UNIVERSAL’S ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE

Our day at Islands of Adventure started early as we arrived about 15 minutes before the gates opened at 9:00.  The crowds are smaller at the beginning of the day and we were able to get on the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey ride without waiting.  That is the best ride in the Universal parks by far.  You sit fully supported in a hanging car that moves sideways, spins, tilts both backwards and forwards and you feel like you are flying in the air behind Harry Potter on his broomstick.  The combination of video scenes and huge spiders that spit at you, skeletons, a moving tree and a dragon that breathes fire at you, makes for a thrilling ride.  

We also went on the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster which wasn't too scary for me.

We stayed away from the rides where you get wet and went to a couple of the shows on the Lost Continent Island.  

Poseidon’s Fury show took us on an adventure story through 3 rooms where we finally saw Poseidon have a battle with a bad guy and get his trident back with the help of our tour guide.  There were lots of special effects like bursts of water and fire right in front of us and explosions as well.  The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad show was a stunt show that was very well done with great stunts and plenty of humorous dialogue.

Another great ride was Spider-Man which was a 3D ride that took you with Spider-Man in the air through the city streets to battle the Sinister Syndicate.  The 3D effects were extremely well done and the 400 foot simulated free fall took your breath away.  The best part for me was when Electro zapped our car with his weapon and we jerked and jolted as if it was real.  Our ride had a malfunction partway through and we sat for a while in semidarkness with a grey screen in front of us.  It went ahead after a few minutes and then stalled briefly again.  When we exited the car, they offered us a second ride if we wanted so we went to the head of the line and went on again.  It was better the second time even though we knew what was coming.  Definitely the second best ride in the Universal parks.

Spider-Man Ride Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cusKmODM61w

The most extreme ride in the parks was the big roller coaster called the Incredible Hulk.  It had plenty of loops and twists and was fun to watch.

On our way out of the park, we decided to have a rest in the theatre and saw the new movie “The Last Stand” with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  It was filmed in Sommerton, Arizona which is very close to Yuma and we enjoyed seeing it.