Disneyland Resort Books

I found this book extremely helpful, covering every aspect of the rides,food, accomodation & recommendations.

Even if you have been to Disneyland before, this book is fun, informative and entertaining. I started buying these guides in 1997 and have bought one every year since. We are planning a big multi-family vacation and I recently bought each family their own copy!

This is a really useful book, tons of tips, saved me a lot $$ and time. The most valuable thing I learn is to rent a multi-family vacation house with my friends, 16 people for $199 a day. We all enjoy the stay at a luxury emerald island resort. check this out: http://www.cyberrentals.com/index.cfm/property/126687

I never plan any "Disney" trip without this book. They keep it as up to date as possible (always call before going). And have wonderful "tips" that others don't know about.

Our family are Walt Disney World veterans who are now thinking about heading to California to see what Disneyland has to offer. We really enjoy the Birnbaum's Official Guide to Walt Disney World and when we began to research Disneyland, I knew that along with the Unoffical Guide, The Disneyland version was a guidebook I had to have. The photos are great, the information is complete, and it does not have an "official" slant feeling. The extra section detailing the 50th Anniversary Celebration is a great bonus, as well as the information on things to do in the general Disneyland area. We do plan to head west before the celebration is complete and this guidebook has given us a real feel for what to expect. I highly recommend it.

The only improvement that could be made is the coupons in the back of the book could have expiration dates a little later in the following year. I purchased this book in January of 2000 for a trip in Febuary and the coupons touted as saving up to $1000 expired in December of 1999. Other than that the book is very eazy to understand and will be very useful in our upcoming trip.

We used this book on our trip and saved *much* more than the cost of the book by using the coupons inside.

This is the best guide I have come across for Walt Disney World and the Orlando area. I had purchased several different books in 1999 when we took our first trip. I am purchasing this book again for our upcoming trip. Each park and it's attractions are covered in detail with helpful Power Trip info that helps make the most of your time. In addtion there are several other Orlando attractions that are covered in this book with detail covering Universal's parks and Sea World.

The book also reviews many hotels including Disney's, critiquing each in detail. Includes pricing and some of the ameneties, tips on the best times to travel to Orlando in relation to crowds, weather, and how to negotiate the best packages and pricing.

The candidness of the author and reviewers of the parks contained within this book are remarkable and really helped us plan our trip using our limited time to the best of our advantage.

I highly recommend this book as one to use to plan your Orlando vacation.

I think this book is great for fun family vacations. I have used it myself. My family had the best time. We knew where everything was and how to find it. This guide is easy to read and gives great directions. It shows maps great detailed maps of anywhere you want to go. Buy this book. Your family and you will have the best time!

We used this book on our vacation and saved *much* more than the cost of the book by using the great coupons inside.

Only problem with these books is that they are not complete in explaining the Disneyland resort. Plus, they do not give correct negative reports on lines and other problems.

I used the book to plan my family's first trip to Disneyland Resort. Lots of information on :best time to go, where to stay, info on admission options,description of rides/attractions/shopping, etc... it helped me plan what my family really wanted to see and answered all of my questions about Disneyland and California Adventure. There is also info on attractions outside of Anaheim that would be helpful. Very informative without strongly voiced opinions..

Just like mboothby, I also buy this every year at Christmas and have a good read. It helps me remember the time I've spent there with my family, and the descriptions of the attractions are always a blast to read. The information is great (as if I didn't already have it memorized) and completely accurate. Very good insight for an "official" guide. This is highly recommended for anyone planning either their first trip or their 10th.

Every year I buy the new edition of this book and it never disappoints. Always colorful and chock-full of valuable information. It's a wonderful source for an upcoming trip to the Happiest Place On Earth or just to get a sneak peek of what the Disney magicians have up their sleeves for the coming year.

This is a great resource for planning your trip to Disneyland.

Very informative read for the rides, attractions, places to stay. The worksheets are very helpful as well, to keep the information in one place. I also suggest Birnbaums Guide to accompany this and you have a full and well-rounded set of guides to plan your trip and day-to-day activities.

I also suggest joining some message boards to assist you in your planning. Simply Google or do an internet search of "Disney trip planning message board" and you will have quite a few to choose from. Have fun at the Happiest Place on Earth!

A thoroughly well researched, practical and well thought out guidebook that is really useable. This author really knows her stuff. I've seen other features in publications and other guidebooks she's written and she always gives you just the right info for travelling with your family. I've used this one twice, and it helped me navigate the city easily.

