Is IOA worth it?

[emilymad]

I am going to WDW the last week of June for 6 days. I was planning on taking one day to do IOA. I was at Universal Studios a few years ago and wasn't interested in doing it again. It will just be me and my fiance (well husband at the time we are going). We will be around 25 when we go so we enjoy roller coasters and thrill rides. I have a day left on a PH that we plan to use so I just have to buy 4 or 5 day PH. If we go with the 5 day pass we save $56 vs buying a 4 day PH plus one day at IOA. After saying all this, I have two concerns:

1) That we will be done IOA in half a day and then have nothing else to do for the rest of the time. We wouldn't want to use a day of the PH just for the afternoon. We are both commando style tourers and we will go first thing in the morning and run from ride to ride.

2) Out of the 6 days at the world, arrival day we won't get there until noon and on the last day we have a late evening flight out. I plan to go to the parks both of these days but they will be shortened. I am expecting high crowds at the end of June although I have never been at WDW at this time.

I am sorry if this makes no sense. Thank you in advance for any advice you can give.

I have been reading these boards for months and you have been so helpful!!

 

[ryanrop]

Take my advice and GO!!! IoA has been rated as the #1 theme park at many of the websites I visit. Along with it, 3 of their rides are rated in the top 6 (spiderman, hulk and Dueling Dragons). Everytime I go to Disney I save a day just to do Islands. If you like thrill rides, this is the place to go, especially since it's just 10 mins from Disney. Crowds are so light this time of year. We went last week and did the following within 3 hours:

Hulk 7 times
Dueling Dragons 4 times
Spiderman 2 times

Message me back and let me know how you liked it.

Ryan

 

[sha_lyn]

give IOA a try. Hulk DD and spinderman are all awsome rides that out do anything WDW has to offer.
I suggest trying US again too. They've added a few things in last yr or 2 and by next summer the new mummy coaster should be up and running. Check out the US/IOA discussion forums here on the DIS

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=30

 

[DrTomorrow]

Originally posted by ryanrop
Crowds are so light this time of year. We went last week and did the following within 3 hours:

Hulk 7 times
Dueling Dragons 4 times
Spiderman 2 times

I think that this is what emilymad was concerned about. If you did all that in 3 hours, they could easily do 2 on each in an hour or two, then the rest of the park in 3 more hours and be done.

 

[sha_lyn]

If you were to finish IOA in a 1/2 day (which I dont' see as being possible, and we went last in mid jan and had FOTL) there is plenty to do there or WDW that wouldn't cost you additional money. I'd spend time over at City walk at US/IOA, and grab dinner there (lunch in IOA at Mythos is a must). If you still have some time you don't want to spend at your resort, yo ucan head to DD.

If you have plus options on you WDW tickets, head to a water park or pleasure island.

 

[Kimberle]

IOA is one of the best theme parks I've ever seen.

 

[>>^..^<<]

IOA will keep you busy for a full day.

You will want to ride both fire and ice on duelling dragons and maybe do some other rides twice. This is a great park and will be busy in June so you will have some waiting time.

Have a great trip.. walk over to city walk for some great restaurants and shopping, you could also take a water taxi and check out the hard rock hotel, portifino bay or Royal Pacific... you might be inspired to stay there sometime.

>>^..^<<

 

[SpideyHulk24]

YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! Go. I will be honest with you. I went to IOA when they first opened and was not impressed. I went back this past July and after 4 years, it is one of my most favorite parks and I am now a HUGE Universal fan. I want to kick myself for waiting so long to go back. It is an awesome park and you will love it. Universal Studios also has changed a bit and it is great as well. Let us know how it goes.

 

[julfre]

You said you are doing parks the day you arrive at noon so do IOA that day. You'll be spending a day's admission somewhere that day and if you don't think you'll do the rides multiple times, that should get you through much of the park. I'm not a thrill ride fan, but Spiderman is good enough to justify me going to IOA even though I don't do the rest of the coasters(chicken of heights). IOA does have a lot to do, but you can get a lot done in half a day.

 

[damo]

IOA is not like Disney in that when you go on a ride once you've seen it and done it and don't really want to do it again right away. IOA rides are such that you want to do them over and over and over. The coasters, Dr. Doom and Dudley-Do-Right and especially Spiderman are all good repeat and threepeat rides. Even the Cat in the Hat is worth doing twice. You should also have a leisurely lunch at Mythos, stand and listen to the talking fountain for a half an hour or so, go to Poseidan's Fury (that's a good 30-45 minutes right there). Universal is also very much improved over the last few years with the addition of Terminator, MIB, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron and the improved Make-up and Horror show. Your husband may like to see these things.

You probably CAN do IOA in half a day but why would you want to?

 

[funhouse8]

We went in Feb during school and the park was empty but it took most of the day to do all the rides. We love the coasters but I don't think anyone mentioned that IOA has the best water rides. They were awesome! We went out and had lunch in the hard rock cafe. It was a great day.

 

[mcgrawfan]

Do not miss out on IoA, especially if you like thrill rides. This park is awesome. The first year we got there when it opened and made it through the park in only 2 hours. Then last year we went in July and it was busier, but still was done in 4 hours. Try eating at NBA City. Great food. Spend some time walking around City Walk, they have some cute shops.

 

[ddoll]

We've been to Universal/IOA twice in late June. The last time being this year when crowds were down from usual levels.

I have to say that I've found it to be a busy time of year. All the schools are out and that means families.

At any rate, I would like to add my high recommendation to those already posted. This is THE state-of-the-art theme park. I walked around my first few times with my mouth hanging open looking at all the marvelous things to see there.

If you're a thrill ride enthusiast, you just have to go. You'll want to stay and do it again and again.

