Special Islands of Adventure Report - 10 Years On

When I first visited Islands of Adventure 10 years ago I don't think I could have been more impressed in any way. The rides were top class, the theming was second-to-none and the whole atmosphere in the park I thought was fantastic. I'll always remember the first time I went on Spiderman and how totally and utterly blown away I was. The two water rides: Ripsaw Falls and Popeye's Barges were in a league of their own compared to similar rides I'd been on before, and the whole queue and ride of Dueling Dragons was exceptional. Not to mention the Hulk, Jurassic Park and Poseidon's Fury.

So what has changed in the last 10 years at IOA? Many people criticised Universal for the lack of updates to the park. There were rumours of B&M Flying Coasters (similar to Manta at SeaWorld) which never came to fruition. This, of course, all changed when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was announced, and what an addition to an already great theme park this is. In my opinion it is one of the greatest theme park projects ever devised, both from a financial and customer perspective. Universal are already reaping the rewards, while Disney (despite the fact they say otherwise) must have been annoyed J.K. Rowling wasn't an Imagineer when she came up with the Harry Potter idea.

Despite the obvious creation of "Harry Potter Land", what else has changed at Islands of Adventure? The Hulk has certainly not aged well, and the quicker they can give her a new lick of paint the better. The launch still delivers a punch, and the first half is still a tremendous bit of roller coaster engineering. The lapbars installed on Dudley Do Right are a bit of an inconvenience, and detract from the overall ride experience slightly. It is also currently out of action due to a fire on one of the roofs, with an unknown date of return currently. I would love to see a total refurbishment of the ride to bring it back to its former glory, as it seems to have fallen behind other rides in the park. The animatronics are anything but great for Universal standards, but the final drop on this ride is special; it just seems to get steeper and steeper AND steeper.

We finally got to see the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride which many feared would never open. Triceratops Encounter/ Triceratops Discovery Trail is now no longer with us permanently, but keeps opening during peak season to increase park capacity. We have also lost the fantastic queue line of Dueling Dragons. Touted as one of the best queue lines in the world, the sheer amount of walking you did to get to the ride once inside the castle I always found slightly hilarious, but the way it builds up the atmosphere and story is outstanding, and is the one negative the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has had on the park.

We've also seen the introduction of Halloween Horror Nights into IOA since 2002, with their popularity increasing every year.

Where can Universal take IOA from here? There are rumours circulating about the expansion of the Wizarding World, with talks of an indoor coaster occupying the current Poseidon's Fury building. One thing is for sure, if it does take another 10 years and is half as good as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it will still be deemed a success.

IOA 10 years on - not an awful lot of change

Pictures courtesy of Coasterforce.com