After my wife and I spent two days at Walt Disney World on our honeymoon, we bought a 1987 Birnbaum Guide to Walt Disney World. Why 1987…? well that was the current year. We were enthralled by the content and colorful pages and also enjoyed reading the various insights to the World. We spent many happy hours paging through our new found treasure and learning about the attractions we had missed and snippets from behind the scenes… and I liked the pictures.
Should we have bought the book before the trip? Probably so, but we didn’t know it existed, and the Walt Disney World portion of the trip was a last minute decision. Once identified though we scooped it off the shelf and devoured the content.
In that guidebook, Stephen Birnbaum’s introduction made a lasting impression on me. I can’t remember the intro in its entirety, but I recall the part that stayed with me. He talked about the excitement his wife exhibited when he mentioned the new travel writing gig for Walt Disney World. Though a seasoned traveler the idea of a trip to Walt Disney World generated a thrill about the trip that was not to be missed.
I have seen that thrill played out again and again with friends planning trips. We loaned out our Birnbaum book to friends planning trips, and purchased a new guidebook each year to read about the World updates. It became our “thing”, whether we were going to Walt Disney World or not. It was a good way to include the kids in the trip planning and build excitement for the upcoming family vacation. We collected more Birnbaum guides without realizing we were collecting, only noticing our bounty when the Birnbaum Guide had its designated area in the bookcase. Unfortunately the 1987 book was loaned out one too many times, but it will always be the link to our first visit to Walt Disney World.
If you are planning a Disney trip, as a start The Birnbaum Guide is a good and fun place to begin. It became a part of our family vacations and you might want to make it part of yours too.
This link takes you to a good article on Mouseplanet.com that provides some background about Steve Birnbaum.
Last, but not least. Planning is key to the Walt Disney World Vacation. It isn’t just a place to drop in and hope for the best. Every so often you might hear reference in some Disney advertisement regarding the Keys to the Kingdom. In my opinion, the key to this Kingdom is planning. Talk with a vacation planner I trust with my own vacations and who knows the ins and outs and ups and downs of Walt Disney World, visit my friends page Wish With Crystal. Your vacation will be better.
