Fodor's Walt Disney World with Kids (2015)

We can sum up Islands of Adventure in two words: Harry Potter. There are plenty of other attractions, of course, many of them witty and wild, but it’s the boy with the scar who keeps pulling in visitors. Even now (the section of the park opened in 2010), The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is packed to the gills.

As the name implies, Islands of Adventure is themed around a variety of “islands” which are actually interconnected lands encircling a lagoon. Marvel Super Hero Island appeals to coaster warriors, Seuss Landing is for the younger set, Toon Lagoon is a watery playground for the whole family, and the other lands offer a mix of rides, restaurants, and shows. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, added in 2010, has proven so popular that an expansion is about to open at Island of Adventure’s sister park next door, Universal Studios, as we go to press. In the summer of 2014, the two lands will be connected via the Hogwarts Express.

The popularity of Harry Potter has made touring Islands of Adventure a sort of two-tiered experience. Most of the park is spread out nicely and easy to tour, with long waits a rarity, even for the thrill rides. But the Harry Potter section is always packed, even on a Tuesday morning in the off-season. Plan your time accordingly.

Islands of Adventure (IOA) is all about rides: full sensory-immersion 3-D experiences, state-of-the-art coasters, watery descents that’ll leave you dripping, and kiddie rides so cleverly designed that even the most cynical adults totally get into the spirit. During the last few years it’s been all about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an island so popular that it’s allowed Universal to raise ticket prices significantly and still draw unprecedented crowds.

For information on tickets and multiday passes, see Chapter 13, and note the financial advantages of buying online. Check for any price changes by calling 407/363-8000 or visiting www.universalorlando.com.

Money-Saving Tip Are you a member of AAA? If so, you’ll get a 10% price break on food and shopping throughout Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. This discount can be quite a boon, especially in posh restaurants.

Island of Adventure Touring Tips

Getting Around Islands of Adventure

The layout of Islands of Adventure is reminiscent of a big lollipop in which you enter through the stick—the Port of Entry, which has shops, restaurants, and service areas. Port of Entry ends at the lagoon, and around the water are clustered the six islands of the theme park: Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing.

Because of IOA’s essentially circular design, it’s an easy park to tour. The sidewalks naturally lead you from one attraction to the next, with no crossroads or choices, and bridges connect the islands. The moods of the separate lands are quite distinct. As you walk into the mysterious and mythic Lost Continent, for example, you’re greeted by the gentle tinkling of wind chimes, and you enter Jurassic Park through an enormous stone gate flanked by torches. Below your feet you’ll see fossil prints in the sidewalk, and if you listen closely, you’ll hear the rumbles and calls of dinos in the bushes.

We advise an early-morning lap of the park to ride the big-deal attractions; an afternoon lap to check out the shows, play areas, water rides, and minor attractions; then a final circle in early evening to ride anything you missed—or to revisit favorites. Sounds like a lot of walking, but in this user-friendly theme park touring is a snap.

How Scary Is “Scary”? As Dr. Seuss Would Say, “Very!”

Ten of the 12 major attractions at Islands of Adventure have height restrictions—your first clue that this park is loaded with physically wild rides. Measure your kids before you leave home; there’s no point in promising your kindergarten-age muggle a ride on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey if he’s less than 48 inches tall. Here are the specific height restrictions:

In addition, a couple of the shows are atmospherically scary; Poseidon’s Fury and the Eighth Voyage of Sindbad have frightened some preschoolers.

The bottom line? Read the ride descriptions carefully before you board. If the ride is outside (and several IOA attractions are), watch it make a couple of cycles before you decide. And if someone in your family panics while in line, inform the attendant you’ll need to do a Baby Swap (or husband swap, as the case may be).

HELPFUL HINT

Rides are most likely to be closed for maintenance in winter. Check www.universalorlando.com to see if any attractions are scheduled for refurbishment during your visit.

Tips for Your First Hour at Islands of Adventure

Perhaps because most guests stay off-site and must rise, eat, drive, park, and undertake the substantial trek from the parking garage, Islands of Adventure is relatively empty in the morning (at least the islands that don’t involve Harry Potter) and grows more crowded in the afternoon.

Arrive 30 minutes before the stated opening time, which is generally 9 am. Get your tickets and maps and take care of any business, such as locker or stroller rental.

Sometimes Port of Entry is open before the rest of the park. If so, browse the shops or have a quick breakfast at Croissant Moon Bakery.

The tip board will tell you which rides are running. During the on-season, most rides will open immediately; on less crowded days the rides may come online section by section. Either way, Marvel Super Hero Island and Seuss Landing, the two islands adjoining Port of Entry, will be open; generally, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be as well.

