Universal Orlando, 2004 Edition: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure (Paperback)

~ Kelly Monaghan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Comprehensive overview. . . . Great touring tips. Helpful ride reviews and ratings. -- Arthur Levine, theme park guide, About.com February 19, 2003

Hands down, Monaghan’s is the best book on Universal Orlando. … The detail in the book is amazing. -- Barry Hom, moderator DISboards.com, Universal section

Product Description

There’s another world just miles from the Magic Kingdom that’s become a must-see for millions of Florida visitors: Universal Orlando Resort. This fully updated 2004 edition of "The Ultimate Guide to The Ultimate Theme Park Adventure," continues to offer entertaining and unbiased guidance to first-time visitors and returning fans alike. Author Monaghan provides in-depth reviews of every ride and attraction in Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida theme parks — without giving away the "endings" — along with one-sentence "Kelly says" summaries. He also offers detailed coverage of Universal’s CityWalk entertainment district and its three world-class luxury resort hotels, Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific Resort.

Monaghan rates every ride and show in the theme parks (including Jimmy Neutron and Shrek 4-D), previews The Mummy ride, provides dining and shopping guidance, and shares his treasure trove of insider tips for beating the crowds, saving money, and discovering amenities that many visitors never even hear about. You can trust his tips and descriptions because he’s experienced it all firsthand, not once but many, many times. He’s ridden the rides, eaten the foods, shopped the shops, and slept in the beds.

An expanded Index in this new edition makes all Monaghan’s tips and advice even easier to find.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Intrepid Traveler; 2004 edition (January 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887140468
• ISBN-13: 978-1887140461
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,703,726 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Universal guide out there--just needs a little more!, July 6, 2004

By	S. Russell (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a very compulsive vacation planner, I have read, or at least skimmed just about every Universal and Disney/Universal guide book out there. This one is the best, especially if you are planning a true Universal Orlando vacation, rather than just a Universal day or two during a Disney vacation.

The planning section covers everything you need to know about visiting at different times of the year, the advantages of staying on-site, ticket options, transportation information, and so forth.

Mr. Monaghan does a great job covering all the attractions, including comparisons to similar Disney attractions, best seats, and descriptions of how scared or wet you might get. There are also touring plans for those who don't have the on-site hotel express privileges. The only addition that would make these summaries even more useful would be survey results showing what ratings people of different age groups give each attraction (as provided in Bob Sehlinger's unofficial guides).

This book gives the best restaurant descriptions of any guide I've looked at. Mr. Monaghan describes the atmosphere, noise level, and of course food quality of each full service and counter service restaurant (and even the little food carts) in the parks, hotels, and Citywalk. These reviews could only be improved by adding information on whether vegetarian options are available and some more detail on available kid's meals (since kids are usually the pickiest eaters!)

The descriptions of each of the three resort hotels really made me want to try staying at all of them! The amenities of each hotel (including the all-important hotel pool) are given plenty of detail, as well as a feel for the overall atmosphere of each hotel. The different rooms are described well, but I would love to have floor plans and square footage given for at least the more common room types.

The information on Citywalk is great and gives enough detail even for me!

The chapter on off-site hotels is very bare-bones (just a brief sentence or less and list of amenities for each property), so those planning to stay off-site would probably want to find another hotel information source. Or better yet, change your plans and stay on-site!

Overall this guide is probably more than enough for a "normal" vacation planner. Pictures would be a great addition, but I suppose there might be some legal or expense related reason that there are no pictures. For people like myself who enjoy information overload (as in the Unofficial Disney guides), this book could add in a lot more information. I would love to know more about the history of the Universal theme parks and maybe some humorous or interesting anecdotes about the parks, hotels, various attractions, etc.

Last of all, you may want to check the other orlando dotcom (trying not to get this information deleted!) first for more information.

Happy vacationing!

0 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother, May 22, 2004

By A Customer

I work at Universal...don't waste your money. Just go to the park and ask an attendant near the front gate or the first ride you go to to help you plan your day, and they will. We're trained to, and we know when stuff is going to be busy on each particular day.