| General Information:
Media Type: Book
Type: Non - Disney
Release Date: 2007-11-25
Geek's Thoughts: I have never been to Universal Orlando so I read through this book as a first time guest who has just a rough working knowledge of what the resort complex has to offer. For those who do not know Universal now includes two theme parks, a water park (they recently purchased Wet and Wild), Citywalk, and three Hotels.
After reading the book I think I have a fairly good overview of the property and what it has to offer. It follows a format much like every other travel guide I have read, you start off with an overview of the resort, some planning advice, then a detailed description of the park's attractions, dining, and shopping. One bit of formatting that seemed odd to me is it gives the touring plans at the beginning of the park chapters before you have any idea what the attractions are. They do offer touring plans for adults and another for groups with children. I think the last chapter which is a Dining Guide at a Glance to be a great idea. I would like to see a similar quick guide for attractions.
I found this book to be similar to many of the early Walt Disney World Guides with lengthy descriptions of each attraction, dining location, and even the shopping. Many of the current guides seem to skimp on some of the descriptions because of the volume of material that has to be covered. Especially when you get to the resort offerings. This book had about 10 pages for each resort, which really gives you a detailed view of the location. (Wonder if anyone has pondered writing just a resort guidebook for Disney..). I found it helpful that the book takes the time to point out possible concerns that could arise with shows/attractions and children/adults. Also in a couple cases even recommending to see the films before so you have an idea of the premise of the attraction.
I also enjoyed reading some of the back stories of the attractions, the resorts, and even the City Walk dining places. On the phone number list I thought it was interesting to list the audition and jobs phone numbers in a travel tour book..
This book was a tough read for me, not because of the book itself but because of the built in bias I have against Universals parks. I am not a fan of thrill rides and I thought Universal Studios Hollywood peaked 15 years ago or so when you actually learned about the process of making movies and were able to see production as well as elements of production left over from previous shoots. Now a days the Hollywood cousin of the Orlando property is basically just another themepark (I drive by it almost every day on my way to work and I stop about once every 5 years or so) and from what I have read the Orlando park is the same and maybe even further removed from a movie studio park. (Just as the Disney-MGM park has moved away from its original premise too, which I think is part of the reason its my least favorite/visited WDW park).
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