Disney Guidebooks?

[Susan Bartolini]

We are finally planning our first trip to Disney (in Florida) and I noticed that there are a couple travel guides available. Is one better than another or are they all relatively similar? What's your favorite guidebook and planning website?

Thanks!

[nun69]

I just bought the Disney Land version of this :)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51z8rbBahhL._SL500_AA300_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-Walt-Disney-World-2012/dp/1423138619/ref=pd_sim_b_3)

[nonnie]

I don't know about guides - but this website was a god send especially for helping us avoid crowds - so worth the money
http://touringplans.com/

[Robin Carlton]

Since you're going to Florida, you'll want to pick up the Passporter for WDW. It's AMAZING!!

http://www.passporter.com/walt-disney-world-florida/home.html

This is another amazing guide...

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Walt-Disney-World-2012/dp/0970959664/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1327128118&sr=8-7

I've bought them all I think, and these are by far my two faves!!

R

[mariewilcox]

I second Birnbaum's guide that Angie posted - good information without overload.

www.allears.net is a great site - they have photos of all the resorts, menus for every restaurant, a breakdown of all the character dining, and tons more.

[MissKim]

I second Robin's recommendation. Birnbaum's is OK, but the other two are better.

Unofficial Guide to WDW is the book that goes with touringplans.com I only suggest it if someone wants to really go hardcore Disney and understand the how and the why of lines in order to minimize waiting times. If you're not interested in all that, touringplans.com is a subscription site -- it has touring plans for you to use in the park to minimize your wait times and an app for your iphone that you can use while you're there to get wait times for rides.

I really can't imagine going to Disney without a Passporter, though. In addition to being a decent guidebook and having the best maps, it has pockets in the back for each day. I still have mine from 2000 with all our receipts and memorabilia in them. Such a great way to preserve memories (and it makes doing a scrapbook when we get home so much easier!).

[Happy Now]

We're going in March! So excited! I'll be watching this thread too!! :)

[SirScrapalot]

I agree with Robin, too...the Complete Walt Disney World book is the way to go!

[nesser1981]

I just bought the Disney Land version of this :)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51z8rbBahhL._SL500_AA300_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-Walt-Disney-World-2012/dp/1423138619/ref=pd_sim_b_3)

That's the one I have Susan, and I love it.

This app is awesome too. Lines, Dinning w/ all the menus & prices for all the hotels, parks & downtown disney. Says if they're on the dinning plan too. Park Maps.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disney-world-magic-guide/id365817457?mt=8

And the DISBoards.com are great too.

[nesser1981]

Since you're going to Florida, you'll want to pick up the Passporter for WDW. It's AMAZING!!

http://www.passporter.com/walt-disney-world-florida/home.html

This is another amazing guide...

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Walt-Disney-World-2012/dp/0970959664/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1327128118&sr=8-7

I've bought them all I think, and these are by far my two faves!!

R

I might pick up the passporter e-book. Thanks Robin!

37 days!!

[Susan Bartolini]

Wow...thanks for all the information everyone! Can't wait to get started.

[nesser1981]

Wow...thanks for all the information everyone! Can't wait to get started.

I highly recommend that app if you're going to be planning meals.

Keira's Make a Wish Coordinator told me how much money we'd be getting per meal, so it make it really easy to figure out our where we could eat for the week.

And you can make all your dinning reservations online.

[xboxmom]

We have 5 kids so whenever we go whether it be Dland or Dword Chandler takes all our tickets and runs to either Space Mt. or Splash Mt. in FL or Space Mt. or Indie in CA. Then he texts me as to where I am and meets us back in line. You usually can get a fast pass every hour or so. Take full advantage of that, its the best way to not wait in line forever. Also since we do have a lot of kids we always bring in our food for at least lunch. I freeze juice boxes and use them as ice packs and usually by the time they thaw out its time to eat. We bring plenty of snacks in the backpack too. It saves us soooo much money this way. Even though you aren't supposed to bring in food we have NEVER had anyone say anything to us about it. Also there are App's you can get on your Cell phone that have the wait time for all the rides. They are usually pretty accurate too.

