Park Review
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Orlando, Florida
The Place: Islands of Adventure
There�s no end To the things you might know, Depending how far Beyond Zebra you go!� Dr. Seuss, On Beyond Zebra Now, many people have said I do not like theme parks. For the most part that is really not the case. I do not mind theming when it is done well. As I have said many times - Warner Brothers backlot, DC Comics Plaza, etc. equals bad theming and theme concepts. But Seuss Landing and Lost Continent? In a word, amazing. Feeling like I was back in Nashville, we squeezed three in the cab of Bill�s radio-less truck at the hotel. Mark jumped in the backseat (the only thing missing was someone�s toothless cousin) and it was off to the lighthouse. The last time I was at IOA I only rode Hulk, Dueling Dragons and Jurassic Park, so in many ways this was like a first visit. We bailed out of the white machine, headed over to the entrance, where the staff handed out Hawaiian paraphernalia, and waited about 20 minutes until the gates opened. The people moved forward and it was on to Hulk (Bolliger & Mabillard, 1999, sit-down looper). The queue line is one of the best-themed coaster lines I have seen, but I have not waited in it yet! We walked on to the train and were on the first one out in the front seat. I only rode in the back last time, so the view of the tires was pretty neat. Although not as fast as some others, the launch up Hulk�s lift is still one of my favorites, and the corkscrew at the top is just icing on the cake. Down into one of my favorite cobra rolls and that great loop and tunnel. After this point, however, the ride loses some punch and falls into that old coaster clich� of �the first half sizzles, the second half fizzles.� No, this does not mean that Hulk is a bad ride. Simply that it does not have a good punch all the way through (Kumba remains my favorite sit-down looper in the state, Scorpion is second and Hulk is third). The trains are still some of the coolest out there. After our first ride we took one more in the back, which is still my favorite seat on the train. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman was next. Now, for the most part I do not like simulators. In fact, Back to the Future was the only one that had ever made me want to climb on again (and on my last ride on that, a friend had a severe hangover and almost did the Technicolor yawn in the Delorean - but that�s another story). Most simulators seem to merely imitate life (i.e. a ride on a coaster, flying, etc.), things I can experience at the park I already paid to get into (by really riding a roller coaster, riding the drop ride, etc.). So Spiderman, especially with all the hype surrounding it, had to live up to some rather lofty expectations. We walked quickly through the queue (which was not a problem, as I had waited 45 minutes for the ride on my last visit - only for it to break down), and after waiting a few minutes, grabbed our glasses and boarded the �scoop� in the front seat. We were released and the show started. One thing I noticed immediately was that ride vehicle positioned itself so riders could not see the track (I think I only saw it once during the ride), which helps create the out of control feeling. I will not go through every trick in Spiderman, but let me say that the experience as a whole blew me away. It was immersive, had a good storyline (even for someone like myself who does not like comics and is only reminded of Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons when they are mentioned) and the in-your-face scenes are very hard to get used to. I jumped a lot on the first ride, as things like looking down the barrel of a gun, albeit an animated one, was very hard to get used to. Spiderman is a credit to those who built it, a multi-sensory experience that delights and wows. What works are the little things like the water droplets on passengers� faces, the heat from the flaming Jack-o-Lantern and this very cool tidbit, which I found at http://www.islandsofadventure.com:
224-1783. When the ride first opened, calls to that number with the local 407 area code found an answering machine message explaining how the theater is closed due to the Sinister Syndicate and will remain that way until Spiderman remedies the situation. Sadly, the number has since been disconnected.� In the end, the people who built Spiderman, much like the people behind the park, seemed to care that I had a good and thrilling experience. Although amazing, I do wonder if Spiderman will have the same �get me back in line!