As I approached the most high-tech theme park in the world, my heart skipped a beat. I was about to enter the park that had only been open since 1999, and here I was, in the summer of 2010, preparing myself for what was about to happen. Outside the entry gates, I could see all the rides that seemed to forever extend into the atmosphere. I had always seen the park from a distance, but now I was getting my chance to get up close and personal with these rides, characters, and adventures. I was going to tap into childhood memories at Seuss Landing and Toon Lagoon, explore the unknown of the Lost Continent, battle super heroes in Marvel Super Hero Island, and become my very own wizard and help The Harry Potter at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. My epic journey was about to begin at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. This park was meant to pay tribute to the characters and stories inside. I was about to dive in and join them.
First, I found myself thrust into the Port of Entry, the introduction to the park. It contains no rides and is primarily marked by shops and restaurants. This technique, taken from Disney World, aroused a couple of things inside me. The first was anticipation. If the introduction to the park looked like this, what would the rest look like? Second, annoyance began to fester. I wanted to sprint through the Port and experience my adventure. However, we had to waste a couple of minutes and take a picture for the nagging camera lady that seems to show herself at the front of every theme park. Next, we slowly but surely made our way to the real park as we ventured through stores such as the Island of Adventure Trading Company and Port Provisions. As we reached the front of the park, we finally decided our first point of interest. With many normal things, the best is saved for last; however, this was not a normal thing. Therefore, the best came first.
On May 31, 2007, Universal Studios announced that it was adding a seventh theme to the park. After two-and-a-half long awaited years, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was finally opened to the public. On June 18, 2010, thousands lined up and waited up to 8 hours to get into the park. Unfortunately, small numbers were let into the 20-acre world due to safety hazards. Since we arrived to the park early, we figured that we could make it to the magical realm before we had to fight muggles and mythical monsters. We set out to prove ourselves as wizards and witches- and whatever my brother was working towards; based off his grumpiness, my guess was one of the ugly bank goblins, but God only knows at this point. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t reach our goal without a couple short, thematic stops along the way.
First, the shortest trail that took us to wizardry began at Seuss Landing. Dr. Seuss is great, but my love was devoted to the world produced by J.K. Rowling, although, this world enticed me. Filled with rides and restaurants such as One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride and Circus McGurkus Café Stoo-pendous, who wouldn’t be tempted to get wrapped up in the innocent atmosphere and take a stroll down memory lane? I couldn’t cheat now, especially since this was only the first world! I made my way through, absorbing what Seuss Landing had to offer but without getting too close to anything. We made our way out with colorful pictures and little trouble. One more world before we got to Hogsmeade!
Next, we found ourselves journeying through The Lost Continent. We quickly found that this world is divided into two parts. We found ourselves in an Aladdin-like merchant world called Sinbad’s Bazzaar. It was short and easy to bypass Sinbad’s stunt show called The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad and the Mystic Fountain. The Lost City was more intriguing. When we got there, my brother, the grumpy bank goblin, wanted to ride the attraction Poseidon’s Fury. It was a short wait so we decided to take a break from our trip. In the ride, we met an archaeologist taking us to a lost city and were attacked by a mythical god, but we were saved by Poseidon. The mix of fire and water effects made for an engaging ride. I would have killed the goblin if we would have been trapped forever in the lost city and unable to make it to the Wizarding world though. I later found that the ride had been changed from its original version. In the old version, Zeus fought and beat Poseidon in an epic battle. Fortunately, we were directed back to the path to join Harry Potter.
Before The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was built, The Lost Continent contained three sections rather than two. The third section was known as Merlinwood, and it hosted the rides The Flying Unicorn and Dueling Dragons. The Wizarding World changed the name from Dueling Dragons to the Dragon Challenge. They also changed the theme of the ride from a fire dragon versus an ice dragon to a Chinese Fireball versus a Hungarian Horntail. The Flying Unicorn became much more entertaining when it was changed to Flight of the Hippogriff. What would you rather fly on-a childish beast that you control whether or not it flies up or down or a wild, uncontrollable beast that flies every which way leaving you adrenaline-rushed and wanting more? The last ride in this world is newly built. It is inside an amazing and magnificently detailed replica of Hogwarts castle. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey allows riders to join Harry Potter in a quest throughout Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest. I had heard about such a marvelous place but, little did I know, I was about to be absolutely blown away by it.
