Just the 10 of Us...The Brown Family's Trip to WDW!- Day 2 (Islands of Adventure)

[cjb121879]

We’d agreed that we’d be up early in order to beat both crowds and heat and everyone stuck to that- kind of. We were out the door only 30 minutes later than scheduled and on our way to Islands of Adventure! My mom, my sister and I were last here in 2004 so we’d seen both Islands and the Studios fairly recently. However, everyone else had either never been, or were there last in 1991. So Islands were completely new for them and the Studios were “like new”. Walking through the park and back to Spiderman, I realized I’d forgotten how pretty this park was. I loved the slightly Arabian Nights feel of certain parts.

Spiderman was the first ride of the day and the lines were only around 25 minutes. What can I say but “awesome”! Everyone loved it (except my niece) and that scene which makes you feel like you’re climbing up a skyscraper and then falling down? Wow! In short order, we also did Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges, Jurassic Park River Adventure (this is awesome! The T-rex scared us to death!), etc. I don’t think anything was more than 30 minutes except Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges which we hit at the hottest point of the day- the wait was 75 minutes! I pooh-poohed that and took my niece over to Seuss Landing where she had a ball! She loved the “Caro-Seuss-el” and there was even a little interactive place where she could squirt water and run through little pools to get her feet wet (alright, I confess, I got my feet wet too!). The area even had little quotes and fun things from the Seuss books. It was very cute. The rest of the family met us there and after behaving like 5 year olds for a few minutes, we all got on the Cat in the Hat (minimal wait and air conditioning- aaahhh!). We then all got on the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. It was a nice break and it even went inside on a track overlooking the circus themed counter service meal place. However, we were stalled midway through the ride on a track high above the park. We were stopped for about ten minutes and I was starting to get antsy what with the height and the lack of any substantial railing beside the train. The kids were pretty entertained though because they could see some sort of stunt show taking place on the lagoon across the park. Finally, the train started to move and we chugged into the station. Everyone was pretty beat around this time and we slowly made our way out of the park. BTW, the thing I like least about Universal? The time it takes to walk from the parking lot, up or down escalators, across a gazillion moving walkways, through CityWalk and then over to the park of your choice- the Studios or Islands. It becomes a real pain when retracing your steps at the end of the day and all you want to do is fall into your car. However, we had a great time on this day. We did everything we wanted to do, tried Universal’s meal deal (My opinion? Don’t do it. I generally don’t eat twice in a park in one day and you need to eat at least twice to make it worth your while. The participating locations are also too limited), and had plenty of time to stop and smell the roses (or ride Spiderman twice) before leaving around 7pm.

Tomorrow- The Studios!

If you are interested in the Disney portion of this trip (Days 1, 4, 5, 6 & 7), check the Vacation Planning forum, Trip Report board.

[gauvin4]

BTW, the thing I like least about Universal? The time it takes to walk from the parking lot, up or down escalators, across a gazillion moving walkways, through CityWalk and then over to the park of your choice- the Studios or Islands. It becomes a real pain when retracing your steps at the end of the day and all you want to do is fall into your car.

It's been a few years since I've been there but I remember this very well. But it sounds like you had a great day. Thanks for the report.

[dolphinmickey9170]

I miss US....maybe we'll get to again soon.

[DizNee143]

sounds like you had a nice day there...i have yet to go to Universal...sounds like fun though!

[NJGIRL]

We also like Universal and go each time we are in Florida. My son loves the Jurassic Park Play area. He would stay in that all day if we would let him.

[TINKERBELL_82]

Getting out of US is a bit of a pain, but it sounds like you guys had a blast anyway!

[chrisb26]

Sounds like you had fun at IOA I also really like the studios however I think I like US more then IOA but I also have to agree with you that is a very very long walk back to your car. It is even worse at the end of the day when your already tired. But glad you had fun at IOA!