If you’re staying at a Universal Orlando resort and thus entitled to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter an hour before the theme park opens to nonguests, then by all means take advantage of this huge perk and head there first. Ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey immediately, and then visit the shops and smaller attractions.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter remains the hottest ticket in the park—not just the ride, but the shops as well. If that section is open, go there first.

If you don’t go to see Harry and your kids are old enough to enjoy intense rides, veer left to Marvel Super Hero Island. Ride the Incredible Hulk Coaster, the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, in that order.

If your kids are younger, veer right to Seuss Landing and start with One Fish, Two Fish and the Cat in the Hat.

Afternoon Tips

Families who’ll be staying in the park all day need to build in afternoon rest stops to give everyone a chance to regroup. You basically have three options:

Restaurants. Consider making lunch your big meal of the day. A sit-down meal, either at Confisco Grille, Mythos, or CityWalk, is a chance to get off your feet and relax.

Shows. The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad will give you a chance to sit down in a theater for a while. The Jurassic Park Discovery Center, a museum-style attraction, is a quiet, calm, and cool place to catch your breath.

Play areas. Sometimes kids just need to burn off their pent-up energy. If you suspect they need to climb, run, and play for a half hour, head for one of the three play areas.

Meeting the Characters

The times and places for character meetings are well marked on your map.

The superheroes, including Spider-Man, appear in Marvel Super Hero Island; cartoon characters show up in Toon Lagoon; and the Seuss characters can be found, logically, in Seuss Landing.

Sometimes kids are overwhelmed by the characters, especially the Masked Marvels who show up on Marvel Super Hero Island. If your child appears nervous, don’t push her forward; let her watch other kids pose for pictures for a while and she may loosen up. Asking for an autograph is a great way to break the ice.

Port of Entry

As the name implies, Port of Entry is where you enter Islands of Adventure. It’s a visually charming area, meant to resemble an exotic Middle Eastern seaport, and it’s a great place for a group snapshot.

Islands of Adventure Don’t-Miss List

FOR KIDS 2 TO 6

Caro-Seuss-el

The Cat in the Hat

Flight of the Hippogriff

If I Ran the Zoo

Me Ship, the Olive

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges (for older kids)

FOR KIDS 7 TO 11

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Camp Jurassic

The Cat in the Hat

Dragon Challenge (older kids)

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

The Incredible Hulk Coaster (older kids)

Jurassic Park River Adventure

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges

FOR KIDS 12 AND UP

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Doctor Doom’s Fearfall

Dragon Challenge

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

The Incredible Hulk Coaster

Jurassic Park River Adventure

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges

Many of the park services are in Port of Entry: Locker rentals ($8-$10), Guest Services, the Lost and Found, and an ATM are all here. You can rent a stroller ($15, $25 for a double), a wheelchair ($12), or an Electric Convenience Vehicle (ECV; $50).

In addition, there are shops and restaurants. The Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Trading Company is a store that’s almost as big as its name, and, because it has merchandise from all five islands, it’s a good place for wrap-up shopping on your way out of the park. Note that the Trading Company has a good variety of Harry Potter merchandise and is infinitely less crowded than shops within that section of the park.

Food choices include the full-service Café La Bamba (with an adjacent bar) and the Croissant Moon Bakery, which offers bagels, pastries, and a variety of coffees—it’s a great place for a quick breakfast as you enter the park. Later in the day sandwiches and desserts are added to the menu. The Arctic Express offers funnel cakes and ice cream, and the Cinnabon next door sells the same gooey treats you find in malls and airports. Some IOA restaurants close in the off-season, but Universal does a good job of estimating crowd flow, so there are always enough places open to serve everyone in the park.

Pause for a second as you near the end of Port of Entry. To your left is the tip board, which gives you information on the opening sequence of the rides, approximate wait times, and upcoming showtimes.

Marvel Super Hero Island

This is the island where superheroes fight bad guys, and you test your mettle on three high-thrill attractions. Most people are so busy dashing to the rides that they don’t take the time to appreciate how well this section visually duplicates a comic-book world. Signs are intentionally generic as in “Store,” “Arcade,” or “Café,” and the colors chosen give everything a flat, grainy appearance.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Spider-Man combines actual movement on a track, motion simulation, and 3-D effects. Unlike most 3-D shows, where you’re sitting still and the action comes toward you, in Spider-Man you’re moving from scene to scene through a comic-book story. It feels as if everything is really happening, especially the 400-foot simulated drop at the end, yet the actual ride movement is very mild. In other words, young kids or people who freak out on coasters can enjoy it. Spider-Man was revamped, with reanimation and even higher definition. You can even see the stitching on Spidey’s gloves, and the villains are closer and more real than ever.

