Universal Islands of Adventure Bucket List

It’s time for my final bucket list for my upcoming trip to Florida!

At the time of writing this post, it’s just over a week until we fly out to Orlando and spend two weeks in the theme park capital of the world.

Today we’re talking all about Universal Islands of Adventure; the second gate at Universal Orlando Resort.

I think out of the two Universal parks in Florida (I’m not including Epic Universe as that’s not opened yet!), Islands of Adventure is home to the rides I am excited to ride the most, but at the same time I feel like I don’t know much about this park. I’m excited to explore and to see what the parks has to offer.

Rides

VelociCoaster

The ride I am looking forward to getting on the most at Islands of Adventure is VelociCoaster.

I am a big fan of launch coasters and Intamin does them particularly well. But this rollercoaster is so much more than just a launch coaster. It features 4 inversions, a top hat and overall just looks stunning!

Incredible Hulk

Another coaster I am excited to ride is Incredible Hulk. Bolliger and Mabillard are one my favourite rollercoaster manufacturers (Galactica at Alton Towers is one of my favourite rides ever!), and I’m particularly excited to ride it as it features a launched lift hill and 7 inversions.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

Once I’ve had enough of inversions for the day, I’ll be heading for a ride on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan, but every Harry Potter ride I have been on so far has been amazing. And from what I’ve seen and heard about Hagrid’s I know I’m going to love this ride.

I’m all for coasters where you don’t sit in a conventional coaster train (which is why I’m so excited for TRON in Magic Kingdom), but I do think there might be an argument between myself and my partner over who sits on the bike and who sits in the sidecar!

Flight of the Hippogriff

I actually rode Flight of the Hippogriff in Universal Studios Hollywood back in 2019. However, the Islands of Adventure version is 16 years older and manufactured Vekoma and not Mack. So technically it’s a completely different ride!

But regardless, I want to ride Flight of the Hippogriff in Islands of Adventure just so I can get the coaster credit for doing so!

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

I’m going to be honest; I have no idea what this ride is! I know it’s not a coaster but apart from that I’m clueless. I’ve not watched a single POV! But that’s all part of the fun, right!

Skull Island: Reign of Kong

I’m not totally sure what this ride is but I think it might be similar to the King Kong part of the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood, which is quite enjoyed.

Food & Drink

When it comes to food and drink, I’m not too sure what Islands of Adventure have to offer. I’ve done some research and there are a few things that stand out to me, but I am very much open to recommendations if you have any. I’m not a fussy eater so please leave your suggestions in the comments.

The items that stood out to me and I would like to try are:

Green Eggs & Ham Tots
Foot long corn dog
Pizza Croffle from Croissant Moon Bakery

Other

While the Universal Studios Florida definitely seems like the best park to go to out of the two for shows and entertainment, there are a few other activities I’d like to do while visiting Islands of Adventure:

Get a photo with the Pharos Lighthouse.
Explore Hogsmeade.
Explore the Lost Continent.
Visit the Jurassic Park Discovery Center.
Watch Hogwarts Always (if it’s on, but I think we might be too early in the season!).

Have you visited Universal Islands of Adventure before? Do you have any recommendations for me?

Check out the other posts in this series:

Credits

The image used in this post is from Joshuel Espinoza on Unsplash.