A mix of emotions began to flow inside of all of us. It was practically written on our foreheads. I knew I was glowing. It was what we had all been waiting and longing for. As we walked closer and closer to the entrance, the snow covered tops of the buildings began to show and the castle tremendously towered over all inside. But I could not get myself to look at it. I had to wait until I stepped inside to take it all in. No peeking allowed. I felt like a child at Christmas. I could find out everything I was getting that year, but I wanted the suspense to build and the happiness to last. It was that feeling times a million. I may have even been blushing at this point, but I didn’t care. I was about to step into a magical world unknown to us muggles until now. The entrance stood in front of us. I looked up at a cast iron cut out that read Hogsmeade with a boar cut out above it. I could wait no longer. I launched into the world.
I found myself on platform nine and three-quarters looking at the Hogwarts Express. A tall, pudgy bellman with a perfect English accent greeted us, “Welcome to the Hogwarts Express! Are you looking for platform nine and three- quarters? You’ve come to the right place! This way, please!” We started walking at snail pace until I actually just stopped to gaze. I was looking up at charcoal buildings with wavy chimneys covered in a pure white snow. The castle overlooked it all. It was as if a sun was rising over an ocean, only this was the Hogwarts Castle rising over the Wizarding World. The train station stood to my right. Honeyduke’s, the candy store, stood to my left. Ollivander’s, a Butter beer tap, and a Pumpkin Juice stand stood in front of me.
“Pumpkin Juice,” I yelped. “Mom we have to get some!”
It was almost a fight for who would tear open and have the first gulp of the pumpkin juice between me and the goblin. I didn’t care how grumpy and ugly he was that morning. I was trying that Pumpkin Juice first! I tore open the bottle topped with a plastic pumpkin lid and took in a huge gulp. It was delightful. It was an extremely sweet, cool pumpkin cider that was refreshing and rich. It was fantastic. We all shared a bottle. Next we headed to Honeyduke’s. We were all ready to see what kind of candy we could get our anxious fingers on. We entered the store and swarms of color seemed to hit me right in the face-colors of different licorice, sour gummies, and the infamous Bernie Bott’s every flavored beans. I was mesmerized, but I couldn’t make myself buy anything. There is just something about a puke flavored jelly bean for breakfast that can quickly ruin an appetite. Connected to Honeyduke’s was the prank store Zonko’s. If we were to find Fred and George Weasley, it was going to be in this store. Unfortunately, they were not there, but all of their mischievous filled boxes were. We found things from Puking Pastilles to Dungbombs to Nose-Biting Teacups. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t think about grabbing something for the goblins shorts to try to deal with his grumpiness, but I decided against it, in fear of turning him into some other horrific monster. Next, we headed to join the Hippogriff. It was a short line, and on the way to the actual attraction, we passed Hagrid’s Hut. Once again, it was an exact replica from the hut seen in the movies. As we started our ride on our own Hippogriff, we passed Buckbeak in her nest on the way to the top of our climb. We were forced to bow to her and accept her passing before we continued on the ride. The small coaster tossed us every which way at sharp turns and short bursts of speed. It was nothing compared to what else we would face that day, but it was a start. The Dragon Challenge and The Forbidden Journey beckoned us next.
Although the rollercoaster is the same as when it was named Dueling Dragons, the theme of the ride is completely different. The journey to the ride is themed to make the rider feel as if they are part of the Triwizard Tournament. For example, the entrance is the champion’s tent, and artifacts like the Goblet of Fire are shown. Also, they show three golden eggs in hope that the rider would recognize that they are supposed to be holding the fourth since they are a “champion”. We all decided that we would ride the Hungarian Horntail coaster. We were all amazed because the coaster itself had been created to look like a real dragon! We waited to sit in the front row then battled it out for from heights up to 125 feet for two minutes and twenty-five seconds at speeds up to fifty-seven miles per hour on this inverse coaster against the Chinese Fireball. After our battle, we finally ventured towards Hogwarts. Anticipation rose from the fantastic view of the castle that the trail leading away from The Dragon Challenge provided.