[Txcorey]

I've bought the Passporter and The Unofficial Guide, and I really preferred The Unofficial Guide. I thought their descriptions were better for the rides, and shows, and I loved their touring plans. Since we don't get to go very often, I want to maximize my time at the parks. Touringplans.com is the website that corresponds to The Unofficial Guide and it was fabulous. It really helped us out as far as knowing what parks to visit to avoid the crowds.

[BrattyMeg]

I just used touringplans.com and rarely picked up the book that goes with it. Did all our planning from the website. It was well worth the $ to join (it's pretty cheap) ahh i wanna plan another trip lol

[AmberK]

I didn't use any books- I used tourguidemike.com, touringplans.com, and then info from DISboards to plan my trip. Then I put all of my information in Evernote and had everything I needed on my phone. I didnt want to lug around a book everyday so I loved having all of the info on my phone.

[Susan Bartolini]

I didn't use any books- I used tourguidemike.com, touringplans.com, and then info from DISboards to plan my trip. Then I put all of my information in Evernote and had everything I needed on my phone. I didnt want to lug around a book everyday so I loved having all of the info on my phone.

I kinda wished that had all of these on iBooks but they don't. They do have Birnbaum's on iBooks.

I ordered the Complete Guide from Amazon. What is the passporter?...I looked at the website and didn't really understand what was going on. Is it a guidebook?

So..what apps are good?

[Robin Carlton]

I should mention that I've been to WDW several times at this point so we aren't hardcore schedulers. We go and chill, see what we want to see and aren't going with the "we must see EVERYTHING in 7 hours or 4 days" approach that The Unofficial Guide, TouringPlans and TourGuideMike do. If you want to go go go those are great resources! The books I suggested up there are more get to know whats available to you at the parks in amazingly presented books rather than whats the most effective way to see everything types of guides.

I buy travel guides for all of my vacation destinations, ones we've been to and ones we haven't, I have a travel guide collection that's a bit ridiculous. Rocky laughs at me because when we go to the bookstore, I go to the travel section whether we have a vacation planned or not lol. My preference in vacation guides are pretty ones with lots of pictures AND lots of info to go with the pictures :)

So excited to hear what you think Susan! Disney is soo soo fun!

R

[Robin Carlton]

The passporter is a guidebook and an organizer all in one...

http://www.passporterstore.com/store/1587711044.aspx

There's a link to it in their store - that's the binder edition, you can also get the spiral bound one. It's written by a family who goes all the time so they share whats new, what their experiences have been, lots of info on the hotels if you plan on staying on property, lots of info on the restaurants, parks, shopping, etc. The passpockets in the back allow for journaling, map storage, jotting down dining reservations, etc.

Also, remember you can make your dining reservations 180days out so depending on when you're going, you may want to look into restaurants and start planning your meals soonish too.

[Susan Bartolini]

Great info Robin, thanks! I am going to order the passporter too. We aren't a do it all see it all bunch. As you know, Ben has some challenges, so we usually take a more leisurely pace. That said, I would like to be well informed and efficient. That really helped for our trip to Paris.

We are thinking of going the first week in May. Do you think I should book the character breakfasts now?

[Robin Carlton]

Yes! Get on the phone/online - you'll likely have trouble booking some at this point but you should try to book the ones you want ASAP.

Good luck!

R

[SirScrapalot]

Great info Robin, thanks! I am going to order the passporter too. We aren't a do it all see it all bunch. As you know, Ben has some challenges, so we usually take a more leisurely pace. That said, I would like to be well informed and efficient. That really helped for our trip to Paris.

We are thinking of going the first week in May. Do you think I should book the character breakfasts now?

I actually gasped!! I agree with Robin, you should be on the phone at this moment trying to get reservations for character breakfasts!! When we went last summer, we did exactly 180 days out, and still had trouble.

[nesser1981]

The big ones, yes.