The concept is that the Sinister Syndicate, made up of comic-book villains, has taken over New York City and stolen the Statue of Liberty. (Wonder why the bad guys never nab Seattle or Omaha?) The plucky young photojournalist Peter Parker, alias Spider-Man, is nowhere to be found, and the city is in a panic. J. Jonah Jameson, the bombastic newspaper editor, is “so desperate for the story that I might have to send a bunch of tourists out in the ScoopMobile.” That’s your cue.

As soon as you’re loaded in you’ll be stunned by the quality of the recently revamped effects, which make you feel as if Spider-Man is on the hood of your car and that bricks are flying toward your face. The ending of the ride, in which you’re “thrown” off the top of a New York skyscraper and caught in Spider-Man’s net, is the biggest thrill of all.

One mother of two from California wrote to us: “Spider-Man is a wonderful ride and my husband’s favorite. The first time we rode it with our kids (ages 9 and 11), the younger one was terrified by the fact that the bad guys land on the hood of the car and it really feels like they’re reaching out for you. But once she got off the ride and walked around a while, she wanted to try it again.”

After you’ve braved the experience once and know that a happy ending is guaranteed, Spider-Man is an attraction that holds up through return trips. Pay attention to detail. For example, when Hobgoblin throws his fiery pumpkins at you, Spider-Man snares the first one in his web, but the second one goes awry and crashes through the wall and into the next scene. Scare Factor Spider-Man has a 40-inch height requirement, which means quite a few preschoolers qualify to ride. The actual ride movement has plenty of spins and bumps, but the infamous “drop” at the end is totally simulated, making it far more fun than scary. The real issue is the villains. The Sinister Syndicate throws everything it has at you, and the characters often appear very abruptly. If the in-your-face bad guys are too much for your kids, tell them to shut their eyes.

Money-Saving Tip As you exit Spider-Man, you’ll notice how Universal Orlando cleverly encourages souvenir shopping. While you’re still excited about the ride, you exit through a shop full of Spider-Man merchandise. Remember this rule: No souvenir shopping until the afternoon, when you’ve tried out lots of rides and know what you really want.

Doctor Doom’s Fearfall

Dr. Victor von Doom is trying to defeat the Fantastic Four by sucking all the fear out of innocent citizens like you and using this collective fear to take over the world. (Logic isn’t the strong point of these rides.) You’re strapped into outdoor seats and shot 180 feet into the air. There’s a bit of a yo-yo effect—you’re raised and lowered several times—but the first five seconds of the ride are by far the scariest. Most riders report that once you’re launched, you’re fine. Scare Factor The height requirement is 52 inches for Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, and whether your child should ride boils down to one question: How does she feel about heights? Most riders, including kids, think this ride is over too quickly to get truly scary. As they say, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

The Incredible Hulk Coaster

This isn’t your mother’s roller coaster, on which you slowly crank up a hill getting ready for your first plunge. The Incredible Hulk Coaster is big, green, and mean—just like David Banner after he played around once too often with those gamma rays.

Those lockers at the Hulk entrance are there for a reason, and they’re free to use. Store everything you can, because seven big flips can send car keys and sunglasses sailing.

The ride opens with a “cannon” shot from a 150-foot tube, zooming from 0 to 40 mph during the first two seconds of motion, then immediately flipping over to give riders the sensation of going weightless. You’ll make seven different inversions during the course of your ride and twice disappear into a subterranean trench. Although the ride is wild, it’s smooth, with very few jerky movements, and many coaster warriors swear that despite its intimidating appearance, Hulk is the most user-friendly coaster in the park.

There’s a separate line for those who want to sit in the front row, which has the best views but the longest wait. The movement is slightly wilder in the back of the car. Note the word “slightly.” Hulk is plenty intense no matter where you ride. Scare Factor The 54-inch height requirement eliminates many young kids, and Hulk is a pretty heart-thumping experience—probably too intense for any child under 10. Watch it make a few laps before you decide to ride.

HELPFUL HINT

Long lines? Even without an Express Pass you can still cut your wait by using the single-rider line. If you’ve gone through an attraction like Spider-Man once as a family (and older kids want to ride again), direct them toward the fast-moving single-rider line. On a tight touring schedule? Spider-Man and Hulk are must-sees for thrill seekers, but skip Storm Force and Doctor Doom.

Storm Force Accelatron

This simple spinning ride—the cups spin individually and the discs they’re mounted on also move—is a cranked-up version of the Mad Tea Party at Disney World. It’s a good way to entertain younger siblings while older kids tackle the nearby Hulk. Scare Factor Storm Force Accelatron isn’t scary, but the double spinning action makes some riders queasy.

