The general rule of them is that in any travel guide, approximately 10% of the information will change each year. While much of the information you'll find in the 2009 guides will still be valid next year, and even for a few years after that, there is plenty that will be different as well. For example, almost all pricing information will have slight variations year over year. Additionally, Disney is constantly changing and updating it's resorts and attractions. Here are just a few things that will be likely be included in 2010 WDW guides that weren't in the 2009 guides:
- New Bay Lake Tower Villas, Treehouse Villas, and Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village
- New restaurants like Sanaa and Couzzina
- New attractions like the Characters in Flight hot air balloon ride at Downtown Disney
- New dining reservations window
- New ability to make dining reservations online
- New Pirates League activity
- New stores like Trend-D
- The closing of Pleasure Island
- Refurbishment to favorite attractions like Space Mountain and the Hall of Presidents
For me, that's enough changes to make me want the most up-to-date guide available. However, I also never want to wait to get my Disney planning started. A solution for you might be to borrow a few 2009 guide books from your local library and then purchase the 2010 books when they are released. I just checked on Amazon.com and the 2010 Unofficial Guide to WDW is scheduled to be out on August 24. That's not so far away.
For more discussion of Disney guide books click
HERE.