If you only have time or money for one of the Universal Parks, the easy choice is Islands of Adventure. The two newest rides, VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, are two of the best roller coasters in the world and are worth the price of admission.
Islands of Adventure also can boast of Spider-Man, The Hulk, King Kong’s Skull Island, Dr. Seuss Land, Jurassic World, and Hogsmeade from Harry Potter. The imaginative world hopping you are able to do at Islands of Adventure is kind of overwhelming.
You move from the countryside of Potter’s England to jungles filled with dinosaurs only to turn the next corner and find yourself in Whoville. Islands of Adventure is now one of our all time favorite parks even competing with Disney’s Hollywood Studios which we didn’t think was possible. Here is our BEST OF UNIVERSAL ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE. We hope you enjoy!
Chris
Skull Island: Reign of Kong is a trip to the past and the future.
The visual and sound effects of the ride make you feel as if you have unfortunately landed on an island full of prehistoric beasts including a T-Rex and your new very protective friend, King Kong. As you enter the massive gates of Skull Island in your vehicle, the ominous screams and warnings tell you some bad stuff is about to go down!
Once you’re inside the gates, the immersion is pretty incredible in that the 3D effects are going on all around you and even across the top of your vehicle. As you drive along the island’s rough roads you get further and further away from civilization and deeper into the jungles of the past where Kong was King. The sounds and visual effects will stay with you long after the ride is over and your respect for the giant gorilla and the engineers that bring him to life will only increase.
Michelle
When you’ve been parenting for more than twenty years, sometimes a moment alone is the deepest pleasure of the day. I have spent many traveling days wrangling unpredictable toddlers, coaxing moody adolescents, and supporting majority rules on all decisions on the road.
So, when I find myself wandering Hogsmeade Village alone while Chris rides VelociCoaster with the kids, I feel a boundless joy that makes me almost skip untethered through the world of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure. I stop and buy a cup of butterbeer and sip contentedly as I watch strollers pass and cranky kids melt down waiting in line. I roam around Hogsmeade thinking about how this place existed in one woman’s imagination and how wonderful it is to see so many people walking around in wizarding robes with wands casting spells and believing in this marvelous fantasy world where evil can be overcome.
After a while, I start to get a little bored and my butterbeer is growing warm and treacly. I start to worry that the kids have fallen out of the roller coaster because their belts and harnesses haven’t been tightened properly. I long to feel their little hands safely tucked in mine as we walk together finding our way through villages and parks, cities and roadways. I don’t want to wrangle them anymore, but I do want to walk beside them….still.
Henry
Hagrid’s Magical Motorbike Adventure
For me this is the greatest rollercoaster ever. The best way to describe it is FUN. It’s as simple as that. We got lucky with getting front row both times. I personally like riding the motorbike more than sitting in the sidecar.
It is the perfect amount of intensity and it’s not too intimidating. The theming in the queue is incredible.
Hearing Hagrid’s booming voice in your ears while riding is awesome. Overall, I have been on a lot of roller coasters in my life and this ride is my favorite of all time.
Emma
My favorite ride at Islands of Adventure is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This is the ride that takes place inside Hogwarts Castle where you follow the original characters on an adventure and encounter Draco Malfoy, dementors, and giant spiders. It combines screens with the real architecture of the castle to make it feel like you’re really flying in and out of the castle with Harry Potter.
While you wait in line, you’re surrounded by moving portraits and even pass by Dumbledore’s office.
At the end of the ride, the entire original cast congratulates you and says goodbye. It is a complete homage to the films and really makes guests feel like they are living the dream of actually visiting or attending Hogwarts. The ride is a bit rough as it tips you backwards and to the side to avoid various incarnations of dark magic, but I really enjoy how real it feels compared to other rides at Universal. If you get motion sickness easily, this might not be the one for you; but, you should at least wait in the line with your family to see the interior of the castle! It’s the most interesting ride line you will ever wait in!
Jack
Islands of Adventure’s newest immersion into a cinematic world is one near and dear to my heart: VelociCoaster, in the land of Jurassic Park. One of the few movies I can almost quote by heart, Jurassic Park was a mainstay of my childhood.
Rewatching it recently, I saw exactly why it had such a strong pull. To a kid like me who already adored dinosaurs, Steven Spielberg and John Williams’ magic, especially the iconic soundtrack, gave the prehistoric animals the grandness and awe I already knew they deserved.
VelociCoaster works its own thrill ride sorcery in exactly the same way. The lushness of the velociraptor “enclosure”, the grace of the coaster’s twists and turns, and the vicious ferocity of the titular creatures’ sound effects all build an atmosphere that can only be described in the same vein as the movie: world creation of the highest order.