This second entry is about our visit to Universal Sudios’ Islands of Adventure, which includes the new area called the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. We visited this non-Disney park on the 6th day of our trip, having rented a car picked up at the Disney Car Cares Center in Disney World. The park is about 15 minutes from Disney World. You can also catch a Mears transport or taxi from Downtown Disney to Universal.
Universal Studios is two parks – Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, both accessed from one parking structure. You can buy individual tickets for each park, or a combo ticket for both. We decided just to visit Islands of Adventure so we could see the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
After entering the park through the well done Moroccan themed port of entry, there are 6 islands in the park, including Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter–Hogsmeade Village, The Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing.
Using touringplans.com’s recommendations, we prepared a touring plan which including visiting The Cat in the Hat, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Storm Force Accelatron, Thunder Falls Terrace, Poseidon's Fury, Dragon Challenge, Flight of the Hippogriff, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
Let me say right out, that Islands of Adventure has exactly three Disney-worthy attractions - The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Jurassic Park River Adventure, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The remaining “rides” are in my opinion Six Flags quality roller coasters, or carnival quality rides – with no themes. For example, Disney’s The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Universal’s Doctor Doom's Fearfall are “similar” in that you go up and down fast in an elevatorish platform, but Disney incorporates a back story, holograms, a nice queue, and a whole building that looks cool, where as Doctor Doom's Fearfall is a big steel structure. Same with their roller coasters – big steel structures. I’m not opposed to roller coaster for roller coaster’s sake, I just prefer ones with cool theming. I’m not over jazzed about Space Mountain at Magic Kindgom for the same reason.
View from The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!, a People Mover-like ride.
Now The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Jurassic Park River Adventure, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey are really really really well done and perhaps worth a visit if that is all you saw. Universal obviously went way out when they created these attractions, in stark contrast to the rest of the park’s rides.
Spider-Man is a well done Indiana Jones-type moving articulating vehicle (but in 3D) set in the underworld with lots of villains and special effects (smell, water, smoke, etc). The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man moves a spinning, tilting ride vehicle through more than a dozen scenes of mayhem. Each scene is a 3-D digital film, each of which is so elaborate that they’re shown in custom-built soundstages and accompanied by special effects including fire, water, fog and lasers. The total package is astonishing—frenetic yet fluid, and visually rich. The ride is wild yet very smooth.
Jurassic Park River Adventure is similar to Splash Mountain with Jurassic dinos lingering along the river and a great final waterfall splash ending. It is really very well done.
Now, for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter–Hogsmeade Village. Holy Crap! Aside from the attraction itself, what an incredible environment it is! Well done Universal! Taken from touring plans … “The 20-acre Wizarding World - Hogsmeade is an amalgamation of landmarks, creatures, and themes that are faithful to the films and books. You access the area through an imposing gate that opens onto Hogsmeade, depicted in winter and covered in snow. This is the area's primary shopping and dining venue. Exiting Hogsmeade, you first glimpse the towering castle housing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, flanked by the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's Hut. The grounds and interior of the castle house part of the queue for the super-headliner Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.” The queue itself is worth the trip (read this detailed description).
It was a relatively cold day for Florida (high 60’s) and we got a little rain on and off.
The Three Broomsticks Counter Service Restaurant
The Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction. When you put a Kuka robotic arm on a ride platform, it provides six axes - six degrees of freedom, with synchronized motion that can be programmed to replicate all the sensations of flying, including broad swoops, steep dives, sharp turns, sudden stops, and fast acceleration. Here's where it gets really good: Up to now, when Kuka arms and similar robotic systems have been employed in theme park rides, the arm has been anchored to a stationary platform. In Forbidden Journey, the arm is mounted on a ride vehicle that moves you through a series of 12 action scenes projected all around you. The movement of the arm is synchronized to create the motion that corresponds to what's happening in the film. It's pretty mind-blowing. When I got off I was thinking .. what just happened?
I did enjoyed visiting the park, mostly for the above attractions and islands. I’m not sure though, I’d go back, however since it a lot of dough for three rides. Universal is expending the Wizarding World, so who know what other cool stuff they’ll add. The other thing is that in Disney parks, I would visit them for the sake of the park itself and enjoy myself without ever going on an attraction. It’s got that Disney feel that just makes you want to be there and not leave. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter–Hogsmeade Village is like that too, but that’s just one island of six.
We never really tried any snacks at Islands of Adventure since, because with the exception of Butterbeer, most of their food is hum drum. We also didn’t eat any meals there as we had a dinner reservation at T-REX in downtown Disney.
T-REX is a theme park in itself. Most of the restaurants and shops in downtown Disney are not owned by Disney. T-Rex is owned by Landry’s, who also own restaurants like Rainforest Cafe and McCormick and Schmick’s. Since we knew that T-Rex can be a little spendy, we took the opportunity to pre-purchase two $50 McCormick and Schmick’s gift cards for $80 from Costco.
T-REX is a gorgeously themed restaurant with several zones including a color changing crystal cave, underwater, and rainforest themes, all with with life-size robotic dinosaurs, giant fish tanks, bubbling geysers, waterfalls, fossils in the bathrooms and crystals in the walls – all with the sounds of periodic meteors showers, and growling dinos. They serve decent food too. I had a 1/2 rack of ribs …not as as good as mine of course, but not bad. Deb had a nice shrimp skewer mango thingy and Kyle had lasagna. We also had an appetizer and ordered dessert to go, to make sure we got our $100 worth… (it was closer to $130). Lots of fun for a final Disney meal.
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