DH and I are back in WDW in June for the Microsoft Tech Ed. Well one night, they booked out Islands of Adventure from 7-11pm. Having never been there, what can I expect from there? Thanks

Heavy on the thrill rides, if I recall correctly. (We did both on the same day, over a year ago, so my brain may be a little fuzzy). I do recall Hulk in IOA and Duelin' Dragons. Hulk, the 'theme' seems to be "How many times can we turn the guests upside down in X length of track?" Not saying that it's a bad thing, just something to be aware of.

Spiderman is in that park, and is VERY cool. Don't miss that one!

There's a Cat in the Hat 'dark ride' that was fun - but it IS basically just a dark ride.

Most of the major coasters are in IOA from 7pm till 11 you may want to steer clear of the water rides and their are quite a few in IOA Jurassic park dudley do rights ripsaw falls, Popeye all designed to get you soaked so at night it may not be the best thing to do.

As for everything else The hulk and Spiderman in Marvel area to the left as you go in the park they are a must do. Duelling dragons and the flying unicorn (Its only a kids ride but you will like it) in the lost continent.

But Just have a walk around and is suess landing watch out for the cat in the hat my auntie got in to a fight with him last time (In fun i hast before it goes global to news networks)

Even many Disney fanatics (like myself) admit that Spiderman is the greatest ride even. Incredible ride, and it isn't a roller coaster so if you aren't into that sort of thing your still going to love it.

I've been to the MS Islands of Adventure thing (they've done it before) and I went with other companies' too where they had only part of the park rented out (just Marvel land for example).

They close down the shows but set up a stage for a band to play at. They either have catered food or you get a voucher for a snack. By about halfway through the night, nobody is riding the big rides anymore (too much alcohol? I dont drink so I can only guess) and I must have gone on 30 rides from that point on before. The Hulk roller coaster had no line so they would just let us ride it repeatedly.

Bring a dry shirt or sweater to pull on after the wet rides. The lighting on the wet rides is just too sweet at night.

And the Jurassic Park dinosaurs look much cooler after dark.

thanks for the advice. i will be packing extra clothes

You don't get too wet on Jurassic Park - Splash Mountain level of wetness (avoid the front row though...) Dudley and Popeye however *will* get you soaked...

I agree that Spiderman is the best ride anywhere. Don't miss it. Jurrasic Park must be awesome after dark---I don't recall ever seeing it. Notice the sounds and fossils underfoot as soon as you walk through the gates to the area. I find Hulk to be faster and more loops then RRC at MGM, but so much smoother. Dueling Dragons is good too. Walk the whole park if you can to see the theming of each area, even Suessland.

I feel that Ripsaw Falls, although will make you soaked, is a must-do ride. We went in November, it was freezing and raining, and we still did it. Amazing ride, although I certainly suggest a change of clothes. I wouldn't miss it.

I LOVE the spiderman ride. The effects are really cool, you can't miss that. And if you want to get soaked, go on bilge rat barges. Those are my two favorites.

Oh, I meant Bilge Rat Barges up there... The Dudley Dooright ride was down for refurbs when I was there. Sorry!

I hope I am not too late to chime in...

The Hulk is a good coaster, but if you get queasy easy it is not the ride for you. Then there is the free falling ride (name is escaping me right now...). The thrill is the shoot up. It's a pretty awesome ride because I like the feeling of being shot upwards...not the fall downwards. It's also a great view of the park if you get the right side. The fall back down is slow so if you dare to carry your camera you can take a picture. Spiderman is amazing! Dudley Dooright is a cool logflume but not as good as Splash Mountain in my opinion. It has a steep drop at the end and that is it. Popeyes barges will get you soaked but that is an amazing rapids ride! Jurassic park is alright but it was better when if first opened. When I went in August it was horrible. Dinosaurs weren't working especially the "finale". I would skip it if I didn't have the time. Dueling Dragons is good if you go at the same time as the other coaster. If you don't then it is kind of boring. The thrill is feeling like your feet are going to hit the other person. They come within 12 inches of one another. The walk through the queue takes forever though! The Sinbad show is pretty cool. Lots of action and I really like it. The Posidon show is alright, but since they are changing that section I would see it if you have time. It's a walk through and no seating, but the last scene is pretty cool. The acting needs some help though. In August the actor was so bad and you can tell he didn't want to be there. Suessland is cool if you have little kids. If you don't then just go to the Cat in the Hat and leave that section because everything else is kiddie stuff.


My word of caution....Eat before you go! The food there is beyond disgusting. Not just the last time I went either. Every single time I go it is bad so it is consistently bad throughout the years. If anything wait until after and hit up a restaurant on Citywalk after. Otherwise wait until you are back at your hotel.

I concur with the Spiderman praises. How lucky for Universal that the Spiderman movies took off.

I'm not a big fan of the Hulk coaster. It's an "off-the-shelf" ride, pretty much like some coasters at other parks. And like Magic Mountain's Superman coaster, the theme and the ride are tangentially related.

What's worse, I my keys flew out of my pocket and into the water on the Hulk ride, and I never got them back. Just thinking of that make me. . . Ahhhh!. . . Skin turning green!. . .

"off-the-shelf"

It's the only incline launched B&M sitdown looper on the planet.. how is that "off the shelf"?


When you go to the B&M catalog, you cannot buy that design and it's never been duplicated... thusly it's not "off the shelf".


Dumbo, Astro Orbiter, Fliks Flyers, Aladdin's MAgic Carpets, as basis rides/all un-themed, you can buy them straight out of the Zamperla catalog. Incredible Hulk at IOA, nope.
Contractually, you can't even buy a clone of it, for any amount.


Disney fans and some websites love to antagonistically throw the phrase "off the shelf" around, and most times they are wholly incorrect.
:rolleyes:

Except for maybe one or two cool effects, I found Poseidon to be incredibly lame.

As for food, we ate at the Irish Pub at Universal and enjoyed that.

Many people online rave about the food at Mythos in IOA.

Never read a bad review about the food, the atmosphere or the experience... except for the Mythos menu removing many peoples favorite items over the years.

Thanks everyone.. I cant wait to go on June 6th!

Many people online rave about the food at Mythos in IOA.

Never read a bad review about the food, the atmosphere or the experience... except for the Mythos menu removing many peoples favorite items over the years.
OK here's your bad review.

skipping for the moment that it is hardly ever open the one time we ate there I decided would be the last. I thought the redicously small portions would have only left hungry if the rather poor taste didn't kill my apitite. the astmosphere was but certainly no better then could be found in any average to good restuarant. my only reasoning for the high reviews this place gets must be that as the only sit down dinning location in this park it stands out. to bad they take advantage of this by charging three times what the food is worth.

Yes Spiderman really rules..one of the best rides around !!!!

All Marvel attractions on Super Hero Island were very crowded last time I was there, try to catch those rides early in the morning...would be also wise, because it gets very hot in the waiting areas, the spray water over waiting people, but I thought that it was just too hot...especially waiting for Spider Man was horrible and then the ride broke down twice..Haha !!!

OK here's your bad review.
.


I'm sorry you had a bad one, it happens. We adore the place. One thing to keep in mind is that it has its own chef (you can read about him at the restaurant) so the menu does indeed change. This is no Rainforest Cafe. I recommend the Risotto of the day. Some are more to my taste than others but I've never had one that is average fare.

Oh yeah, and _don't_ get the lame standard items. There is a "pizza" (italian style, not american) and a lame chicken and salad dish. Usually those items are there to meet the general crowd that prefers the safe option.

apricotwalnut---Now that June 6th has passed please let us know what you decided to go on and how you liked the park!!!