Birnbaum's 2019 Walt Disney World The Official Guide

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781368019330
• ISBN10: 1368019331
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2018-09-18
• Publisher: Disney Editions

Summary

As Walt Disney World continues to grow and evolve, trust Birnbaum as your guide! The 2019 edition delves into detailed descriptions of all attractions, resorts, and eateries; offers money-saving coupons and strategies to maximize your vacation budget; and includes a peek into what's new:

• What's it like to be a toy in Andy's backyard? You'll soon find out at Disney's Hollywood Studios brand-new 11-acre area known as Toy Story Land! The land features two new attractions: a family-friendly roller coaster known as Slinky Dog Dash and the Alien Swirling Saucers ride in which guests strive to elude the famous "Claw" while spinning in a saucer vehicle.
• The Force grows stronger at Disney's Hollywood Studios every day: read about the ongoing construction of the highly anticipated realm known as Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The immersive, new 14-acre land (slated to open by late 2019) will give guests of Disney's Hollywood Studios the opportunity to explore a never-before-seen world and interact with creatures and droids from the popular Star Wars franchise.
• The ever-popular Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is bigger and better than ever. Look here for new details on this and other special Epcot events (Flower & Garden Festival, Epcot International Arts Festival, The Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival, and more).
• Get a sneak peek of the Disney Skyliner. This new transportation system will offer a bird's-eye view of Walt Disney World via airborne gondolas.
• Imagineers are busy enhancing favorite resorts and building brand new ones, including Disney Riviera Resort (planned to open in late 2019/early 2020) and a new hotel with a Star Wars theme. We'll share details to help you plan future visits!
• Disney Cruise Line weighs anchor a mere 50 miles from Walt Disney World, making a surf-and-turf vacation a tempting possibility for many a Disney guest. A special Birnbaum "bonus" chapter guides guests from possibility to reality, laying out all the details for pairing a Disney Cruise with a visit to Walt Disney World.

Planning a trip to the Walt Disney World? Be sure to have all the official guides from Disney Editions:

• Birnbaum's 2020 Walt Disney World for Kids
• Birnbaum's 2020 Walt Disney World
• The Hidden Mickeys of Walt Disney World

Author Biography

When Steve Birnbaum launched this guide in 1981, he made it clear what was expected of anyone who worked on it:

The book would be meticulously revised each year, leaving no attraction untested, no snack or meal untasted, no hotel untried. First-hand experiences like these, accumulated over the years, make this book the most authoritative guide to the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts.

Our expertise, however, is not achieved by being escorted through back doors of attractions (although we would enjoy that). Instead, we wait in lines with everyone else, always hoping to have a Disney experience like that of any other guest. We also take advantage of Walt Disney World's ambitious (and free) FastPass+ attraction reservation system whenever we can. We'll continue to keep a close eye on it and other additions to the Disney vacation-planning universe, homework we're happy to do for readers like you.

While Disney World and Disneyland have vastly expanded, and so has our knowledge of the most popular vacation destinations on the planet. On some occasions we've encountered sweltering weather and swelling crowds, times when even the happiest of travelers can turn into Grumpy for a moment or two. Had we known then what we know now, we could have spared ourselves some trying experiences.

In one case, a staffer waited more than an hour to get on an attraction. Standing in line with a notebook, she was asked by another guest if there was a quiz at the end. When she explained what she was doing, he expressed surprise to learn that she was waiting with the masses. But that's always been our strategy.

We believe the best way to gather useful advice for a Disney park guest is to be one.

Over and over again!
-Jill Safro, Editor