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

by Kelly Monaghan and Seth Kubersky

Monaghan offers first-hand reviews of Universal Orlando's latest attractions. Insider tips and in-depth reviews, spiced with humor. Includes specific suggestions for touring with young children. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1887140123
• ISBN13: 9781887140126
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Intrepid Traveler
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Can't wait to go there!

I am going to Universal Orlando in 2 weeks and I always research my trips beforehand. This book has everything I needed. I know now what rides/attractions to put on my priority list and those I can skip. I really loved the info. on all the eating places in both parks. I know where we're eating. I've read the whole book and feel very comfortable and prepared for my trip with my daughter. Thanks Kelly.

This Book is Wonderful!!!

This is such a great book if your trip to Orlando is going to feature a trip to the Universal Parks. It is so hard to find a book that has quality input on any park other than Walt Disney World. For the families who are planning to venture beyond that park and into the world of Universal Studios, this guide book is a must. It has exciting descriptions of all of the rides, great input on dining and lodging, and will get you pumped up and ready to go!!

This book will change your travel plans for the better!

Is your family planning a trip to Orlando, but hoping for a little time away from a certain mouse? Think there's nothing to do in Orlando except hang with one cranky duck named Donald? Are your kids older and looking for a little more excitement in their Orlando vacation? Look no further! Kelly Monaghan has the book for you! UNIVERSAL ORLANDO 2006: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure will have you planning a trip to Orlando with a little more focus on fun and a little less focus on...well, you-know-who. Organized in true travel-guidebook style, UNIVERSAL ORLANDO breaks down the two parks and City Walk into easy-to-digest bites. Monaghan gives you the inside information on rides, shops, restaurants, and other "insider information" that will leave little doubt in your mind what you will be getting into when planning your trip. She gives you price ranges, recommended photo opportunities (a very nice addition to the book by the way), star ratings, and even length of rides and attractions. The information flies fast and free from the get-go in this book. In the opening chapter about planning your escape to Orlando, you can find very handy information about average weather patterns in the area, average park attendance according to various times of year, ticket options and prices, and even where to park. Monaghan leaves no stones unturned. She offers advice and what to do according to the length of your stay. She gives detailed information about the amenities to be found in the Universal resort hotels, tells you where and when to obtain character autographs, and even provides maps of the various parks. Before reading this book, I had no idea all that Universal Orlando has to offer Orlando visitors. I was shocked to learn how many fun alternatives there are to be had there. Needless to say, UNIVERSAL ORLANDO has changed my vacation plans for this year.

Best Universal guide out there--just needs a little more!

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!

Don't go to Orlando without this book !

This book is the best unbiased, comprehensive compilation of all things Universal on the market. If you are spending any amount of time in Orlando, pick up:1) Universal Orlando (Monaghan)2) The Unofficial Guide to Disney World (Sehlinger)3) The Other Orlando (Monaghan)Ride, Resort, and Restaurant reviews are thorough and right on the mark. After reading this, you'll feel like an "insider" and get the most out of your vacation. You'll recover the cost of this book after reading the first 31 pages. By the end of the book, you'll be able to extend your vacation or put much less of a dent in your credit cards.BTW - The fact that this book is for sale at Universal should be a feather in Universal's cap, not an indictment against this book's accuracy. I wonder if Disney will ever feature the "Unofficial" guide in their stores.