Universal's Islands of Adventure, Orlando

Great time! The wife, kids (13-20), and myself all enjoyed ourselves. Great rides. Some of the wait times were an hour, or more..... so expect staying in one park if you have a 3 park bundle. The food is pricey, but good. The main reason for not being five stars are the extra ways they make money. "Unlimited refill cup" isn't like it sounds. It's only for 24 hours from purchase (but you can put water..... and some places will refill just for having the cup). And the lockers.... some charge extra after 30 minutes. So if your way time to get on the ride is 65, you're charged more.

Very expensive but a very special place. Myself and my daughter loved every minutes of it. A few tips for those thinking of traveling: 1. Bring your own food and snacks to the park with you. At the time of writing, a 500ml bottle of water was $5.50 2. If you know in advance you will be getting photos within the park (3 or more), consider purchasing the photo pass 3. If your budget permits, purchase Express pass tickets before you travel. I purchased 2, 5 day express pass tickets (which included entry to the park) for $760 each. You will save a lot of time accessing rides using these 4. Purchase a neck fan. You won't regret it 5. If you suffer from chafing, get yourself some cycle shorts before you go. These were a game changer 😂 I'm sure there is more but these would be my go too if I was to travel there again.

To be sincere, I love the place....but realistically speaking....is a hell of a money pit. Price has gone up over 4 fold the last 7 years......no way I would be able to do this again in the next year or so as I planned to come by....not to mention the long lines as I will never be able to afford the express passes for the whole family. Of this was more affordable I could plan more family vacations....as it stands I can only do it 5 years or so....so from a business stand point you are losing business.....on another note....for people that won't get in on so many rides because of height, weight or disabilities is robbery to be getting charged as much as someone able to get into every single ride....there has to be some type of way of balancing prices and people getting in rides....I could have spent the money in souvenirs that I didn't spent on rides.....so again...I hope you understand my point....you could be making so much more money and have more returning customers 😀😉.

Great place to take kids and teens as well as parents can have a great time. Lots of character meet and greats. Reasonable food prices, although I'd recommend going to a local place for better food. Rides are really spread out so be prepared to walk a lot. There's a Harry Potter train you can take to get to universal, much like a tram. Recommend to get there early and leave once it gets hot. Then go back later at dusk. Incredible to spend time in the evening with the fireworks, lights, cool breeze. Tends to get really busy so be prepared to wait on lines although wait times are usually much quicker than posted on the app or at the ride. So don't get discouraged. Bring in some snacks and water bottles to help save some money.

I loved the Islands of Adventure. There's a lot of activities for different ages and the rides were amazing. I'm not into high-twisty roller coasters but my friends enjoyed them. I loved the 3-D/4-D rides! My friends did not. The shows were awesome. Plan ahead because tickets are pricey but arrive early and stay late to get to get the full experience. I am planning another trip sometime with my grandchildren. I recommend going in the off season because I imagine the wait times could be longer the the 15 - 60 minute wait times we experienced in late November.