[BrattyMeg]

I did mine at the 180 day mark too :) Def make them now. If you can't find what you want online--try calling sometimes they have diff times. I don't think a free dining discount has come out for May yet but there's a 30% off room discount thru June if you book by Feb 28 available right now :)

I'd check out disboards.com too they are a great source of info for all things trip planning :)

Also--we aren't a die hard do it all in 7 hours type people either but my trip was well planned out using touringplans (they have it like AM park day with small kids, etc..) all kinds of plans to see the most/do all you want but not hardcore..very leisure and the LONGEST we waited for anything was 30 mins for a coaster that was out of fast passes. We did all we wanted except 1 ride and didn't feel rushed at all and took afternoon breaks everyday. Don't let those touring plans confuse or discourage you. You don't want your child's memories to be of line waiting and not enjoy themselves. They also have the plans in an app for ipad/iphone and I used that a good bit when our plans changed here or there. You do have to have a subscription for the site for the app to work since you have to sign in to get the plans.

I LOOVE planning if you need any help :)

[Susan Bartolini]

Oh now I am panicking....can you all see what a rookie I am? I cannot find on their site the choices of characters. I see that they have character dining but it just looks like a couple places. I was hoping to book some princess or fairy for Madeleine and maybe a superhero or Nemo or something for Ben. Do they even have that?

I should probably just get on the phone at this point.

Meg - I don't see that discount on their site. I am so confused...can you point me to it?

I just ordered the Passporter and am going to get on the Boards now.

Wiggin....

[nesser1981]

We're leaving the 27 of February. I made 5 reservations 47 days out exactly I think.

3 Breakfasts & 2 dinners.

Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh & the gang
Hollywood & VIne w/ The Disney Junior Gang
Tusker House w/ Donald, Goofy, Mickey & Daisy I think

and the dinners

La Hacienda at Epcot
Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant in Downtown Disney

Keira's Wish Coordinator made ours for Cinderella's Royal Table.

The ones I've been seeing on the disboards people are having issues getting are,
Cinderella's Royal Table, T-Rex (downtown disney), and Chef Mickey's

I love this app, has line wait times, maps, park hours and menus w/ prices for all the resorts, parks & downtown disney.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disney-world-magic-guide/id365817457?mt=8

[BrattyMeg]

Hold on I'll get the characters/dining places for ya :)

I know Lilo/Stitch is at The Polynesian at O'Hana for breakfast..lemme go find the rest

I know Cinderella is @ Cinderella's royal table but I doubt you'll get that this close to your trip. They book fast. You can see her though at dinner at Epcot if you wanna do that.

[BrattyMeg]

Does Ben like Donald Duck? If so the Safari Breakfast Vanessa is doing would be good! It's Donald and Friends..not sure which friends though lol We only did 1 breakfast.

[BrattyMeg]

*Princesses*
1900 Park Fare Breakfast is
The Supercalifragilistic Breakfast is hosted by Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter and friends.

Dinner there is
The Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner is hosted by Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and Anastasia and Drisella.

dinner there would be my #1 choice..I think you have to put a deposit on that meal now though.

Cinderella's Royal Table-MK-Prob very hard to get though

*Characters*
Cape May Cafe-Mickey, Minnie, Donald (beach club resort)
Crystal Palace-MK-Poo, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet

I think Hollywood and Vine might be your best choice for Ben. It's Jake from Disney Junior's "Jake and the Never Land Pirates", Agent OSO from "Special Agent OSO", Handy Manny, and June from "Little Einstein's"
**editing as I go**

[Susan Bartolini]

Thanks Megs.......I like that dinner option.....if they have it.....

[BrattyMeg]

ugh i had a big post with places/characters and it got eaten lol

here's the link for the discount
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/
then click it to book :)

[nesser1981]

Thanks Megs.......I like that dinner option.....if they have it.....

They have princesses at Epcot to in Norway.
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Dine with Disney Princesses in a regal setting with family-style meals.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner there Susan, and I've heard is really great.

