the Official Blog of the Unofficial Guides

  • Diagon Alley featured

    The Unofficial Guide to Rope Dropping Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida

    Since opening earlier this year, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure has received much media attention for the morning crowds it draws daily to Islands of Adventure, but it isn’t the only Harry Potter attraction at Universal Orlando worth waking up early for. The early wizard gets the Gringotts gold, so we’ve got an exclusive video demonstrating how to rope drop

  • High roller featured

    Get High in Las Vegas at The LINQ’s High Roller or Planet 13

    Today, we continue our look at out-of-the-box Sin City attractions with two unique ways to get high in Las Vegas: one mechanical and one botanical. The LINQ’s High Roller Observation Wheel and the Planet 13 Cannabis Superstore are two of the town’s top draws for tourists seeking elevation away from the casino floors, so we’re virtually pairing them through our

  • Surfside Inn Banner

    Surf’s Up at Universal’s Surfside Inn & Suites

    The Endless Summer Resort is Universal’s latest hotel complex featuring two hotel towers of which Surfside Inn & Suites opened in 2019. It is Universal’s first value resort with 750 rooms, including 390 family suites.    Standard rooms are 313-square-foot with two queen-size beds, a coffee maker, a 43-inch TV, and a mini-fridge. The 440-square-foot family suites accommodate a total of

  • Seaworld Ice Breaker construction featured

    Video: Construction Tour of SeaWorld Orlando’s Ice Breaker Roller Coaster

    This week, Central Florida is experiencing a cold snap with near-freezing low temperatures, which makes it the perfect time for a preview of Ice Breaker, the newly launched roller coaster coming to SeaWorld Orlando later this year. Recently, we were invited to once again slap on our hard hats and construction vests, this time for a behind-the-scenes tour of the

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    The Unofficial Guide to the 2020 Epcot International Festival of the Arts

    It’s time for lovers of the performing, visual, and culinary arts to shake off the post-New Year’s blues and rejoice: The 2020 Epcot International Festival of the Arts has returned for a fourth year! Although Epcot’s arts event is the park’s newest and briefest—running only from Jan. 17 to Feb. 24—it has become one of our favorite seasonal events at