the Official Blog of the Unofficial Guides

In today’s post, Seth Kubersky, author of  The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando, takes us on a visit to the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. Looming across the CityWalk lagoon like Willy Wonka’s summer home, Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen (Toothsome to its fans) is an original concept from Universal Creative that draws heavily on both Roald Dahl’s crazed confectioner (closer

In the 1950s, when Walt Disney began designing what would become Disneyland, not even he could have foreseen that by 2016 there would be 12 Disney theme parks worldwide. As a young man, Walter Elias Disney, born on December 5, 1901, in Hermosa, Illinois (on the northwest side of Chicago), set out as a commercial artist. From 1919 through 1923, Walt

Seth Kubersky, author of The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando, takes us on a tour of the Hard Rock Café. This is the biggest Hard Rock Café in the world (or in the Universe, as they like to say in this part of town). Shaped like the Roman Coliseum, the two-story dining room is a massive museum of rock art

Today, we take a look at Flight of the Hippogriff at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—Hogsmeade, located inside Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure. Below and to the right of Hogwarts Castle, next to Hagrid’s Hut, the Hippogriff is short and sweet but not worth much of a wait. An outdoor, elevated coaster designed for children old enough to know about Harry Potter

Renee Sklarew, coauthor of The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C., takes us on a tour of the National Portrait Gallery. Join her! When visitors come to Washington, I often suggest they include a stop at my favorite art museum located in the busy Penn Quarter/Chinatown neighborhood. This museum is very accessible for people of all ages and interests. When you first walk in,