Top 10 Attractions for Islands of Adventure

When you’re just through the gates of Universal’s Islands of Adventure park, you want to know the main rides and experiences to do first.

Well, this blog is all about advising visitors on the ultimate Top 10 of must-experience attractions in this action-packed park.

We’ve already covered the Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios and EPCOT, so now it is time to turn the spotlight on Universal’s second park, which opened in 1999 and has already seen some major changes, notably with the creation of the first Wizarding World of Harry Potter in June 2010.

There are fully 30 rides, shows and other mainstream attractions to Islands of Adventure (IoA), not quite as many as in Universal Studios, but you will still be spoiled for choice no matter which way you turn. But, if you want to know the very best of the park experiences, then focus squarely on our Top 10, as follows:

10. High in The Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride

When it comes to children’s rides in IoA, this is the one that the kiddies will want to come back to time and time again. It is a gentle – but elevated – trolley circuit around the rooftops of the Seuss Landing area, providing a unique perspective on the land below, as well as some more Seussian fun and characters along the way.

9. Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges

A truly riotous water raft ride, this is guaranteed to get everyone good and wet, and is highly popular in the summer heat. The prime attraction of the Toon Lagoon area, it takes the form of a 12-person raft that gets bounced through a series of increasingly wacky watery obstacles, including the car-wash style Bluto’s Boatwash. It lasts a full six minutes and make no mistake, you WILL get seriously wet here, drenched even, so be prepared!

8. Ollivander’s Wand Experience

Harry Potter fans will absolutely adore this show inside Ollivander’s Wand Shop. Based on the idea that “The wand chooses the wizard,” a visitor volunteer gets to be part of the wand-choosing experience. It is a beautifully judged performance by the resident wizard, and it’s hard for even non-Potter devotees not to be taken in by this interactive performance. You will also find this inside the Wizarding World in the Studios park, so look for it there if this one is too crowded.

7. Skull Island: Reign of Kong

Get ready for a mishap-laden journey into Skull Island, based on the 2005 film King Kong by Peter Jackson. It takes the form of a wild truck ride through a series of encounters with various creatures, culminating in a major battle between Kong and the predatory dinosaurs that also inhabit the mysterious island. It is all done via a sequence of large animatronics and film screens that provide a hyper-realistic ride experience that might be a bit scary for young children.

6. Jurassic Park River Adventure

Here’s another ‘wet’ ride, albeit it is more about the increasingly perilous journey into Jurassic Park, where something has gone wrong, the dinosaurs are loose, and your raft has been detoured into the heart of the chaos. It progresses from the official ‘river tour’ of the park into an increasingly dangerous situation inside the massive main building. Is that a T-Rex lurking in the shadows? Of course it is! And the only escape is down an 85ft flume. Hold tight, now…

5. The Incredible Hulk Coaster

Thrill-ride fans are extremely well served by this giant green colossus that takes guests into the world of General Thaddeus Ross and his hit-or-miss experiments. Here, they board the coaster train that is prepared for ‘Hulk Transformation.” Which is the cue for a fast-launch sequence into a diving barrel roll and a wild roar through a Hulk-damaged landscape, hitting a top speed of 67mph and going through seven inversions before escaping back to safety. It looks good, sounds amazing and is breath taking.

4. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Although this ride is now 25 years old, the 3-D journey into the realm of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, remains a brilliant combination of dark ride, 3-D film and animatronic experience. Guests board roving ‘Scoop-Mobiles’ and head into New York City, where a host of villains have taken over and Spider-Man has to save the day. It features a series of special effects and clever 3-D moments and is the kind of ride you will want to do again and again to see all the many details.

3. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

When this ride opened in 2019, it became an instant classic for its motorbike ride vehicles, fast launch style, and immersive story-telling whirl through the landscape of Hagrid and his various creatures. It reaches a top speed of 50mph and has seven distinct launch sequences, as well as a surprise vertical drop, and is well worth trying as both the motorbike rider and side-car passenger for a slightly different experience.

2. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

This huge experience starts from the moment guests reach the queue area and continues through a wonderful recreation of Hogwarts School and on to a fabulous journey on magical “flying benches” that propel riders into the delights – and dangers – of the Wizarding World. The menace of a dragon, giant spiders and the Whomping Willow all must be navigated before a final battle with the Dementors where it’s up to Harry to save the day. Truly, a magical experience all round.

1. Jurassic World VelociCoaster

This might be flat out the most thrilling ride in Florida, a fast-launch, high-arching, twisting, turning colossus of a roller-coaster. It borrows from the Jurassic World movies and introduces Chris Pratt and his Raptors in a unique chase sequence, includes two fast-launch moments, hits a top speed of 70mph (the second fastest in Orlando) and crests a flying ‘Top Hat’ feature that reaches 155 feet high. Only SeaWorld’s Mako is faster at 73mph, but VelociCoaster has more elements and more low-level banks and turns. Simply put, it’s a monster!

Thrill seekers might want to exchange the Seuss Trolley Train Ride for Dr Doom’s Fearfall, a 185ft rocket to the top of a tower at 40mph, and then a just-as-quick return to earth! Fun but brief, while water-ride fans will want to include Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls log flume ride.

If you manage to do all 10 in a day, our hat is definitely off to you as that will be a highly challenging adventure, but even if you don’t, we can be sure you will have had a LOT of fun trying!

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