We always try to do something fun and adventurous for our birthdays. We rented jet skis for Nisheet’s birthday in June, and last year I went on a cruise to Mexico for my birthday. This year? We went to Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando! We bought a 3-day pass when we went to Universal Studios back in September, and we had been itching for an excuse to go back.

If you are looking for the differences in tickets and their costs, check out the Universal Studios post.

Hotel

Just like last time, we stayed in a hotel the night before. We used the HotelTonight app and booked the Avanti International Resort on International Drive for $70. The room was basic but modern, clean, and comfortable. The real perk was the pool area. The pool itself was fairly large for a hotel, there were tons of lounge chairs, there was a fountain area for kids to play in, there was a hot tub, and there was a pool bar. I would have been happy with just that, but the resort fee also included one other thing that we took advantage of. A free round-trip shuttle ride to Universal! We weren’t staying the following night, but they were nice enough to allow us to leave our car at the hotel the entire next day while we were at Islands of Adventure. Saved us $20 and the headache of finding parking.

I’ll discuss the HotelTonight app more in depth in a different post on last minute travel, but go ahead and check it out now if you are interested in great last-minute hotel deals. And, use my promo code ASDIEHL. You will get $25 off your first booking, and I’ll get $25 too. Win-win!

Getting to Islands of Adventure

Whether you are taking a shuttle or parking in the garage, you will have to go through the same general security checkpoint. There will be a mass of people, but the lines move pretty fast. To make it move even faster, take all the junk out of your pockets and stuff it into your backpack. You walk through a metal detector, and your bag is screened. Some of the bags are inspected, but we didn’t had our bag checked either time.

After security, you will enter Universal’s CityWalk. I’d suggest waiting to shop and eating at the restaurants until after your day at Islands of Adventure. CityWalk usually stays open till 2AM. If you are heading to Universal Studios, stay to the right. For Islands of Adventure, keep to the left.

Islands of Adventure Tips

My tips for Islands of Adventure are basically the same as they were for Universal Studios.

1. You should do the Harry Potter stuff first (and last)! It will be insanely busy during the day, so do it while the lines are short! From there, work your way around the rest of the park. I do want to point out that if you go counter clockwise, you will be hitting the water rides first. That could be good or bad depending on the weather.
2. Check the crowd calendar and weather beforehand to help plan your day. It was an average/moderate day for us in November with highs in the 70s. This meant all the water rides had wait times of 20 minutes or less the entire day. Hulk and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey were the only attractions with significant wait times (90ish minutes).
3. Make a reservation at Mythos for lunch. Trust me. It is worth it.
4. Just like Universal Studios, if a ride requires you to store stuff in a locker, the locker is FREE while you are on the ride.
5. There are several water rides. Bring a poncho if it is a cool day (or you don’t like getting wet).
6. If you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, etc., stop by Guest Services just after the entrance. They will give you a pin to wear, and everyone will congratulate you all day long.

Our Day at Islands of Adventure

Now, what you have been waiting for! Our experience!

Since we took the shuttle to the park, we got there a little early. We were actually in line for the Islands of Adventure 15 minutes before it opened! That never happens to us. And honestly, in hindsight, I think getting there 15 minutes after it opens is better. You won’t have to wait in a line, and you will still beat most of the crowd. But anyways, we waited in line and were one of the first ones in Islands of Adventure for the day (and one of the last ones to leave).

Hogsmeade (9:10 am)

Our first destination was Hogsmeade (Harry Potter). We were seriously one of the first people to make it there. The shopkeepers were standing in the streets with empty stores. There were no lines for anything. It was awesome. We took a few pictures but pressed on towards the castle (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey).

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Castle (9:15 am)

We heard that you should walk straight past the line and take a tour of the castle before doing the ride, so that is what we did. Don’t do it! It is a complete waste of time. Sure you get to take your time wandering through the rooms, but you get to walk through the same rooms while you are in line… Except for one room. The tour-only path leads you up a staircase full of enchanted pictures that move and tell stories. It was neat but not worth the time.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Ride (9:30 am)

So, after wasting time on the tour, we went to the tiny locker room at the castle entrance to put away our stuff and then stood in the line for the ride. As we made our way to the ride, we got to see all of the castle rooms again in addition to the herbology greenhouse where, if you remember your Harry Potter stuff, the mandrakes are kept. We entered professor Dumbledore’s office where he welcomed all us muggles and warned us of a dragon on the loose. Then we made it to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom where Harry, Ron, and Hermione talked about sneaking us out to a game of Quidditch. Then, right before sitting on the ride, the Sorting Hat gave us a safety reminder.

We finally made it to the ride. You are seated on a 4 person enchanted bench and sent on your way flying. Or not. We moved maybe 20 feet and then the ride broke down. What???? No worries. They had it running again in a couple minutes. Sort of. They forgot to turn the ceiling lights off, so we couldn’t see any of the projections. It is one of those rides where you are on a robotic arm surrounded by projections, so you really need the lights off to get the effect. It was cool seeing how the ride works. There was huge room full of robotic arms, projectors and screens, and a bunch of real props. About 3/4th of the way through the ride, someone must have realized that the lights were still on because we stopped again, and the lights were turned off.

