Universal's Islands of Adventure

It's been many years since my last visit. The staff has really stepped it up. They must have been taking notes from Disney as the staff are all super friendly and helpful now. Had a great 3 days. Note, the express pass only cuts the wait time in about half. If you don't want to wait invest the extra money in VIP tours. Well worth the cost! Especially the RIP tour for the Halloween horror nights.

The Hagrid roller coaster broke down for two hours in midday. While the ride was great, there were few cogent attempts to explain to all the people waiting on the line as to what to do. No managers showed up to help. No attempts were made to placate the elderly or young children. This is a bad customer service opportunity that should have been reversed. Also, they need to switch to virtual lines like Disney uses to avoid people standing outside in increasingly hot summers or they will have medical emergencies on a regular basis. People cannot wait for an uncertain couple of hours without bathrooms or water, especially small children and the elderly. The rest of the rides had short wait times. This particular ride needs a better system. The other rides and this one are great.

I loved everything about islands of adventure. Didn't have long to wait for most rides. Where ever we had food it was very good and the prices were ok. It seemed to have a much better vibe and seemed more fun than any of the Disney parks we visited. We popped in and out of the park with ease during the 5 times we visited over the space of 8 days. It's also great that it within a short walk of universal studios and city walk too. I would definitely go back when I can.

I typically don't review these type of things however I wanted to point out that this was by far the best Park we have ever been too! Clean as can be, everything was organized and ran perfectly. Fans in all the lines to keep you cool and once inside the building the A/C was a much needed add on to our waits. We went on a Friday during the day (Arrived at 9am). Parking was a breeze and only ($30) and from there it was smooth walking and entry into the park. We chose Islands of Adventure since we had been to Studios multiple times before. We honestly didn't wait on average for longer than 30 minutes per ride. Again I can't state how clean and nicely ran this park was. I would choose Universal over Disney parks 10/10 times! Keep up the great work and we'll see you again soon!

It had been over a decade since my last visit, and nearly everything was different! I was happy to see the Cat in the Hat ride still there, and so well maintained! Everything, honestly, was in excellent condition, and I loved the entire Harry Potter area! It was SO well done and had so many hidden surprises. It did not disappoint!

Very, very, very expensive! But we had the most fun here versus Disney World. The expensive part was just the admission and getting the express lane option with the park hopper pack which I'm glad I got. If you're spending a week here and get one of their deals where you pay for 2 days and get 3 days free for a total of 5 days, then sure you probably don't need the express lane, but you're going to spend majority of your time standing in lines, especially for the popular rides/attractions...

We were able to go on just about every ride and even went on some twice. The express lane pass really benefits you if you only have 1 - 2 days to spend here. I was almost about to get the 5 days, but then I thought how that's going to be 5 days of mostly standing in line. Most lines were 50 mins or longer.. There was some that was really short, but that's because the rides was really bad, looking at you Fast & Furious...

That fast and furious ride needs to be taken out or updated. All the bad guys in it are now good guys and it was ridiculous. It wasn't even over the top fun like the movies, it was bad.... definitely the worst and weakest ride...

Didn't really experience the food, we mostly were on a mission to ride as much as we could because we really didn't get that at Disney...

This theme park definitely had more and better rides than Disney, but if you have going kids then I can see why Disney might be more appealing and it is cheaper, but their lightning pass is a scam, it's not unlimited like universals express pass...

I was wanting more of the "tour rides" that we've seen in countless movies, like Jaws coming out of the water. I guess I'm just old and those have been retired or not at this location? But I was looking more for those type of rides and there wasn't any. The Kong ride was the closest, but it was the Peter Jackson King Kong. It wasn't the new Legendary Kong that's part of Godzilla vs Kong movies, which the advertisements kind of made it seem like it was, but it was still fun...

I do feel for the people though that wait an hour or more for a quick 3 min ride, if that. They do seem like they should be longer, especially the video 3d rides...

But overall it was the most fun at a theme park and a great end to a week long vacation in Florida... Well, little over a week...

Lots to do and see. While the rides are awesome, my friend doesn't like rides, but there was so much to do and we didn't need to stand in any lines. It's a great time either way, riding the rides or enjoying everything else the park has to offer. It was like we entered the movies and it was a fun time taking a break from reality.