Recommended Guidebooks and Books for First Time Visitors to Disney World

This page presents recommended books.  For recommended websites, see this.

RECOMMENDED GENERAL WALT DISNEY WORLD GUIDEBOOKS FOR FIRST TIME VISITORS

Because you have this site, you don’t need any of the books below.  But they are affordable luxuries! 

Their best use, for families whose visit is largely based on this site, is for the trip home, to pass around and use as aids to memory and discussion of the trip. 

If you do buy and read one before the trip, follow this tip:  do not read the descriptions of the rides themselves. 

Doing so both kills the suspense of a ride and lessens the wonder you otherwise would feel from experiencing a ride without knowing what’s next!

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Bob Sehlinger with Len Testa’s The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2010, though badly in need of a complete re-write, is still the single best source of planning information about Walt Disney World.
• The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2011 is scheduled to be published in late August 2010.
• Sehlinger and Testa have recently published  The Unofficial Guide: The Color Companion to Walt Disney World a welcome, significant, much-needed work, and a great resource for visitors who wish to use a guidebook, either on its own, or as a companion to The Unofficial Guide.  For a review, see this. 
• Jennifer, Dave and Allison Marx’s PassPorter’s Walt Disney World 2010 is the next best choice, and is especially suited to those who like to create and organize to-do lists.   Their 2011 edition is scheduled to come out in December 2010.

 

RECOMMENDED SPECIALIZED DISNEY WORLD GUIDEBOOKS

For those with special needs, and those looking for accommodations beyond the typical, the following two books can help:

• For those looking for suites, concierge floors, and the like, Cara Goldsbury’s The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World Resort: How to Get the Most Out of the Best Disney Has to Offer overstates the case (luxury at Walt Disney World is mostly relative to other Disney choices, and not comparable to luxury in world class hotels), and gushes a bit, but is still a  good information source, especially on room options
• For those with special physical, health, mobility, or other challenges, Deb Wills and Debra Martin Koma have done the world a service: PassPorter’s Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line: Easy Access Vacations for Travelers with Extra Challenges

OTHER GREAT DISNEY WORLD BOOKS

From all the other great Disney World related works, I suggest the following:

• Neal Gabler’s wonderful biography: Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination
• Lou Mongello’s Audio Guide to Walt Disney World – Adventurelandand his Audio Guide to Walt Disney World – Main Street, USA
• Charles Ridgway’s memoirs of his time as Walt Disney’s PR guy: Spinning Disney’s World: Memories of a Magic Kingdom Press Agent
• Buzz Price’s memoir about being Disney’s strategic and operational consultant: Walt’s Revolution!: By the Numbers
• Anything by David Koenig, but especially Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World
• Scott Donahue’s Walt Disney World Peak Seasons: Maximizing your Disney Vacation

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2010 Week Picker App, see this
  • For 2011 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2010 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2011 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2012 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

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