[nesser1981]

Chef Mickey's is good too, that's the only one we've done before.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy & Pluto. I

[Susan Bartolini]

Chef Mickey's is good too, that's the only one we've done before.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy & Pluto. I

Ben would probably like that one. I guess they don't do Buzz Lightyear or Superheros, huh?

[nesser1981]

Ben would probably like that one. I guess they don't do Buzz Lightyear or Superheros, huh?

Nope, I looked. LOL!

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/

All of the Character meals are listed here. :)

[BrattyMeg]

Do y'all like Norwegian food? If so there's a Princess Storybook Dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot. Might be hard to get too but the Princesses walk around and it's family style dining. They have a regular American breakfast at this one too along with kids menus :) Might be a good bet if you can get a spot.

ok I just looked and there's better Princess interaction @ Akershus with more princesses (Tiana and Pocahontas visit this one too)

[BrattyMeg]

haha i typed too slow.

did you see this as an option for Ben?
I think Hollywood and Vine might be your best choice for Ben. It's Jake from Disney Junior's "Jake and the Never Land Pirates", Agent OSO from "Special Agent OSO", Handy Manny, and June from "Little Einstein's"

[Susan Bartolini]

Thanks! I think I am just going to have to call them and have someone book it for me. I am such a dummy for waiting so long...

[BrattyMeg]

I just looked for May 7 breakfast for Akershus and there's options...what dates ru going?

[Susan Bartolini]

Arrive the night of the 9th. At the park 10-13th.

[BrattyMeg]

4 of y'all right?

there's an 820 (online) on May 10 for Akershus breakfast you can call too prob and there might be a few more options.

The benefit of calling is whoever you talk to can book all your days and look and see all the options at one time.

[BrattyMeg]

there's actually a couple of Cinderella's Royal Table options too..I think I personally would do Akershus for the interaction and photo ops with the Princesses

[nesser1981]

Here is the full list of character meals.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/listing/?sortBy=nG:hasDiningExperienceFacet&fv_222815=on

[Susan Bartolini]

Ok...I think I got it. I see what is available and whatnot. Now...one last question. Before I book this. We haven't made our hotel arrangements or meal plan arrangements yet...and it looks like there is a bit of a discount on the character meals if you get a meal plan. Should I just book the character meal NOW and not wait until I get the meal plan in order and just forgo the discount?

I am such a friggin rookie....

[BrattyMeg]

are you doing park hoppers? THat will make a diff in where you want to eat b/c if you do a breakfast @ epcot w/out hoppers then you are stuck @ epcot for the day. I really think hoppers are worth the $$

we did some parks in the AM, took an afternoon break, and had dinner and a little park time at a diff park in the evenings..well worth the extra $50

[Susan Bartolini]

are you doing park hoppers? THat will make a diff in where you want to eat b/c if you do a breakfast @ epcot w/out hoppers then you are stuck @ epcot for the day. I really think hoppers are worth the $$

we did some parks in the AM, took an afternoon break, and had dinner and a little park time at a diff park in the evenings..well worth the extra $50

:blink:

I have no clue. What is park hoppers? OH MY GOD, I suck.

I think I just have to book this character meal and then wait for the guidebooks to figure everything else out.

So confusing....

[BrattyMeg]

Ok...I think I got it. I see what is available and whatnot. Now...one last question. Before I book this. We haven't made our hotel arrangements or meal plan arrangements yet...and it looks like there is a bit of a discount on the character meals if you get a meal plan. Should I just book the character meal NOW and not wait until I get the meal plan in order and just forgo the discount?

I am such a friggin rookie....

Depends where you plan on staying IMO. If you are staying at a moderate or value, I'd book your reservations now and if free dining comes out you can be reimbursed by Disney for anything you've paid already that's over the price with free dining. (make sense?)

If you plan on staying at a deluxe or villa you are better off taking the room discount and just paying for the meal plan out of pocket. I think the meal plan saves you a little $$ off the price of paying out of pocket, plus you don't have to worry about having the cash with you, etc..You WILL have to cover tips though even with the meal plan :)

[BrattyMeg]

:blink:

I have no clue. What is park hoppers? OH MY GOD, I suck.