We've been many times now and I know that there is still plenty left to see.

 

[Absimilliard]

To get a full day there, you'll need to check out everything (ride the Caroseussel, one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.) Because, I'm also an amusement park trooper and on a day with light crowds, I actually go through BOTH USF and IOA in one day, seeing shows, attractions and such. For me, rerides on Dr. Doom Fearfall are a must (dont forget to do single riders!), Hulk is boring and rattles a lot, Fire is fierce and Ice runs out of breath at the end.

Riding Popeye & Bluto Bilge Rat Barges a few times in a row is not really recommended... its the roughest ride in the park and 2 times in a row is enough to give you the experience of jumping fully dressed in a pool.

Dudley Do Right Ripsaw Falls looks promising from the ground, but dont expect anything closely related to Splash Mountain in terms of story and theming. I have yet to experience any sensations on the final drop.

Sindbad is a really corny stunt show, but the last stunt is worth going through the bad jokes!

Poseidon's Fury is the hidden gem of the park. Dont miss out on it. Its the only attraction at IOA (or Sea World, USF, BGT) that actually makes Disney attempts at the genre look... bad. It is great! If you go when its busy, here's my advice: grab Universal Express before going to Sindbad. When you get out, its should be time for the Universal Express.

 

[daywalker]

I think your question should be, is WDW worth it!

IOA is a must, we (me and her 30 & 31) absolutely adore the whole US experience but IOA is the tops. We are not so keen on WDW and out of a 14 night trip we only spend 1 maybe 2 days at WDW. We must spend 6/7 at Universal!

 

[mulchpuppy]

First off, Emilymad, SLOW DOWN. If you're running from ride to ride (I have to hope that's a bit of an exageration), you're missing out on a ton of thematic gorgeousness. Take the time to marvel at what they spent the money on - it's worth it.

Second off, I'll relay my past history. I went to Universal studios many years back and was really quite underwhelmed by it (this was pre-MIB, and T23D was a few weeks away from opening). Compared to the Disney parks, I was really disappointed.

Fast forward to last year. We were going down for Disney, and my cousin (who works at Disney) hooked us up with tickets for Universal (and somehow he got a VIP pass so we could skip all the lines - no idea how he pulled that one off). Even with all that, I wasn't terribly interested in going. But the lure of a free park day was too strong, so we did it.

I was back at Universal in October, December, March of 2003, May of 2003, and I'll be back there in about a month. By the time we were there in March, we decided to quit wasting money and we dropped the cash for the Premium Annual.

Contrast that with my Disney visits since then. We did a commando style attack on the Magic Kingdom/Epcot in October (but only for about six hours, as we had to get back on the road), then did Magic Kingdom one more time in March just to test out our "perfect" park strategy.

So, we went back to Universal four times (six days total) and back to Disney parks...twice (a day and a half).

I'm not going to play the "Universal is better than Disney" card. I don't always believe it. But Universal can be a hell of a lot more fun, especially when you're an adult. Does it have the same level of "magic" that Disney does? Well, no. The fact is Universal has characters, but they aren't UNIVERSAL characters in the same way that Mickey is a DISNEY character - it's an odd differentiation to make, but it's my logic, so there ya go...

Islands of Adventure is absolutely, positively worth your time. But if you're going to be running around, not fully letting yourselves get immersed in the immaculate theming...well, then you'd be better off going to Busch Gardens or something.

You may want to consider hunting down those Express Pass in the camera deals. If you're going to be there in June, then the lines are going to be there, no matter how early you get there.

 

[wdwphanatic]

Your post has made me feel better about going to Universal in Feb! I have been pretty on the fence about the trip -- it just doesn't look in pictures like it has the magic and theming of Disney... It is so nice to hear that someone who was a loyal Disney fan was won over by the Universal experience. Did you stay at a Universal hotel during your last trips? Which one? We're thinking of staying at HRH, which I hope will be nice. Any further recommendations on what to do and see, not-to-be-missed restaurants, general touring tips, etc. would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Sarah

 

[edie w]

Just in case you haven't yet got the message - GO TO IOA - it's my favourite park.

Aside from DD, Hulk, Spiderman, JP and the bilge rat barges which are awesome (and a bit wet), there's the theming and the amazingly atmospheric music.

The only rides I don't like are Doctor Doom (way too scary) Flying Unicorn (really painful on bony parts) and Storm Force Accelerator (almost lost breakfast!).

And if you do find yourself with time to spare nip into USF and do MIB and Twister, which you presumably haven't seen yet, and Shrek 4D, which I haven't seen yet.

I'm so excited.....

 

[h20jag]

If you do indeed plan on zipping thru the big rides and bypassing the little stuff, maybe you should consider the 1 day - 2 park ticket. Hitting Shrek, T2-3D, & MIB at USF alone can easily justify the price differential.
Keep reading here and you'll certainly be able to determine what rides & shows are "have-to-do's".
Ya'll are in for a real treat at UO, and it'll certainly help you plan future trips!
Visit HRH if you get a chance - that'll sell you on a 3 nite stay next time!!

 

[ryanrop]

Originally posted by mulchpuppy


Islands of Adventure is absolutely, positively worth your time. But if you're going to be running around, not fully letting yourselves get immersed in the immaculate theming...well, then you'd be better off going to Busch Gardens or something.

NO!!! Don't waste your time at Busch. We gave up a day of Disney to go to Busch and what a disaster!! We had to wait 1 hour just to get in the park b/c they refused to open all the entry ways. 2 out of 8 were open and they made people wait in the sun. Then when we get into the park, only 1 out of 5 rollercoasters were working. By the time the rides came up, we only had 3 hours left and guess where people were headed!!! I will never do Busch again, ever. Give me an extra day in IOA!!!

Ryan