I was first introduced to the "Unofficial Guides" series back in 1994, and became an immediate convert. Each year's edition includes updates showing new rides/attractions, and includes data on weather, hotels, restaurants and even load times. The most useful feature? Clip-out "touring plans" that will allow you to make the most efficient use of your time, customized to various age levels and vacation durations. Highly recommended for long-time Disneyphiles and newbies alike.

If you want useful and great information about DISNEYLAND. This is the book you want.

If you have never been to Disneyland before, then I strongly recommend reading this guidebook before you go. Familiarize yourself with the layout of the park, learn how fast passes work, figure out how to use the train and monorail, and plan which attractions to see. Especially helpful is the calendar which lists high, medium, and low-traffic dates. Shoot for less crowded days if you can!

Great book with lots of information for anyone traveling. My nine-year-old son is the biggest fan of the book, he can't put it down!

It was very thorough about times, content of restaurants, rides, themes.
It gave helpful hints about best hours and days to visit each area.
Even a few coupons included.

Very helpful, easy to read, great guide to add to the excitement of getting ready for the trip of a lifetime for us travelling from Australia in October 2008, but also provides you with essential information. Also brought "the unofficial guide to disneyland" which is also very good, but we keep picking up this one because of the pictures and ease of finding information.

I bought this book purely to remember everything after i'd been.
I also bought their DisneyWorld book too.
But if you've been to Disneyland & Disneyland Paris, DisneyWorld seems superflous & pointless.

All that aside, this book gives you tips on when to do stuff on those days when you feel like planning. And tips for days that you don't feel like planning. Excellent.

This will help you enjoy your trip to Disneyland.

This is a very good guide to have before you start planning your trip. It has excelent reviews of the attractions and the "Best" stamp lets you know what not to miss. Defiantly worth reading before you go- you'll save time and money.

I suppose the word "Official" on the cover should have been a good clue, but I was still surprised to find little criticism in this book. There is helpful information, but it reads as if written by a publicist for Disney. I wish I had spent my money on the "unofficial" guide for some more objective advice.

A worthwhile book, because it includes future attractions that have not yet opened. I recently saw the Tower of Terror being built, and heard one of the Winnie the Pooh ride creators talk about its creation, and I can't wait until they're completed, so it was great to read more about them in this book. Like I just learned about a themed resort that is to be built in China (not by Disney) on 2800 acres on three miles of beachfront, now being designed by a leading firm, which will be built around a fictional narrative written by a writer named Craig Furnas. If you look forward to such to-be-completed projects, plus enjoy current attractions, this book is for you.

Birnbaum's Disneyland is the ultimate guide book full of all the information you must know, more than any other guide book. Inside the book, you have your own "Disney Trip Planner" where you can write down and take it with you, your vacation information and notes. Already printd for you are the Disney phone numbers you need. This book starts you with "When To Go": The Most Crowded days, Average Attendance, and when the Least Crowded days are to go to Walt Disney's Disneyland Park. They tell you the truth. Also the times for everyday of the year when Disneyland and California Adventure opens for the day and closes to go to sleep. Also the average temperature, high and low and average rainfall for each month is given. Holidays and special events at the Disneyland Resort all year long, Magical Milestones, Weddings & Honeymoons information, Disney Reservations & Travel Packages are also in this book. What to Pack?, making a budget, cost-cutting tips, variety of theme park tickets available, how to get there by car, on freeways, California driving laws, auto clubs, how to get the best airfare, airport transportation and shuttle buses, car rental, traveling in by bus or train. Detailed information on all the Disney Resort Hotels and Hotels/Motels across the street from the Disneyland Park is here too. Every amusement ride or event (included the Disney version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? game show is in California Adventure), store and restaurant in the Disneyland Park and California Adventure and Downtown Disney are precisely detailed so you can make a choice of what you would like to do next. In regards to the rides and attractions, the book will also let you know which rides you should not go on if you have back problems, heart problems, pregnant, respiratory problems, etc, so you can make a wise decision for yourself which rides you should not go on before you go to the park. Also some rides are just for children only. And some adult rides do have height restrictions for children. Basically, the Disney Resorts would like you to be safe and the information in this book is valuable to you. Whether you are with family, someone special, a stranger, someone new, or just want to experience Disneyland with yourself (alot of people do!), you're going to love Walt Disney's Disneyland and Birnbaum's Disney Resort Guide Book. It will be a big help to you. The book even has discount coupons for you to use. Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort Guide Book is updated and published every year. So every October, be sure to purchase this book on Amazon.com for the new year.

