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on April 26, 2020 This article will introduce you to the best rides at Islands of Adventure and tell you all that you need to know to begin planning anepic ride experience at Universal’s Islands of Adventure! Discover which Islands of Adventure rides are consistently rated as being the best and can be counted on to provide ohs and ahs worth remembering! Keep reading until the end for an explanation of Universal Express Pass, single rider line, and child swap – 3 great enhancements to experience the best rides at Universal Islands of Adventure with shorter wait times. This post may contain affiliate links, which means that we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. For more info, see disclosure. Best Rides at Universal Islands of AdventureIt is no wonder that Universal Orlando Resort’s Islands of Adventure has been rated the #1 theme park in the world for five consecutive years! After all, Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida features some of the best family-friendly theme park rides of all time! Its amazing combination of coasters, water rides, animatronics, and 3D technology make for an all-around thrilling and memorable ride experience. Consequently, it is essential that you include the following 7 Islands of Adventure rides in your 1-Day Islands of Adventure touring plan! Additional planning tip: Heading to Universal Orlando Resort’s other major theme park? Find out the best rides at Universal’s Studios Florida here.  Now Open! Jurassic World VelociCoasterJurassic World VelociCoaster opened on June 10th, 2021 after Universal largely remained silent during its 3 years of construction in order to build anticipation. VelociCoaster is now slated to be one of the best all-time rides at Universal Orlando Resort with an emphasis on adrenaline, high speed, and thrill. Featuring 2 high-speed launches, 4 inversions, and a 155-foot tall top hat (90-degree angle ascent, followed by a 90-degree angle descent – as shown in photo), coaster lovers have been raving about its awesomeness. Though I have not had the chance to ride Island of Adventure’s newest thrill ride, I was at the park as the finishing touches and test runs were being done on this masterpiece. Be sure to let me know in the comments just how great this ride is! For now, we rank this ride a 1++!! Additional planning tips: At this time, VelociCoaster does not qualify for Universal Express Pass or have a Virtual Line option. Wait times have consistently been a minimum of 2 hours or more and are expected to remain so for quite some time. 1. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike AdventureNot only is Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure one of the best rides at Islands of Adventure, but it has also been dubbed by many as the best theme-park ride of all time! New in 2019, Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure is a story coaster that takes riders through the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest plays host to the Harry Potter characters’ innermost fears. You can ride on a motorbike (like Hagrid) or sidecar (like Harry Potter) as you are blasted 50 mph up the 65-foot catapult, gigantic backward drop, 7 launches, and nearly 1-mile long track. Prepare for amazing animatronics and to come face-to-face with Wizarding World’s rarest magical creatures while the Harry Potter score blasts loudly through the speakers. This ride of off-the-charts awesome! Practical planning tips:
2. The Incredible Hulk CoasterAnother one of Island of Adventure’s best rides, the Incredible Hulk Coaster, is exactly what you’d expect from an awesome roller coaster, plus so much more! Themed after Marvel’s Hulk, this gigantic masterpiece of green twisted steel serves up twists and turns of epic proportion. With a launched lift hill that accelerates the ride train up to 40 mph in approximately two seconds, the coaster eventually reaches a maximum speed of a whopping 67 mph! As an iconic attraction at Islands of Adventure, Hulk is a hyper-coaster with a euphoric ride experience that attracts fans from all over the world. Practical planning tips:
Additional planning tip: Getting to ride the Incredible Hulk Coaster multiple times in a row with a 5-minute wait or less is one of the many reasons that we think Universal Express pass is totally worth it! 3. Harry Potter and the Forbidden JourneyHarry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is one of the most popular attractions at Islands of Adventure as well as one of the most in-demand theme park attractions in America. To enter the ride, guests walk through the gates of Hogwarts and begin their journey through themed dungeons that feature items from the Harry Potter movies and books. Passengers then enter through the Hogwarts castle doors, place their loose belongings in lockers, and queue outside in the Hogwarts’s greenhouse. After zig-zagging throughout the greenhouse, you’ll enter Hogwarts Castle again, this time through its backdoor. The ride itself involves being seated on an enchanted bench to which you are secured via an over-the-shoulder harness. Once harnassed in, the ride vehicle sits atop a technologically advanced robotic arm that gives way to a thrilling and unforgettable ride experience. Click the following image to get your FREE family vacation packing list. In addition, get a BONUS Theme Park Day Bag packing list that is both customizable and printable! The Forbidden Journey provides an extreme amount of motion while it drops, spins around, and twists and turns to make it feel as if you are riding on a broomstick with Harry Potter. After a simulated flight around Hogwarts castle, an encounter with the Whomping Willow and a horde of Dementors, and a Quidditch match, the motion simulator dark ride comes to an end. