the Official Blog of the Unofficial Guides

  • The Attraction that Ate Florida Banner

    The Attraction that Ate Florida

    Today Bob Sehlinger, coauthor of  The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, presents us with a little history of Florida tourism before and after Disney. Get ready to discover all about the attraction that ate Florida. Before Walt Disney World, Florida was a happy peninsula of many more-or-less-equal tourist attractions. Distributed around the state in great proliferation, they constituted the most perennially

  • PortofinoBayHotel featured

    Loews Portofino Bay Hotel Now Reopened at Universal Orlando

    A major milestone was recently reached in Universal Orlando’s pandemic recovery with the December 1 reopening of Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. Now that the resort’s ritziest rooms are again ready for guests, join us on a stroll around the revitalized Portofino Bay for a taste of Mediterranean sunshine in the center of Florida.

  • Universal Orlando Banner

    The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando 2021 Available in a Store Near You

    The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando 2021 by Seth Kubersky is available in a store near you as of January 12, 2021. We are celebrating the new edition with a GIVEAWAY. So read what’s new this year and enter for your chance to win a copy of the book AND a Blu-ray (multi-format) of Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the

  • MOA Christmas banner

    Mall of America Celebrates the Holidays

    Beth Blair, author of The Unofficial Guide to Mall of America, has visited MOA to check on how the Mall of America celebrates the holidays. Here is her report. While Christmas at Mall of America is going to be very different this year, Mall of America celebrates the holidays nevertheless. In mid-November Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ordered a four-week shutdown of restaurants, bars,

  • 2020 Taste of Epcot International Festival of the Holidays featured

    Unofficial Guide to the 2020 Taste of Epcot International Festival of the Holidays

    The 2020 holiday season arrived at Epcot a few days after the rest of Walt Disney World, and much like the recently completed International Food & Wine Festival, this year’s Epcot International Festival of the Holidays offers only a slimmed-down version of the usual event in deference to social distancing. However, there’s still plenty of festive food and fun to