I think I just have to book this character meal and then wait for the guidebooks to figure everything else out.

So confusing....

Hoppers are just a ticket add-on that lets you visit more than 1 park/day

I'll hold your hand and help you lol don't freak out! :)

[BrattyMeg]

ok I'm heading out for a bit but I'll be back later if you need any help. There's tons of Disney vets around that I'm sure will chime in later lol

I'd decide where you want to stay first then go from there..lol

[nesser1981]

All you're doing now is making reservations, you don't have to pay anything up front expect for like Cinderella's Royal Table and some of the dinner shows.

You can cancel them up to 24 hours before you are scheduled for them. If not you are charged like $10 per person if you don't keep the reservation.

If you get a Disney Dining Plan, you can use your table service dining credits for Character Meals, I believe. I had done some research prior to getting Keira's Make a Wish trip, we were planning on paying for our trip.

[Susan Bartolini]

Thanks Vanessa and Meg.....sorry for being so :unsure:

[nesser1981]

Thanks Vanessa and Meg.....sorry for being so :unsure:

LOL!

We found about about a week and a half ago Keira's dates for her Make a Wish trip, so I've pretty much been living Disney since then. LOL! This is our first long trip, so I'm super excited and I've been reading tons of stuff. Happy to help.

[kscwgirl]

I'm on my 25th trip in 2015 so let me know what you need Susan.

Decide where you are staying first, and we can go from there. :)

[kscwgirl]

Also Kendall is a Disney Travel Agent.. so she should be able to help you as well.

[jaylensmom]

susan you are not alone...i think we're going later this year or next year...i'll be stalking this thread for sure...

[nesser1981]

I'm on my 25th trip in 2015 so let me know what you need Susan.

Decide where you are staying first, and we can go from there. :)

See, I'm already talking about our next trip and we haven't gone on this one yet! LOL!

The only thing about this trip is we're not staying at Disney, we're staying at the resort for kids like Keira. It's all nonprofit. And we'll be spoiled for sure, we get 2 bedroom, 2 bath villas this time. LOL! Next time it'll be a Disney value resort. I'm thinking maybe 2015 as well. ;)

[Robin Carlton]

Susan, if you decide you want to stay off property, let me know, I have some incredible recommendations for you.

[BrattyMeg]

I'm living thru those going this year..I'm planning another trip but not til Dec 2013 *SOB* I reallllly wanted to go this year but I want to stay at the Poly and I'll need the extra year to save $$ lol

[nesser1981]

Maybe by the time we go again we can stay at a more expensive resort. I'm just so excited about this trip!

And FYI, I bought the Passporter Guide, and I don't like it!

It has good information, but not anything any different that the Birnbaum guide, unless you need a lot of hotel information. Like the Birnbaum talks a lot about character meals and such.

I canceled my order for the actual hard copy book, and I'll keep the ebook. But I wasn't impressed.

[MissKim]

And FYI, I bought the Passporter Guide, and I don't like it!

It has good information, but not anything any different that the Birnbaum guide, unless you need a lot of hotel information. Like the Birnbaum talks a lot about character meals and such.

I canceled my order for the actual hard copy book, and I'll keep the ebook. But I wasn't impressed.

To me the value in Passporter isn't so much in the actual book, but in the Passpockets at the back of the book. Lots of space to record memories and envelopes to hold receipts and memorabilia. I have all our passpockets since our first family trip in 2000.

Then again, I think the internet is so full of real-time information about Disney that any guidebook would be lacking.

And Robin, I'd love to hear your off site recommendations. We have reservations at one place, but we're open. Disney is not exactly sending me any discounts and I refuse to pay rack rate for a small room for our family of 5, so we're staying off site at Disney. Onsite at Universal because the free unlimited express pass makes it worth our money and the inconvenience of being crammed in one room.

[BrattyMeg]

Onsite at Universal because the free unlimited express pass makes it worth our money and the inconvenience of being crammed in one room.