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is truly an attraction that is not-to-be-missed! Practical planning tips:
4. Skull Island: Reign of KongSkull Island: Reign of Kong is deemed one of the best rides at Islands of Adventure for its epic theming and amazing 3D technology that fully immerses you into the story of Kong. The ride itself in an indoor/outdoor safari by means of 40-feet long trackless ride vehicles (trucks) that can hold up to 72 people. Each vehicle has an animatronic driver who interacts with the riders. Instead of using the same driver for every vehicle, there are five different drivers. Each driver has different dialogue and storylines, so riders can experience the ride in very different ways. As guests explore the far reaches of Skull Island by means of the expedition trucks they encounter visually stunning bugs, dinosaurs, and eventually a life-like King Kong himself. Even though Kong is larger than life, he looks downright real. The emotion that is seen in his face is so amazing that some people are not even sure that it’s just another computer-animated creature on a screen. Practical planning tips:
5. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-ManThe Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is an indoor adventure 3D simulator ride. It combines special roving motion vehicles with 3D projection, elaborate physical sets, and tactile effects. Park guests are turned into reporters of the Daily Bugle and board a ride vehicle known as the “Scoop”. Upon boarding, riders learn that the Sinister Syndicate has captured the Statue of Liberty with an anti-gravity gun. As Spider-Man fends off the enemy, the ride climaxes as Doctor Octopus lifts the Scoop ride vehicle up and ‘releases it’ to simulate a 400-foot freefall. Though the vehicle never actually leaves the ground, a number of synchronized effects including a movable building set, lighting cues, simulator movements, and wind effects make this experience feel real. In fact, in addition to Spider-Man’s motion base and 3D projections, the special effects of fog machines, fire, wind, heat, mist, strobe lights, and water spray are what make this ride so memorable! Practical planning tips:
Additional planning tip: After reading about the Islands of Adventure top rides, check out our Universal Studios Touring Plan! Both parks provide for a similar ride experience that you will never forget! 6. Jurassic Park River AdventureJurassic Park River Adventure is one of Island of Adventure’s original headliner attractions. It is also one of our personal favorite rides! In the River Adventure, guests board 25-passenger tour boats for an aquatic ride through the grounds of Jurassic Park. The scenery is so realistic that it feels as if you’re in a Jurassic Park movie! Everything is calm as the tour begins while floating among large herbivore dinosaurs, prehistoric-looking plants, and peaceful geysers. As part of the storyline, something goes horribly wrong, however, and your tour boat is nudged off course. After floating through a dangerous raptor facility and being introduced to several scary, life-like dinosaurs, riders eventually come face-to-face with a gigantic T-Rex! Afterward, the ride comes to an end after an 85-foot escape plunge into the river below! Practical planning tips:
7. Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat-BargesBilge-Rat Barges seats 10 riders at a time as they float down the man-made canyon of gushing rapids, waterfalls, turns, and dips. Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat-Barges is a classic whitewater rapids raft ride during which you are sure to get wet. What makes Popeye’s one of the best rides at Islands of Adventure is that it is a full 7-minutes long. Also, as a water ride, it is a welcomed way to beat the Florida heat. Beware, as every rider will get wet! Practical planning tips:
