Unofficial Guide--Birnbaum--Easy WDW

Thus far I have purchased The Unofficial Guide as well as Birnbaum for Disney resources. Has anyone purchased the Easy WDW guidebook? Is there anything the other two have missed, or would it be redundant? At this point, I am basically just obsessed with Disney planning. Not sure what I am going to do with myself when the trip is over.

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My vote would be, “redundant.”
Unofficial Guide + Birnbaum + all the random info/planning sites like TP and Disboards, and the few other big ones…You’ll be fine. You just gotta figure out what you is important to you to do when you are there, then figure out which parks on what days to get those things done. Please be aware that park hours can change, so you’ll need to be flexible after you think you have everything set in stone. You’ll probably have everything solidified a few weeks before you go. Barring weird circumstances, once your plan is in place, hopefully you’ll be in for smooth sailing no matter how busy the park is. Get your family all on board with the plans of attack, and just glide right by all of the other people looking at maps and trying to figure out where they are headed to next. Make educated guesses on when a potty break will be needed. Make educated guesses on what your family might find interesting en route to the next attraction, and budget time to account for that. You’ll be fine. Once you have the data you need from the books and the sites, and these forums, generate a custom touring plan, and everything will fall into place.

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I love (buy) the Unofficial Guide but I also like (get from the library) PassPorter’s Walt Disney World book! I enjoy the maps of the parks, details of each Disney hotel room, worksheets, and about transportation. Have fun planning!!! :slight_smile:

I second what Seebee said.
If you ever need a break from all the planning/strategizing aspect of the trip, you could read books that give you more of the history or tiny details about WDW. They can help enrich your trip, or give you things to notice while waiting in lines. Books like, “The Thinking Fan’s Guide to Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom,” “The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World,” and any of the hidden Mickey books or trivia books.

I bet I know what you’ll do when your trip is over: start planning the next one! I swore we were only ever going to Disney once. We are headed for our 5th trip in May…and I know of many, many other people who have been there many, many more times than that!

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Before our last trip, I was already planning when our trip after that would be! The answer: after Star Wars land is done (and maybe also wait for Toy Story Land to be complete too).

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HAHAHA - I did the same planning our last trip. I only purchased Touring Plans and also use Disney Tourist Blog - It’s FREE - Tom Bricker has a lot of good suggestions

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I agree no need for more books. I primarily use the uniffical guide if i even still need a book. I like birnbaums for the coupons. Usually pay for the book using ine or two of said coupons.

I understand the planning. But as some have said there are a lot of good nooks about disney that give history and more info about the parks.

This is a bit dated but here was a list i had started some time back

Wow! Thanks everyone, that is perfect. I have literally become hooked on Disney, but I feel so comfortable with my plan, yet I want to continue consuming material, that I start messing with things. Checking out some “Origin of Disney” books is a great way to fill that time. Jedi, thank you for the great list! If anyone has more suggestions keep them coming!!!

I will try and add more tomorrow. I have since gotten more books

I usually don’t get the Birnbaum book, unless we’re going with first-timers. I find that the photos and the general information in there are really good for folks (and kids) who haven’t been before and want to have some idea what to expect without getting excited about the technical and strategic things we planners love.

The UG is such a fun read, whether one is planning a trip or not.