Yes - len@touringplans.com. Thanks!
Thanks Jeff! Let me know which anecdotes from readers stand out to you as most aged. I think we started replacing those in bulk a couple of years ago. It’d be good to see if we missed something especially grating.
I have owned years and years of UG. I read them very carefully. What would help me at this point is a way of quickly telling what is new and/ or changed in the UG. (I know you did that for what is new at WDW, but what has been changed in UG I cannot tell at a glance.) Perhaps a star in the margin, Or underlining, or an arrow, or something.
calcprof
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My 2015 guide has very little infomration on the small shows at MK that I want to include in my plan. I didn’t see much on Dapper Dans, Trolley show, etc. It would be helpful to have a little info on these. I know so little about them and have never seen them. Did I just miss it?
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The Unofficial Guides have always been a useful resource for our Disney trips. Thanks so much for all the help they have provided to my family. If its not too much to ask, I would appreciate if there were more room layouts and information either in the book or on the website. I’m always having a hard time finding floor plans for rooms beyond the standard ones. Also, more information on quick service dining outside the parks would be very helpful. Hope these ideas help and good luck with the new book!! I’ll be sure to use it!!
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There’s a tiny bit in the “Live Entertainment” section. I’ll see if we can expand on it.
@DisneyKing101 - at which hotels would you be most interested in non-standard floor plans? We might be able to do this.
Another suggestion I had is, as someone staying in a club level room on an upcoming trip, it would be nice if there was a section in the book comparing and contrasting the different club levels at the various resorts.
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Hey thanks for the response! Because you have included all the ones at the values and moderates, all I can really ask for are 3 bedroom grand villa layouts, and the layouts for rest of the suites and rooms besides the standard ones at the deluxe resorts (which are already in the book). I would greatly appreciate those, I seem to have a hard time finding them. Thanks again!!
Hi Len -
I’ve begun going thru 2015’s book and started over comparing to 2013’s book. I have to look around for some older editions to compare them too. I’ll keep you posted as I find them, but I agree and can tell that many of the anecdotes have been changed between the 2 editions.
Hey @mossymom , thanks very much for your detail. I’d like to explore this a little bit more. When you think about “what a trip might look like”, did you draw out alternatives either on paper or in your head? If so, what did you consider as essential for you decision-making?
Thanks @bciranow. I have both of these on my list of things to do. The touring plans will probably land in the “With Kids” book.
I like both of these, and they’re on my list of things to do.
@spice4fitz - Thanks for this. Would you expect to see this information in the dining section, or in “special tips for special people”?
If I was looking for it in the book I would look in the dining area. I know that whether or not a restaurant would accommodate my 12 year old’s food allergies was a large consideration when picking restaurants.
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Another suggestion or two. In both the 2015 and 2016 editions, in the section on Accommodations for Seniors, you have a long list of possibles, but almost all of those are both expensive and very spread out. I would suggest adding POFQ due to its compact nature, and relatively easy transportation to both the parks and DS. I know the limited food choices are a negative, but the food courts are a good stop-gap, and there are so many good food choices a short boat ride or bus ride away.
Also, in the section on DME, you mention the presence of CMs to direct you; this past December, there were no CMs anywhere, with or without the giant white gloves. The first Disney folks we saw were at check in. At least the signs were helpful.
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Okay, I’ve added this to the list of updates I’m submitting. I’ve included new information to break out the difference in processes between table service and buffets, and counter-service restaurants. I’ve also pointed out that our online menus now have most of the “Allergy Friendly” menus across WDW, and provided a link to those.
I’ve got this in the “Special Tips” section, and I’ll cross-reference it in the Dining section too.
Thanks very much for this suggestion.
(Disclosure, I have the 2013 WDW With Kids edition as a reference).
I just pulled out my copy to see what had pages folded down and little stars pencilled into the margins. I bought the guide planning to take trip with my parents and my preschoolers (then 2&4), with absolutely no dates or plan in mind, and with really NO knowledge whatsoever of WDW (including that there were multiple parks, for example). Sorry this is probably too much info, but here’s what I did:
- I skimmed the introduction and read in detail “The Major Theme Parks”, skimmed “Basic Considerations” but read “The Age Thing” in detail, laughed over “He Who Hesitates is Launched!”
- I rapidly skimmed “Getting your act together” (but freely admit I completely disregarded the “Gathering information” section - hey, that’s what I’m doing already with the guide - but used the excellent “Annual Attendance Patters at the Magic Kingdom” graphic and month-by-month review. Other tables in the chapter e.g. “How much does a day cost?” also very helpful.)
- Even though we hadn’t even committed to dates, I read and reread and reread the part of “Where to Stay” entitled “Staying in or out of the world: weighing the Pros and Cons”. (I think I had parts of it memorized.) With the overwhelming number of WDW hotels, reading the convenient tables (number of people, hotel theme, and the strengths and weaknesses of each hotel) was the first time the trip seemed like an exciting prospect and not just a chore to plan.
- Then I read the Character Meal Hit Parade (another great table) and was ready to plan
At this point I pulled out a pencil and paper and used the “Langston Family Itinerary” from the Disney Boot Camp chapter to draw a big table (“park plan”) with days on it, just numbered 1 to 7, and sketched in a totally arbitrary plan for each day, and made up a “to do” list for planning:
- Park Plan ( e.g. i) MK am, Crystal Palace lunch, hotel pm. ii) EP am, World Showcase lunch, hotel afternoon, MK evening fireworks. iii) AK - shows, Tusker House, back to hotel afternoon. iv) Pool day.) This plan bore zero semblance to the final plan, but I used it to count up number of meals (B/L/D), figure out how many Character Meal slots we would have and how many “park visit events” (i.e. an am or evening in a park) we would be able to fit in. Around this time I joined TP to access the Crowd Calendar, we picked dates, and my hybrid spreadsheet (that looks like everybody else’s) was subsequently born.
- List of best hotel options and pros/cons (AoA, AS Family suite, Downtown Disney off-site hotel) - AoA won out pretty quickly for us, but otherwise it would have been a whole page of its own weighing pros/cons.
- Plan for “Stuff To Do” which included:
- buy tickets (?CAA ?UT)
- garden grocer
- stroller rental
- book dining
- book hotel
- make touring plans
- get health insurance
- A list of shows we might want to see (BatB, Nemo, FOLK, DisJr)
- ** letter from husband** (a reminder to get a signed witnessed letter from my husband giving permission to travel out of country with kids)
- jot list of local air carriers flying to Orlando (there are two)
- A list of critical “pointers” not to be forgotten (ponchos, mid-day breaks, sunscreen, find map and call with building request, photocopy passports)
- And, once the list evolved and became a Word document, a packing list
(Again, way too long, but hopefully one of these bits of trivia answers your question)