Islands of Adventure, best theme park?

[BryceM]

YouTube is the best, right? I'm sure you can find the soundtrack on Amazon or eBay.

I hope you guys get to go! I just came back from USH a couple of weeks ago. I have a pass so I can go now if I wanted to but I don't want to go by myself LOL.

Ha, I would gladly go to a theme park by myself. It usually ends up being me splitting away from my family anyways to ride the big rides, hahaha.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Ha, I would gladly go to a theme park by myself. It usually ends up being me splitting away from my family anyways to ride the big rides, hahaha.

LOL I love going to see a movie by myself, but theme parks? Not so much. When I worked at Disneyland I sometimes went by myself and I was so lonely. Same for Universal, when Transformers opened, all the APs got a chance to ride before it opened. They allowed us to bring a guest but I didn't want to pay for an extra ticket. Anyways, I went by myself and although I LOVED the ride, I was so sad because I had no one with me to enjoy it with! Not again, LOL. I just can't do it.

 

[BryceM]

LOL I love going to see a movie by myself, but theme parks? Not so much. When I worked at Disneyland I sometimes went by myself and I was so lonely. Same for Universal, when Transformers opened, all the APs got a chance to ride before it opened. They allowed us to bring a guest but I didn't want to pay for an extra ticket. Anyways, I went by myself and although I LOVED the ride, I was so sad because I had no one with me to enjoy it with! Not again, LOL. I just can't do it.

Yeah, like I love going with friends but at the same time, I like being alone to make all my own decisions. Of course, I can't get to Universal Orlando or Disney World by myself yet so I don't know how it is to be completely alone... Haha.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Yeah, like I love going with friends but at the same time, I like being alone to make all my own decisions. Of course, I can't get to Universal Orlando or Disney World by myself yet so I don't know how it is to be completely alone... Haha.

Understandable. The less amount of people, the more easy it is to do what you want to do.

 

[JT3000]

Say what you will about the parks themselves, but I don't think the other parks even come close to IOA in the music department. No other park soundtrack is nearly as unique or evocative, where hearing the music almost creates a feeling of being there. Disney obviously has some classic on-ride songs, but the area music just isn't as memorable.

 

[BryceM]

Say what you will about the parks themselves, but I don't think the other parks even come close to IOA in the music department. No other park soundtrack is nearly as unique or evocative, where hearing the music almost creates a feeling of being there. Disney obviously has some classic on-ride songs, but the area music just isn't as memorable.

You really can't argue that the IOA soundtrack is untouchable.

 

[JustInTime]

Yeah - Jurassic Park and Seuss Landing aren't themed well.

They really are pretty lacking, IMO

 

[BryceM]

They really are pretty lacking, IMO

I don't see how though. Especially Seuss Landing. It wows me every single time!

It's all a matter of opinion though.

 

[JustInTime]

I don't see how though. Especially Seuss Landing. It wows me every single time!

I guess I was underwhelmed because it looks more like easter island with all the colors. And all the fiber class props makes it looks like a plastic playland. I love the park but I think Potter doesn't match the rest. It's a lot heavier on theme and detail than the rest of the lands.

 

[HTF]

I guess I was underwhelmed because it looks more like easter island with all the colors. And all the fiber class props makes it looks like a plastic playland. I love the park but I think Potter doesn't match the rest. It's a lot heavier on theme and detail than the rest of the lands.

Its Dr Suess lol it supposed to be bright and colorful. Have you any idea on the planning, engineering, and overall theming that went into that island? Sorry don't mean to be grilling you on your opinion because it is your opinion but next time your there you should really stop and look around or maybe do a little research about the island before you pass it off. There were many "firsts" in Suess Landing and most get overlooked. Do you know of the easter eggs within Suess?

 

[JT3000]

When Universal actually brings in hurricane-bent trees because they can't have straight lines anywhere, you know they care about attention to detail. Besides the fact that the bright paint always fades quickly, I can't understand most complaints thrown at Seuss Landing. Especially the "too colorful" one. I mean really?

It may be true that other parts of IOA don't match Wizarding World when it comes to detail, but not a lot does (anywhere.) It isn't fair to penalize the rest of the park for that. I never heard anyone complaining about a lack of details prior to that section's opening.

