The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2016

In recent years, this is the ONLY guidebook I ever buy- and always the most current version for every trip. Have been to Walt Disney World 27 times- and if you want to save a lot of time and money this is the book to have. Making my 28th trip in December, and have both the 2016 paperback version and the Kindle version. The paperback version is massive at 832 pages. It is almost 2 inches thick, and the font size is pretty small. The information warrants the size- but if you have a Kindle and only want one version then Kindle is the way to go. You will have a lighter, more manageable version with the ability to use the font size and type that works for you. If you don't have a Kindle, do not be put off by my physical description of the book. Trust me, you will be glad you bought it. I have saved many thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours not standing in lines over the years by using the information in this book- as well as saved friends over a thousand dollars on a trip they planned. It is well worth the investment and- for me- no other guide book comes anywhere close to this one. I have bought many of the others over the years, and in my opinion they are not nearly as complete or informative as this one is. Highly recommended!

Book was very helpful... We actually have the 2013 and 2010 books. If you have an earlier book I recommend you just buy the scheduler if already understand the new fastpass+ system. If you don't understand it this book will help some but the section that explains it isn't all that great and I learned more online at wdinfo, etc.The book series is good don't get me wrong....but if you have a fairly recent one I would just recommend updating your online subscription so you can plan your day out on your mobile phone. BTW a smartphone is almost a must at Disney now. You can't even make reservations at a restaurant without one (well its very difficult without one).

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is by far the largest guidebook for the area. Weighing in at a whopping 832 pages, you would expect, or at least hope, that it would be the most comprehensive and informative of all the Orlando guides. To help readers decide for themselves, I've broken my review down into sections by subject so you can focus on what matters most to you.Hotels:Disney hotels receive exhaustive coverage with ratings on many factors such as room quality, noise level, pool facilities, value, and more. There is a lengthy write-up discussing each hotel including their strengths and weaknesses. They even provide guidance on specific rooms to ask for and which to avoid when you make your reservation.For those hotels outside of the resort, the coverage is less exhaustive but still comprehensive. A map shows the location of well over 100 area hotels, there are charts grading them on room quality, overall ratings, and cost. Information is also provided on how long it takes to get to each Disney theme park from the hotel. Some of the better hotels get full write-ups.In addition to coverage of specific hotels, there is general advice as well. A few of the topics include advice on how to get deals on your room, discussion of the pros and cons of staying inside the confines of Disney World Resort, and an explanation of how the Disney hotels are classified. All told, there are more than 175 pages devoted to accommodations and none of it is wasted. This is not only the best coverage of hotels for Orlando, it's the best I've ever seen in any guidebook.Dining:Full service restaurants all receive a full write-up with detailed descriptions and ratings for food quality, value, and an overall score. Brief summaries are presented for the places offering counter service. In addition to the opinions of the authors, reader survey scores are reported so you can see what percentage of readers liked that restaurant. This is extremely helpful and any place I've tried that scores well on both fronts has always been a winner. Note that all of the above is limited to coverage inside of Disney World. There are also recommendations for the some of the best restaurants of various types outside the resort and brief coverage of the options in Universal's City Walk.Theme Parks:Full coverage is offered for The Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom as well as Disney's water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Universal is also covered with Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (Including lots of Harry Potter material) getting equally comprehensive coverage. Sea World is covered, but only briefly. Busch Gardens in Tampa is not covered at all. In fairness, no guide to Disney World offers detailed coverage of these two parks. You can purchase Beyond Disney: The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando, SeaWorld & the Best of Central Florida for this information if you're interested in visiting one or both of them.So what constitutes full coverage of all the parks listed above? There's general background and information followed by a map and advice on orienting yourself. And then there are full descriptions and ratings for every attraction in each park. Separate ratings are provided for a number of age groups to help you evaluate the potential entertainment value for your group. Live entertainment is covered as well as advice on where to watch fireworks and parades. Finally, there are the touring plans. These are detailed itineraries designed to help you save hours of waiting time by visiting attractions in a certain order. This is only necessary if you go during summer or other peak tourist seasons. But if you do, they can be invaluable.One final word on the theme park coverage. This guide, and many others, provides detailed descriptions of each attraction. Think about how much you really want to know before reading these. If you haven't visited Orlando before, you can rob yourself of a lot of pleasant surprises by reading all of this material. I would recommend using the ratings and reading just enough to get a vague idea of the attraction but not to go further.Misc. Sections:In some respects, this is almost the best part of the entire book. It's hard to overstate how diverse the information presented in this book is. There are tips on avoiding/healing blisters on your feet, how to find cheap airfare, what time of year to visit, going with kids, going as a couple, advice for pregnant women, seniors, and much more. Common activities like golf and shopping are also covered. It's almost endless... if you can think of it there's a good chance that it's in this guide.To sum it up, the authors did indeed produce the most comprehensive and informative guide for Walt Disney World and the Orlando area. No other guide even comes close to providing this much detail. Indeed, the most common criticism of this guide is usually that it's too much information and some people find it overwhelming. If this is your first impression upon opening the book, I would recommend focusing on those sections containing the information you're most interested in and get to the rest when you feel up to it. If you are anxious to see photos (this guide is text only), you might want to pick up The Complete Walt Disney World 2015: The Definitive Disney Handbook. It doesn't have anywhere near as much detailed information, but it's packed with great shots and beautifully presents the visuals of the area.

I will start by saying that I very RARELY give anything a 5 star rating. But I truly feel this book has earned it! This is the second trip I have planned using this book (I updated since the last trip). Both times I have foolishly thought to supplement with several other guide books feeling certain that one book could never be enough to encompass the great wide WDW. While I still will not say it's the only book you need, I will say that it's the only book you have to have. It contains tons of information and true honest perspectives of the WDW experience. I could go on and on about how helpful and informative this book is in planning your trip from start to finish! If you are considering a trip in the next year get this book first. It gives lots of help for picking dates to go and where to stay to get you started. It offers realistic pros and cons of the dining plan and unbiased reviews of restuarants, resorts and rides. It provides realistic plans for park touring and plenty of helpful advise on how to pace yourself and handle cranky kiddos while making the most of your time in the park. This latest edition is the largest by far but is broken down into manageable sections that will be invaluable at each step of your planning phases. If you are a planner of any and all minutia of a trip like me you will undoubtedly seek out more information. But if you want a well rounded unbiased starting point for your planning then you really should start here. Either way this book is a truly "must have" resource!