Walt Disney World: It's Not Just for Kids

I’ve gotten this this guide for my past two Universal trips, but with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening, I thought a touring plan might be a good idea. The guide to Beyond Disney comes from the folks at The Unofficial Guide and Touring Plans. As I’ve said before, I have grown weary of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, but was willing to give Beyond Disney a shot.  On the whole-I wish I had not bought this book.It had some good stuff, some bad stuff that wasn’t their fault, and some meh stuff that is their problem.

Good things about this book. Firstly, it did have Touring Plans.  They are not great, as the book was written in 2009, but they do have a few suggestions.  What bugged me was that they redirected you to Touring Plans.com for a Disney Hollywood Studios plan, but they did not have something similar for Universal Orlando.  If they had said that once The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens, an updated touring plan would be available on their site, I might have had a different reaction to the book.  However, the touring plan for Universal Studios does include guidelines for shows that only start later on in the day-I appreciated this, as on my first trip I was having a hard time fitting in all the shows I wanted to see.  The book did introduce me to a new food option, Orlando Take Out Express.  The deliver to non-Disney hotels from many local restaurants.  Their minimum is a $15 order, plus a $4.99 delivery fee.  If I’m going to be carless at Universal again on August, I may check them out-Indian or Chinese food sounds tastier than many Universal options.

The Universal Orlando section is pretty slim, but I knew when I bought it it was not a guidebook dedicated to Universal alone.

They list a number of travel deal and hotel related websites, but they do not list Hotwire as a suggested site (although they did mention Priceline).  I personally think this was a large error, as Hotwire is very user-friendly to use even if you’re not a huge deal researcher, and it’s fairly easy to get a decent hotel, such as the Hyatt MCO, for a decent amount.  As I said above, it bugged me that for their “best days” to visit included a Touring Plans link for DHS, but not for Universal Orlando.  I’m sure in 2009 Saturday was a good day to see Islands of Adventure, but I don’t think it will be once the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens.

My review of my personal Universal Orlando guidebook of choice, Universal Orlando, 2010 Edition: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure, will be forthcoming.

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Related posts:

1. WDW Not Just for Kids Review: Universal Orlando, 2010 edition
2. WDW Not Just for Kids Review: Disney Guidebooks