With the size of this park, it is hard to know what the best rides at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure are. There is no shortage of food to try, rides to ride and entertainment to see in this park.
This is why it is important to do your research before your trip! That way you don't miss out on anything when you are there.
Luckily, we have put together a guide for you to learn all about this park and what it offers!
Here's the scoop on the 16 best rides at Universal Islands of Adventure!
1. Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster
First up on our list of the best rides is the high speed Incredible Hulk coaster. This ride is one of the most popular attractions at Universal Studios Florida.
This roller coaster begins by shooting you out of a tube at a high speed! Then you weave around the track doing loops that go upside down! This is the perfect ride for thrill-seekers and one of my personal favorites.
2. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
This Wizarding World of Harry Potter ride is an amazing and unique experience.
In this attraction, your ride vehicle is a motorbike with a sidecar. This thrill ride makes you feel as though you are actually flying through the wizarding world.
Hagrid's Motorbikes' are relatively new to the park and one of the most unique rides in all of Universal.
3. The Forbidden Journey
The second of the Harry Potter rides on this list is an immersive experience flying around inside the Hogwarts Castle. During this dark ride, you soar through the grounds of Hogwarts and even enter the Forbidden Forest in one of the most immersive experiences in the whole park.
This ride is perfect for fans of the franchise as there are many locations and characters within the ride that they will recognize! However, even if you are not a Harry Potter fan it is still a fun ride to experience.
4. Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a comic book based ride that is chalked full of amazing special effects. The whole family will surely enjoy this ride as you feel like you are really swinging through New York City with Spider-Man!
This ride features 3D glasses that heighten the experience as your favorite villains terrorize New York. This ride also offers a single rider line so you can get on it faster if you are by yourself!
5. Jurassic World Velocicoaster
Another great option on our list of the 16 best rides at Universal Islands of Adventure is The Jurassic World Velocicoaster.
This is a great ride for older kids and adults. It is one of the most popular rides in the Universal Parks. For that reason, the wait for this ride is usually long but it is definitely worth it!
6. Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls is the perfect ride to go on if you want to cool off! This is one of the best water rides in Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
You will be sure to enjoy sailing in your log flume through this Toon Lagoon attraction!
7. Jurassic Park River Adventure
The Jurassic Park River Adventure ride is perfect for fans of the movies. It is one of the most popular attractions in the amusement park due to the homage it pays to the movie and the big drop it features at the end.
Even if you haven't seen the movies it is still worth a ride. Just be prepared to get wet!
8. Skull Island: Reign of Kong
Skull Island Reign of Kong is a ride that features the famous King Kong. Even if you are not a King Kong fan, this ride is still worth the experience!
This thrill ride is also a trackless dark ride. During this ride, you will be equipped with 3D glasses to enhance the experience.
This is a motion simulator ride so be sure to keep that in mind if you tend to get motion sickness.
9. Doctor Doom's Fearfall
Next on our list of the best Islands of Adventure rides is Doctor Doom's Fearfall. This classic drop ride is perfect if you are looking for a thrill.
10. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish can be found in Seuss Landing. This Dr. Seuss inspired ride is excellent for younger kids!
11. Storm Force Accelatron
The Storm Force Accelatron ride can be found in Marvel Super Hero Island. On this ride, you spin the cart around and around to summon Storm's power.
12. The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!
The Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride is perfect for young kids and is more relaxing than the other rides in the park. You will love getting a bird's eye view of Suess Landing on this attraction. Just be sure to check the height requirement first!
13. Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges
Next on our list of the best rides at Universal Islands of Adventure is Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. This ride is so much fun but if it is your first time riding just know that you will be soaked by the end of the ride!
14. Flight of the Hippogriff
The Flight of the Hippogriff is an outdoor rollercoaster that takes you around Hagrid's hut. As with any Harry Potter-themed ride in the theme parks be prepared for the long lines to get on the ride.
However, this ride is worth it as you soar through the air on Buckbeak's back. This ride is fun for all ages too!
15. Caro-Seuss-el
This Universal's Islands ride is mostly for young kids but it is a great place to see your favorite characters from Dr. Seuss' works. You can ride on Horton from Horton Hears A Who or you can ride on the Lorax!
Suess Landing is a great stop for people who grew up reading Dr. Suess' stories! Who wouldn't want to see the whimsical land of Dr. Seuss brought to life?
16. Pteranodon Flyers
Another ride for young children that is enjoyable for anyone! This is the best place to do some sightseeing from above.
Other Things To Do
In Universals Islands of Adventure, there is plenty of non-ride-related activities to do.
You can head over to Hogsmeade to see the Hogwarts castle or to shop in the wizarding shops! Here, you can pick up your wand or attend the show to see if you are chosen.
Additionally, you can also eat at the Three Broomsticks or The Leaky Cauldron. Both of these restaurants have seating and plenty of food options to choose from. You can also pick up a butter beer here or at one of the kiosks outside.
You can also pick up an interactive wand and cast spells throughout Hogsmeade! This adds an extra layer of magic to your day as you are weaving out of the many shops.
