Universal Studio's Island's of Adventure, a Review

A Review of Universal's Islands of Adventure

  This is a review of my recent trip to Universal's Islands of Adventure. I have a family of 4, a 3 year old and a 7 year old, myself and my husband. He and I wanted to try Universal since we kept seeing all the commercials.  The day we visited was a Saturday, and it was crowded. But the weather was great. The day before we played at Universal Studios Florida. For a review of that park you can go here USFL Review As always if you would like a quick summary scroll to the bottom to get my final grade. 

   We stayed the night at the Hard Rock Hotel which is on the property of Universal Studios. We took a short walk to the park from the Hotel. And staying at the Hard Rock automatically upgraded us to Unlimited Express rides. For my Review of that Hotel click here Hard Rock Hotel Orlando


    We started our day at Marvel Super Hero Island. Our first ride was the Incredible Hulk Coaster. It was an Excellent rush and if you enjoy coasters, DO NOT miss this one! While my husband Express
 passed it, I took my kids on the Storm Force Accelatron. It's a speedy version of the classic teacup ride. They loved it!




We linked back up and walked over to Seuss Landing. I quickly realized that we were at another theme park filled with water features. I'm really ok with kids getting wet, but walking around in swim suits I don't understand? I didn't bring my kids swim suits, so we had to forgo, "If I Ran the Zoo" --a play ground area.

My sweetie pie daughter, spotted the Cat in the Hat and jumped in line for a quick autograph and picture. Then we all walked over to the Caro-Seuss-el, where we chose our "beast" and enjoyed the breeze of the merry-go-round. Some of them open and close their mouths, and eyes.

Next up was The Cat in the Hat ride. I rode with my daughter and my son and husband hopped on a fish, at One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, and Blue Fish. Yes this is a water ride, but if you listen closely to the song you can avoid getting totally soaked. Some water is okay, but drenched is not, haha!


When they were done it was time for a show at, "Oh! The Stories You'll Hear!" My daughter was standing waiting for her brother when "Sam I am" took her by the hand and brought her over to see him! The park characters were so sweet to all the kids. They made sure that they gathered all the kids in the area to come see the show about the Lorax! I was so amazed by how they interacted with everyone!! My son made it over, but he was being really shy. So he was not as thrilled at the characters as his sister was. He didn't even want to go near Thing 1 or Thing 2!


Once that was done; we split up so my husband and daughter could ride, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! A ride that again I thought my son could have handled, but to ride you must be 40" I think this park needs a serious over hall of their height requirements! So he and I walked around the area and he chased a birds. He chased it inside Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous, we ended up sharing a pizza and getting our Freestyle Cups activated.

The Freestyle cup is a great value. The cups have microchips in the bottom and must be purchased that day. They will be active for 16 hours (longer than the parks are open). Throughout the day you can refill them all over the parks. I will say some of the machines were empty of ice and that made it a pain to track down. But still over all the way to go. I bought 2 the day before and we brought them back the next day to be reactivated.

Next we decided to take a walk over to the "The Lost Continent". We stumbled upon Poseidon's Fury a special effects guided tour. We all could participate and it had Express, so we said why not? It was really crowded and my kids were not able to see much. It was a little scary in parts, but they made it through. This area of the park also had a Mystic Fountain, that was interactive. My daughter tried to tell it a knock knock joke. The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad (Stunt Show) is also in this area, but it was closed for seasonal maintenance.

Hogsmeade

BUTTERBEER!

It was time for our visit to Hogsmeade! Hogsmeade is the Harry Potter area of this park. You can pretty much buy all the same items in Diagon Alley, but they are very different from one another. We did see the Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade Station. In order to ride it to the other park, you must have a "park to park" option on your tickets.

I was getting thirsty by then for a Butterbeer. Especially since the weather was heating up.You notice a different feel for Hogsmeade as you enter. It's not as mysterious, it's larger and more open than D.A. They both have street shows throughout the day, but different rides to experience. There was actually a small roller coaster that Sweetie Pie could ride, the Flight of the Hippogriff. But the big thrill ride was the Forbidden Journey.   This ride was my FAVORITE of all the rides in the park. It's a motion based scenic dark ride and this technology is rare in the theme park world.