I stood in front of the castle, gawking at its magnificence. It was perfect. In fact, it was better than what was seen in the movies. The stoned archway that marked the entrance wrote and rewrote “Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey” in the Harry Potter signature print. With every step towards the castle, a thrilling sensation overtook us all. We finally entered the castle to see lockers where we had to put anything of importance. Apparently broomstick rides aren’t personal belonging friendly. We hurriedly put our things away and made our way through the castle. We passed statues of previous wizards and even the Mirror of Erised. Hogwarts House Jewels captivated us with their beauty and talking portraits almost took all our time. We passed through a greenhouse before we entered back into the castle. The sand jars for each house lined the wall to our right. Gryffindor was not winning, but we know who would in the end. The hallway led to the statue that concealed Dumbledore’s office. As we walked through the corridor, we found ourselves in Dumbledore’s office where he invited us to join in a Hogwarts history lesson. His office was exactly as it was in the movie. The phoenix sat in the main office with the staircase leading up to Dumbledore’s private office. The sword of Gryffindor sat on top of one of the various bookshelves that lined the office. Our next stop was a Defense Against the Dark Arts class where Harry, Ron, and Hermione revealed themselves from under the Invisibility Cloak to tell us that they were going to try to sneak us into a Quidditch match. I almost tore down the hall to get onto my broomstick; unfortunately, I had to wait my turn. As we sat into our benches, the ride started, and we were put in front of a projection screen. We had to fly through the Floo Network then we eventually began being chased by Hagrid’s Hungarian Horntail! We were removed from the projection screen and flew through a design of Hogwarts. Shortly, we were dropped into the Forbidden Forest where we were confronted with Aragog’s, the terrifying spider, children. Then we had to escape a Whomping Willow. Quickly, we found ourselves flying through a Quidditch match while being chased by Dementors! They chased us all the way into the Chamber of Secrets where Harry saved us with a Patronus Charm. We flew into the middle of Hogwarts where we were cheered on for our victory. This was four minutes of greatness with speeds up to 23 miles per hour. Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods gift shop stood at the bottom of the ride. After I bought a limited edition pin, we were off to fight with the Marvel Heroes to end our day.
Toon Lagoon was a brief stop in our journey. We joined Dudley Do-Right to fight Snidely and save Nell in Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls. This log flume ride was soaked us into refreshment. Toon Lagoon offered over 150 cartoon characters. We glimpsed through most of them and skipped Popeye and Bluto’s Bilage-Rat Barges. We were already wet. We didn’t need another water adventure. Finally, we found Marvel Superhero Island! Shops, restaurants, and rides contained all different heroes and villains across them. Wolverine, Storm, The Hulk, and Doctor Doom are just a short list of the few to be seen. The first attraction showed a giant, animated Spider-Man web-slinging across the Daily Bugle. I had to go in. Riders were led through an inside look at the Daily Bugle, and, while inside, a situation arises that calls the riders to be photographers of a mess going on in the city. We rode in roving motion vehicles, also known as Scoop, in front of a 3-D projection screen. We fought alongside of Spider-Man against Doctor Octopus, Scream, Electro, Hydro-Man, and the Green Goblin. Luckily, Spider-Man saved us all from a terrifying drop in a massive and merciful web. Physical and 3-D special effects combined with rapid twists and turns with fire, water, and wind added to the excitement of this ride. Dr. Doom’s Fearfall stood next this attraction. We decided to conquer him next. It is the second tallest ride at Universal Studios. This ride only lasted for about 50 seconds, but it dropped us from a height of 199 feet at 40 miles per hour. We journeyed through his laboratory until the ride. It was a rough on the stomach, but I was ready to join The Hulk in my final ride. We were in for the ride of our lives when joining Dr. Bruce Banner in his experiment. The theme leading to the coaster was Banner’s lab as he was trying to reverse the effects of what he had created. When first opened, this coaster was the world’s tallest cobra roll at 110 feet. It is completely different than most roller coasters in that it has a launch hill lift. As we climbed to what we thought was the drop, the coaster shot us out of the Gamma Tube at 40 miles per hour before reaching its maximum speed of 67 miles per hour. High speed mixed with seven different inversions made this the most thrilling ride of the day. The Hulk took his riders for a ride of a lifetime that left us wanting to ride it again and again and again- which we so happened to do that day.
Universal Islands of Adventure offered us seven unique adventures to take part in. It allowed us to feel like children again, and it allowed us to be our very own wizards, witches-and goblin- to fight alongside the greatest wizard our world has ever known. I was able to dive into my own comic book and help greats like Dudley-Do right and The Hulk. Every time I go to Florida, a desire to dive back in is sparked within me. This nearly twelve year old park that was added onto the CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock Hotel holds a special place in my entire family. It is the one place we must adventure within every time we get the chance.
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