Hogsmeade is also where you will find Honeydukes which is where you can buy delicious candy and sweet treats!
In this park, there are also plenty of other restaurants to eat at and stores to visit. If you wanted a break from Hogsmeade you could eat at the Mythos restaurant in the Lost Continent. You could also visit the Mystic Fountain while you're there as well!
If you are a superhero fan there is also the Marvel Character Dinner and Captain America diner. At the Marvel Character Dinner, you can meet your favorite superheroes and take some cool pictures!
At the entrance of this park, they have a Christmas shop that is set up all year round! If you are a Christmas fanatic then this is the perfect place to go!
Once you get to Marvel's Super Hero Island there are a variety of stores where you can pick up your superhero merchandise for your favorite characters!
This park also has some great shows like Poseidon's Fury in the Lost Continent. This show features fire, and waves as you explore the ruins of Posideon's Temple.
Universal Studios Orlando
If you choose to hop on the Hogwarts Express and head over to Universal Studios Orlando then there are a few things that you should make sure to do!
The first thing you should do when you get off of the Hogwarts Express is, go to Diagon Alley! There you can ride Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts. While this ride is not in the Islands of Adventure, you can easily hop on the Hogwarts Express to get over to Universal Studios Orlando.
This thrilling ride is the main attraction in Diagon Alley! However, there is also plenty of shops to go into and food and drinks to try. The best part about it is that everything is themed!
Diagon Alley has many Harry Potter-themed shops that you can go in to get merchandise, food, drinks, and all of your other wizarding goods! In Diagon Alley, you can get Butter Beer Ice Cream at the ice cream shop there as well as a variety of other themed non-alcoholic or alcoholic drinks!
I would recommend getting an interactive wand so you can try your hand at casting spells around Diagon Alley!
Universal Studios also has Revenge of the Mummy which is an amazing indoor roller coaster. This ride is one of the best things in the park and many people's favorite ride!
Another great ride option on the list of Universal Studios rides is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. The best part of this Universal Studios Hollywood ride is that you get to listen to music during the ride! The ride features a variety of great songs for you to choose from.
Additionally, you can race through New York on the New York Starring Jimmy Fallon ride or you can fight aliens on Men in Black: Alien Attack. If you want to see some of your favorite characters you can also ride, The Simpsons ride, E.T. Adventure, or the Transformers ride where you can see Optimus Prime up close!
Universal Citywalk
If you don't want to ride on any more rides there is plenty to do on the Universal Citywalk! You could fill an entire park with the number of stores, restaurants, and entertainment that Universal offers there.
Not only are there plenty of Universal-themed stores but there are also regular stores that you would find in a shopping mall. This is the perfect place to go if you are sick of all of those long wait times in the park.
As an added bonus, since you don't buy your park tickets until you get further into the park, you can go to the CityWalk without a theme park ticket!
If you are over twenty-one, the Citywalk also has a variety of clubs and bars that you can go to. As a bonus, the CityWalk stays open after the park closes!
The CityWalk also has a movie theater so you can get out of the heat and see the newest attractions.
In terms of food, they have everything that you could possibly want there. However, going to Voodoo Doughnut is a must as this is the only place where you can get these delicious treats!
What You Should Bring For A Day In Universal
The most important thing to remember about universal is that they don't allow backpacks on most of the rides. This means that if you want to avoid renting a locker you should invest in a fanny pack before your trip to hold off of your belongings!
There are plenty of fanny packs to choose from online or in stores so you will be able to find one that works with your style.
Secondly, you should make sure that you are wearing good walking shoes. You will be spending most of your day either standing in a line or walking around the parks.
Next, you may want to consider getting a lanyard to hold your universal park pass. It is important that you put the physical copy somewhere so that you won't lose it.
Additionally, I would recommend wearing a hat when you are in the parks. This could be a bucket hat, a baseball cap, or a sun hat! The important thing is to wear something that will keep the sun from beating down on your face.
Next, you should make sure to bring a good pair of sunglasses for your park day. The Florida sun can be brutal so you want to make sure that you are setting yourself up for success.
The same can be said for the next item: sunblock! You should always put on sunblock before heading to the parks especially if you are going during the summer.
If your fanny pack can fit it, I would also bring some sunblock with you to the parks so that you can reapply. Nothing is worse than getting a bad sunburn on vacation!
Depending on how big your fanny pack is and how overheated you tend to get I would also invest in a cooling towel for your trip. These are activated with water and help to keep your neck cool while you are walking around.
Lastly, make sure that you wear clothes that are comfortable for you to walk in. I would recommend exercise shorts and a loose-fitting shirt.
Keep in mind that you will most likely be sweating a lot so you don't want to wear clothes that have a tendency to stick to your skin or retain heat.
We hope you enjoyed this complete guide to the best rides at Universal Islands of Adventure! Whether you are planning to go to the newest attraction or just enjoy the perks of the Universal Orlando Resort you are sure to have an amazing time.
So get out there and enjoy yourself!
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