Toon Lagoon

Like Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon is also devoted to comic-strip characters, but these are the stars of the Sunday funnies—such as Beetle Bailey, Betty Boop, Dagwood, and the kids of Family Circus. Young kids have no idea who any of these characters are, but the true focus of the island isn’t the toon, it’s the lagoon; the attractions here are designed to splash you silly.

Toon Lagoon is full of great photo ops. You can pose beneath the giant word bubbles, so that it appears you’re saying, “It must be Sunday—we’re in color!” or thinking, “I have the feeling people can read my thoughts!” The fountain on Comic Strip Lane is the hangout for every cartoon dog you can think of, and another fun place for a group snapshot.

INSIDER’S SECRET

Dudley Do-Right’s facade spoofs Mount Rushmore, but also keep your eye out for a clever jab at Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean just before you disembark.

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls

This log-flume ride, in which you’re helping Dudley and Horse save the perpetually pitiful Nell from Snidely Whiplash, culminates in a breathtaking 75-foot drop. The ride facade is so enormous that it serves as a park icon, and hardly anyone can walk by without stopping to gawk. The actual fall is even more dramatic than it looks; there’s an explosion of light when the log enters the TNT shack at the bottom of the flume, followed by a second descent, in which you drop an additional 15 feet below the water level.

Needless to say, a descent of this magnitude isn’t accomplished without a lot of splash. The water not only flies back in your face, but also sloshes into the log, puddling around your hips and feet. You’ll enjoy the ride a lot more when you’re ready to get wet—in other words, in the hottest part of the afternoon. Scare Factor Kids ages seven and up name Dudley Do-Right as one of their favorite rides. The last drop is a definite squealer, so anyone with a fear of heights should think twice before getting in line. The height requirement is 44 inches.

Me Ship, the Olive

This is a compact play area designed like a ship, with slides, climbing webs, and buttons that make tooting and beeping noises. Swee’ Pea’s Playpen is a separate play area for toddlers.

By far the most enjoyable feature of Me Ship, the Olive, is the water guns that allow you to take aim at the occupants of Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges below. If you have a child too young to ride Popeye, take him aboard the Olive while you wait for the rest of the family to ride; he can seek revenge on his siblings as they pass. But watch out—the squirt guns can squirt back! Scare Factor It’s not scary.

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges

If Dudley Do-Right is all about splashing, Popeye is about getting drenched straight through to your underwear. Parties of eight are loaded into circular rafts and sent on a wild and winding water journey. If through some miracle you manage to avoid the waves, the boat wash at the end of the ride spares no one. To add insult to injury, you’re squirted with water guns by the kids aboard the nearby play area, Me Ship, the Olive.

For this reason, riding Popeye requires a bit of planning. Families in the know wear lightweight soccer-style shorts, don ponchos or plastic bags, or perhaps even bring a change of clothes. (If you were planning on buying a souvenir T-shirt anyway, hold off until after you ride, when fresh, dry clothes are bound to feel great.) Leave cameras and valuables inside the nearby lockers, and stow everything else that you can in the central pouch, including shoes and socks.

Although there are some sizable dips and drops along the way, the fact that the whole family rides together in a circular raft somewhat dilutes the intensity, making this ride a good choice for kids who are not quite up to Dudley Do-Right’s megadrop but still want to try a water ride. And because the rafts hold a fair number of people and load quickly, Popeye never seems to have daunting lines. All in all, it’s a good choice for the afternoon. Scare Factor Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges is one of the best big-deal rides for young kids, and parents with kids as young as age five report that they loved it. The height requirement is 42 inches. “Our 6-year-old daughter freaked out when she first saw Dudley Do-Right,” wrote one father, “and that big drop does look pretty intimidating, even to an adult. But after she’d gone on the Popeye boat ride—three times—she was totally over her fear and willing to go on Dudley Do-Right.”

Jurassic Park

As you walk through the high stone entryway with its torches, note the distant rumbling of unseen beasts and look down at the fossilized leaves and footprints in the sidewalk before you. The Canadian pines around Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls have given way to lush tropical vegetation, and the merry beat of Toon Lagoon slows to an ominous jungle rhythm. Is there any doubt you’ve entered Jurassic Park?

INSIDER’S SECRET

The three major water rides—Dudley Do-Right and Popeye in Toon Lagoon and the River Adventure in Jurassic Park—are fairly close together. Ride them all in a row, and you’ll only have to dry off once.