The Forbidden Journey @Hogwarts

The Forbidden Journey starts with the que line to lockers. There is no loose items to be taken on the rides. A common theme for Universal Parks. Many of the rides had this rule. This ride had a few options for us such as, Child Swap area, Single Rider line, and a non motion experience if you request that. The day we went the ride was being tested, so the wait was incredibly long. But, we finally made it to the front and as we waited to be called over to load, we were passed by Sir Paul McCartney, like really! No photos since no phones were allowed in the ride area :( But pretty neat experience to see him being a "regular guy".

Then we jumped in line for the Dragon. This is a super coaster that has two ride options. You can choose the Red Dragon or the Blue Dragon. Each ride is a different experience. We ended up riding only the Blue one and it was a fantastic rush!

The ride Attendants had trouble keeping up with the line rules. As we entered the que we were told there was not Express option, and that Child Swap could be done at the ride exit. So I went through the security check point and got buzzed, still have no clue other than clip for my express pass? But, when I made it to the line que, I saw a sign and an attendant for Express. So I asked why they would say it didn't have Express, and was told, there is no Express for the Security check point....DUMB ANSWER! My Sweetheart was at the exit and there was another security checkpoint and the attendant was rude when we explained that we were doing a child swap. He insisted that we had to wait in the other line. He finally scanned my husband with the security wand and let him go. Since we had so much trouble we decided the Red Dragon would not be worth the fight and didn't try to ride it.

Jurassic Park 

From there we walked over to the Jurassic Park area. My Sweetie Pie has always been scared of the big boat and hill water rides. But, she got brave and jumped on the Jurassic Park River Adventure. She had a great time and the ride was pretty fun for it's age. I'm sure with the new movie coming soon this ride will be getting an upgrade.

In this part of the park was nothing much for my Sweet pea to do except play in the Camp Jurassic play ground and the Discovery Center. There is also another ride that he was a half inch too short for, but Sweetie Pie was able to ride the Pteranodon Flyers. This ride is a flying coaster meant for kids. Parents can ride but must be accompanied by a child 36" to 56". If your child is over 56" then they will need a child that meets the height requirement to get them on it. There is also no Express option for this ride.

We were almost done with our day, but we still needed to visit Toon Lagoon and make our way back to Marvel Super Hero Island for Spider Man. We decided to grab some snacks and let the kids play in Me Ship, The Olive. It was a Popeye themed boat playground that over looks Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. A water ride you can interact with, by shooting the Barges with water cannons from the 3rd deck of The Olive. If you decide to ride the Barges, you will get TOTALLY SOAKED. We skipped that ride, because our little guy couldn't ride it.

Cyclops 

Spider-Man

Our next stop was the Amazing Adventures of Spider Man ride. Another ride Sweetpea was too short for, but Sweetie Pie was tall enough. She loved it and since it offered Express she got to ride twice. I waited with  Sweetpea for a photograph with Spider Man. He was totally excited, but Spidey showed up late and we missed getting a photo with Captain America :( and with the Green Goblin :((

Review Wrap Up:

Rides and Attractions: 

Under 35"  Storm Force Accelatron -the only requirement is you must be able to sit up without help

                   Me Ship, The Olive-a 3 story playground with slides

                   Camp Jurassic-a net, caves and splash pad playground

                   Hogwarts Express-must have park to park option to ride this train

                   Poseiden's Fury- a special effects guided tour, sort of scary for my 3 and 7 year old

                   Caro-Seuss-el -a carousel ride

                   One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish- a dumbo like ride with water

                   If I Ran the Zoo- a playground with splashpad

Over 36"    Pteradon Flyers-children must be less than 56" anyone over 56" must have a child under                                                 to ride with them

                   Fight of the Hippogriff -a small roller coaster

                  The Cat In The Hat- takes 3 slow spins (not all at the same time either) *see notes below

40"             The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man-3D dark ride, really great for kids!

