Discounts on Disney Guidebooks

Wondering how to choose the best Disney guidebooks? Read my reviews of the major Disney guides below and through the links below, get great discounts on them, too!

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The Best Walt Disney World Guidebooks

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2013 - Of all the guidebooks, the Unofficial Guide is the the most thorough. Authors Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa pull no punches in telling you the best way to organize your trip and avoid hassles and rip-offs. The “touring plans” in this book are excellent and can be a huge timesaver, particularly if you’re visiting Walt Disney World during a busy time of year. The book covers all the basics in depth — descriptions and reviews of all the Walt Disney World attractions, the hotels, the restaurants and more. There is also some excellent information on the two Universal theme parks and SeaWorld. The tone of the Unofficial Guide is humorously cynical. Some people think it’s too hard on Disney: I find it funny and usually right on the mark. This terrific book includes articles by experts about things like how to decide whether to buy a vacation package. Many of the write-ups about the attractions provide fun and interesting background information. There are lots of maps and charts, including an amazing chart that tells you what the crowd levels will be for any specific day of the year, and which of the parks will be best and worst to visit on that particular day! Wow. (And this information is kept updated year-round at TouringPlans.com.) If you haven’t bought a guidebook for your upcoming trip to Disney World, get this one. I know you’ll be astonished at the amount you’ll learn. The Unofficial Guide offers frequent online updates that you can print out and add to your guidebook.

The Unofficial Guide: The Color Companion to Walt Disney World – I have to admit, when Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa told me about their plans for this book, I was dubious. I really didn’t see the need for yet another guidebook, even one with lots of color pictures, when there is already the incredibly comprehensive 850-page Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. However, now that I’ve had a chance to look at the book, I have to say I was wrong. The Color Companion is an especially great guide if you are a more “visual” kind of person; if you are a first-time visitor; or if you want a more compact version of the Unofficial Guide. With 560 full-color photos, this book allows you to see what you’re getting yourself into as you plan a trip to Walt Disney World. It covers everything important in a little over 350 pages, so I guess a picture really is worth a thousand words! Just to make sure you’re paying attention, the authors have thrown in some whimsical, silly and just plain funny stuff. All in all, this guide is well worth your time and money. Plus, the information in the book is kept updated year-round at TouringPlans.com.

Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World 2013 – This is the official guide, produced with Disney’s blessing. Yet surprisingly enough, it’s a pretty honest and objective book with a lot of great information, and it’s nicely compact (much thinner than the other guidebooks, though the pages are larger). Since this is a Disney guidebook, it does not cover other Florida theme parks and attractions, unlike competing guides. There are a few nice coupons in the back.

PassPorter’s Walt Disney World 2013 -This book is a Disney fan favorite, and justly so. I’m especially impressed with the way this guidebook manages to cover everything important, and yet remain concise. Plus, the useful pockets in the back of the guidebook — to hold your plane tickets, passes, hotel confirmation and other important documents — make the PassPorter different from any other guide. The PassPorter offers frequent online updates that you can print out and add to your guidebook.

Specialty Walt Disney World Guidebooks

Disney Food Blog e-Books - The author and founder of  The Disney Food Blog, AJ Wolfe, has compiled her best material about all things delicious at Walt Disney World into critically acclaimed, comprehensive e-Books that cover many different aspects of Walt Disney World dining. Her main book, The Disney Food Blog Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World, is stunningly illustrated and amazingly informative. This annually updated guide can help you save time, money and hassles. You’ll learn what snack and meal choices are available at Walt Disney World, before you go. It also provides excellent planning tools, plus useful tips and tricks that you just can’t find in one place anywhere else. In addition, she has a whole series of specialty guides covering the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, holidays at Walt Disney World, snacks at Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and more! MouseSavers.com readers get 20% off any Disney Food Blog e-Book!

PassPorter’s Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line – This book, which was originally titled PassPorter’s Walt Disney World for Your Special Needs, was written by Deb Wills and Debra Martin Koma from the excellent resource website AllEarsNet.com. It’s exceptionally useful for many people planning a vacation at Disney World and/or on the Disney Cruise Line, including some who don’t think of themselves as having “special needs.” Among the issues it covers are hearing and visual impairments, mobility problems, ADHD, autism, dietary issues such as allergies and vegetarianism, many medical conditions from diabetes to epilepsy, pregnancy/breast-feeding, size (tall/big) and age (infants and seniors). One of the best parts of the book is a set of charts for each attraction, which is very helpful for those wondering if they can safely or comfortably ride.