Camp Jurassic

Of the three play areas in Islands of Adventure, this is the best one for kids ages 6 to 10. The setting is a group of post-eruption volcanoes, with caves for hiding, and a multilevel, fairly rough terrain perfect for jumping, climbing, and exploring. There are slides, plenty of netting, and some take-no-prisoners water cannons. Because the Camp Jurassic play area is bigger and more spread out than Me Ship, the Olive in Toon Lagoon and If I Ran the Zoo in Seuss Landing, it’s easy for kids to get lost. Unless you’re sure they can find their way back to one of the benches where Mom and Dad sit waiting, you may need to go with them. The loud dino roars may scare some preschoolers. Note that this play area is scheduled for a major revamp as we to press. The stated purpose is retheming, but we suspect the area may be tamed a bit so that it’s easier for kids to find their way around without getting lost. Scare Factor It’s not scary.

Discovery Center

The Discovery Center is like a small, very hip museum. Little kids can make dinosaur sounds while the older ones X-ray eggs and guess which species is inside. The Dino DNA sequencing profile lets you superimpose your face onto a dinosaur, or you can test your scientific knowledge against two other contestants in a raucous game show called You Bet Jurassic.

The biggest kick is when a raptor hatches from an egg, a wonderful little treat in which an authentic-looking animatronics baby pecks his way through the shell. The kids in the crowd get to name it. Being in the Discovery Center for a birth is a bit of a hit-or-miss proposition, but a honking noise alerts you that one of the eggs is getting ready to crack.

The center is cool and relatively uncrowded, making it a good place to drop by in the afternoon, when everyone’s energy is flagging. Scare Factor It’s not scary.

Jurassic Park River Adventure

The River Adventure starts out with a mild cruise through the habitats of gentle vegetarian dinosaurs. Hmm, do you think we’ll stay on course? If you don’t know the answer to that, you have to go back to Theme Park 101.

Sure enough, a playful dino bangs your boat, sending you drifting into a restricted zone, and once you’re inside the dangerous containment area, your boat is pulled up a long ramp past vicious little raptors that leap around, spitting at you. When the T-Rex at the top decides you’ll make a good snack, you escape via an 85-foot plunge—and that’s one long, fast, steep descent. Scare Factor Eighty-five feet may sound like a T-Rex-size drop, especially in contrast to the 75-foot drop next door at Dudley, but because you’re loaded into much larger boats, the River Adventure fall doesn’t feel that intense. Most families report that they found this plunge less frightening than the one at Dudley Do-Right. There’s some atmospheric scariness, however, in the form of some very real-looking dinos. It’s key to let nervous youngsters know what to expect in advance—that is, you’ll get pushed in with the raptors. If it’s any consolation, this part of the ride is very short—less than two minutes from the beginning of the climb to the final plunge. Our surveys indicate that most kids seven and up love the ride. Your child must be 42 inces tall to ride.

Pteranodon Flyers

This aerial ride, in which children dangle beneath the wide wings of a gentle flying dinosaur, is the first thing you see when you enter Jurassic Park—and so most kids insist on making a beeline there. It is indeed a pleasant 80-second flight around lushly landscaped Camp Jurassic, offering you great views of Islands of Adventure. The catch is that only three birds, each holding two riders, are on the track at a time. That adds up to lines that stretch all the way back to the Cretaceous period, even on days when the park isn’t crowded. On busy days you can wait more than an hour, and there’s no Express Pass.

In an effort to cut down on the line, Islands of Adventure has limited the ride to kids 36 to 56 inches tall, allowing one adult to ride with each child. In fact, the entrance signs almost try to talk you out of riding, telling you that there are height requirements on both sides of the ruler and the ride lasts only 80 seconds. People flock to it anyway. Try to talk the kids out of riding unless you’re there on a quiet day when the wait is less than 20 minutes. Scare Factor Pteranodon Flyers is fine for anyone who doesn’t have a fear of heights, although there’s a bit more swing to the pteranodons than you’d guess.

INSIDER’S SECRET

Pteranodon Flyers generally opens around 10 am. The tip board will give you exact times. If your kids are determined to ride, be at the entrance to Camp Jurassic as close to opening time as possible. Once Camp Jurassic is open, the line at Pteranodon Flyers can jump to a 20-minute wait within seconds. This attraction is not included in the Express Pass.

The Lost Continent

The Lost Continent is probably the most thematically complex island in the park, with two separate sections. The Arabic section is home to the Eighth Voyage of Sindbad and a jumble of tented, Middle Eastern shops in the marketplace known as Sindbad Village. There are fortune-tellers, and you can get your hair wrapped, your face painted, or your arm temporarily tattooed.

The second section of the Lost Continent is based on Atlantis. Here you can find the amazing-looking theater where Poseidon’s Fury plays, and IOA’s most elegant restaurant, Mythos.

