The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World - Bob Sehlinger

...stay, car hire, tickets to the parks and also what attractions will suit everyone going I have planned everything down to the last second. Of course with a trip three weeks long and involving as much as we have got planned I would need some help - I may work in travel but, this will be my first official trip on my own holiday and not with work to Florida and so I wanted some extra tips. I purchased a book, my friend purchased a different book and ...
...was this one which is the larger of the two we had between us (mine was the official guide to Orlando!) and covers quite a huge amount of information. I really do believe this book has helped us plan and although I have yet to find out if certain aspects of it will work I am seeing the benefits already!



Written by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa this book is produced every year so that it can provide an updated guide to ... more

Well as I have mentioned now a few times in my reviews, my trip to Florida is coming up soon and I have been planning like crazy to get everything organised! From where to stay, car hire, tickets to the parks and also what attractions will suit everyone going I have planned everything down to the last second. Of course with a trip three weeks long and involving as much as we have got planned I would need some help - I may work in travel but, this will be my first official trip on my own holiday and not with work to Florida and so I wanted some extra tips. I purchased a book, my friend purchased a different book and once we had read them we swapped and read each others!

One of these books was this one which is the larger of the two we had between us (mine was the official guide to Orlando!) and covers quite a huge amount of information. I really do believe this book has helped us plan and although I have yet to find out if certain aspects of it will work I am seeing the benefits already!

Written by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa this book is produced every year so that it can provide an updated guide to help travellers. This is now in its 23rd year of production which is testament really to how popular it is!

The book:
The guide is technically a huge paperback that contains information on anything and everything related to Walt Disney world. It also covers the areas that are not Disney owned such as Universal which is obviously slightly misleading judging by the title as I originally bought the one I did because I thought it covered all areas where as this one didn't! Of course my friend found this out after reading the contents page and this was why she then purchased this too!
The guide also contains maps to certain areas and also touring plans, which I'll explain later, which can be pulled out to take with you on your holiday rather than taking the whole book.

What does it include?
Well if I listed everything then we'd be here forever so I won't do that but, I will advise what kind of things are included so you can get an idea of how much is covered! For example the book is broken into sections based on the parks, the hotels, the tickets you can buy and then even into the actual attractions themselves, the restaurants you can eat in, the sights outside of the parks. It also includes information on getting through the airports and how to then get from there to different areas in and around Disney. The book has readers comments, feedback from people who have used previous years books and one of the most simple ideas it has is little 'tips' that are highlighted at random that are a quick note for travellers to remember. The touring plans I mentioned are basically a guide on how to get around each park depending on what time of day you are going an what attractions you want to see - these can be cut out of the book and taken into the parks. Apparently these cut down waiting times by giving you insight into which direction to go around parks and also by telling you which rides are busiest at which times of day! A very clever idea that many people have commented on that they have used before now and have worked so I guess once I have tried these for myself I will be able to update and let you know if they actually work!

Any useless categories?
This depends on what you are planning to do whilst over in Walt Disney World - for example the itinerary I have planned for our trip pretty much involved every single park except Typhoon Lagoon because it is closed during our stay and so for me the book is very handy indeed on this aspect. However, there is a huge section of this book that deals with hotels and places to stay. As we already have our villa booked this s of no use to us at all for this particular trip. I can see it would be very handy to somebody who had not actually booked yet though as the guide gives details on each hotel at Disney and beyond, along with reviews on them, facilities they have and how suitable they are for each client. I guess no matter what book you buy there will be a specific section that is o nos use to different people. I certainly do not need the section for travelling with young children as we are a group of five adults going!

Is it useful enough to buy?
Definitely! My friend read this book inside out and then I have now done the same! We have both picked up valuable information that we both would have otherwise never thought of. It has helped us plan even better as we originally put together a first plan which once we had read this and the other book, we then tweaked to suit us depending on suggestions this book gave us. It has helped quite a lot where the driving aspect is concerned as it has give us an insight in which roads have higher tolls and which are busier and at what time of day so we can better plan our routes. I can honestly say that it was money well spent.

Price:
The book has a RRP of £12.99 - My friend had originally seen this on sale in WH Smoth for this price and so checked out Amazon where she bought if for only £9.98 with free delivery - I think it has now gone down in price slightly too because she bought it pretty much just after it came out.

Overall opinion:
I really do think this book is a must for anybody going to Orlando - to be honest there are plenty of people who have said they have bought this year after year even though they already know what to expect in Orlando, because of how well updated it is every year and also because of the updated touring plans that are different every year to take into account the new rides and attractions that crop up each year!
I love how detailed it is because it covers stuff you may otherwise have not thought to plan or missed such as realising that if you want to eat in a Disney restaurant or hotel restaurant you really should make a reservation. I am glad my friend bought this book and I know that when I go back to Orlando again after this trip that I am going on soon, I would definitely purchase the most recent edition of this book to help me plan my trip. The information is packed in and can help any traveller have a hassle free trip! 

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