
 "Birnbaum's
Walt Disney World 2003: Expert Advice from the Inside Source
(Birnbaum's Walt Disney World, 2003)"
Founding Editor, Stephen Birnbaum
I buy one WDW guidebook each and every year...and it's this
one. I still think the Birnbaum book on Walt Disney World
is the best overall tool for trip planning and casual reference.
The Birnbaum book provides tidbits of Disney "trivia"
and anecdotes that add to the fun. It concentrates on
describing attractions and restaurants, while other guides tend
to focus on giving opinions and reviews. This 2003 edition continues
the recent trend of adding more and better trip planning information
and enhancing the layout of the material through excellent use
of color and graphics.
Review Summary:
Trip Planning Helps: excellent, especially the reservations
information...the park maps are definitely the best-in-the-field
for those of us that like knowing the lay of the land before
leaving home
Resorts Descriptions: among the very best
Off Site Hotel Descriptions: includes only a sampling
from the areas' hotel strips
Attractions Descriptions: excellent descriptions,
but never a critical comment (you decide if that's good or
bad)
Restaurant Reviews: again, excellent descriptions,
but certainly not critical reviews
Minor Parks Reviews: great descriptions, but no help
with problems to avoid
Non-Disney Information: Seaworld, Universal Studios
and so on are not described at all
Overall: if the main focus of your trip is WDW, buy
this book
By: Bob Sehlinger
The 2003 edition of this book remains true to the original
premise of this book...unofficial review information.
It's filled with valuable information on every aspect of planning
a trip to Walt Disney World. The text is sprinkled with
comments from previous year's readers, which is a nice way to
"keep the authors honest." The restaurant reviews
are excellent and the tabular information on resorts, hotels,
and restaurants is tremendously helpful. The book also
features (in fact, this book is "known" for this)
a series of park "touring plans" that can help organize
the day for any park commando. If you want TONS of detail
about planning a trip to Florida, this book has it nailed.
Review Summary:
Trip Planning Helps: excellent, for on-site guests
or off-site visitors alike
Resorts Descriptions: very short, but to the point
Off Site Hotel Descriptions: includes a very complete,
factual list of decent area hotels
Attractions Descriptions: brief descriptions, rated
by age group
Restaurant Reviews: very short descriptions, but includes
reader survey results, too
Minor Parks Reviews: good descriptions, but rather
brief
Non-Disney Information: Seaworld and Universal Studios
are both covered
Overall: second only to Birnbaum, in my opinion
 "PassPorter
Walt Disney World 2002: The Unique Travel Guide, Planner, Organizer,
Journal, and Keepsake!"
By: Jennifer Watson, Dave Marx
Jennifer Watson and Dave Marx have a very, very interesting
concept here. Instead of simply providing a guidebook
to Walt Disney World, Watson and Marx have developed a combination
guidebook, trip planner, and keepsake. The published material
itself is very good, but the unique twist of having a place
to keep all of your relevant trip planning information is brilliant.
I only wish that the book accommodated trips of greater duration.
This book has already taken the Usenet newsgroup crowd by storm.
I'm sure that it will continue to be a popular alternative (or
supplement) to the Birnbaum and Sehlinger mainstays.
Be aware that the deluxe
version contains the same materials, but is bound with a ring
binding with a leather cover that is more durable so you can
take it with you everywhere you go on your trip.
Review Summary:
Trip Planning Helps: this is the books strongest area.
The material is designed as a planning tool, including storage
pockets to save pertinent notes, receipts, etc.
Resorts Descriptions: fairly descriptive, but focusing
on information needed pre-trip
Off Site Hotel Descriptions: some information, but
the emphasis is on WDW
Attractions Descriptions: good descriptions
Restaurant Reviews: good descriptions and reviews
Minor Parks Reviews: brief, but sufficient
Non-Disney Information: minimal, but accurate
Overall: the concept is unique, which makes it stand
out, but my favorite aspect of this book is that it is fresh,
up-to-date, and accurate
By Kim Wright Wiley
This is a must read book for any adults that are planning a
trip to WDW with kids of virtually any age. Kim Wright
Wiley is an experienced WDW traveler with kids (and "with
child", too). Her advice and information is invaluable.
One thing you should consider is that the author is definitely
a Disney "insider" (she occasionally authors articles
for "The Disney Magazine," for example). That
may be a positive or it may be a negative. You'll have
to decide for yourself (although my own opinion is that content
is king...and this book has content!) One parting shot...this
book discusses a lot of general issues when traveling with children.
Even if you're not going to WDW, this can be a helpful travel
resource.
Review Summary:
Trip Planning Helps: very good, but geared toward
traveling with kids
Resorts Descriptions: very short, and focused on pluses
and minuses when you have kids in your party
Off Site Hotel Descriptions: only the areas topmost
premium resorts are briefly described
Attractions Descriptions: brief descriptions, the
"scare factor" for younger kids is reviewed for
each attraction
Restaurant Reviews: minuscule descriptions, and oriented
towards how the kids will like the meal
Minor Parks Reviews: very brief, especially Blizzard
Beach (the largest, but newest water park)
Non-Disney Information: Universal Studios is covered
well, many other area attractions are given short blurbs,
too
Overall: not for general use, but an excellent resource
for a specific purpose...if you have kids, get it
By Rick and Gail Perlmutter
"Walt Disney World for Couples" certainly has a specific,
but very interesting viewpoint. Building on their previous
editions, The Perlmutters continue to focus on romance
and how to make the sparks fly while on vacation at WDW.
As I can testify personally, WDW is a great place to spend time
with your spouse - whether or not you have kids, family, and
friends with you. The strongest suits of this book are
the detailed resort and restaurant descriptions. They
are definitely top-notch!
Review Summary:
Trip Planning Helps: definitely oriented toward planning
an adult vacation, but useful in any case
Resorts Descriptions: probably the best resort descriptions
in print (even topping the "Official Guide")
Off Site Hotel Descriptions: no offsite hotels are
reviewed at all
Attractions Descriptions: definitely the least detailed
part of the book with only very brief descriptions
Restaurant Reviews: good descriptions...and the focus
on romance is priceless
Minor Parks Reviews: virtually skipped, but in place
of that are several lists of "romantic adventures"
and romantic best-ofs
Non-Disney Information: as advertised in the title,
only WDW is covered
Overall: for honeymoon planning this book is a must...for
a couple travelling alone, this book is a must...
 "Econoguide
2002 Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando : Also Includes Seaworld
and Central Florida"
By: Corey Sandler
A couple of years ago, the Econoguide broke into the ranks
of the decent WDW travel books. Sandler's book focuses
on vacationing without breaking the bank and provides a lot
of help to pull that off. Another positive is that the
use of icons and creative layout makes information easy to find,
so this book is a good general reference, too.
Review Summary:
Trip Planning Helps: this is the books strong suit...useful
travel planning information, even if Florida isn't your destination,
is here
Resorts Descriptions: very short, but to the point
Off Site Hotel Descriptions: includes a very complete
list of decent area hotels
Attractions Descriptions: good descriptions
Restaurant Reviews: very short descriptions, probably
the weak point of the volume
Minor Parks Reviews: brief, but sufficient
Non-Disney Information: Universal Studios covered
in detail, the best description of Seaworld I've read outside
of Seaworld
Overall: a fairly good Florida trip planning book,
because it covers a lot of territory
|