This is an good book for Disneyland visitors, especially newcomers. If you're familiar with Disneyland this is NOT an indispensable book, but it will give you some tips and information that you probably weren't aware of. There are plenty of time and money-saving tips, and suggestions for getting the most out of your visit. Disneyland rides, restaurants, and shops are described, with some little-known facts keeping things interesting. However, the book is for fans of the "Magic Kingdom," not detractors, and this is most definitely a tour book, not an expose or even a very critical review. The critiques of the various rides are too uniformly favorable; even the Roger Rabbit Ride in Toontown, a manic ride short on content and fun, and long in wait-time, receives the same generally favorable review as the better rides. To sum, I would have preferred a slightly more opinionated guidebook.

The book also explores the three Disneyland Resort Hotels, as well as surrounding hotels, restaurants, and regional non-Disneyland activities (e.g., two pages on local surfing ands swimming, a nod to rival Knott's Berry Farm, and much more). The book, which is updated annually, includes coupons, and an entire chapter on the relatively new "California Adventure" section.

Even though I thought I knew everything about Disneyland and the rest of the Resort, I found new and interesting things in this book. And now I know so much more, then I did, before I read this book.
Also I think this book is very helpful to a person who has never visited Disneyland, and to the person who visited the park 20 times or more. (Like I have) I do have to say I did find some mistakes in the book, but they were minor. Overall this book is very helpful and is very informitive.

We took this book along on our last trip to Disneyland and had a blast trying to find all the hidden Mickeys. It's a great way to get family members of all ages involved in a fun game.

ITS A GREAT MINI BOOK , I ALWAYS WANTED TO FIND ALL THE HIDDEN MICKEYS IN DISNEYLAND, CERTAINLY, THIS IS A MUST HAVE, IT WILL HELP ME ON MY NEXT TRIP...

Over the years, the Imagineers who work for Disney have hidden Mickey in various attractions around the parks. Finding them has become a sport. And with this handy guide, you've got an easy reference to help you find them.

After an introduction, the book breaks itself into three chapters, or "scavenger hunts." One is set in Disneyland, one in California Adventure, and one in the hotels, Downtown Disney, and even the parking garage. No, I'm not making that up. Each chapter is further divided into "clues" and "hints." The clues are rather vague like (making one up), "Look around in the second room you pass through." But the hints spell things out for you. "Check out the dishes on the far wall. The three plates on display are a perfect Mickey." The clues and hints are both numbered, so it's easy to flip back and forth and find the hint for a clue that is completely stumping you.

The instructions in the book are clear enough that anyone should be able to find anything they are searching for. I've looked for some during my last two trips, and found them pretty easily. Granted, I usually look at the hints, but still.

The problem comes from the layout. The "scavenger hunts" are designed to minimize wait times by taking you to all the popular attractions first. However, that also means you are walking all over the park. You start at one end of the park, cross to the other, then go back to the first later. Since I was just using the book to find them as I rode rides, I found it frustrating to have to constantly flip through the entire chapter to see if the current ride was listed or not.

The book is narrow and skinny enough to fit in a back pocket. But it is tall, so I kept mine in my backpack.

I have a feeling this book will become a friend as I continue to hunt for Mickey around the park. I will continue to be annoyed by the poorly thought out layout, however.

This book contains good enough information, but for a "field guide" it is surprisingly cumbersome to carry around and leaf through. (A pocket-sized, spiral-bound book would have been a better design choice.) 99% of this info is available online, so next trip I will just create and print my own checklist for a family scavenger hunt.
Also, while the definition of a "Hidden Mickey" can be somewhat subjective, I personally don't think the Mickey imprint on merchandise in a shop should count.

My family have passes to Disneyland and we're there often enough. I have heard about the Hidden Mickeys and have found some on my own. When they had the 50 Mickeys for their anniversary my young sons had a ton of fun looking for and finding them. It's a lot of fun for those of you with young children who love scavenger hunts! It's a way to pass the time while waiting for rides or walking around.
I highly recommend the web site that goes with the book as there are many more that are not listed in the book. But it's a great "beginner" book to the whole Hidden Mickey thing and is great if you're only there for the day.
It's definitely worth picking up!