CONTENTS List of Maps xi About the Authors xii Introduction 1 Why “Unofficial”? 1 There’s Another World Out There 1 The Attraction That Ate Florida 2 Trying to Reason with the Tourist Season 6 It Takes More Than One Book to Do the Job Right 7 Letters and Comments from Readers 8 PART ONE Accommodations 9 Orlando Lodging Options 9 Selecting and Booking a Hotel 9 Getting a Good Deal on a Room 17 Condominiums and Vacation Homes 18 Orlando’s Best Hotels for Families 27 International Drive & Universal Areas 27 Lake Buena Vista & I-4 Corridor 31 US 192 Area 35 Hotels andCOPYRIGHTED Motels: Rated and Ranked 37 MATERIAL What’s in a Room? 37 Room Ratings 38 A Word about Toll-free Telephone Numbers 40 The 30 Best Hotel Values 40 HOW THE HOTELS COMPARE 42–47 HOTEL INFORMATION CHART 48–62 002_9780470886083_ftoc.indd2_9780470886083_ftoc.indd v 22/23/11/23/11 22:23:23 PMPM VI CONTENTS PART TWO Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 63 Getting There 66 Admission Prices 66 Arriving 67 Contacting Busch Gardens 70 Attractions 70 Morocco 70 Egypt 74 Nairobi 77 Timbuktu 79 Congo 81 Jungala 83 Sesame Street Safari of Fun 85 Stanleyville 86 Bird Gardens 88 Dining 89 Shopping 90 PART THREE Legoland Florida 91 Getting There 92 Admission Prices 92 Contacting Legoland Florida 92 Attractions 93 Fun Town 93 Duplo Village 93 Miniland USA 93 Castle Hill 96 Land of Adventure 96 Xtreme 97 Pirate’s Cove 97 Lego City 98 Imagination Zone 98 Botanical Gardens 99 Dining 99 Shopping 99 PART FOUR Gatorland 101 Getting There 103 Admission Prices 103 Arriving 103 Contacting Gatorland 104 Attractions 104 Gatorland Adventure Tours 109 002_9780470886083_ftoc.indd2_9780470886083_ftoc.indd vivi 22/23/11/23/11 22:23:23 PMPM CONTENTS VII Dining 109 Shopping 109 PART FIVE The Holy Land Experience 111 Getting There 113 Admission Prices 113 Arriving 113 Contacting The Holy Land Experience 114 Attractions 114 Dining 120 Shopping 120 PART SIX Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 121 Getting There 124 Admission Prices 124 Arriving 125 Contacting Kennedy Space Center 126 Attractions 126 Visitor Center Complex Hub 126 Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour 132 Other Tours 134 Viewing a Launch 135 Dining 135 Shopping 136 PART SEVEN SeaWorld 137 Getting There 140 Admission Prices 140 Arriving 143 Contacting SeaWorld 144 Attractions 144 Dining 159 Shopping 160 Discovery Cove 160 Getting There 163 Prices and Reservations 163 Arriving 164 PART EIGHT Universal Orlando 165 Disney’s Hollywood Studios versus Universal Studios Florida 165 Universal Orlando 170 Lodging at Universal Orlando 170 Arriving at Universal Orlando 171 002_9780470886083_ftoc.indd2_9780470886083_ftoc.indd viivii 22/23/11/23/11 22:23:23 PMPM VIII CONTENTS Early Entry and Universal Express 172 Singles Lines 174 Lockers 174 Universal, Kids, and Scary Stuff 175 Quitting Time 175 TNA Wrestling and Blue Man Group 175 Universal Studios Florida 177 Universal Studios Florida Attractions 180 Live Entertainment at Universal Studios 195 Universal Studios Florida Touring Plan 196 Buying Admission to Universal Studios Florida 196 Universal Studios Florida One-day Touring Plan 196 Universal’s Islands of Adventure 197 Beware of the Wet and Wild 200 Getting Oriented at Islands of Adventure 200 Decisions, Decisions 201 Universal's