I'm looking into this for our next trip for 2 days :) Let me know how you end up liking it! We'll be ending our trip there after Christmas @ WDW I think their pass would be cool..wish Harry Potter was on it though lol

[AmberK]

Can't you pay an extra fee to get Harry Potter added to it?

[BrattyMeg]

Can't you pay an extra fee to get Harry Potter added to it?

not that I've read..there's only 3 rides it's not avail on

Universal Studios Florida
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

Universal's Islands of Adventure
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Pteranodon Flyers

[Susan Bartolini]

I am so in over my head. I have no clue what any of you are talking about.

:confused:

[BrattyMeg]

I am so in over my head. I have no clue what any of you are talking about.

:confused:

just go back to deciding where u wanna stay. Ignore us see we get so excited everytime somebody brings up Disney and surrounding areas :0x

Do you have a budget you wanna spend? That'll help narrow down your choices

[Susan Bartolini]

Not really. I mean....I am assuming it will cost several thousand dollars. I really have no idea where to start. Where is the best place to stay for a first time family of 4? My son is 8 and my daughter is 5.

[eranslow]

Not really. I mean....I am assuming it will cost several thousand dollars. I really have no idea where to start. Where is the best place to stay for a first time family of 4? My son is 8 and my daughter is 5.

We liked Port Orleans when we went the first time. Didn't care much for Pop Century when we went the 2nd time. So we like the moderate resorts over the value. Someday I'd love to stay at one of the expensive resorts!

[BrattyMeg]

Not really. I mean....I am assuming it will cost several thousand dollars. I really have no idea where to start. Where is the best place to stay for a first time family of 4? My son is 8 and my daughter is 5.

honestly? if you don't care and are willing to take just a room discount and pay for meals..I'd stay at the Poly, Contemporary, or Grand Floridian..for the monorail alone. Esp with little kids..one reason we're staying at the Poly next time we go.

We stayed @ Coronado Springs this past time and it was nice but it was soooo big...although we had no problems with the buses or anything.

I love Port Orleans Riverside (there's also Port Orleans French Quarter) where Erin stayed..it's probably the smallest resort (??) so it's all pretty compacted and everything is kinda convenient.

[BrattyMeg]

I dropped you a PM :)

[LeeAndra]

Meg, whenever we come up with the $$$ to go to WDW, not only will I be booking you as my official travel agent, but we'll also be stopping by to spend the night on our way down and back. :D:p

[BrattyMeg]

Meg, whenever we come up with the $$$ to go to WDW, not only will I be booking you as my official travel agent, but we'll also be stopping by to spend the night on our way down and back. :D:p

i sooo wanna plan another trip lol

[Julie Billingsley]

Susan, I have a couple layouts about the Polynesian if you want to see some pics of it. We stayed there for 7 days on our last vacation. It was very retro Hawaiian and I don't want to kid you that it's not for everyone. But we had an amazing discount plus an amazing room with a full view of the beach and Cinderella's castle and Space Needle. My guys would stay there again in a heartbeat (it really felt like Hawaii) but I'd like to go somewhere else next time because the retro was a little too much for me. But if you want to combine beach time with Disney, the Poly is the place for that!

[Susan Bartolini]

Thanks again for all the info and PM. I can't wait to get the guidebooks so I can go through this methodically. I definitely think we need a monorail hotel due to Ben's mobility issues (very low tone muscle, fatigues quickly, and other PDD issues). The Grand Poly place sounds awesome.

[Susan Bartolini]

Also...where do you guys find all these discounts?

[MissKim]

Also...where do you guys find all these discounts?

