Islands of Adventure is one of the best theme parks on earth, and certainly the best park in Florida. Five "islands" are clustered around a central lagoon. Each island has its own unique and meticulously detailed theme. The completeness of themeing is incredible, every last detail was thought of.
MARVEL SUPERHERO ISLAND:
This is the best island ride-wise. It is themed as a comic book city, with superheroes around every corner. There are themed shops and restaurants, and a spinning family ride called the Storm Force Accelatron. The major attractions are:
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk is one of the best steel coasters on earth. It is a very smooth and relatively long ride. The opening sequence is amazing: you start out heading slowly uphill, and suddenly an alarm sounds and you blast up the launch tube at 40mph, twisting upside down into the blinding daylight before diving to the lagoon below.
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
Spiderman is without a doubt the most technologically advanced thrill ride of all time. You sit in motion vehicles and follow spiderman as he battles villains. It's amazing how realistic it is, everything from explosions to blowing wind and water effects are used to make it a completely believeable experience. At one point, you even feel as if shattering glass is falling on you. The finale is absolutely amazing: You are shot with a "levitation gun", and rise 40 stories(a truly seemless illusion). What goes up must come down, and the simulated 400ft free-fall is shockingly realistic. It's not uncommon to hear people screaming as the pavement below rushes up to meet you.
Dr.Doom's Fearfall
This is a shorter and lesser attraction than Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk, but it still packs a punch. You launch upwards nearly 200ft in the air and fall back down before bouncing to a stop.
TOON LAGOON:
Toon Lagoon is where most of the water rides are, so it's very popular on hot days. It looks like a town straight out of the Sunday comics, and every ride is themed accordingly. Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls is a drenching log flume/coaster combo, and Popeye's Bildge Rat Barges is a fast moving river rapids ride.
JURASSIC PARK:
Out of all of the themed islands, the attention to detail is most astounding in Jurassic Park. The ever present background score from the movie ties everthing together. The discovery center is an exact copy of the one in the movie, and the Triceratops Encounter features a huge robotic Triceratops. But the main attraction here is the Jurassic Park River Adventure. It starts out as a gentle ride past dinosaurs, but suddenly you're knocked off track by a submerged Hadrosaur. You head into a huge maintenance building where you are attacked by vicious Raptors. Suddenly you see a huge T-rex directly infront of you, but at the last second you plummet 80ft into a pool of water, barely escaping the T-rex's jaws. Jurassic Park also features a kid's playground with a single rail roller coaster called the Pterodactyl Flyers, but adults are not allowed to ride.
SUESS LANDING:
Another amazingly themed island. You'll enter the world of Dr. Suess, with rides such as The Caro-Suess-el; One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish; and The Cat in the Hat. Every December it is transformed into "Grinchmas".
THE LOST CONTINENT:
A magical island of myths. This is probably the largest island, with several sprawling attractions. You'll encounter talking fountains, dueling dragons, Sinbad, and many other mythical creatures and characters. The major attractions are:
Poseidon's Fury
Poseidon's Fury is an interesting walk through attraction. You are led into the Kingdom of Atlantis through a water tunnel (where you walk over a bridge with rushing water on all sides- an amazing effect). There you witness a battle between Zues and Poseidon, with water geysers and explosions surrounding you. A surprise ending to the show leaves you wondering how they pulled it off.
Flying Unicorn
This is a small family coaster that has a few fast turns. It has a whimsical station and queue line.
Dueling Dragons
Possibly the most elaborate roller coaster ever built. Two inverted coasters (The Ice Dragon and the Fire Dragon)battle each other in a medieval forest and over a lagoon. The two dragons come within 18 inches of each other at 3 different points on the ride.
You enter underneath statues of the dragons, and walk through an elaborately detailed and immense castle.
The Fire Dragon is the more intense of the two rides, especially the back seat. There's a decent amount of airtime on the big camelback hill, and strong positive G-forces in the helix after the immelman. The Ice Dragon seems to have better visuals, like the cobra roll that scrapes the castle walls. Both sides offer frightening close encounters.
