Islands of Adventure - It's Getting Hot In Here!
Written: Jul 09 '02 (Updated Jan 15 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great rides, clean, friendly
Cons: none yet
The Bottom Line: One place to really have fun!
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| jetbluefan1's Full Review: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure |
Location- Islands of Adventure is located in Orlando Florida. This part of Orlando is located about 20 minutes from downtown Orlando, and McCoy International Airport. The park is about ten minutes from Disneyworld. It is also located right in front of Wet'n'Wild, a huge water park with many water slides. It is within walking distance of Universal Studios and City Walk. Universal Studios is the owner of Islands of Adventure. City Walk is basically an area with restaurants and night clubs along with stores for shopping (DUH!).
Admission- The admission for Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios is $50.00 for a pass for one day or an adult. There are specials like $160.00 for a four day pass for an adult. For children, it is $40.00 a day. There are specials like $130.00 for a four day pass for a child. These are the same prices as Disneyworld. You may think that these prices are expensive, but they are average for such a great park like Islands of Adventure.
Parking- The parking garage is quite large. The type of parking is quite unique. There are Universal characters for each parking section. Some of the characters include Spiderman, and E.T. Parking is eight dollars. There are cones to lead you to the next available lot. When exiting from the parking garage to go to the parks, you take many walkways to a big above- ground bridge tunnel. In the bridge tunnels, there are moving sidewalks to transport you to the park faster. I recommend that you get to the park as early as possible. Therefore, you can get to the park faster. In other words, the less full the lots are, the less moving sidewalks you have to use to get to the park.
Toon Lagoon- The park is split up into different sections, which you might call towns. Toon Lagoon is one of those sections. The theme is cartoon characters. Here are some rides in this section.
Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges- This is a ride that will most likely get you soaked. You are in a circular raft which seats eight people. I recommend that you do not wear a shirt on this ride if you are a guy. Also, glasses, hats, shoes, and other loose items should be secured under the plastic covering on the table in the middle of the raft. On this ride, you go under miniature waterfalls and through rapids. You are bound to get wet wherever you are, but depending on the weight of the people on the raft, is what depends on who gets soaked. Therefore, the raft turns more slowly, and depending on where your sitting, the water will hit the raft differently from all angles. This is a very good ride to go on to cool down after a hot day in the park. Or if it is morning, you can go on this ride to wake you up if you did not have your cup of coffee at the hotel! The line is usually very long on hot days (wonder why), but very short at night. I recommend that you bring a change of clothes if you plan on going on this breathtaking ride.
Ridesaw Falls- This is a ride that has half of the line outside, and the other half inside. The line is almost always 30 minutes or longer. Three people go in each log car. The cars aren't actually made from wood. They are plastic in a shape of a log in a color of wood. This ride is very exciting. It is a water ride, and there are many times you go up and down, and get drenched. Then, there is one huge drop which everyone sees from public in Toon Lagoon. Right before going down this huge drop, a picture is taken of you when you see the drop you are about to experience! This drop is the one that drenches you the most! People who are 36" tall are qualified to go on this ride. The height restrictions change frequently as safely regulations become more strict. However, this is as of April 2001. There is no bar to keep you from falling out, that is one of the reasons why height regulations are very strict on this ride.
Jurassic Park- Jurrasic Park is basically a town in a jungle theme. There is only one ride in this town, but there is a center of which you can learn about dinosaurs in different exhibits. The ride is on a boat that starts off by going through the jungle. There is nothing exciting there, until your boat, yourself, and about another 50 people go up a slanted incline. You see lightning and hear thunder ahead of you. Then when you get to the top, you see a T-Rex roaring his head off. Right before you enter his moth or hit his head, you go down a deep decline at a very quick speed. It is very scary for little kids, but it is also very thrilling at the same time for older kids and adults! You do not get wet on this ride, so there is no need for the extra clothes.
Another attraction in this town is Camp Jurassic. There are selections of caves and mazes to go through. It is available for all ages, but I would recommend it for children mostly. There is also a small roller coaster type ride called Pteranadon Flyers. It is for kids, and the wait is usually about one hour and 15 minutes. It looks pretty lame from what I saw, but I prefer rides that are breathtaking and make you shout with delight!
