Islands of Adventure From The Eyes Of The Camerawoman:
Written: Apr 01 '02 (Updated Apr 04 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: New park to the area; some very creative attractions.
Cons: Better for not-so-young children (could be a pro).
The Bottom Line: You must go - there are new rides not seen elsewhere. Some rides may not be as thrilling as in other theme parks around the country.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure |
We have been to Universal Studios in the past but we have not been since the incarnation of Islands of Adventure. If you have read previous travel reviews of mine you know we took 4 adult children to the Orlando area in November, 2001. Three of them were ours and one a friend. Our kids are amusement park junkies having ridden on the roller coaster at what is now a Six Flags Theme Park at Darien Lake, NY about 30 times in a row!
About the Express Pass:
I have run into people who do not know about this pass – even people who are about to go to the Orlando area! The Express Pass was implemented as a way to avoid long lines and it does its job. Basically you go to a ride, put a card in a machine that you have received and out comes a ticket for the time or time frame you are expected back at the ride. If you miss your time, tough luck, you start all over again or wait in line. It is really a terrific idea.
The one negative of it was that we could only use one at a time. For example, if it was 10:00am and we got “tickets” for 12:00pm we could not use another pass until that one was used or two hours had passed since the transaction time on the ticket. We went two months after 9/11 so the crowds were much smaller than usual. There were only a few times we used the pass, but if you have been to the Orlando theme parks and stood in line for 1 ½ hours, you will really enjoy this new feature.
About single riders:
This is also a new concept – at least I don’t ever remember it. Many attractions have separate lines if you don’t care whether you sit with the people with whom you came. We didn’t take advantage of it because we encountered so few lines but that is another option to cut down on your waiting time.
About the rides:
This is just my opinion but this is one park that is geared toward older children. We did not go to Magic Kingdom this trip. Magic Kingdom is perfect for young children. There are, of course, things to do at Islands of Adventure for the little ones, but not like you will find at Magic Kingdom. I have always been the picture taker so much of my review will be from the eyes of my children, my camera and looking at them with my own eyes. Little was experienced first hand. I am terrified of roller coasters and things that go down fast!
There are varying height restrictions throughout the park. I remember the first time we went to Orlando my youngest daughter, who was always a daredevil, couldn’t go on many rides. She was young and small. She was very, very disappointed. So keep that in mind if you are dragging around a very excited but short child!
Seuss Landing:
Seuss Landing is perfect for young children and while my husband and the other 3 were waiting for a ride, my oldest daughter came here with me. This is a very cute area.
Caro-Seussel:
All the creatures on which to ride are from Dr. Seuss books so the children riding this, as well as my daughter and me, enjoyed this a lot. Carousels are my speed so we went around this a couple of times. There was virtually no wait. I think that was in part because of the time we went and in part because, in my opinion, this park isn’t the biggest draw for little children.
The Lorax:
is my favorite character and there is an area that is not interactive but with displays from the book. You walk through the area and can read signs that are from the book. I found this very disappointing. I even think a young child wouldn’t be all that excited by this attraction because there is nothing to do. It is a 3-minute (maybe 2) walk. I took pictures and said it was cute but between you and me, it was nothing to write home about. If you have young children take them to Seuss Landing. They will have fun - it is just not the best I've seen.
Another interesting and disappointing thing is that the Lorax's character as a stuffed animal is not for sale. After looking in every store for a couple of days I finally asked and was told that apparently Dr. Seuss’ estate will not sell the rights to the Lorax so he can’t be bought.
Marvel Super Hero Island:
~Doctor Doom’s Fearfall:
This is one I have pictures of and watched as my husband and kids (not my older daughter – she watched with me) went rocketing ? feet into the air…then pushes you back down faster than gravity itself.” That line is from a piece of literature I have about this ride. I do realize my kids are daredevils. We have been to almost every amusement park on the East Coast and Canada and that is how we spent our summers. My stepson and younger (21) daughter fear nothing and will go on anything. Perhaps that is why this was no big deal to them. But as someone who wouldn’t have stepped foot on it, watching it didn’t impress me either.