� feeling it does now in a few years. I guess only time will tell. One of the world�s most elaborately themed space shots sat next door, so we decided to walk on (literally!). Dr. Doom�s Fear Fall (S&S Power, 1999, Space Shot), like the rest of the park, has a great queue that I did not get to appreciate. On my last visit, I sat in the seats, got locked in and waited for ten excruciating minutes as the rig rose slightly then malfunctioned. I say excruciating because this would have been my first space shot (I waited until Cedar Point later that year). This time, the doors opened and there were no problems. Again, I was amazed that the seats had little things like spikes on the bottom of the OTSRs, a small pod over rider�s heads (like on an electric chair) and a neat cloud of fog through which the rig was launched. Aside from the theming, this was the best pop of airtime I have received on the S&S shots I have been on (Cedar Point, Dorney, Park and Six Flags New England). Something from going up to (roughly) 200 feet in a matter of seconds still manages to amaze me. After grabbing a cheeseburger and beer, it was through the wonderfully themed Toon Lagoon to Dudley Do-Right�s Ripsaw Falls (Mack, 1999, Log Flume). The toon area was one where I just wish I had had the time to paw through every nook and cranny to check out the theming. Because time was short, we hopped in the queue, where I again encountered the same problem. I wanted to ride this numerous times to appreciate what the designers had done. The queue seemed to go on forever, passing mounted heads that talked, detailed �wooden� handrails and television sets showing our hero versus the evil Snidely Whiplash. We decided to split up, in part because Eric did not want to get wet (worked well, huh Eric?), so Bill & I boarded first. Again, I do not remember all the details, but there were several high points. One were the jokes that were all over the ride. Signs that seem to have come right out of the cartoon told countless bad puns that had me, a lover of old cartoons & bad jokes, rolling. Instead of using traditional belts, Mack likes the chain lift to raise their boats up the hills. This works well for me because Universal did a great job keeping the story going throughout the entire ride. This means that even up the chain lifts there was action around us to keep a sense of forward motion going, and I forgot that there was a break in the action. There were two good drops, one in complete darkness, but neither compared to the final one. After Snidley�s bombs exploded around the boat, we got massive air as we flew down the hill. My hands came down as the log flew under a shed and up over the airtime hop. Wow! Mark said it best - we need more Mack flumes. Another great experience that gives a good, albeit wet, time. Oh, Eric? He came off soaked.
While wet, we headed to what I consider the best white
water raft built today (my former favorite was the wet
romp through the Connecticut countryside at Lake
Compounce). Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges were
not intimidating, but before we got on, Mark did say
that Dudley do-Right was nothing compared this and
that Barr (who have worked on some of the wettest
water rides out there) were involved. When we entered
the station there was no one there, simply four people
getting out of a boat - and they were drenched from
head to toe. Our op pointed the way to our boat (made
by a company at IAAPA, but whose name I forget) and we
boarded. One of the smartest features was made
readily evident at the beginning. In the middle of
the tub there were spots for personal items that could
be covered and kept dry. After exiting the station,
the raft picked up speed and never stopped. Two
things amazed me about this rapids ride - how fast they
moved through the trough and how long the ride is.
The boat moves down course at a great speed with
constant spinning, which assures everyone gets wet.
Again, between the fact that it was nighttime and we
only did it once (for good reason), here are a few
memorable moments: We disembarked soaked & a little cold and headed over to Jurassic Park and the JP River Adventure. This shoot-the-chutes is probably my least favorite water attraction at IOA. It does not get you very wet and the story, while fun, barely pulled me in the first time, and did not enthrall me at all on this trip. There was a good drop at the ride�s end, except for where Bill and I banged our knees on the boat at the bottom of the drop. Some more beer and on to one of Vekoma�s best coasters (no lie!) Flying Unicorn (Vekoma, 2000, custom roller skater). The station for this large roller skater was done better than many stations that house much larger coasters. It had beautiful chandeliers that flickered in the nighttime sky and ran two trains (unlike a certain other roller coaster which we will get to later). It was fast for its size, and I feel it is always nice to have a mid-sized coaster for the little ones in the family, especially at a park that has three other monster-sized machines. Now it was time to experience the coaster that most love and few hate, that awesome piece of machinery called Dueling Dragons (Bolliger & Mabillard, 1999, Inverted Dueling). The queue entrance is still intimidating, especially tonight when they were not using it and we had to figure our own way through the exit line. As many others said, the big �no-no� was using one train on each track. Lines hovered between 15 and 45 minutes that night, kind of a shame since the park had virtually no lines and ran two trains when it was open to the GP during the daytime. You know the layout, so I will not go into that. But I am even more blown away by fire than on my last visit. It has earned a spot in Adam�s top tier because that coaster is just so good. I am still amazed that everyone seems to downtalk Ice Dragon like they do. I have