2003 04-03

After a nice breakfast of toaster waffles and cereal, we decided to head to Universal Islands of Adventure today.  We opted for the two-day pass, which adds a third day free and unlimited entrance to Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios and Universal’s City Walk nightspot. 

We started out in Marvel Super Hero Island.  First off was the Incredible Hulk roller coaster. 

We all were impressed with this ride.  It was fast, fun and smooth.  It went fast enough to plaster Alex’s hair back!

Just outside the exit is the Storm Force Acceleratron. Is it a spinning teacup sort of ride, but does go quite fast, and with the right spin on the car can send the occupants smashing into each other, which brought big smiles to the kid’s faces.

 We then hit Doctor Doom’s Fearfall.  This appeared to be just like Power Tower at Cedar Point, but we were surprised that once we were shot up the tower, at the top of the trajectory, the car shoots back down, giving you some serious hang time.  Garry actually hit is shoulders on the restraints.  And the heart skips a beat…

Spiderman was next on the agenda.  This was sure a family favorite.  It is a moving 3D ride.  The effects were terrific and the ride was really fast in-your-face fun.  Personal observation, the front row of the car is much smoother than the back row, where you should expect to get tossed severely.

Super Hero Island leads into Toon Lagoon. We got wet on Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls log ride.  I was again surprised when I got serious air on the big drop to the splashdown landing. We continued through Toon Lagoon and ventured into Jurassic Park.  Since were already wet, we jumped on River Adventure.  This was a very entertaining water ride, and yes, you will get wet.

 We grabbed lunch and moved on to The Lost Continent.  First off, we hit The Flying Unicorn roller coaster.  Unless you are looking for a small ride for the uninitiated, skip the Unicorn.  After that, we headed for the real coaster, Dueling Dragons.  This is a dual coaster ride featuring the Fire Coaster and the Ice Coaster.  Both were excellent, and in our opinion featured speed (Fire) and big G-forces (Ice).  This ride is very much like Raptor at Cedar Point, a suspended coaster where your feet dangle and feature numerous inversions via loops and corkscrews.  If possible, wait for the front car.  If you ride anywhere else, you will miss the view of the impending head-on collision.

 By this time, we needed a break so we caught the Eighth Voyage of Sindbad stunt show.  It was surprisingly entertaining and worth going to.  We then went the Poseidon’s Fury, another show but one where you walk through and participate in an adventure.  We also recommend catching this attraction.

The final island is Seuss Landing, dedicated to the memory of Dr. Seuss.  Everything there looks like it was lifted straight out of the books I read as a kid.  Arlona & Alex rode the Caro-Seuss-el and we all enjoyed The Cat in The Hat ride.  Expect major spins!

 About this time, we had a couple hours left until closing.  The kids hit the Hunk again, and then Garry joined them again.  We all made another pass at Spiderman and the kids hit the Fearfall to close out the day.  Overall, the longest we waited for anything was about 25 minutes.  Not bad.

 We picked up some chow and ate at our house.  Even though the temperature had dropped to the high 60s, the kids braved the unheated pool and finally we were off the bed with Day 1 in the history books.

Please read my disclaimer.

This page last updated on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 09:24:39 PM