Customer Reviews

Universal Studios Escape: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this book very informative and up to date. I have been planning our Florida vacation for some time and found most information a little outdated. What I really wanted was the most current information on the newest theme park experience in Orlando. After reading this book, and taking many notes from each chapter, I feel I am ready to tackle the Escape! Monaghan gives timely information on rides, itineraries, and ways to save precious vacation time, to get the most out of your travel day. It is by far the most up to date of all travel guidebooks I've read. I recommend it for anyone planning a Universal Studio's and Islands of Adventure vacation.

I've read several books on Universal Orlando and Kelly Monaghan's book is the best one I've read. It describes the rides and attractions in detail. The descriptions are generally very accurate.

People usually ask me for recommendations on books about Universal Orlando. Without hesitation, I always recommend Monaghan's book.

i found this book to be a great reference book for universal and islands of adventure. this book was very helpful in planning my trip there and i knew exactly what to expect. the reviews were very accurate and well written. they explain everything without spoiling the suprises. what i like best about the book is that it tells you what days are best to go and which rides to go on and in what order so that there is hardly a wait. it was also very up to date. the only drawback i saw is that it didn't have any behind the scenes kind of stuff.

Must have for first time travelers as well as returning visitors. This book contained some excellent tips for "hidden" things I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. His ride and show details are very descriptive.

I purchased this book a little over six months ago and I have read it from cover to cover. It is extremely helpful and honest. I noticed a previous reviewer stated that the author was biased and disliked Disney and the rest of Orlando, I find that to be absolutely false. As a matter of fact the author wrote another book all about Orlando's attractions. If you are looking for an in debt book on UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO then this is the BEST choice you can make. It is chock full with info on rides, attractions, dining, hotels, and much more. Enjoy!

I have only purchased books aimed at vacations to Walt Disney World in the past, including the above mentioned book ("Walt Disney World With Kids 2000" by Kim Wright Wiley) and although they were informative regarding Walt Disney World, they lacked in information regarding Universal Escape. Since we are planning a trip to Universal Escape only, with no Disney whatsoever, I was thrilled to find this book. The descriptions of the rides, layout of the parks, shops and restaurants are excellent and descriptive. The restaurant descriptions also included some menu choices so we will know what type of dishes are served. The book has an unbiased look at all of the attractions with some humour to make reading it extremely enjoyable. I would recommend this book, as an addition to any Disney books purchased, to anyone who is planning to include a trip to Universal Escape in their trip to Walt Disney World. If you are planning on only going to Universal Escape for your entire trip, this book is a necessity!

What I didn't like most about this book is that the author uses to kick Disney to promote Universal. I don't believe this kind of comparision is the best. There's information, the maps are worst than if your 2 year old designed them, not too many great/unusual tips. The book is too biased towards Universal Escape instead of being just informative about it. Looks like the author works for them. They're the center of the universe. The rest of Orlando is nothing but the rest (except Wet'nWild, now owned by Universal). And WDW gets a kick everytime there's an opportunity. When I bought this book I was looking for information on what's changed. I didn't like what I got. Walt Disney World With Kids 2000, by Kim Wright Wiley, offers much more unbiased, focused and objective information on Universal Escape (even being focused, primarily on WDW...). Without being aggresive or stupid. Not to mention much, much better maps. This is a really informative and well written book. I plan to buy Walt Disney World with Kids 2001, by Kim Wright Wiley, before travelling there with my kids this year. But I have absolutely no intentions of acquiring any other book by Kelly Monaghan.