Rating: 
Summary: Mini Mickey proves disappointing
Review: Being a Disney cast member, I thought the idea of a pocket-sized guide to Disney would be great for guests coming to Walt Disney World. However, this book -like Birnbaum's- proved to be disappointing. There was much more projection than there were of facts. Every page contains at least one un-truth, which researched more throughly, and in some cases even at all, would have been of great help to those adamently reading this book. Also, almost every shread of information about Disney's new theme park Animal Kingdom seems to be made up, considering the book went to presses several months before even the soft opening for press members. Even though, I am bashing this book, the idea is good, if only someone seriously went to Disney and wrote it with real information.
Rating: 
Summary: Small Book, Big Knowledge
Review: I call this the "travel version" of Sehlinger's "Unofficial Guide to WDW". The difference is one is a planning guide, while "Mini Mickey" holds just enough insightful information to use while you are already at WDW. The same "battle" plans for a variety of touring desires are included. These plans have saved my family hours of time a day from having to stand in line, and this is beyond the time that Disney's Fast Pass now saves.The information is blunt and its pull no punches style is intended to make your vacation run well with the true "insider" information, not the PR information that Disney feeds another series of guide books. This book fits well into my fanny pack, and I can quickly access the information and plans to keep well ahead of the crowds. I include this book in all of my WDW travel plans, and also give it to friends and family as a present to help them keep their WDW vacations sane and stress free.
Rating:
Summary: Small Book, Big Knowledge
Review: I call this the "travel version" of Sehlinger's "Unofficial Guide to WDW". The difference is one is a planning guide, while "Mini Mickey" holds just enough insightful information to use while you are already at WDW. The same "battle" plans for a variety of touring desires are included. These plans have saved my family hours of time a day from having to stand in line, and this is beyond the time that Disney's Fast Pass now saves. The information is blunt and its pull no punches style is intended to make your vacation run well with the true "insider" information, not the PR information that Disney feeds another series of guide books. This book fits well into my fanny pack, and I can quickly access the information and plans to keep well ahead of the crowds. I include this book in all of my WDW travel plans, and also give it to friends and family as a present to help them keep their WDW vacations sane and stress free.
Rating:
Summary: A Down-sized Unofficial Guide
Review: I compared Mini Mickey to the full sized Unofficial guide 2000, and here are the differences. There are star ratings on hotels and restaurants, but Sehlinger eliminated the paragraph descriptions on each hotel and restaurant. That's the main way he took the bulk out of the book for a pocket sized edition. If a traveler does his homework before traveling to Florida, he will already know what hotel he wants to stay in, and have a general idea what pricy restaurants he wants to try. Go to your local library and review the full-sized edition for lodging and dining details. Buy this Mini Mickey to take with you to the park, and you will have relieved yourself of some valuable weight and bulk. Mini Mickey still has all the detailed descriptions of each attraction. The only real weakness I see is that Sehlinger rates some of the simulation rides and roller coasters as 3 stars for preschoolers, when they won't even make the height requirement. These rides aren't appropriate for preschoolers anyway. I think Sehlinger has a tendency to overlook the special needs of our youngest children. Any parent can read the description and realize that the ride is too intense for their little guys and disregard the star ratings. Missing from the 2000 edition is a description of Disney's new Fast Pass. Guests can use their tickets to get a 'reservation' time to go to the front of certain popular rides. That way they can enjoy other areas of the park while they wait. The only catch is that they can only reserve one ride at a time. Also missing is the fact that Bear in the Big Blue House has a live stage show at MGM Studios. That's a big plus for parents of toddlers like myself. My grilfriend went to MGM Studios last February (2000) and was surprised to find Bear! Disney is always changing their parks to keep them fresh, and it seems that this development missed the press time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource - a must have for Disney visitors
Review: I purchased this book on a whim the day before a last minute trip to Disney World. What an excellent resource! This little book is jam-packed with info. I found the touring plans to be particularly helpful. Everything was so straightforward. I didn't have to spend a lot of time each night getting a plan ready for the next day - just a quick skim through the book and we were ready to go. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: It's OK, but you can do better
Review: The author seems to have a love/hate relationship with Disney World which can get in the way of this guidebook -- for example, for a ride that's not even open yet (book states "not open at press time"), the review states that "you'd think the collective imagination ... of Disney ... (would) come up with something a little more creative" and "children...won't appreciate the long wait for this slow-loading ride." But it's not even open yet!! If you're traveling with children, you'll find Walt Disney World With Kids, 2003 by Kim Wright Wiley much more helpful. And don't kid yourself into thinking you'll tote this "pocket-sized" book around the parks with you -- it's too big, too heavy, and you'll use the maps and guides that they give out at the parks (for free).
Rating:
Summary: It's OK, but you can do better
Review: The author seems to have a love/hate relationship with Disney World which can get in the way of this guidebook -- for example, for a ride that's not even open yet (book states "not open at press time"), the review states that "you'd think the collective imagination ... of Disney ... (would) come up with something a little more creative" and "children...won't appreciate the long wait for this slow-loading ride." But it's not even open yet!! If you're traveling with children, you'll find Walt Disney World With Kids, 2003 by Kim Wright Wiley much more helpful. And don't kid yourself into thinking you'll tote this "pocket-sized" book around the parks with you -- it's too big, too heavy, and you'll use the maps and guides that they give out at the parks (for free).
Rating:
Summary: DON'T GO TO DISNEY WORLD WITHOUT IT!
Review: WE HAVE BEEN TO DISNEY WORLD THREE TIME. EXCEPT FOR TWO RIDES, WE NEVER WAITED ON A LINE. TO GET THE BEST VALUE AND TO REALLY ENJOY YOUR VACATION, READ AND USE THIS BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: This book saved our vacation!
Review: We just returned from Spring Break at Disney World with our 9-year old and 5-year old. This book literally saved our vacation from disaster. We only had 4 days at the parks. We followed the touring plans almost exactly. While others waited in 2-hour+ lines we moved right through the lines, utilizing fastpasses to our best advantage. Believe it or not, there is also a lot of strategy involved with obtaining fastpasses. Timing is very important when you are moving through near-capacity crowds. The tips on which days to attend the parks were critical. Magic Kingdom quit selling single-day tickets on Tuesday of that week because their parking lot was full!
Rating:
Summary: This book saved our vacation!
Review: We just returned from Spring Break at Disney World with our 9-year old and 5-year old. This book literally saved our vacation from disaster. We only had 4 days at the parks. We followed the touring plans almost exactly. While others waited in 2-hour+ lines we moved right through the lines, utilizing fastpasses to our best advantage. Believe it or not, there is also a lot of strategy involved with obtaining fastpasses. Timing is very important when you are moving through near-capacity crowds. The tips on which days to attend the parks were critical. Magic Kingdom quit selling single-day tickets on Tuesday of that week because their parking lot was full!
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