Suess Landing- Suess Landing is an enchanting town made for little kids. It is dedicated to Dr. Suess because of his motivation for young children to read. It is very colorful to create a comfortable atmosphere for the visitors.
Cat in the Hat- This is a ride that everyone would enjoy. I enjoyed it myself. You go into a car which seats four and six, and you go around the house with Cat, and Little Thing One, and Little Thing Two. You are basically going through the story of the Cat in the Hat, but you are actually living it! You go through the house and see all the events of the story. I found it entertaining, and so did the children!
There is also other mazes and attractions that are for little kids which include the theme of Dr. Suess characters. There is also a merry-go-round which you ride the Dr. Suess characters.
Marvel Super Hero Island- This is a ride that is for older people (young teens-adults).
Hulk- This is one heck of a coaster. The line is usually around 45 minutes long. It seats four people in a row. Right when you get on the ride, a harness goes around your head and above your shoulders. You then shoot out of a green tunnel at 70 MPH. Be careful about moving your neck at that time. I did that, and a cramp disturbed me the whole ride. There are many loops and drops going at 70 MPH. It is quite a long ride, and is very new along with the whole park. I found it to be one of the best attractions at Islands of Adventures.
Spiderman- This is one of the better rides. Most of the line is outside, and it is usually a 45 minute wait. On the ride, you are in an automobile that seats six. You go throughout a city with Spiderman and you fight the bad guys. You are wearing 3D glasses, so it makes you feel like you are right there. There is fire and other special effects, so it really gets you into the ride! There is no height restrictions, but I would not recommend it for little kids.
Dr. Doom This ride wasn't that great. It is about a 20 minute wait for such a short ride. However, a luxury of this ride is the air conditioned building in which you wait in to go on the ride. On the ride, you are seated with your legs dangling down. You then go up about 200 feet in the air on a big black pole. Then when you are up to the top, you fall swiftly and you feel like you are going to fall off! Though there is the harness around your head and shoulders, you feel that your stomach is flying off of the inside of your body! This ride is about 20 seconds long, and is not good for little kids. Height restrictions are also in place.
Lost Continent This is a town that has a theme of the medieval days.
Dueling Dragons This is one heart taking ride. There are two coasters on two separate tracks. There is a blue coaster, and a red coaster. You are able to chose which one you would like to go on after a long wait, usually around 40 minutes. The coasters leave at almost the same time, and almost look like they are going to collide at one point, until they both turn in a swift way. Your legs are dangling down, so I recommend you do not wear your shoes on this ride. There are also very strict height restrictions, there is a harness going over your head and shoulders. I found this ride extremely exiting!
This is the main attraction at Lost Continent!
What to bring?- If you are planning on going on some water rides, I believe you should take extra clothes in case you get drenched. Also make sure to take money in case you get hungry, or if you wanted to buy a souvenir!
Staff- The staff was always very friendly. They always are willing to help you, and they always give out the best advice on when to go on rides, and how to save the most money. They also give the best advice on when to go on rides.
Express Pass- The Express Pass is a very good invention. It gets you quite ahead of the other people in line. What happens is you find a ride that you want to go on, and you use the ticket that you used to get in, and insert it in an Express Pass machine. Then there will be two times posted on a ticket that has been printed out from the machine. For example, if it says 11:30-12:30, it means you can return to the ride at any time between those times, and you can get quite ahead of the other people in line by taking a special line that leads you towards the front. Once the times expire, or pass by, the times you have on the ticket you can get another Express Pass.
Maintenance- I found the park to be very clean. There are many trash cans and you can always see the staff cleaning. Also, the rides are sparkling clean and do not have any rust.
Food- Hard Rock Cafe is located between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. It is pretty expensive, but that's business for you. There are also stands throughout the park which you can buy snacks or meals from. They are also expensive, so I usually bring sandwiches for my family, and I recommend that. It saves time in line to buy food and money.
Stores- There are many souvenir shops throughout the park. They have expensive items, but you cannot buy these items anywhere else. In these shops, you can find keychains, shirts, hats, mugs, stuffed animals and other items to remember the great time you had at Islands of Adventure!
Recommended:
Yes
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