Best Rides at Islands of Adventure: Universal Express PassThere is no denying that when the Islands of Adventure crowd calendar predicts moderate to high crowds, the waiting in lines can become incredibly draining and time-consuming. To help offset time spent standing in lines, Islands of Adventure allows you to add Universal Express access to your theme park admission. This is especially helpful when trying to experience all of the best rides at Universal’s Islands of Adventure as they typically have the longest lines. Here’s how it works. Universal Express is an all-day pass that allows you to skip the regular lines – and use a special Express Pass line – at select Universal attractions. If you are staying on-site at one of Universal’s premier resort hotels, Universal Express Unlimited is free for every day of your visit. Your room key is scanned and serves as the Express Pass when getting on rides. If you are not staying on-site and wish to purchase Universal Express passes, the cost varies by day and expected crowds. So during peak times, prices will be higher. Current prices can be found on the Universal Orlando Resort website. Additional planning tip: Universal Express is separate from regular admission. In other words, you must purchase BOTH an Islands of Adventure base ticket along with an Express Pass add-on. It’s easiest to buy Express passes online. You can also buy them at the entrance gates and throughout all three parks at dozens of locations. Best Rides at Islands of Adventure: Single Rider LineIf you are traveling along or are willing to be temporarily separated from your travel party, consider hopping into the single rider line at select Islands of Adventure rides. This time-saving option is open to all Universal Orlando guests at no extra charge, and many find that the single rider line is often just as fast as the Express Pass line. As a single rider, you’ll wait in a separate queue and are then slipped into vacant seats left by large groups. The speed of the single rider line is dependent on the flow of odd-numbered parties through the queues, so the wait time can be extremely unpredictable. Another thing to note is that single rider lines open at the discretion of the ride attendants, and may temporarily close if crowds are very light. Single rider lines are almost always available at the following attractions:
In addition, Islands of Adventure will sometimes offer single rider access at Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls and Jurassic Park River Adventure. Best Rides at Islands of Adventure: Child SwapYounger riders may need to skip one of the best rides at Islands of Adventure because they are either not tall enough or they do not want to go. The Islands of Adventure Child Swap program allows families with small children to experience rides without splitting up or waiting in line twice. In other words, someone waits with the young child while the other parent/person rides the ride, and then the two adults switch places. This gives everyone else in the party an opportunity to hop on the attraction without having to go through the queue all over again. To use, inform the attendant stationed in front of the ride’s entrance that you would like to use Child Swap. Additional planning tip: It is important to request Child Swap before you enter the queue because each attraction handles it a little differently. For instance, some rides feature separate air-conditioned Child Swap rooms with a TV, while others simply have designated Child Swap areas or separate lines. Rider Swap is available at the following attractions at Universal’s Islands of Adventure:
If you liked reading about the best rides at Islands of Adventure, continue planning your Universal Orlando vacation here:Universal Orlando Touring Plans:
Universal Orlando Tips:
Universal Orlando Rides:
*Before leaving, be sure to check our Travel Resources Page to find exclusive travel discounts and to book hotels, rental cars, and guided tours.* TAGS Which rides are better Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure?It is important to know that although Islands of Adventure has slightly more rides than shows, Universal Studios Florida does have more shows than rides. If you are contemplating Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios for adults, then you would consider Islands of Adventure more.
What is the funnest ride at Universal Studios?The Jurassic World VelociCoaster is the best ride at Universal Orlando Resort and quite possibly the best roller coaster in any Florida theme park. The attraction opened on June 10, 2021, and is located in the Jurassic Park section of Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park.
Is it better to go to Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios first?The truth is it really doesn't matter which park you visit first. There isn't an advantage to starting your day with one park over the other. However, it comes down to the rides that you want to do the most.
Is Harry Potter better at Universal or Islands of Adventure?When it comes to which Harry Potter park is better at Universal, Diagon Alley in Islands of Adventure is the clear winner. They have more shops, more merchandise, and the fun of trading your money for Gringotts bank notes. Plus, the younger kids will love the stuffed animals at the Magical Menagerie!
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Best rides at universal studios and islands of adventure
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