The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World

View other editions of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.
View books by Bob Sehlinger, Len Testa.

Essential guide for anyone heading to Disney/Universal - Rated
I've just returned from a family holiday to Florida, and am I glad I bought this book. My family isn't really into planning before they go anywhere, so armed with this book, I took the lead and helped us beat the uninformed masses. I really don't know how we'd have managed without it.

The parks are vast and if anything there's just TOO much to do. With the help of the touring plans in this book, we were able to get through the attractions in the most hassle-free way.

Best vantage points for shows, best restaurants, best times of day to visit attractions - you name it, this book has the answers.

It is indispensable if you're going to any of the Disney/Universal parks (though it's more geared towards Disney). One woman in the Animal Kingdom saw me flicking through it and said she'd forgotten to bring her copy but asked if it was proving useful - the answer was an emphatic "YES".

The benefit of the book's guidance hit home following our one-day trip to Sea World. The book has only a small section about Sea World (another book in the series contains a lot more), and there is no touring plan. It is no coincidence that our trip there resulted in more queueing and more stress than other days. In other words, we'd become pretty dependent on following the book's advice and had a taste of what the holiday might have been had we not bought it.

The book was as good as new when I bought it, but it looks pretty battered after a holiday of only two weeks. Buy it, and make more efficient use of every minute spent on your holiday of a lifetime.

honest and informative - Rated
without a doubt this is THE best book to study before a trip to the big WDW. Not only does it offer all of the usual snipets of info but you get honest warts and all opinions. As the book is not affiliated with WDW (hence 'Unofficial') you get a true account of accommodations, dining, tour routes etc etc. and they won't just try and sell you the most expensive thing in the World - they don't need to. Birnbaum was always my book of choice before previous trips but this has swayed me. If you want glossy pictures and a Disney Princess opinion of WDW head for Birnbaum. If you want information about where to buy the best crabcakes, what ride will make you throw them up, which hotel won't rip you off and the best way to wrap yourself up in garbage bags so as not to get wet on the Kali River Rapids (I'm not kidding!) buy this book!!!!!!!!! There are even a few chuckles thrown in for good measure. Fab!!

The seminal work for anyone visiting Disney World - Rated
My family has been lucky enough to spend almost a year in Disney World. Whether you are visiting for the first, or the hundredth time, there are plenty of books out there offering advice on where to stay, what tickets to buy, how to plan your day, etc. This is without a doubt the best.

The first time we visited, we were lucky to stumble across Sehlinger and it gave us the knowledge we needed to maximise the visit and have more fun. For example, first time visitors should know to be at the gates first thing in the morning (you're five hours behind home anyway so why not) as you can ride five or six attractions before the park starts to get busy. If you read this, you would also know that the best time to visit as a Brit if you have kids is in the half-term holiday the end of October/early November as there are fewer holiday makers there.

Still, much of this you could find out in many of the guide books. What sets Sehlinger apart from all the others (and especially the Disney endorsed Birnbaum's guide, the only benefit of which is its officially sanctioned photographs) is the depth of information. You can not only find out which hotels best meet your needs, but which the best rooms are in those hotels. The reviews of the attractions are detailed and accurate. This book gets fatter every year as it adds to its databank of information about holidaying in the land of the mouse.

This is the only guide to Disney we still buy. Why? Because even having spent nearly a year in total there, its the only guide that still informs us and helps guide our decisions.