Note that this section has been revamped to make way for the Hogwarts Express station in the nearby section, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad

This stunt show usually plays four to six times daily in the early afternoon and evening. (Showtimes are listed on your map.) The 25-minute show has everything you’d expect—fights, falls, drops, daring escapes, and comedy in the form of an inept sidekick whose pratfalls are a lot more dangerous than they look. The theater is large, so you shouldn’t have any trouble being seated as long as you show up 15 minutes before showtime. Sindbad is a good choice for afternoon, when you’ll welcome the chance to sit down and rest for a while. Scare Factor Sindbad is a loud performance with lots of pyrotechnics, including strobe lights and fog effects. In fact, there’s so much fire on stage that those in the first three rows of the audience will feel the heat on their skin. If your kids are easily frightened and sensitive to loud noises, sit farther back.

HELPFUL HINT

Feeling queasy from too many coasters? A first-aid station where you can sit and recover is among the shops of Sindbad Village.

The Mystic Fountain

As you enter the theater where Sindbad plays, pause for a minute at the fountain in the courtyard. At various times throughout the day—including the periods just before and after a show—the mysterious spirit trapped within the Fountain of Knowledge will talk to you. The result is pretty funny, as the spirit loves riddles, jokes, and questions and will gently tease any kids willing to step forward and enter the game. Encourage the kids to ask a question and be prepared for lots of punk attitude, as well as an occasional blast of water. Scare Factor It’s not scary.

Poseidon’s Fury

This 20-minute walk-through show takes place in one of the most impressive buildings in the whole theme park, a crumbling castle from the lost underwater city ruled by the water god Poseidon. The story line is established in the long, dark (and somewhat scary-for-kids) queue area, where we learn that we’re on an archaeological dig at the ancient temple of Poseidon. But there’s trouble—the power keeps flickering on and off, a professor is missing, and the sleep of an evil priest has been disturbed. He wants to find a powerful trident, and it’s up to you, as the new archaeological team, to find the trident and restore it to its rightful owner, Poseidon.

You stand during the whole presentation of Poseidon’s Fury, so young kids in the back won’t see much (this may be a blessing—see the scare factor). If you want a good view of the action, be sure to be among the first in your tour group to exit every room so that you can be in the front row in the next room.

You move from room to room and there are some great special effects along the way. At one point you walk through a swirling tunnel of water. The final scene is a battle between fire and water, with plenty of splashing and pyrotechnics. Scare Factor Poseidon’s Fury is a walk-through show, not a ride, but the special effects are intense and the noise level is very high in places. Once you enter the castle, you’re literally a captive audience; there are a couple of exit points along the way if children become frightened, but for most of the show you’re in a series of darkened rooms. If your children are nervous, stand near the back, especially in the final room where the battle reaches its peak; viewers in the front will feel the fire-and-water effects more intensely than those in the rear.

HELPFUL HINT

Need a little adult time? A glass of wine? A civilized menu? Decadent chocolate desserts? Just across from Poseidon’s Fury is Mythos, a great place for a leisurely meal.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade

When the Wizarding World of Harry Potter debuted in 2010, it was one of the most hotly anticipated theme-park attractions ever. It’s actually home to three rides. The Dragon Challenge is a spiffed-up revamp of the megacoaster Dueling Dragons, while the Flight of the Hippogriff is a new and improved version of the Flying Unicorn. The big news is the centerpiece attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

Hogsmeade Village, the dining and shopping section of the Wizarding World, offers great photo ops and fun experiences—such as the chance to mail a postcard home from the official Hogsmeade Post Office and some mystical wand-shopping at Ollivanders. The shops offer replicas of almost everything mentioned in the books, including some rather alarmingly named candies at Honeydukes. Street entertainment includes the Frog Choir, a group of Hogwarts students accompanied by their large, croaking, and quite comical frogs, and the Triwizard Spirit Rally, a processional designed to rev up the already-revved-up crowd.

Wand-shopping at Ollivanders is one of the most popular experiences in the Wizarding World, so much so that you almost always find long lines of people waiting to get into the shop. The ceremony in which your wand “chooses” you is a large part of the appeal for most kids, but if you just want a wand without the fuss, there’s a separate, rarely crowded wand kiosk near the entrance to the Forbidden Journey.

Guests are so enamored of the wand, jelly-bean, and robe shopping that Hogsmeade Village can become extremely crowded. Don’t imagine you can browse the shops whenever you’re ready to drop some cash. There are lines to get into the shops and sometimes even lines to get out, especially at Ollivanders, where the wand-choosing ceremony takes a little time. Young wizards don’t like to be rushed.

Can’t stand the crowds at Hogsmeade? Many Harry Potter goodies are also offered at the Islands of Adventure Trading Company at Port of Entry. There you can shop in peace with fewer crowds and lots more space.

