by Devo CabDisney
Let’s face it; planning a Walt Disney World vacation can be stressful, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Heck, it can be stressful if you do know what you’re doing. You’re spending quite a bit of cash on this trip and you don’t want to mess it up. That’s why it’s important to have good reliable information to help you make the best decisions possible. Yeah, you can probably talk to some people on social media or search for hours on a website, but what you’re going to find is a lot of opinion. Opinions aren’t bad, but they aren’t always going to line up with yours. Sometimes you just need some good, solid, factual information. Cue The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2018 edition!
Bob Sehlinger, Len Testa and the good folks at The Unofficial Guides have really outdone themselves! This book is huge; 846 pages to be exact! And they didn’t waste space. Every last inch of those 846 is chock full of priceless information about Walt Disney World. If you need to know it, it’s in there!
The book is divided into seventeen sections.
- Planning Before You Leave Home
- Making the Most of Your Time and Money
- Accommodations
- Dining In and Around Walt Disney World
- Walt Disney World with Kids
- Special Tips for Special People
- Arriving and Getting Around
- Bare Necessities
- Magic Kingdom
- EPCOT
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Universal Orlando and SeaWorld
- The Water Parks
- Behind-the-Scenes and VIP Tours at Walt Disney World
- Disney Springs, Universal City Walk, Shopping, and Nightlife
- Recreation, Sports, and Spas
I’m going to be honest with you; I’m not really sure how to start with this one. This book is full! But let me start with what I’m most impressed by. Things change; a lot! Walt Disney World seems to stay in a constant state of change. So I wasn’t expecting this book to be quite up to date. But I don’t think you can be more up to date than this book. I have to say, it’s really impressive.
Within these seventeen parts, you’re going to find loads of information! You’re going to get tips and plans on what to expect and what to do prior to your vacation. There’s many key dates to remember for various aspects of your Walt Disney World vacation and The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2018 has them all spelled out for you! They provide some great information to help you decide what time of year is best for your family. You’ll even receive some great tips on where to get honest discounts on park tickets. You really have to be careful if you’re purchasing Disney tickets from vendors other than Disney. The Unofficial Guide will help you know which vendors are safe!
You’re going to want to know where to stay and where to dine. You’ll find ratings, locations, cost comparisons, menu descriptions, and even portion size comparisons. You name it, you’ll find it. They will even give you pros and cons to each resort. Need to know how your resort is laid out? It’s in there. On the Disney Dining Plan and need to know how many credits you’ll need for your restaurant choice? It’s in there!
You can also find priceless information about the parks. Find out what time of day your favorite attraction typically runs out of Fast Passes for the day. Find out where you can rent strollers and how much it will cost you. Sometimes you just need to chill and relax for a minute. You’ll find out where you can do that in the parks. You’ll find time and money-saving tips to help you maximize your Walt Disney World experience! No one wants to waste half their trip waiting in line when you could be experiencing the magic!
I have a few favorite features of The Unofficial Guide. One feature helps you understand what you can expect with your budget in mind. They’ll tell you what you can do with $500, $1000 and more. This is a great tool to help you know how much money you will need to provide the vacation that you want for your family.
Another feature that I like is that they have information about Pandora and even projected information about Toy Story Land and Star Wars. They aren’t open yet but they are already talking about them and providing great tips to get you ready! That’s how up to date they are!
They also have touring plans in the back of the book. One great feature is that they have pages you can cut out and take with you that includes maps of the parks! Trust me, you’re not going to want to take this book into the parks… it’s that big! And grabbing a map at the park is great, but what’s even better is knowing the layout ahead of time so you don’t have your nose in a map when you could have your head up enjoying the scenery and attractions!
Some random information that you’ll find includes some info about Universal and SeaWorld. The Unofficial Guide has full books on these parks, but you’ll find some great info here as well. This is great for families that like to split their Walt Disney World vacation with other Orlando area attractions and parks. You’ll also find information and tips about doing a solo trip. Most people would turn their nose up at a solo trip to Walt Disney World, but it’s become quite a thing and many people really enjoy it!
The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2018, in my opinion, is a must have! It doesn’t matter if you’re a Walt Disney World newbie or if you’re a seasoned veteran. You’re going to find information in this book that you didn’t know and you’ll be glad that you got this book to help you out. It’s a lot of reading and ton of information but you won’t regret it! You need to get your hands on this book!
GIVEAWAY: Would you like to win a copy of this Unofficial Guide for yourself?? Great news, we’ve partnered with the Unofficial Guides to offer one lucky Tips from the Disney Divas and Devos reader a copy of their own Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2018. First, you will need to sign up for the Unofficial Guide newsletter here. Then use the Rafflecopter link below to confirm your entries. You will need to “LIKE” each of the Facebook entries for those to count. All entries will be verified. The winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. GOOD LUCK!
If you’re looking for some extra help with your next Disney vacation, contact the OFFICIAL travel agent of Tips from the Disney Divas & Devos! Get your FREE QUOTE HERE!
*Disclaimer: Liliane Opsomer from The Unofficial Guide series provided me a complimentary copy of The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2018 to review. She also generously has allowed Tips from the Disney Divas and Devos to give away a copy of another Unofficial Guide book to our readers. I received no other compensation for my review, and my opinions are completely my own.
Also, all of the copyrights for the photographs used in this article belong to Liliane Opsomer and are being used with her permission.
**Disclaimer – We at Tips from the Disney Divas and Devos hope you enjoy reading our articles, and encourage you to share any you feel may be of interest to someone else. We do ask, however, if you choose to share the photographs attached to our articles, you give credit to the photographer. Thank you for your cooperation and sharing our love of Disney!
This was extremely helpful, sometimes I think that it can be a little overwhelming planned my a trip like this! Very helpful very informative! Thank you
You’re welcome, Cheryl!
I am still trying to win something ❤️