Islands Of Adventure is part of the Universal Orlando resort, not only home to this park but also Universal Studios, and City Walk. You can also stay at an on-site hotel, whether it be Portofino Bay or The Hard Rock Hotel and you can enjoy multiple extra benefits. For more details just click on the name of the place you want details on!

One word, WOW! This is the ultimate theme park with the emphasis on themeing. The magical islands throughout the park feature the most stunning themeing known to man, with some world class attractions. With Steven Spielberg at the helm, Islands Of Adventure is a total loss of reality for one whole day. There are 5 Islands situated around the lagoon, Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, The Lost Continent and Suess Landing, all with their own unique theme, music, and rides. You’ll be blown away by the mass attention to even the smallest of details from land to land, be it the music slowly changing as you walk through the park, or the bright vivid colours from a storybook. No park can boast themeing like this, and no park can boast about rides like these to!

Firstly let me mention about Universals No Wait, No Line access that is available throughout IOA. The revolutionary, No Line, No Wait Program which, means No Problem for All Guests. Thanks to this new program guests no need ever wait in a lengthy theme park line again. Everyone who comes through the gates will have quick easy access to virtually all the park's most popular rides and attractions. This allows you to not get fed up with those huge lines, as there won't be any! If you get a Multi-Day ticket you can choose times and receive express passes to experience up to three rides, by presenting you park ticket at any Universal Express distribution center. When it's your time you simply show your Express Pass at the attraction for entry, then you can get another pass! Single-Day holders can do the same but only get two times rather than three. On-Site hotel guests however can get No Line, No Wait access throughout the day just by showing your room key at the entrance to the ride or attraction. You can also enjoy a VIP Experience, click for details! The No Line, No Wait program really is useful, and saves lodes of time whilst in the park. However as we were staying at the Portofino Bay Hotel, we had unlimited No Line, No Wait. We simply choose our attraction and entered the signposted line, which never took more than 20 minutes, even if the main line was over 2 hours!

Even if you ignore the themeing you’ll still have great rides in IOA, but with the themeing they are amazing rides. In Marvel Super Hero Island you’ll find Dr Doom’s Fearfall amongst the buildings that you can be sure you’ve seen in the DC Comics. Dr Doom will shoot you up his massive tower draining the fear out of you, and delivering a surprisingly large amount of Air time. You’ll also see, and hear The Incredible Hulk, a mean green coaster machine! You board ready for the experiment of a lifetime but yes, it goes wrong and you are turned into the Hulk, rocketing up what was a slow lift hill, and accelerating to massive speeds, in mile-seconds before entering a weightlessness in-line twist hundreds of feet above the ground. You then scream over the lake and behind the station entering 2 loops, a cobra roll, corkscrews and other elements which will make you scream and shout on the break-run 2 minutes later. This is a coaster of epic proportions, with a bit of everything. The fearsome Hulk will kill you if you don’t ride, ok he won’t but don’t miss out on this smooth, intense, scream-machine.

If you keep walking through the Island you’ll come across The Amazing Adventures Of Spiderman. No one quite manages to execute the adventures before the rides like Universal can do. The adventure I am talking about is the pre-show, which explains the story and character information for the ride. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man begins in the offices of the Daily Bugle newspaper, where Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man) works as a free-lance photographer for publishing magnate J. Jonah Jameson. Stuff happens, but you can find that out for your self, and before you know it your off in the SCOOP cars, with your 3D glasses and leaving the station to drive into New York. Suddenly you are immersed into a comic book environment, with real sets mixed in with 3D movies, you can never tell where the film stops, and sets begin. The effects throughout the ride are simply stunning; there is no other way to describe this multi sensory adventure, which will leave your head buzzing from the excitement of the ride. It is the first ride in the world to put live sets, live action, 3D films and new “roving  motion” base simulators together with touches likes water, heat, fog, fire and wind, plus 16 channels of digital audio onboard your SCOOP. It is the ride of a life-time, like no other you have ever been on, or will ever go on again. Amazing Adventures, pah! More like BRILLIANTLYSTUNNINGLYWICKED Adventures of Spiderman, a new ride for a new generation.