The restaurant Three Broomsticks, which is a terrific setting in its own right, could probably serve anything and still be packed. The menu includes tasty barbecue, shepherd’s pie, and fish-and-chips as well as the über-popular Butterbeer and pumpkin juice. The nonalcoholic Butterbeer is extremely sweet, almost like melted butterscotch, and geared toward kids’ palates. The pumpkin juice tastes a lot like cider and is quite good. Both are also available at kiosks outside the restaurant.

Hogsmeade Village was designed to emulate the narrow winding streets, nooks, and alleys of the Harry Potter film series, and the fact that they’ve done a good job also means that traffic bottlenecks are the norm all day long. It’s best to embrace the fact that you’ll be moving slowly and use the time to savor all the wonderful details of this magical and painstakingly re-created world.

Dragon Challenge

This double roller coaster is one of the wildest rides in the park, running at speeds of up to 60 mph. Two suspension-style coasters (that is, they hang beneath the track for maximum side-to-side swinging action) operate at once, coming within inches of each other at certain points. For the ultimate thrill seekers, riders in the outside seats are most aware of how close these close calls really are and riders in the front seats get the best view of the impending danger. Scare Factor Dragon Challenge is a very intense coaster with a height requirement of 54 inches. Coaster warriors love it, but it’s too much for most kids under 10. The swinging action of the cars makes it a rougher ride than the Hulk, for example, and it’s not a good choice for anyone prone to motion sickness. Watch it make a few runs before you decide.

The Flight of the Hippogriff

This is a fun little coaster for the younger set and zippier than you’d guess, with some sharp dips and turns. Young Harry Potter fans who aren’t up to the Dragon Challenge will enjoy the ride, which is a good “first coaster” experience. The really cool part is that you zoom beside a perfect replica of Hagrid’s Hut. Scare Factor The Flight of the Hippogriff is fast enough to elicit a few squeals, but most kids love it. Your child must be 36 inches to ride.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

This attraction, which lies deep within Hogwarts Castle, is the heart and soul of the Wizarding World. The queue is wonderful—which is good news, considering you might be in it for quite a while. You’ll meet the four founders of Hogwarts, in the form of framed portraits that come to life and converse with each other. Dumbledore greets you in his office, you pass the famed Sorting Hat, and you ultimately wind up in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Harry, Ron, and Hermione—played by the movie actors, naturally—persuade you that going off with them to a Quidditch match is far more fun than staying behind for a boring history lecture. One wave of Hermione’s wand, and your bench becomes capable of flight.

Your first clue to the intensity of the attraction is that your enchanted school bench comes equipped with harness restraints. Indeed, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a big-deal ride in both a physical sense, with lots of pitching and jerking action, and a psychological sense, as various villains from the books show up and try to divert your flight. The spider section is especially scary for kids, and let’s just say that the Whomping Willow ain’t kidding around. When Harry shows up to rescue you and you do finally make it back to Hogwarts, you experience the real feeling of flight. The story line is a bit confusing—it pretty much throws random experiences from the series at you with no real regard for a logical sequence—but it all ends on a happy note, with the students of Hogwarts cheering your successful return.

This is a 360-degree wraparound experience, combining live action, robotic technology, and filmmaking tricks that make you feel as if you’re actually flying from scene to scene. Make no mistake—Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is Island of Adventure’s signature ride, representing its best technology to date. The entire experience, including the interactive queue, takes close to an hour. Note that this ride has a minimum height requirement (48 inches) and maximum height and weight limits (6 feet, 3 inches; 250 pounds). Scare Factor The 48-inch height requirement on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey means that many kids ages five to eight will be able to ride. That said, there are reasons this journey is forbidden. Older kids love it, and young fans of the book will probably be determined to ride. Just prepare everyone: The bench sometimes feels as if it’s flipping over backward, and much of the journey is dark and scary, with dragons and spiders coming from all angles. Note, too, that the attraction has an exit for those who want to go through the queue and see the characters but aren’t up to taking on the actual ride.

Hogwarts Express: Hogsmeade Station

The Hogwarts Express train has moved from being a mere prop to Island of Adventure’s newest ride. A railway between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure links The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—Hogsmeade to a new section of Universal Studios, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—Diagon Alley, which highlights the King’s Cross and London sections of the books. The train ride itself is a kick, with screens showing simulated scenes of your journey, and Diagon Alley has its own shops, restaurants, and a new (milder) themed ride. Note that since you’re moving from Islands of Adventure to Universal Studios during the ride, you will need a two-park ticket. Scare Factor It’s not scary.