Sounds like a crummy way to start the day at Islands of Adventure, right? I initially thought so too. But, not only did they let us go on the ride again without waiting, they also gave us a one-time-use express passes. Yay! Plus we got to see a behind-the-scenes look at how this super popular ride actually works.

The second time around was much better except that it was a bit nauseating, so it might not be the best idea to go on it twice in a row without even a small break to stand in line. Even with all of the mess ups, this ride still ranks in my top 3 attractions of the day because of how well put together the whole experience is.

Frog Choir (10:30 am, Show)

Since it was almost 10:30am at this point, we stuck around for the Frog Choir. It was cute but not amazing. There was a group of 4 singers/beatboxers and 2 large puppet frogs sitting on a pillow. Fun to watch for a few minutes, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to see it. We left after a couple of songs.

Jurassic Park River Adventure (11:00 am)

Nisheet and I both agree this was the best attraction of the day. The wait was just 5 minutes probably because it was a cool day. Shortly after boarding our boat for the tour, we came across the iconic large Jurassic Park doors that opened to let us into the park as the sweet theme music played in the background. The tour started out gently by passing by some friendly herbivores munching on vegetation. Soon enough though, something went horribly wrong and our boat was nudged off-course. Before we knew it, we were floating by the raptors facility and watched the Jurassic Park employees warning us to get out! How would we escape?!

Skull Island: Reign of Kong (11:30 am)

This is one of the newest rides at Islands of Adventure. We used the express pass for this which made the wait just 20 minutes. While we waited, an animatronic witch cursed us in her native language while the lighting in the room got darker and darker. It was kinda spooky and cool. We then boarded our open-sided bus and started the tour. It starts outside but soon enters Skull Island. We entered into the jungle and before we knew it, the bus started shaking as a T-Rex attacked us. Then, the big Kong appeared and a massive battle between the dinosaur and King Kong began with us caught in the middle. Very fun ride! And, be sure to sit on either side of the bus rather than the center if you can!

Toon Lagoon

Toon Lagoon surprised me. On the map it doesn’t look like much, but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of Islands of Adventure. Not for the rides but for all of the details, statues, and fountains.

Oh! The Stories You’ll Hear (12:30 pm)

This was when we got off track for the day. Instead of doing the attractions in order, we started going back and forth across the park to check out the shows. It was unavoidable to watch the shows we wanted, but it was a bit annoying that we walked back and forth half a dozen times.

Anyways, I thought this show was going to be more like a production, but it ended up being more like a storyteller with the characters dancing in the background. Definitely for the kiddos. It was cute though, and I always enjoy a Dr. Seuss story, but I probably won’t come back next time.

The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride (1:00 pm)

Since we were in Seuss Landing anyway, we decided to go on one of the kiddie rides. The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. It is actually an OK ride that I would recommend as long as there isn’t a long wait. The ride is slow and has one of the Dr. Seuss stories on in the background, but honestly, I tuned it out within the first 10 seconds. What was neat was the ride goes all over Seuss Landing. You go through a restaurant and loop around the area. You get to see some roller coasters and the Harry Potter castle too.

Poseidon’s Fury (1:30 pm)

Poseidon’s Fury is the worst show/attraction of the day. We hadn’t seen it reviewed on any of the blogs we read, but we thought we would give it a go anyway since the outside looked amazing, we had time to kill before our lunch reservation, and the line was short. Basically, you go into an ancient temple and a guide leads you through it with 100 other people. You won’t be able to see anything unless you are in the front row, but that doesn’t really matter because it is just stupid. I won’t ruin it for you in case you do choose to go here, but the plot is terrible. So much so that we (along we several others) bailed before it was even finished. Oh, and if you leave early, expect to have a 5-minute walk before you actually get back to the park.

Lunch at Mythos Restaurant (2:00 pm)

I know it probably sounds weird to make reservations for lunch at a theme park, but it was totally worth it. Theme park food is expensive and usually not that great. The food here wasn’t much more expensive than the “street-food” sold just outside, but it was so much better. They were running slightly behind with reservations, but we were still seated within 10 minutes. The wait was 90 minutes for those without reservations. Yikes!

Our table was awesome. There was a fountain and river on one side, and there was a huge window on the other side overlooking a lake and roller coaster. The inside felt like a dark cave with carved statues of Greek gods and monsters. Awesome! For lunch we split the spanakopita dip with crispy pita and a falafel burger with parmesan fries. OMG. Delicious! It was so good I forgot we were in a theme park! And, I got a free dessert shot since it was my birthday!

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls (3:00 pm)

By this point in the day, my cold was catching up with me. If you know me, you know I absolutely love everything about amusement parks. I want to go on every ride. The faster, the bigger, the better. But… sadly not today. A stupid cold had drained all of my energy by mid-afternoon. So, a water ride seemed like one of the worst ideas. Thus, I opted to be the photographer while Nisheet went on the ride.