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids 2013 – Co-authored by Liliane Opsomer, Len Testa and Bob Sehlinger (Len and Bob are the authors of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World), this book is based on survey of more than 12,000 families who answered in-depth questions about their Disney vacations. The book is full of excellent information about how families can prepare for a thoroughly enjoyable Walt Disney World vacation, including detailed information on which attractions are scary for kids and why. As with all of the Unoffical Guide books, this one has excellent information about avoiding crowds and minimizing wait times, and the information is kept updated year-round at TouringPlans.com.

Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World for Kids 2013 – If you have children old enough to enjoy their own Walt Disney World guidebook, this book would make a good gift and help them prepare for the trip. It’s pretty much the same material covered in the regular Birnbaum guide, but designed and written on a level that kids can enjoy.

Disneyland Guidebooks

The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2013 – The best overall guide to Disneyland. Includes information about how to save money as well as excellent strategies for maximizing your enjoyment and avoiding long lines. There is thorough information about both Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure theme park, plus coverage of Universal Studios Hollywood. Plus, the information in the book is kept updated year-round at TouringPlans.com.

Birnbaum’s Disneyland Resort 2013 -This is the Official Guide, produced with Disney’s blessing. Naturally it tends to glorify Disney a bit, but it provides plenty of useful, in-depth information about the two parks and the three Disney hotels. Since this is a Disney guidebook, it does not cover other Southern California theme parks and attractions, unlike competing guides. There are a few nice coupons in the back.

Disney Cruise Line Guidebooks

PassPorter’s Disney Cruise Line and Its Ports of Call (November 2012 edition) – This excellent guide by Jennifer and Dave Marx, the authors of the popular PassPorter’s Walt Disney World, covers Disney cruises in splendid detail. Jennifer and Dave tell you everything you need and want to know, from embarkation to debarkation. They provide helpful pre-planning information including how to decide when to cruise and how to pick a stateroom — there are even detailed deck and stateroom plans. And once you’ve booked your cruise, the book provides a wealth of detail about what to expect and how to maximize your enjoyment. It explains how Disney’s unusual “dining rotation” scheme works, gives excellent information about the ports and shares important tips and tricks. Even if you don’t currently have a Disney cruise planned, this is great armchair reading. It certainly took me back to happy thoughts of my last Disney cruise, and made me want to plan the next one!

Birnbaum’s Disney Cruise Line 2013 – This official guide to the Disney Cruise Line is a very small (almost pocket-sized) volume that offers basic information. The reviews of the various shore excursions are useful and surprisingly critical. Considering that this is an “official” Disney publication, I was surprised to find the authors stating that some of the excursions are not worth the money or not very enjoyable. That’s good to know! This book is nowhere near as in-depth as PassPorter’s Disney Cruise Line, but does have some worthwhile information and it’s inexpensive, so if you’re hungry for info, it’s worth taking a look.

Disneyland Paris Guidebooks

Be sure to read the information about Disneyland Paris discounts here on this site, which should be the most up-to-date you’ll find in English.

The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland Paris – Hooray! At last there’s a fantastic guidebook in English, produced by the same people who bring you the Unofficial Guides to Walt Disney World and Disneyland (California). This extremely thorough 300-page guide, published in July 2010, covers everything you’ll need to know about the rides, shows, Disney hotels and close-by hotels not operated by Disney, tickets and transportation to and from the resort. And of course, the Unofficial Guide team offers great touring plans to save you time in line. All this, plus an attractive section of color photos. While the main market for this book is UK residents, it’s written to include information useful to US residents as well. Truly this is the only guide to Disneyland Paris worth buying. Note: the link above is for US residents. If you live in the UK, use this link.

Tokyo Disney Resort Guidebooks

I have extensive information about Tokyo Disney Resort here on this site, based on two visits and extensive research. As far as I know, MouseSavers.com has the best information available in English about Tokyo Disney Resort discounts, and it’s FREE! Click here to read it.

Travelers Series Guide to the Tokyo Disney Resort is the only printed guidebook in English. This fairly comprehensive book, published in October 2010, has good coverage of a lot of important stuff at the resort, including descriptions of each attraction, dining location and shop. It also has worthwhile material about the Disney hotels. It doesn’t go into much depth about how to save money (but fortunately you have this site for that) and it doesn’t have touring plans or tips on the best strategies for avoiding lines, though it does list which attractions have FASTPASS and Single Rider Lines. It also compares Tokyo Disney to the American parks, which is helpful for those who just want to “hit the highlights” and do attractions that are different from their American versions. All in all, a worthy effort and well worth buying if you’re planning a trip to Tokyo Disney for the first time.