Seuss Landing

You’ll find nothing but pastel colors and curved lines—even the trees are bent!—on this dreamlike island, where everything looks like it popped out of a Dr. Seuss book. Almost everyone stops in their tracks at the sight of the amazing Caro-Seuss-el and the bright flying beasties of One Fish, Two Fish. But take your time strolling through—some of the best visual treats aren’t so obvious.

HELPFUL HINT

Preschoolers will enjoy the Cat in the Hat ride, as well as the other Seuss Landing attractions, much more if they’re familiar with the Dr. Seuss books. Read them on the trip to Orlando.

Caro-Seuss-el

The 54 mounts of this ultimate merry-go-round are all lifted directly from the stories of Dr. Seuss. While the up-and-down and round-and-round motion is familiar to any kid who has ever been on a carousel, the real kick is that you can make the beasties blink, flick their tails, and turn their heads. Snapping the kids aboard the colorful Caro-Seuss-el is one of the best photo ops in the whole park. Scare Factor It’s not scary.

The Cat in the Hat

This is a kiddie ride that’s not just for the kiddies. A surprising number of kids age 7 to 15 ranked Cat in the Hat as one of their favorites.

You board adorable couch-style cars to ride through 18 scenes taken straight from the well-loved book. The basic plot: Mom leaves, and the Cat in the Hat shows up with those well-known literary rowdies, Thing 1 and Thing 2. All sorts of mayhem results, sometimes enough to send your couch spinning wildly, and through it all the poor goldfish frantically tries to maintain order. The Cat in the Hat is like Spider-Man for the younger set. A lot goes on in a short time frame, and if you ride a second time you’ll notice even more clever details. The effects are so funny that all riders, no matter what their age, exit with a grin on their face. Scare Factor Expect some bumping and a few fast, tight spins of the car. Cat in the Hat is designed to appeal to any age, however, and most kids love it.

High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!

Once purely decorative, the little cars that circle Seuss Landing were eventually put into motion and are now part of a slow, gentle trolley ride overlooking the attractions and at one point going through the Circus McGurkus Café Stoopendous. The 34-inch height restriction is more due to the construction of the cars than the intensity of the ride; shorter kids might be tempted to stand up just to be able to see out. It’s a cute way to get an aerial view of Seuss Landing, but due to the fact there are relatively few cars and they move slowly, the Seuss Trolley can draw surprisingly long lines for such a simple ride. Scare Factor It’s not scary.

If I Ran the Zoo

IOA’s third interactive play area was designed with preschoolers in mind, although older kids enjoy it, too. You can jump, climb, and squirt, as well as play tic-tac-toe with a Gak. Trap your friends in a cage of water or wait for the scraggly-foot Mulligatawny to sneeze—there’s a silly surprise around every corner. A small water area gives younger kids a chance to cool off and splash around on a hot day.

The emphasis on the big-deal rides makes many families automatically assume that Islands of Adventure is only for older kids. But the three play areas and the attention to detail in all of Seuss Landing show that Islands of Adventure has plenty to offer younger siblings as well. Scare Factor It’s not scary.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

One Fish, Two Fish is a circular thrill ride designed for young kids. Each fish has a joystick that controls the height of his flight, and throughout the ride you’re given instructions such as “Red Fish fly high.” If you opt to follow the instructions, that is, go “with the book,” you stay dry. But if you disobey and go “against the book,” one of the “bad fish” will spit on you. The idea is that this teaches kids to follow directions—I suspect it really shows them how much fun it can be to rebel—but either way it’s a terrific ride, and in the finale everyone aboard gets a spritz.

One Fish, Two Fish can draw long lines in the afternoon. Come in the morning if you can. Scare Factor One Fish, Two Fish is fine for any age. The joystick lets you keep it low for kids who dislike heights. Everyone flies high at the end of the ride for a few seconds, but by that time nervous kids have been aboard long enough to get used to the idea. The two-fish cars are big enough to let family members ride together.

CityWalk

CityWalk is the dining, shopping, and entertainment complex that links Universal Studios with Islands of Adventure. A lively destination in its own right, CityWalk also provides more dining options than what’s in the parks. If you’d like a break from touring, exit the park and head for lunch at CityWalk.

Restaurants include the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., the Hard Rock Cafe, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, the NASCAR Sports Grille, NBA City, Pastamore, and Emeril’s. The first six are geared toward families, while the more elegant Emeril’s is a great choice for a parent’s night out.

Speaking of parent’s-night-out options, CityWalk has shows and concerts every night, including a Blue Man Group production and live shows at the Hard Rock Cafe. There is also a wide selection of bars, clubs, and dance venues, including Bob Marley’s, The Groove, Latin Quarter Pat O’Brian’s, Red Coconut Lounge, and Rising Star—truly a little something for everyone. And just wandering around sampling all the clubs can make for a fun adult evening.