Fancy seeing your favourite cartoon hero’s and getting wet? Then keep walking into Toon Lagoon for a soakin good time. Why not try Dudley Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls; a splashingly good fun Log Flume, which delivers 3 drops, including one under the water level! An imaginative ride, which will not dampen anyone’s spirits, but will leave them damp! If however you want to get soaked, head over to Popeye and Bulto’s Blige-Rat Barges. After riding this hugely entertaining, and bumpy rapids I can say, there is no wetter ride anywhere, infact I couldn’t have got any wetter if I had been underwater, you are drenched by this ride. The drops, the fountains, the pouring funnels of gallons of water and of course the rapids which splash over the side of the boat, all make this a ride you’ll never forget! Remember to laugh when the people opposite you get soaked, because you know that it’ll be happening to you in a just a few seconds!

Walk some more and you’ll see the famous Jurassic Park Gates, from the movie, and you can walk through them into Jurassic Park., a full-fledged incarnation of the novel and motion picture, this hauntingly fascinating island is inhabited by the most advanced animatronic creatures ever designed - dinosaurs that will respond to the humans around them. In addition, Jurassic Park River Adventure, featuring the longest and steepest water drop ever built, a Discovery Center featuring an interactive opportunity to create a dinosaur, Camp Jurassic, an interactive play area with a multitude of adventure and Pteranodon Flyers all bring Jurassic Park roaring to life. Jurassic Park River Adventure could make you believe Dinosaurs are real again! A boat tour round Jurassic Park, no car this time as in the film just a boat! You enter through the famous gates as the theme tune swells and the words are once again said, “Welcome to Jurassic Park.” You’re not let down as you see many realistic dinosaurs, most of which are rather mischievous in getting your boat wet. Suddenly you go the wrong way….into the raptor paddock. I don’t want to spoil anything but the T-Rex makes an intrusion on your ride, and you end in a soaking wet speedy drop! Only Universal could make this ride seem so real!

Your not done yet, oh no! Lost Continent is the next Island, bringing myths and legends back to life, in shows, attractions and dining. The dining in Lost Continent is brilliant, with a large selection, just like anywhere in the park. The food is all tasty, with a huge selection of different places, and different menus. Along with the shopping as well, with stylish clothing, and ride materials you’ll be doing some serious spending! The Lost Continent is home to Poisdens Fury, a walk through show, which will make you gasp with excitement. The effects are so realistic, and the Water Vortex and speechless finale will make this near the top of your to-do list. It’s often missed out, but don’t make that mistake, see something which is original, new and nowhere else in the World. While your at it grab a ride on Dueling Dragons, the world's first dual inverted racing rollercoaster's. They are constructed with perilously intertwining paths of metal and dragon-shaped racing cars which furiously barrel towards and around each other at speeds close to 60mph, escaping collision by mere inches. Both sides, Fire and Ice offer completely different rides, with Fire being a bit more intense. Pummeling you with inversion after inversion you’ll know the Dragons took a bite out of you when you get off, and you know you’ll want to treat them to second helpings! Don’t miss out on the magic fountain either, which is a great thing to watch to while away some time. A living talking stone fountain will interact with all the guests, oh and get them wet!

Finally shield you eyes from the bright colours of Suess Landing. A cacophony of colours, music and mood, where the whimsical characters of Dr Seuss's famous books spring to life. Attractions included The Cat In The Hat, Caro-Seuss-el, Green Eggs and Ham Cafe and If I Ran The Zoo, all of which you young’uns will be begging to ride. The themeing is once again top-notch and the vibrant colours will cheer up even the saddest person, if they don’t Cat In The Hat will, your own spinning journey through the story.

Islands Of Adventure is the future for Theme Parks, all must look up to their standards of themeing, and rides. Words can’t describe what a brilliant park this is, in every way.

5 out of 5 Ticks, with out a doubt, the biggest adventure you’ll ever have.

Park Images (Click to enlarge in a new window)

	The entrance	The Park at night	Looking towards The Hulk
The Hulk		Spiderman		Dr Doom
Suess Landing				Toon Lagoon
Popeye	Dudley Do-Right Ripsaw Falls		Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park Splash	The Lost Continent	Dueling Dragons
Lost Continent	Poisdens Fury	Some of the Themeing

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