This page presents recommended books. For recommended websites, see this.
RECOMMENDED GENERAL GUIDEBOOKS FOR FIRST TIME VISITORS
Because you have this site, you don’t need either 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!
- Bob Sehlinger with Len Testa’s The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2009 though very long, oddly cranky, and badly in need of a complete re-write, is still the single best source of planning information about Walt Disney World.
- Jennifer, Dave and Allison Marx’s PassPorter’s Walt Disney World 2008: The Unique Travel Guide, Planner, Organizer, Journal, and Keepsake is the next best choice, and is especially suited to those who like to create and organize to-do lists
RECOMMENDED SPECIALIZED GUIDEBOOKS
This site is designed so that first time visitors who don’t know if they’ll be returning or not (and because of that need to see all the best on their visit) don’t need to buy and dig through guidebooks for the wisdom they present. All of it and more is here.
However, 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 New York or London), and gushes a bit, but is still a unique good information source, especially on room options
- For those with special needs, 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 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 - Adventureland
and 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
