Reviews on Walt Disney World travel books are a plenty, including my earlier series on Walt Disney World guidebooks. But do these reviews really help first-time visitors determine which book is the right WDW planning resource for planning an initial visit to Orlando?
Over the next few sessions we will look at the top WDW bibles and evaluate them from a first timer’s perspective. We will look at the content of each book, how it’s presented, and the benefits to the first-time planner.
We first turn our attention to Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World 2003: Expert Advice from the Inside Source, by Jill Safro et al (Disney Editions and Hearst Business Publishing, Inc, 2002. ISBN: 0-7868-5372-70).
The Birnbaum book has been around for seemingly forever, and is the first guidebook that comes to mind when thinking of a resource for planning a WDW trip. It’s often referred to as the official WDW guidebook, and rightly so, as it pretty much has the inside track to inside information and can offer its readers resort images no other book can.
Building Your Trip Foundation
So you are planning a WDW vacation for your family, and it’s the first time you have ever attempted to take on this task. You have many questions and you are hoping that this book can answer these questions.
This book does address the questions first-time planners usually have when they begin their planning process. These questions are answered in a section called “Getting Ready to Go.” This section is placed right up front and discusses such matters as crowd patterns, weather considerations, transportation options, admission media, and the all important budgetary concerns.
Safro spends several pages educating readers on these vacation components, and for the most part does a commendable job.
Safro discusses how crowd levels vary at different times of the year, lists average temperatures and rainfall for each month, reviews the various means of traveling to WDW, explains how each type of admission media works, especially the e-ride ticket and Fastpass, and also provides some money-saving tips.
One caution: Be wary of any admission prices printed in this or any other book. This book is published in the fall and therefore may not have the most up to date prices. Always adjust the printed prices up by 10%.
First-time planners should take note of the itinerary section. This section describes how far in advance you should handle certain trip-planning milestones. An example would be securing the room and transportation reservations.
How to go and where to stay
Once you have decided when to go, you must decide where to stay. The “Transportation and Accommodations” section of this book offers the first timer plenty of information to all the Disney resorts as well as how to get around the resort.
This section certainly provides the newcomer with information needed to determine the best fit for a resort.
In this section is a handy table called the “Walt Disney World Finder” that points out highlights from each resort. A first-timer can scan through this table and eventually come up with a few resorts that fit his or her needs.
Another resort table focuses on rates for all the WDW properties. By having these two tables in near one another, the book allows you to quickly determine if the amenities for a resort are worth the price range.
Again, as with admission prices, you must view resort room prices as being in the general price range. The actual rates for the time of your stay is best found by contacting the WDW resort or your travel agent.
The resort properties in this section of the book are grouped by their location in relation to the closest theme park area, such as Magic Kingdom area, Epcot area, Downtown Disney area, and Animal Kingdom area.
Each resort property is described with colorful pictures to really give the reader a feel for what that resort offers. Each resort description includes information on rooms, restaurants, entertainment, shopping, and transportation options.
This section of the book also discusses the Disney Cruise line and the non-Disney owned resort hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard.
Theme park information
Of course the most popular and most read pages of this book are those devoted to the theme parks themselves.
Each theme park has its own sectio,n which provides a map of the park, a park primer, descriptions of each attraction, shopping locations, park entertainment information, and special hot tips.
The attraction information also includes indicators as to whether or not the attraction offers a Fastpass option.
These theme park sections omit restaurants and other dining options available in the parks because Safro has assumed that those reading this section are most interested in attractions and not park eateries.
I am not sure I agree. If I were a newcomer to WDW, I may be interested in knowing what’s available throughout the park for dining options, as it may help my planning process.
Wouldn’t it be helpful to see that the Columbia Harbor House is just up the way from the Haunted Mansion, or that the Prime Time Cafe is just down the street from the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular?
My point is that the newcomer may not be aware of the proximity of certain eateries to attractions in the park and by seeing them on the page may help him become familiar with some potential dining spots.
Other worldly places
The section entitled “Everything Else in the World” covers areas such as Boardwalk, Downtown Disney, water parks, Fort Wilderness, cruises, and behind-the-scenes tours. This section is excellent for helping newcomers understand that Walt Disney World is more than just theme parks.
The book also has a sports section for those who love golf, sailing, tennis, and other outdoor activities.
Finally, Safro includes a comprehensive section on restaurants. This section arranges dining options by area, type of service (table versus counter), and price range. A brief discussion of the menus is also included.
There is also a chart listing character dining meals with such important information as location, characters that appear at the meal, and cost.
This section also takes the time to explain Priority Seating, another unique WDW concept.
Grading the book
From a newcomer’s perspective, this book receives a high rating. It provides answers to all the initial questions a first timer would have for the planning process. It also educates the reader on WDW concepts such as Fastpass, E-ride tickets, and Priority Seating.
Most of all, this book provides the newcomer with a comfort level necessary to ease the apprehension of planning one’s first WDW vacation. I recommend this book to all first-timers.
Next time
Next time we will look at the 2003 Unofficial Guide and how it caters to first-timers.
Class dismissed.
