Saturday, April 12, 2014

A-Z Blogging - Adventure Parks - I is for Islands of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is one of the main parks of Orlando, Florida.  It is the newer of the two Universal parks, opening up in May of 1999,  and it's the only park I ever visited by myself (long story). I remember loving the place when I went there, the entire setting of the park is almost cartoonish and very, very cool, but I also remember being a little disappointed that there wasn't more by way of thrills.


Islands of Adventure is located across from Universal Studios, connected to it by the City Walk, an entertainment area with shops and restaurants and nightclubs.  The themed sections of the park are magical, to say the least.  There's Marvel Superhero Island, Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Lost Continent and Seuss Landing, all very cool and all with their own little rides and attractions to go with. It was great, don't get me wrong, but only a half-day is needed to soak in the whole thing, and like I said above, there just aren't enough thrill rides for an enthusiast like myself.

Some of my favorite rides at Islands include The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman (a wicked, wicked ride the movies kind of ride!), Jurassic Park River Adventure, Dragon Challenge (formerly known as Dueling Dragons), and this ride, the best thrill ride they've got...
  

So you see, Universals' Islands of Adventure IS a cool place, but for me still a little short on the real, all day kind of fun I expect when I go to an amusement park.  Like my pipe dream wish for a Busch Gardens Asia, I'd make this one much bigger...

"I" Coaster of the Day - Intimidator 305 - 
King's Dominion, Doswell, Virginia


Today's coaster is one that teased me back in July when I visited King's Dominion.  It is the most recent addition to the park's impressive stable of thrill rides and it sat idle for big chunks of the summer waiting for a replacement part, including the day I was there.  Talk about a tease!  Walking around all day salivating at what could have, should have been...that massive structure just waiting to hand out screams to eager passengers like me.  Ah well, at least we've got video!


Check out my other A-Z Adventure Park entries for this month's challenge:







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