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November 23, 2007 - If there’s a person for everyone “out there”, then there must too be a guide book to Walt Disney World for everyone as well “out there” because there seems to be a new one every year.  However, the new ones aren’t to say there’s something wrong with the old ones and The Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation book by Steven M. Barrett has come out with its 2008 edition of the book.  Let me be honest for a moment: I’m a child of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.  It’s my “Disney bible”.  That being said, I was really impressed by the latest edition by Dr. Barrett.

The 2008 edition of this book is another in a long running series for Barrett, who is best known for his Hidden Mickeys book.  Don’t let his passion for Hidden Mickey’s fool you, this book is a great resource for those who want to plan their next trip to Walt Disney World.  It’s not as comprehensive or overbearing as the Unofficial Guide, but it does cover all the basics and provides the reader a fantastic preview of what to expect in the parks.  It’s perfect for the first time visitor to Walt Disney World and I bet it will prove useful to even those who have been a couple of times to the World. It’s a light read that packs a lot of information and I found a lot of information not found in other guides (or at least the Unofficial Guide).

Steve excels at the planning portion of the book where he maps out how to plan for your trip to Walt Disney World.  From ticket options to where to stay and when to go, Dr. Barrett provides some great advice that I think would really benefit first timers who need their hand held a little or want concise information on how things work at Walt Disney World.  When I flipped through chapters, I would think to myself, “How can Steve convey the necessary information for (insert topic here) in such few pages/paragraphs?” but after reading through the guide, I found the basic necessities are there and anyone going to Walt Disney World should have some sort of a plan of attack and know what to expect, no matter how much or little information that infers.

Speaking of plans, Dr. Barrett offers a number of touring plans to the reader for each of the parks.  The plans come in one and two day touring plans and have the options of going on Extra Magic Hour morning days for each of the parks.  The plans are easy to follow and offer advice on what to do at the various steps.  The steps advocate taking afternoon breaks to help make vacations more relaxing, a theme Barrett reiterates time and time again in the book.  These plans and the advice in the book are meant to help the reader spend more time enjoying their vacation than aggravated by long lines and the stress of dealing with large crowds.  

What really jumps out at me in the book are the sections that aren’t covered by other books. There’s advice on the best places in each of the parks to rest or the best (meaning least crowded) restrooms.  As a doctor in his “other profession”, Barrett offers some sound medical advice for those who are considering riding intense attractions.  There are direct phone numbers for various places around Walt Disney World as well as for airlines.  Sure I could get that information somewhere else but it’s great to have all of this need-to-know information in one convenient place. 

As always in my reviews, I focus on the Studios portion of the book and Steve’s reviews of the Studios cover the attractions by offering descriptions of each and perhaps some commentary or advice.  Steve offers helpful advice on Star Tours to those who suffer from motion sickness but want to ride as well as helpful advice to parents when not to go to the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure.  This is the sort of practical advice that I think is genuinely helpful and stuff that you can highlight so you won’t forget to do it in the parks.  Steve’s reviews are good in their descriptions, although his opinions of the rides are somewhat “rosier” than I would give them but overall we tend to agree on the attractions.

The touring plans for the Studios are also well done, although I’m going to have to ask Steve about his choice of Toy Story Mania as the first attraction to do instead of Rock ‘n Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror, but it’s not a completely baseless recommendation.  The plans are put together well and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the plans to someone looking for a map of attack for the Studios.

If I can nitpick for a moment, I do think Steve’s endorsements of the Fantasmic! Dinner Package and the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater are not the best, but then again I do have a sort of personal crusade against these.  Again, differences of opinion but nothing that I’d have to say makes the book incorrect or faulty.  Rather, Steve’s experiences have told him otherwise and I respect his views, although I do disagree with them.

The 2008 edition of the Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation book is a great guide for anyone who wants to go to Walt Disney World and avoid the crowds and be a step ahead of the game.  Will this book be the only book on my shelf? Maybe not, but I can say I learned some new things from this book that I haven’t picked up on in other books or online.  Clear, concise information that I think many will enjoy so the next time you’re picking up a copy of Steve’s Hidden Mickey Guide Book, be sure to strongly consider getting Steve’s other book to help you plan out your trip so you can enjoy looking for those Hidden Mickeys with less stress.

Overall score: 8 out of 10

Link to buy this book