There is no way “rocket” expresses really what Doctor Doom’s Fearfall does. The seats, which are on the outside of a contraption so you can see the riders, do get pushed into the air fairly quickly but not that quickly and no way are you pushed back fast. In fact I was shocked that it went down as slowly as it did. It wasn’t so slow you would have gotten me on it, it just wasn’t the attraction I expected.
~Incredible Hulk Coaster
My stepson and my daughter’s boyfriends went on the Incredible Hulk Coaster. My husband and even younger daughter had had enough by then. The "boys" really did enjoy this one. My stepson usually doesn’t give us the satisfaction of saying he likes anything but they both thought this coaster was “cool.”
The Lost Continent:
~Dueling Dragons
These guys, Fire Coaster and Ice Coaster, are really daunting to look at. They are two different rides and of course everyone but me went on them. You have to be 54 inches tall to ride this as is true of other coasters. I was told these were both fantastic and definitely worth the price of admission.
I am not even going to talk about admission prices because there are so many different combinations of tickets you can buy. I would recommend what we did, though, and that is to buy a 2-day or 3-day ticket, which will allow you into Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. You also get a free CityWalk Party Pass, which my husband and I used after the kids had gone home and we had a day to ourselves. I won’t review CityWalk at this point either but I will say that I wouldn’t go back during the day. Many places were closed. This is a place to go at night but we had time to kill so we walked through it. I am sure it is hopping and a lot of fun at night.
Toon Lagoon:
It was a nice day when we went. It was sunny and in the 70s. It wasn’t hot. If you go here and it isn’t hot here is a great tip: Bring extra clothes.
~Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls:
This is a traditional flume ride, which I didn’t go on although I have been on flume rides, and even that last hill down doesn’t feel good to me. It was fun watching my whole family though! There are great places from which you can take pictures although much of this ride is inside but you can get a picture as they come out on top and as they come down. They will be wet, but not soaked....soaked is next.
~Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges:
I would have gone on this if it had been a warmer day. I do these kinds of things at water parks. You sit in a raft and go twisting and turning through what resembles white water but there are no high waves. You can watch your family from many good spots. There are a couple of spots where there are waterfalls. Everyone will get soaked but the person in one seat will get the most wet because of the timing of the raft as it goes under the water. The kids were soaked. I had them stand in the sun for about ½ hour just to drip dry a little bit before we moved on. Trust me on this one...bring a towel and a change of clothing. Flip-flops would be nice too because shoes and socks will be soaked also.
Eating:
We had lunch on the Lost Continent eating at The Enchanted Oak Tavern. They serve ribs, chicken, burgers and salads for the most part with side orders of fries and cole slaw. I got the chicken and it was actually quite good. Others got salads and ribs and the food was tasty. It wasn’t terribly expensive – around $6.00 a plates plus drinks. Considering this was actually a meal and not just a hot dog I don’t think that is very expensive. There are several other types of eating. You’ll find pizza, pasta and ice cream as you walk along also.
In summary:
Well of course you are not going to miss Islands of Adventure if you have come this far. I am a bit jaded having been to the area several times and to so many parks. Islands of Adventures and Universal Studios are not part of Walt Disney World and I did see a difference in cleanliness. When I walked around Walt Disney World Parks I also saw someone sweeping or cleaning. Islands of Adventure was certainly clean but, in my opinion, doesn’t measure up to Disney World’s standards of cleanliness.
This is certainly a must-do park. I would go back again for sure since this was my first time there. I think after seeing the same thing so many times (Epcot, for example – 2 times is enough!) they just aren’t fun anymore. Islands of Adventure was fun even for the camerawoman!
The links below are to many of my Orlando/WDW reviews:
IllumiNations at Epcot
Wyndham Resorts
Islands of Adventure
Going to Disney World? Orlando? Need a Place to Stay? Look No Further"
Sleuths Myster Dinner Theater
Fantasmic at MGM
Boston Lobster Feast in Orlando
Fantasia Gardens-a golfing fantasy
Honey I Shrunk the Audience at Epcot
and by my good friend Anthony:
Walt
Disney World
Recommended:
Yes
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