Read this complete guide to Islands of Adventure in Orlando and get to know all the must-see attractions here, such as the Harry Potter area and many others.
What is Islands of Adventure park like in Orlando?
Islands of Adventure is one of Universal’s three parks, along with Universal Studios and the Volcano Bay water park. It is one of the city’s most beloved parks, with elaborate and exciting rides based on Universal films, such as the Hulk roller coaster and the Spider-Man simulator.
It’s also the favorite park for Harry Potter fans, with several special attractions for them, including a huge replica of Hogwarts castle. In fact, it’s at Islands of Adventure that you’ll find incredible attractions full of special effects, produced by Steven Spielberg himself.
How is Islands of Adventure park divided in Orlando?
The park is divided into 8 areas with several must-see attractions:
1. Marvel Super Hero Island area at Islands of Adventure: in this area you’ll find attractions focused on the Marvel Universe, such as the Spider-Man 4D Simulator, where you can experience an electrifying adventure alongside the hero. There’s also the Hulk roller coaster, known for being one of the most extreme in the whole city.
You should also check out Doctor Doom’s Elevator, which goes up a few meters and then free-falls, making it the perfect attraction for those who enjoy a good adventure. Plus, the view of the park from the top is beautiful.
Then there’s the Storm Force Accelatron, a spinning toy most popular with children. A tip for visiting this area is to always be on the lookout, as there are many heroes around and you can take the opportunity to take photos with your favorites.
As this area prioritizes more extreme rides, it is necessary to store your belongings in some of the lockers located throughout the area, as it is not allowed to enter with backpacks or anything in your pockets.
2. Seuss Landing Area at Islands of Adventure: the little ones’ favorite area is undoubtedly Seuss Landing. With lots of colors, lightness and fun, children can visit this giant playground with various toys.
All the attractions in the area are based on the work written by Dr. Seuss, such as Cat In The Hat, a train that runs inside the book. In the area you’ll also find great restaurants for children with Kids menus and colorful decorations.
3. Wizarding World of Harry Potter area at Islands of Adventure: surely, the most popular area for everyone is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, home to Hogwarts Castle and Hogsmeade. The castle was designed to be an exact replica of what the place would be like.
You can walk through it in its entirety, on a magical tour where even the paintings on the wall appear to be witchcraft. The main attraction at Hogwarts is the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey simulator, which replicates what it would be like to travel with Harry and his friends, flying past Hogwarts and through a Quidditch match.
You can also try the famous Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks restaurant. And for those who like an adrenaline rush, there’s an incredible Harry Potter-themed rollercoaster called Flight of the Hippogriff.
The entrance to the Harry Potter-themed area of the park is via Hogsmeade, which is how the students arrived at Hogwarts, so there are lots of stores and restaurants on site, built according to the story. You can go to Dedosmel and buy beans of all flavors, or go to Olivaras and look for the perfect wand – if it doesn’t pick you out first.
And due to the success of the Harry Potter rides at Universal, new attractions have emerged such as the Hogwarts Express, a creative train that connects the two Harry Potter areas of the two Universal parks. With it, you can leave Hogsmeade and go to Diagon Alley, an area of Universal Studios.
Plus, the train itself is a fun attraction, with scenes from Harry Potter projected onto its doors and windows. It gives the impression that you’re actually taking the train ride that the little wizards take in the movies. Remember that to ride the train, you need to have a ticket that allows you to enter both parks on the same day.
4. The Lost Continent area at Islands of Adventure: in this area, you’ll find the interactive show Poseidon Fury, where you’ll enter a battle between Zeus and Poseidon, with 350,000 gallons of water and 200 types of pyrotechnic effects. The show is beautiful, like a journey through the lost city of Atlantis. However, compared to the other areas of the park, it is the least interesting part.
So leave this area for last, after you’ve been to the must-see attractions at Islands of Adventure. If you’re going in the summer, you can take a break from the adrenaline of the park to watch the show as it’s extremely refreshing.
Finally, the area is home to Mytho’s restaurant, which is well worth a visit as it has been voted the best themed restaurant in the world several times.
