Family of 4 First IOA trip!

nicolep91

<font color=teal>I think this thread should be con
Joined
Dec 19, 2000
Here is my trip report for our trip to IOA earlier this month. Our family consists of:
Me - Nicole, 28
My Husband - Mike, 31
My Son - Alex, 6
My Daugher - Addy, 3 1/2

We got there right after the park opened since it was only going to be open until 7:00 that night. When we walked in, the first thing my kids saw was Suess Landing so we had to go there first. We walked right on the Cat in the Hat ride with no line. This was a lot of fun and my DH and I liked it as much as the kids. Then we hopped on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish after about a 5 minute wait. You get a little wet on this one, but not bad at all. You can control going up and down so I suppose you could get wetter if you wanted to. Then we got on the carousel, called the Caro-Seuss-El. It was so cute! They have a kiddie roller coaster in this area but unfortunately it wasn’t running that day. After checking out a couple gift shops, we headed over to Poseidon’s Fury and got in line. We didn’t see that there were Express Passes for this ride or else we probably would have grabbed them (the machine isn’t very close to the entrance, IMO). We ended up waiting about 30 minutes which wasn’t too bad but the kids were getting pretty bored. We had no idea what Poseidon was – a ride, show, etc, since we hadn’t been here before and our video I ordered never arrived. We were hoping it wasn’t too scary for the kids but since there wasn’t a height requirement I figured they would be OK. Anyway, for anyone else out there in the dark like we were, this is a show that you walk through and end up seeing a short movie with special effects. Kind of hard to describe, but very cool. I just wish there were seats since after waiting in line, we need to sit down for a while. After that we just walked through the Lost Continent area in awe of the scenery. It’s very well done. The talking fountain was hilarious! We walked to the Flying Unicorn next, which is a small coaster. The kids liked this and the line was pretty short. We checked the time for the Sinbad show but since there was so much we wanted to do and the park closed early, we didn’t think we would make it. And Dueling Dragons was out of the question because of my DH’s back and I didn’t want to ride it alone so it was off to Jurassic Park. My DH grabbed 2 Express Passes for himself and our son to ride River Adventure. While we were waiting for their time to come up, we took the kids on the Pteranodon Flyers. This is a very gentle, gliding ride that really does feel like you’re flying. We had to wait about 30 minutes though even though the line looked short, it’s deceiving since only 2 people fit in the seating apparatus and I think they only run about 3 or 4 at a time. We had some more time to kill before River Adventure so we checked out Discovery Center. My daughter fell asleep in the stroller in here so I guess she didn’t find it as interesting as the rest of the family. J Then my DH and DS got on River Adventure. My DH loved it but my DS got a little freaked out at the end – plus they got wetter than they expected. We moved on to Toon Lagoon. There wasn’t a lot here that interested us. I thought Dudley’s Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls looked like fun but when we saw how wet the people were when they got off, we decided to skip it. We walked around to take everything in – once again, I thought there was great theming and I had to get our pictures taken under the cartoon balloons. My DH went and got Express Passes for the 4 of us for Spiderman and then we decided to grab a bite to eat until our time was up. I don’t remember the name of the place we ate at but it was close to where River Adventure ends because we were near the water. Anyway, it was inside, but counter service, and the food was very good. I got rotisserie chicken and my husband got b-b-q wings. They both came with corn on the cob, roasted potatoes and bread. The kids shared a kids meal (chicken and fries) and we gave them our corn. I think our total was about $30, including our drinks. After we ate, it was off to Spiderman! I was really hyped about this ride and it exceeded my expectations. All 4 of us rode together but my daughter got a little scared so I covered her eyes in a couple parts. After we got off, my DH and I knew we had to ride this again so we grabbed 2 more Express Passes. It was perfect timing because the Marvel characters showed up just then. They rode up on 4 wheelers. My son got his picture taken with Spiderman, Captain America and Wolverine. Storm and several others were there too but we didn’t make it to them in time. We had time to buy some souvenirs in the gift shop and then my DH and I took turns riding Spiderman again. We rode alone, but I didn’t mind - it was so much fun. The kids wanted to ride one more ride before we left so we headed back to Suess Landing and rode The Cat in the Hat again. After that, it was close to closing time to we decided to beat the crowd and head back to the car.

Our entire family loved IOA and will definitely make this park a "must-do" on our next trip to Orlando. I had heard that there isn't much here for kids to do but our kids were entertained the entire time and us adults had a great time too.

Thanks for reading my report!

Nicole
 
So nice to hear what a great time you had! We also loved IOA and especially the theming and atmosphere. I just talked to a friend who returned from US/IOA last week and reported that they liked it but didn't love it. :rolleyes:

Your descriptions not only brought me back there, but brought me back to the same feeling of discovery and joy that we felt last year. Thanks!!!!! :D

1967, 1975 Disneyland
1977 - WDW Contemporary
1980 - WDW off-site Best Western?
1985 - WDW off-site condo/suite
1990 - Tokyo Disneyland
1995 - WDW; Marriott World Center
2000 - WDW; Holiday Inn Family Suites
 
Nice report. Thanks! We'll be there in May!

1996 Bought New House
1997 Local Theme Park
1998 Watched Disney Videos
1999 Painted House
2000 Tent in Backyard
2001 ASMovies !!!
 
Hi Nicole.

We just got back from IOA and my family agreed that it's the best park we have ever seen. I have kids 14, 12, and 7, and there was plenty for everyone to do. It was raining hard when we went, and we still did all of the water rides! I would recommend them if you go back. Spiderman was the greatest ride that I have ever been on. That simulated fall at the end scared the pants off of us! My wife wouldn't leave the area until we went a second time! IOA is now on our Must See list too for when we return to Orlando in November!
 


Mahalo for the report Nicole. I am glad you enjoyed your short visit to the park. We really liked IOA and are happy to read when others like it too.
 

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