Part of the fun of going to Walt Disney World is the anticipation. This book has a negative feel to it and takes away some of the fun from the anticipation. A book can give you the real scoop without giving a negative feel. Steer clear of this book in favor of the Passporter series which is done both realistically and kept positive.

I read four books in my preparation to my trip to Walt Disney World in June 2004. I also went to about 7 different websites and subscribed to two different email lists (getting more than 100 emails a day!), all on the subject of what to do and how to save money at WDW. THIS is the best resource for information, bar none. The Unofficial Guide spends pages and pages rating the rides for you, the restaurants, even giving sample itineraries so you don't waste time. It's the best.

A thick booked packed with information (along with some additional non disney information just to make the book look thicker). However the tone of the book can be quite negative. Fear the long lines. Fear the lame rides. Fear the long lines again. I think if you followed the advice of the book you would go to the park for one hour in the morning, leave for the rest of the day, and return for an hour just before closing. and oh by the way, if you do not follow the computer generated scientific neurotic tour guides, you will end up wasting at least 3 hours every hour.

Look, Disney is the delight of crowds. If you dont like crowds, dont go. There message delivered with no need to pound it into the ground like this book does. I have been to Disney several times over the years. Was it crowded, yip. But one of the wonders of Disney is they do a great job with crowd control and there is almost always something fun to do - if if that ride over there has a line up the wazzu. Relax. Have fun. Go skip through the disney water toys for a while.

Disney is a great experience for those who go looking for a great experience. Disney can be a really downer for those who are uptight or dont like crowds. Go with the child with in and be flexible.

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.

I'm in the middle of planning my WDW vacation and this book has been indispensable! It's given me a feeling of confidence about navigating "the world" and my choices of where to stay etc. If you read the reviews of the individual attractions you'll see that the authors really enjoy WDW! Everything a friend or family member has recommended to us has been included in this book.

The in depth look at each ride/attraction, hotel and restaurant in WDW is amazing. The realistic but humorous tone is great, I read the entire book cover to cover even parts that don't apply to me (the sections for people traveling with children for example).

If possible I'm even MORE excited about this trip than I was before I read "The Guide"

Update: 8/16/01 Now that I've been to Disney and back I can honestly say that this book was indispensable! We used the tour plans (the "one Day" plan for Magic Kingdom, MGM and Epcot) and they worked like a charm! Avoiding parks on early entry days let us ride many "Main" attractions 2+ times! I can't reccomend this book enough! Just remember it IS a guide not a "rulebook' you aren't required to follow every suggestion exactly. I know I would have been lost without this book both literaly and figuratively.