5. Toon Lagoon area at Islands of Adventure: this is the perfect area to go on hot days in Orlando. There are several water attractions, such as Popeye, a 12-person boat that takes you down a river with many waterfalls that will leave you soaked.
As well as Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, a water rollercoaster. But if you don’t want to get wet, don’t worry: all you have to do is enter the attraction with a raincoat.
And to protect your belongings, remember to store them in the lockers available in the park or wrap them in a plastic bag and keep them in your backpack. This area is a big hit with children, especially its fun water playground.
6. Skull Island area at Islands of Adventure – King Kong: the sixth area is the smallest part of the park, housing only the Skull Islands attraction. Here, visitors can experience what it would be like to be on King Kong’s island, unraveling a threatening but very entertaining world.
Along the way, there are various prehistoric creatures that you can observe and, afterwards, you’ll visit the 8th Wonder Expedition Company’s research camp. All the scenery is very similar to the film, depicting 21-meter-high gates, a maze of caves and finally, King Kong himself appears to scare everyone.
7. Jurassic Park Area at Islands of Adventure: in this area, you’ll enjoy incredible Jurassic Park attractions. First, there’s the Jurassic Park River, an attraction where you ride in a boat through the whole area and at the end you pass a waterfall that refreshes everyone.
In Jurassic World VelociCoaster, you get on a huge roller coaster with various dinosaurs from the movie. For children, there is a dinosaur playground with small laboratory activities and an educational fossil center about these animals. Walking around this area makes you feel like you’re in a real dinosaur park. Don’t forget to take lots of photos as souvenirs.
8. Port of Entry area at Islands of Adventure: finally, the last area of the park is the entrance to Islands of Adventure. There are no attractions in the area, but you will find some mouth-watering restaurants and snack bars.
So, during lunchtime you can head towards the entrance and decide where to eat while enjoying the beautiful decoration of the area.
Extra events at Islands of Adventure park in Orlando
Continuing this complete guide to Islands of Adventure in Orlando, find out about some of the special events taking place in Universal’s parks. First of all, there’s Mardi Gras, a kind of Carnival in the park. At the event, the place is filled with floats, parades and shows by famous people, with lots of joy. To access the event, all you need is a normal park ticket.
You can also enjoy the Running Universal Epic Character Race, a race that brings together park visitors and Universal’s most beloved characters. To take part, you need to register on Universal’s official website. At the end of the race, you receive an exclusive medal and can take photos with your favorite characters.
Finally, one of the most eagerly awaited events throughout the United States is Halloween, and at Universal it couldn’t be any different. Every year they celebrate the day by adding characters, horror houses and scare zones to the parks. If you like the theme, you’ll enjoy spending Halloween inside Islands of Adventure and experiencing the realistic and terrifying experience they provide.
The best restaurants at Islands of Adventure park in Orlando
Check out our top recommendations for restaurants and snack bars in the park:
- Mythos: one of Islands of Adventure’s best-loved restaurants, located in The Lost Continent area. It serves meals ranging from pasta to salads and meats.
- Pizza Predatoria: a great pizzeria located in Jurassic Park.
- Three Broomsticks: this is the most famous restaurant in the Harry Potter area, which simulates the cafeteria from the films in the saga. The place is great for quick meals.
- Cafe 4SM: pizzeria and snack bar in the Marvel area.
- CaptainAmerica Diner®: Captain America’s restaurant, serving delicious cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and nuggets.
What about the Universal Citywalk in Orlando?
Universal Citywalk is a large entertainment center with bars, restaurants and Universal-themed stores. It is located at the entrance to Universal’s two parks, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. It’s certainly a beautiful place to visit.
For those who want to eat and enjoy the bars, there are great options there, such as the Hard Rock Café, the NBA Restaurant and Bubba Gump, the Forrest Gump-themed restaurant. In addition, there are always DJ shows in the space, making it a great night out after a day in the parks.
Avoid queues and use the Single Riders at Universal’s parks in Orlando
There’s a great way to skip the queues at Universal parks using the Universal Express Pass. You can buy it at the time of your visit, during your day in the park and skip all the queues. There are two types of skip-the-line pass: in the first, you can skip a line, just once at each attraction; in the second, you can skip all the lines at any attraction, as many times as you like.
