Birnbaum's Walt Disney World: The Official Guide (Serial)

The only guide with the latest up-to-date information and insiders' tips from Disney--and the only one to feature Disney characters and Walt Disney World photos--this indispensable reference covers all there is to see and do in every corner of the attraction. 4-color throughout.

Cinderella's Castle, Epcot Center, Mickey Mouse, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and lines, lines, lines. A vacation at Walt Disney World shouldn't be spent waiting to enjoy the attractions you traveled so far and spent so much to visit. With that thought in mind, Birnbaum's editors have traveled, toured, and tested every attraction and worked with the folks behind the scenes to compile Walt Disney World 1998 to help you get the biggest possible bang out of your vacation buck. This colorful guide, which is liberally illustrated with photographs and full-color renderings of Disney notables, begins with the logical "Getting Ready to Go" advice (hotels, transportation, when to go), moves swiftly into lengthy descriptions of each of the major theme parks--Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Disney-MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom--and then gives the scoop on other sights and activities in the Orlando area.

The most useful information is found in the "Hot Tip" boxes sprinkled throughout the text--sit on the right side of the tram when going through MGM's Catastrophe Canyon if you want to stay dry, for example--and in the descriptions of the rides. Notes at the end of the write-ups call out height requirements or special considerations for those who are pregnant or who have heart conditions (Splash Mountain's "five-story drop into an aqueous briar patch" comes to mind). The guide predicts which attractions are busiest and when, and offers suggestions on where to go when the lines do, indeed, get too long. People who don't have the time to map out itineraries can follow the one- to six-day routes provided by the folks at Birnbaum's. Be warned, though: the plans are ambitious and assume that you will have plenty of energy to make the rounds from morning 'til close. If your true quest is not to see and do everything, but to find and photograph Pooh, Ariel, or Captain Hook, look for the colored boxes that point out the best places to find your favorite characters. Whatever your Disney fantasy, Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 1998 is sure to have you singing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" by the end of your trip. --Heidi Robinson