 

[71jason]

DAK is an underrated park. It might be because some of its most endearing aspects are subtle; it takes a few trips to recognize them. Many guests visit Orlando infrequently and WDW offers so many experiences that it's difficult to slow down, something I think is necessary to fully appreciate DAK, more so than the other theme parks.

IOA's appeal is obvious, big headliner attractions and a configuration that makes it easy for the infrequent guest to walk past nearly everything IOA has to offer.

The thing is, IoA has just as many subtle aspects as DAK. Things like the Seuss playland or the JP Discovery Center or the Lorax path or the Spiderman queue or the windows in Hogsmeade. I think both parks suffer from the "stand in line (or skip it if you can), ride the ride, buy a T-shirt" mentality that permeates the other WDW parks. If you take the time to wander, rather than following an Excel spreadsheet touring plan, they can reward you with little details the "commandos" will miss.

 

[ZaneB]

Every island there is themed close to perfect. Hard to compare. Seuss Landing looks just like dr seuss books, lost continent looks like a lost continent, harry potter looks like harry potter, jurassic park looks just like it did in the movies (trees), toon lagoon has toons and a lagoon and marvel is a great recreation of a metropolitan city!

 

[BryceM]

Yeah, Seuss Landing really is an almost perfect rendering of stepping into the pages of a Dr. Seuss children's book. Jurassic Park's theming is spectacular; from the fossilized plants under your feet, the epic soundtrack playing around you, picture-perfect replica of the Discovery Center, and the richly detailed Camp Jurassic where you could spend hours exploring.

I love Toon Lagoon and Marvel Super Hero Island. Toon Lagoon is like stepping into the pages of the Sunday comics and Marvel Super Hero Island places you literally inside a Marvel Comics book.

I'm sure I don't even have to defend the theming in The Lost Continent, and I'm suprised people would even say the other islands are themed badly. I'm sure my opinion seems "biased" because I call IOA my favorite theme park, but seriously, there is not one ounce of bad theming in that park.

 

[JustInTime]

Its Dr Suess lol it supposed to be bright and colorful. Have you any idea on the planning, engineering, and overall theming that went into that island? Sorry don't mean to be grilling you on your opinion because it is your opinion but next time your there you should really stop and look around or maybe do a little research about the island before you pass it off. There were many "firsts" in Suess Landing and most get overlooked. Do you know of the easter eggs within Suess?

When is the last time you went? It's faded to where all the colors are light pastel. Except the areas they have touched up are glaringly bright like it should be. It was in bad shape. And FYI, I rode every ride in the land when I went last November and this past March. It's fallen into disrepair and wasn't great to begin with.

Before:

After:

And the entire land looks like this. The whites are yellowed, animatronics in Cat in the Hat are broken...the entire land looked like a big, plastic mess.

 

[flynnibus]

I'm sure I don't even have to defend the theming in The Lost Continent

Yeah, nothing says 'Lost Continent' like Carnival games!!

 

[BryceM]

Yeah, nothing says 'Lost Continent' like Carnival games!!

I actually feel bad for The Lost Continent. It lost Merlinwood which held it's two star attractions.

Now all it has left is Sinbad and Posideon's Fury, which isn't saying much. It really is a beautiful land. And atleast the fountain is fun.

And don't say that about The Lost Continent. There are plenty of other instances where things don't fit thematically. I'm pretty sure when I hear the word "TomorrowLand", I don't think about a blue, chili-dog burping alien in a tube. I love Disney, but they are also guilty for certain things not fitting thematically. Take Test Track for example.

 

[flynnibus]

And don't say that about The Lost Continent. There are plenty of other instances where things don't fit thematically. I'm pretty sure when I hear the word "TomorrowLand", I don't think about a blue, chili-dog burping alien in a tube

... yeah but you don't see anyone here defending TL as near flawless either..

 

[BryceM]

... yeah but you don't see anyone here defending TL as near flawless either..

True, I just really wanted to say "blue, chili-dog burping alien in a tube."

 

[Captain Chaos]

Bryce, since you like the music to IOA and Universal so much, have you found the thread posts from a member here who created IOA and Universal medleys???