The difference in price between them is around 20 dollars, and their prices can increase in high season. Plus, you can save a lot of waiting time by using the Single Riders, which are queues for those who are going to an attraction alone. They usually move much faster than normal queues. This way, if you’re going on a roller coaster and don’t mind going with a stranger next to you, you can get there much faster.
Extra tips on Universal’s parks
- All of Universal’s parks have many attractions, so arrive early and go straight to the most popular rides, as the parks only start to fill up after 10 a.m.
- Wear sneakers and comfortable clothes so you can walk around the park.
- Remember to drink plenty of fluids so you’ll be ready to go on lots of rides.
- Only buy your souvenirs at the end of the tour, so you don’t run the risk of missing an attraction while you’re choosing your products, nor do you have to walk around carrying them.
- Before going to the park, download Universal’s exclusive app, which is available in the app stores of Android and Apple devices. It will be your main ally, informing you of the park map, the waiting time for each attraction, the time of each show, where the attractions are and much more.
- Universal’s parks offer free refills of drinks for use during your stay in the park. All you have to do is pay once for their cup and you have unlimited access to water, soft drinks and even sodas. Plus, the cup is decorated with Universal’s most beloved animations, such as The Simpsons or Despicable Me. The cost is just 10 dollars and you can refill it at any machine in the park or even in the restaurants.
How to save money at parks and attractions?
First of all, the first tip is to look for tickets in advance, not to buy them on the spot. That way, you can calmly research the best prices that are within your budget. In addition, there are many ticket combos that are much better value.
At the Disney complex, the ideal is to buy a ticket for all 4 parks, which is cheaper than excluding any of them. Plus, you can have the full experience of seeing the whole place. Another way to save money is to buy tickets to visit the parks for more days. In the end, the cost of the ticket per day is cheaper if you buy more days to go.
At Universal parks, you can experience a 2-week visit with the 3 Park Explore Ticket, which also allows access to the Volcano Bay water park. However, the best-selling ticket is the 2-day Park to Park ticket, which allows you to visit both Universal parks (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure).
And to enjoy the famous Busch Gardens rollercoaster park or SeaWorld Park, the best way is to buy the combo. It includes the 2 parks along with Aquatica. The price of the combo is only 30 dollars more expensive than a single ticket for just one of the parks.
Where can I buy the tickets for the lowest price?
We always use this website that sells all the tickets and tours. There is everything there and the price is always the cheapest. The only ticket that isn’t sold there is the Disney ticket, which for the time being is the cheapest place to buy it. But for all the other parks like Legoland, Busch Gardens, Sea World and Universal Orlando, this is the best site.
They also have a really cool free tour of all the cities. And it’s where we book the transfer to take us from the airport to the hotel. It’s cheaper and safer than taxis and Uber.
Saving money on NBA and NFL games
For sports lovers, you can’t miss a trip to the NBA and NFL games. It’s a unique experience to be able to enjoy the best of basketball and American soccer in the USA. As I said before, it’s a great idea to check out the ticket offers with our coupon and enjoy the best of American culture.
Ticket prices vary depending on the location you choose to watch the match. We always use this website, which offers great prices for all sports matches. We always use it and have had great experiences, as well as saving a lot.
Save money on your trip to Orlando:
Saving money: do you want to plan your trip while making the most of your budget? Be sure to read our article on how to travel to Orlando cheap, with all the tips to save the most, while still enjoying it!
Tickets: find out where to buy your Orlando tickets in the cheapest and safest way – for theme parks, museums and ticket combos. You can save up to 40%!
Car: if you are thinking about renting one this is the best website. It compares the price at all rental companies and finds unbeatable prices. You can save up to 30%!
Mobile chip: We always use this chip. It’s electronic (eSIM), you install it instantly and you can use your cell phone’s internet anywhere in the world.
Hotels: our article on where to stay in Orlando. You will find out the best area, the hotels that we have stayed there and how to save a lot on the hotel.
Travel insurance: medical care in another country is very expensive and it is extremely important to take out travel insurance for any trip abroad. This is the website we always take out our insurance on. Reliable and at a good price.
Transfer: do you need one, from the airport to the hotel? Find out here how to book and for the lowest price!