Well, there's one out right now that includes May. Promo info (http://bookwdw.reservations.disney.go.com/ibcwdw/en_US/specialOfferDetails?name=Promo&promotionCode=fy12q2q3room&market=fy12q2q3room)

It ends the day before we arrive. :(

The other way is to get a PIN code for a discount. PIN codes are specific to you and are not transferrable. I have no idea how one gets a PIN code. Some people seem to get them when they save a vacation on the website (you can create an account, price out up to 5 trips at different hotels/different dining plans/etc.), but honestly, I've been saving vacations for six months, ordered the free DVD planning guide, ordered their little maps and done everything possible to get a PIN and nothing. They just sent out a huge blast of PIN codes for free dining and I didn't get squat. So I must be on the "don't give her a PIN" list. I'm fine with it. Disney charges a lot of money if you have a family of 5 and by the time we go, my kids will be 18, 16 and 12. I'm not too interested in cramming us all into one room. I wish they'd give me a PIN at this point so I could reject it. (I'm a little angry with Disney and their options for 5 people... can you tell?)

And back to Universal... the main Harry Potter ride, Forbidden Journey, is not included in the unlimited express you get for staying onsite (and you can't buy access either... it's just not included in anything). However, you get into the area an hour before the park opens if you stay onsite or buy a package through Universal. Universal just released park hours for our trip and Islands of Adventure opens at 8 am. That means my early rising family will be at the gates by 6:30 am to get into Wizarding World at 7 for our early entry.

[BrattyMeg]

I've never gotten a good PIN either Kim (well I had one for 20% off but the promo going on was better)

have you tried calling to see if there's one on your name? Sometimes they don't show up in email

also susan if you go to the main disneyworld.com page and under tickets and packages you'll see Special Offers..that'll have the current specials. I can almost guarantee you'll get free dining offered but with staying @ the Poly or another monorail resort you are better off with a room discount. The savings is greater than free dining usually for a family of 4

[Julie Billingsley]

hey Disneyites, I just saw this free Kindle book on saving money at Disneyworld. I haven't read it or know if it's good, but thought I'd pass the link along.

Disney World Cash Hacks (http://www.amazon.com/Disney-World-Cash-Hacks-ebook/dp/B005POXDPK%3FSubscriptionId%3D1GVBN9WWNVXC5DBPE502 %26tag%3Dkiq-free-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165 953%26creativeASIN%3DB005POXDPK&kc=AG56TWVU5XWC2) kindle book

[Sharon Kay]

Just wing it! We've never bought a guidebook. We went to the Disney site and looked at the maps and Disney sent a free color map of what we wanted to see pinpointed on it. Makes a great keepsake.

These last couple of times my friend, Lara, who has 2 rental houses there gave us lots of information and info on discounts. She does that for guests as part of her service.

We have stayed in a regular hotel (1984), a Disney property (2009) but boy did I get tired of the same old food EVERY day!, and then my friend's property sharing with another family (2011), and then her place just last week. I much prefer my friend's rental home (http://onlyorlando.com/)to any other place I have stayed ... the house will sleep 10-12 people (5 bedrooms) so you can bring another family and split the cost, fix your own food there at the house (and bring cheese quesadillas into the park with you which saves $$$), have an in-ground pool, and it's about 15 minutes to the gates of Magic Kingdom. We haven't ever used a guidebook ... the first time we "winged it" ... and were happy with that ... we bought a 5 day pass and went to each park and then decided on which park to "revisit" with the last day (which ended up being Hollywood Studios).

[kendallt]

I really love the Passporter books, especially their maps!

[kendallt]

Also Kendall is a Disney Travel Agent.. so she should be able to help you as well.

I just :wub: you! Seriously though, Susan, if there's anything I can help you with, just let me know. It's free to use my services...just FYI. ;)

[Susan Bartolini]

I just :wub: you! Seriously though, Susan, if there's anything I can help you with, just let me know. It's free to use my services...just FYI. ;)

Awesome! How should I reach you?

[kendallt]

Awesome! How should I reach you?

Feel free to shoot me a PM here. :)

[DawnMarch]

I haven't read all the responses but we love the Unofficial Guide and we also use the app that tells you the length of the lines at the park that day.

[Nettio]

I used TourGuideMike on Julie's recommendation and loved it but uh, I think he might just stress you out. LOL! He's not for everyone, haha.