to think at least part of that is because of what it has to compete with. Sure, Ice Dragon is no Fire, but I do think it is one of the better inverteds I have experienced. Because of lines, we took only three rides on the dragons that night, one in Fire�s backseat, one in Ice�s middle and another in Fire�s back. One of the best drops out there backed by the best Immelman, which leads into the airtime hill and the sweet, sweet inversion without a name. I do not know what this is, but the airtime/laterals combination is just awesome. Definitely one of Walter & Claude�s best contraptions to date. I just want to ride it so much more! Still working our way around the park, it was time for a bathroom break and Poseidon�s Fury (yes, in that order). As someone who never watches shows, I was a little unsure about PF, but everyone who had seen it assured me that A) it was not really a show, and B) it was damn good, which was good enough for me. The pillars surrounding the attraction�s entrance are massive, as if they had been there for many years. The preshow was long and drawn out (i.e. boring), but it was worth it once the show started. The effects were dazzling, such as the door opening into a tunnel of water, the room turning into a huge stage (and back again) and it had a good story to tie things together. This is just another reason why IOA is a family theme park that offers everyone something to do. People who do not like rides (and even those who do) will be wowed by what this attraction has to offer. It really bothered me that I never got on the Carousseusel (Morgan, 1999, animated carousel) or anything from Seuss landing during my first trip, so I was like a kid wanting to get on this thing. Stepping back from the carousel building one sees zany spinning objects and even Horton, perhaps hearing his Who, looking out on the whole of Seuss landing. I hopped on next to Bill and, after waiting a bit to make sure everyone got on, the carousel started to spin at a good rate. Morgan created some magic with this ride because, for those of you who have not seen it, each individual character has a piece that can be moved by the rider - in my case it was the nose, which moved by a lever that was on the neck. Amusement parks are about bringing magic to life, and I can think of few rides that combine childlike whimsy and curiosity together as they do on the Carosseussel; it is arguably the best fiberglass carousel ever built. I also applaud the designers of IOA for remembering that every park, no matter what the size, needs a carousel of some sort. Another beer was enjoyed, and it was off to One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Zierer, 1999, circular flat with effects). If you know the words, sing it with me, �One Fish, Red Fish - Up, Up, Up. Two Fish, Blue Fish - Down, Down, Down.� For those of you (unfortunately) not acquainted with the ride, you must follow the song and take your fish up or down depending upon what it says. For a first-time rider, I did not do too badly, but Eric (being anti-H2O as usual) caught the full brunt of the aquatic force this Seussian dynamo contains. Like the rest of the park, this ride amazed me with the care and thought that went behind it. Again, I felt that someone with a great imagination thought this up and that the concept was held together throughout the construction process. It is rare that you find rides where the end theme and concept are as good (if not better) than the designer intended, but at IOA it is amazingly commonplace. The last new ride of the night was The Cat in The Hat. Like a carousel, no good park should be without a dark ride. I am getting tired of hearing how they are pass�, just look at the smiling faces coming off this and you can�t tell me everyone in the family will not like it. The story is quite simple and involves some of my favorite characters, such as the Cat, both Thing 1 and Thing 2 and, of course, that meddlesome fish that pops up everywhere - even the toilet. It is so neat to see a story like this come to life in a form that encompasses everything good about modern dark rides. The vehicles themselves were great, as they spun crazily and, at times, had the stomach-turning force of a good Tilt-A-Whirl or Twister. I am just glad we got everything cleaned up and those things put away�because I hope to see that cat again when he comes out to play. We ended the night with a few more spins on Spiderman and I continued to be amazed. All in all, I ended that night with a feeling that is, sadly, a rarity when I leave large theme parks - I wanted to stay for hours. Although the park does not have a huge plot of land or tons of rides, it does have that spark, that character, �something� that puts it head and shoulders above every other theme park in the city - and possibly the country. Attention to detail is something Disney prided itself on for money years. After my visit, I think the folks at Universal have picked up that torch. I felt the people designing and running the park wanted me to have a good day and feel my money was well-spent - to dismiss this place as merely another �theme park� is not to understand what Islands of Adventure really is.
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