                   The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!-Very slow coaster above the rooftops                        of  Seuss Landing, again I think this height requirement is ridiculous

42"             Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges -you will get drenched on this one

                   Jurassic Park River Adventure -you will get wet on this one

44"             Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls -a "log boat" water ride, you will get wet 

48"             Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey   -this ride was amazing!    

52"             Doctor Doom's Fearfall -150 ft drop 

54"             The Incredible Hulk Coaster- Such a rush!!! Do NOT miss this one if you like coasters

                   Dragon Challenge- Choose Red or Blue Dragon, each a different coaster experience 

                                           

                 

Food: B  

The food was okay but super pricey. Since we spent so much money the day before at Universal Studio's Orlando on our lunch we were trying to go a little cheaper. To start we ate a large breakfast at the Hard Rock Hotel. We shared a few items early in the day and we bought the Freestyle refillable cups. Later in the day we got some snack items to tide us over until we left the park. I felt that we didn't over spend in this park on food. Since we basically snacked most of the day. 

Cleanliness: A+  

I was very pleased with the custodial staff at this park. I actually witnessed them cleaning restrooms multiple times throughout the day. It makes a huge difference. The parks were crowded that day too, so they were working extra hard! 

Attendants and Staff: C

I was disappointed with this aspect of the park. It seemed that the ride attendants were not as nice and accommodating at this park as they were at Universal Orlando. When you have a great experience at one park the day before it's easy to compare. I didn't feel the attendants knew the "line rules" or at least they didn't convey the rules in a way that made sense. You either have an Express option or you don't, you either have a child swap area or you don't. This made me lose confidence in them pretty quickly. I also don't feel like they should speak to customers in such a rude way. We pay a lot of money to be at the park, and should not be chastised by a College Student. Rules are rules and we can certainly understand that, but then the staff need to stick to one set of rules! 

BUTTERBEER!

Value B

Sure this park has the Hulk Coaster, Hogsmeade, and BUTTERBEER! But, I felt the food was too expensive, and the tickets were super pricey (especially for children). I felt this place was more expensive than other local themeparks (aka the big D). I personally could not afford to spend more time at Universal than our 2 day trip. I did feel that I was entertained sufficiently. But if you are going to charge those prices for tickets then food needs to be more reasonable or vice versa. We usually buy all the theme park photos from the rides, characters etc. . ..but I didn't even bother to look at them while we were there! 

Not a good value for children. Especially not a good value for a child under 36" and look out for that if your 3 year old is not yet 36"! I did not buy my little one a ticket and I was pleased that I didn't! 

FINAL GRADE: C

I had a good time at this park. My husband and I both agreed it would be a great theme park to leave the kids at home to enjoy some adult time. Neither of my kids got to ride or do much. And we did end up needing to buy a child ticket for my 7 year old. She was just shy of 48" :( And then my 3 year old, had just turned 3 the week before was still under 36". Technically he is supposed to pay to be there, but I am so glad I didn't buy him a ticket. He enjoyed running around the playgrounds and the splash pad areas, but we have those in our local neighborhood (for free) So my final thoughts;





wait until your kids are at least 40" to take them. Enjoy this theme park with a friend your own age or your spouse.

Thanks for reading
StMS

*The Cat in the Hat ride says 36" or taller. My 35 1/2" tall son could have ridden this one with no issues. I was told it spins 3 times. But I put him on the Storm Force Accelatron, which I rode with him, and that spun us so fast and forceful he could have hit his head on the rotation wheel in the middle. I did ride The Cat in the Hat ride with my 7 year old and after I got off the ride I was again disappointed that my 35 1/2" wasn't allowed to enjoy it! He would have tolerated the "spins" if you can call them spins, with no issues!

I think the Height Requirements at this park need a serious overhaul. As you can see they are spaced out so far apart that for some kids it would mean each year they could get one more thing to ride. I see that is good for business, but when thinking of value I would skip this park for a while.