I think this would be by far the best theme park i've ever been to. If you're into movies and theme parks, this is definitely the place for you to go since their theme parks are based on movies produced by Universal. While there are three different theme parks in Universal (Universal's Islands of Adventures, Wet n' Wild and Universal Studios Florida Theme Park) we were only able to spend a day in the Islands of Adventures due to time constraint.
Islands of Adventures!
So what's there in Islands of Adventures? The first stop you'll probably come across would be Dr Seuss in Seuss Landing which is probably the only section that younger kids will find appealing.
Calla the tourist
You'll find carousels and mini train rides with Dr Seuss' riddles and a playground for the little ones to hang around. We didn't spend too much time there to begin with since our aim was to see the latest addition to the Islands of Adventure...The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I would think if you watched all the Harry Potter movies, you'd probably love this section of the park but unfortunately for me, i only managed to catch snippets of the very first Harry Potter movie so i have no idea what's supposed to be what and who's who. A big bummer for me.
Us and the conductor
This i remember seeing in the movie...
Since it's the latest section of the park, i'm not surprised that the section here is jam packed with people. This is probably the only place in Florida you'll find everyone talking in English accent too. Despite the massive crowd, the waiting time for the rides surprisingly wasn't too bad. It could possibly be because we came at a low peak season. It's probably going to be chaotic if it is during summer time.
For psycho fanatic Harry Potter fans, this is probably the place they want to live cause everything here is seems so legit. If Universal can somehow throw in a few people flying around the skies on broom sticks, it would totally be their heaven. Like this guy for example. He's probably gonna jizz in his pants if he gets there. I'm just saying.
But if you're not a fan at all, i think it's also worth a visit to check out all the cool stuffs they made from the movie. Just make sure you don't get the facts wrong in front of a hardcore Harry Potter fan otherwise, some of them might cast a spell on you with their wooden wands which they just purchased for USD $30 at a store there.
Hogwarts
There's a simulator ride inside Hogwarts where it's a mixture of experiencing it on a big screen when you're riding on a broom with Harry leading the way and then seeing some creatures before your eyes in real life. Again, if you've got a weak head like mine you might end up feeling a bit dizzy after the ride and it's most probably gonna stay there for an hour or two. Although the queue getting into this place may seem like it's taking forever, it was smart of them to keep people entertained while queuing cause on the way in, there are a lot of stuffs from the movie you get to see up close and personal.
Talking hat which my girlfriend told me it's
a big part of the movie. Hmm.
A statue of a bird?
After Harry Potter, we went to the Jurassic Park section which was another classic movie that i used to love when i was growing up. You'll walk in to the famous theme playing in the background.
Welcome to Jurassic Park!
The Jurassic Park River Adventure is another fun ride if you don't mind getting a little wet. This ride definitely reminded me of the log ride we had back in Jerudong Park. We didn't spend too much time in this section other than going on that ride and having our lunch there. Walked over to the Marvel comic section where we were greeted by the Incredible Hulk!
Oooh yea!
This was my favourite ride out of all!
I'm actually surprised at myself that i got on all the rides because i remembered back when we had Jerudong Park, i could never picture myself sitting in the Pusing Lagi or the Rollercoaster. It could also be the fact that i'm much older now or probably because i knew if i don't make use of my time here, i might not have the chance to go on it again. This section of the park is definitely for those into Marvel superheroes.
Our last stop in the Islands of Adventure was at another comic section. Like the old school comic strip comic. Since it was getting dark and cold, we were contemplating on whether or not to go on the last ride which also happened to be the wettest ride in the park.
Popeye & Bluto's Blige Rat Barges
Let's just say both Calla and I felt stupid to go on this when the weather was freezing cold. Lol. I think we only missed out on a few rides from the Islands of Adventures but considering we only had one full day to get on it, i think we made full use of our 1 day pass. I would definitely love to come back next time and visit the Universal Studios section since i'm venturing into that major for my studies.
[Update 17Jan2018] - Wow. To think that 8 years later, this scam is still going on as I'm still getting the odd notifications every now and then with comments on this post. TLDR: If you guys stumble upon this random site because of the APL*ITUNES 866-71-2-7753 charge on your credit/debit card, call your bank immediately and report it as a fraud.
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