Islands of Adventure Attractions 201 Marvel Super Hero Island 201 Toon Lagoon 204 Jurassic Park 205 The Wizarding World of Harry Potter 208 The Lost Continent 220 Seuss Landing 221 Universal's Islands of Adventure Touring Plan 223 Rolling the Dice with Harry Potter 223 Universal's Islands of Adventure One-day Touring Plan 224 PART NINE The Water Parks and Water Sports 227 Wet ’n Wild, Aquatica, and Adventure Island versus Disney Water Parks 227 A Flume-to-Flume Comparison 228 Wet ’n Wild 230 Body and Mat Slides 231 Raft and Tube Rides 231 Other Attractions 232 WakeZone 233 Aquatica by SeaWorld 233 Raft and Tube Rides 234 Other Attractions 235 Adventure Island 236 Admission Prices 236 Arriving 236 Getting There 237 Contacting Adventure Island 237 002_9780470886083_ftoc.indd2_9780470886083_ftoc.indd viiiviii 22/23/11/23/11 22:23:23 PMPM CONTENTS IX Raft Rides 237 Body and Mat Slides 239 Other Attractions 240 Water Sports 242 Buena Vista Watersports 242 Orlando Watersports Complex 243 PART TEN Miniature Golf 245 PART ELEVEN Old Town and Fun Spot USA 253 Old Town 253 Getting There 254 Admission Prices 254 Arriving 254 Contacting Old Town 255 Rides and Attractions 255 Nonticket Rides/Attractions 255 Ticket Rides 258 Dining 261 Shopping 262 Fun Spot USA 262 Getting There 262 Admission Prices 263 Arriving 263 Contacting Fun Spot 263 Rides and Attractions 263 PART TWELVE International Drive 269 Plan Ahead 269 Getting There 270 Attractions 270 PART THIRTEEN Airboat Tours, Horse Rides, Zoos, and Nature Tours 283 Airboats 283 Airboat Tours 284 Other Animal Attractions 288 PART FOURTEEN Museums and Cultural Attractions 293 Kids and Museums 293 Attractions 294 002_9780470886083_ftoc.indd2_9780470886083_ftoc.indd ixix 22/23/11/23/11 22:23:23 PMPM X CONTENTS PART FIFTEEN After Dark 303 Dinner Shows 303 The Shows 303 Family-friendly Comedy Show 308 Universal Orlando CityWalk 309 Getting There 312 Admission Prices 312 Arriving 312 Contacting CityWalk 312 CityWalk Clubs 313 Downtown Orlando/Church Street Station Area 314 Getting There 315 Bars and Clubs 316 PART SIXTEEN Dining 317 Dining outside Walt Disney World 317 Take Out Express 317 WHERE TO EAT OUTSIDE WALT DISNEY WORLD 318–320 One Man’s Treasure 321 Buffets and Meal Deals Outside Walt Disney World 321 Fast Food in the Theme Parks 324 Dining at Universal Orlando 327 Universal Orlando Restaurant Profiles 328 INDEXES AND READER SURVEY 341 Accommodations Index 341 Restaurants Index 347 Subject Index 351 Unofficial Guide Reader Survey 369 002_9780470886083_ftoc.indd2_9780470886083_ftoc.indd x 22/23/11/23/11 22:23:23 PMPM LIST of MAPS South Orlando and Walt Disney World Area 10–11 Hotel Concentrations around Orlando Area Attractions 12 International Drive and Universal Areas 13 Lake Buena Vista Resort Area and the I-4 Corridor 14 US 192–Kissimmee Resort Area 15 Rental-home Developments 22–23 Busch Gardens 64–65 Legoland 94–95 Gatorland 102 The Holy Land Experience 112 Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 122–123 SeaWorld 138–139 Discovery Cove 161 Universal Orlando 168–169 Universal Studios Florida 178–179 Islands of Adventure 198–199 Universal Orlando–CityWalk 310–311 002_9780470886083_ftoc.indd2_9780470886083_ftoc.indd xixi 22/23/11/23/11 22:23:23 PMPM.
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