Nisheet: I knew nothing about the Dudley Do-Right character but the whole cartoony look of this ride made me want to try it and it did not disappoint. After getting into our logs, the ride started off with a bunch of animatronic animals playing songs. The main character, Dudley, rode his horse backwards up a hill as our log climbed up the ramp. Then the villain laughed at Dudley and his horse while they laid tied up on railroad tracks. This sort of stuff goes on for a while and the log plummets down twice just when you least expect it. I thoroughly enjoyed this plume ride although the log felt a little cramped.

Toon Lagoon (3:30 pm)

We weren’t planning on stopping in Toon Lagoon again, but we couldn’t resist taking a few pictures since all the characters were out and about! A couple of them had lines, but for the most part, you could walk straight up to them and have a staff member take your picture. My favorite was Betty Boop of course.

The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad Stunt Show (4:00 pm)

The Sindbad Stunt Show is one of the larger shows in the park. In fact, it has its own dedicated stage with props, bleachers, and everything. The plot is quite cheesy, but I thought it was entertaining with the actors zip lining, swinging, and flipping all over the stage. There are live pyrotechnics and cannons being fired from every direction. Fun and a great way to take a break from walking around all day.

Triwizard Spirit Rally (4:30 pm)

The Triwizard Spirit Rally was near the Sindbad Stunt Show and about to start, so we stopped to watch. It was a fun little show with 3 men performing martial arts moves and 4 women performing rhythmic gymnastics with their wands. I’m not really sure why they were doing it though. Was this part of one of the Harry Potter books or movies? Someone please comment below and let me know!

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges (5:15 pm)

Another water ride? Why didn’t we come to Islands of Adventure in September? It looked just like the Congo River Rapids at Busch Gardens which is one of my favorite rides, but I just couldn’t do it. I was simply too tired. Nisheet went on it though!

Nisheet: I have always been a fan of Popeye and love all of his crazy adventures and run-ins with his arch nemesis Bluto. You sit in a circular 12-person raft that spins you around and crashes left and right. Along the ride, you see snarky Bluto messing around with signs and trying his best to drench the people in the raft. Then, just to make sure that not an ounce of you is left dry, you get to go thru Bluto’s boat wash where everybody goes under a big waterfall. At the end of the ride, I was soaked from head right down to my socks. Summer or not, this is a really fun ride.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (6:00 pm)

Although I was pretty worn out, I had to go on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. They advertise it like crazy! The regular line was only 30 minutes long, but since I knew this was going to be my last ride of the day, we used our express passes. And, the staff member was super nice and let Nisheet keep his fast pass since he heard us discussing how Nisheet wanted to ride the Hulk (which he didn’t end up having time for).

If you like the Transformers ride at Universal, you will like this ride. They are almost identical except for the story-line. You wear 3-D glasses and sit in a car that tilts and whirls about as projections surround you. It is a very cool ride, and you should definitely go on it, but it didn’t make it into my top 3. The top 3 were just that good.

The Mystic Fountain (6:30 pm)

The Mystic Fountain isn’t really an attraction or a show, but it is worth a stop. Especially since you will likely be passing right by it many times during the day. At first glance, it looks just like a fountain. But it isn’t just an ordinary fountain. It is a talking fountain. Get close, and it will start asking you questions. At first, I thought the fountain was computer programmed, but it turned out that there was a real person controlling the fountain and responding to the questions. Also, watch where you stand. The fountain might spray you!

Hogsmeade (6:45 pm)

We started the day off here, but we knew we also wanted to end the day here. It is magical to see all the stores lit up, and to make it even more perfect, the moon was out! We grabbed a Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice and just people watched for a while. We knew the Butterbeer was the perfect way to cap off a wonderful day. Full of sweet deliciousness. We hadn’t tried the Pumpkin Juice before, and we couldn’t resist the adorable bottle with a pumpkin on top, so we got it too. It takes like apple cider with pumpkin spices mixed in. I really enjoyed it, but if I had to pick between the two, I’d go with the Butterbeer.

Flight of the Hippogriff (7:00 pm)

Nisheet was determined to get in one last ride. So, he headed to the Flight of the Hippogriff while I people watched some more. 

Nisheet: I’m not a big fan of huge roller coasters that rattle and shake you around. But, after some research, I found out that this was one of the smoothest roller coasters so I decided to give it a try. Hippogriff, for those that don’t know, is a mythical creature with a body of a horse and a face of an eagle. A Hippogriff named Buckbeak grew loyal to Harry Potter and flew around Hogwarts with Harry on its back. The ride tries to simulate the fast swooping flying action that Harry Potter probably felt as he sat atop Buckbeak. You sit in a small 2 person per row roller coaster and the ride takes you on sharp twisty turns while going up and down. Before you know it, this fun little roller coaster ride is over. For a true roller coaster junkie, this ride isn’t going to be very thrilling. However, if the wait is 20 mins or less and you have explored the rest of the park then this ride is definitely worth it. 

Summary

I had an absolutely fantastic day at Islands of Adventure even though I had a cold and it was on the cooler side for water rides. In fact, I think I enjoyed Islands of Adventure more than Universal Studios which I wasn’t expecting. I think Islands of Adventure has more physical rides whereas Universal Studios has more of the 3-D projection type rides. Both are fun though, and I can’t wait to go back!