Hollywood Studios vs Islands of Adventure

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

Let's say that you have one single day in the Orlando area, and you can only go to one of these two parks. Which would you pick?
Both parks have thrilling rides, excellent themed lands, and overall rely on a fun theme park experience.
Which park is superior, has better rides, more fun, etc? Which is the better park?

 

[Raidermatt]

This one is very close for me. If The Great Movie Ride were still around, I would have went with Hollywood Studios. But its not, so the scale has tipped to Islands of Adventure.

 

[JIMINYCR]

A tough choice that can go either way depending on what I feel like that day. If I’m going for pure thrills I’m going Uni.

 

[MaximumEd]

These days, gotta go for the combo of Hagrid’s and Velocicoaster.

 

[Afterthought]

DHS is a nice park, but a clear third best in the WDW park lineup for me.
IOA is the crown jewel for Universal, and 2nd only to MK in all of Orlando (imo).

IOA wins this competition easily.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

In terms of immersion, Hollywood Studios. There are no "exposed steel" rides that break the sense of being transported (SDD is auto-themed, even if weakly so), and the slightlines are vastly superior. And of course, the Hollywood areas and Galaxy's Edge are some of the best most transportive environments in any theme park.

In terms of attraction lineup, Islands of Adventure. Despite Tower of Terror and Rise of the Resistance arguably being superior to any of the attractions at IoA - and ST, SDD, MMRR, RnRC, TSMM, etc. being great fun - they don't make for a lineup of this caliber:

• The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
• Velocicoaster
• Popeye and Bluto's
• Jurassic Park River Adventure
• Ripsaw Falls
• The Incredible Hulk

 

[LittleMerman]

Easily HS for me. It's my least fave of the 4 WDW parks but I still prefer it over IOA.

The only attraction in IOA that I really love is Hagrids - it's prob my favorite coaster that I've ever been on. Hulk, Spiderman, and Velocicoaster are fun but not favorites.

I prefer HS for the theming and the actual attractions + shows.

 

[Andrew25]

IOA is a family dark ride, indoor theater show, and nighttime spectacular away from overthrowing MK.

 

[aaronsloan1971]

I will vote when I get back in November. I have never been to IOA or any Universal Orlando park but after reading this I am really looking forward to it!

 

[fgmnt]

In terms of immersion, Hollywood Studios. There are no "exposed steel" rides that break the sense of being transported (SDD is auto-themed, even if weakly so), and the slightlines are vastly superior. And of course, the Hollywood areas and Galaxy's Edge are some of the best most transportive environments in any theme park.

In terms of attraction lineup, Islands of Adventure. Despite Tower of Terror and Rise of the Resistance arguably being superior to any of the attractions at IoA - and ST, SDD, MMRR, RnRC, TSMM, etc. being great fun - they don't make for a lineup of this caliber:

• The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
• Velocicoaster
• Popeye and Bluto's
• Jurassic Park River Adventure
• Ripsaw Falls
• The Incredible Hulk

DHS has 2 of my top 3 attractions in Orlando, but you're going to get a more complete day at IOA. Also, if you pay up for Express there, you know you will get to ride everything as long as there is no downtime.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

There is Star Wars at DHS.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

Hollywood Studios

 

[_caleb]

The plywood cutout characters in IOA’s Marvel Super Hero Island make me sad.

 

[UNCgolf]

DHS circa 2000 or so was better than current IoA. I'm less sure about the current version of DHS, but I'd probably give it the edge too.

IoA has some good stuff, but it also has some terrible areas like Superhero Island. Velocicoaster diminished the Jurassic Park area for me, and while Hogsmeade is okay it's nowhere near as good as Diagon Alley (and I think Forbidden Journey is an awful ride).

 

[Shiriki_Utundu]

(SDD is auto-themed, even if weakly so),

even though it's a side note or less important to what your main point is I'm still curious as to what you mean by that above.

"auto themed" ??? I'm totally perplexed here. You are talking about Slinky Dog and Studios's lack of exposed steel rides, right? Can you elaborate a bit. Thanks

 

[Shiriki_Utundu]

DHS has 2 of my top 3 attractions in Orlando,

Rise and ToT, no?


don't tell me Slinky Dog and Alien Saucers,......can't be

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

even though it's a side note or less important to what your main point is I'm still curious as to what you mean by that above.

"auto themed" ??? I'm totally perplexed here. You are talking about Slinky Dog and Studios's lack of exposed steel rides, right? Can you elaborate a bit. Thanks

"Auto-themed" means "themed to itself" (like "autobiography"). Slinky Dog Dash is themed to be a roller coaster, which "justifies" the exposed steel track. The same goes for the attractions in Pixar Pier and Dino-Rama. That doesn't make it a good design choice, though.

 

[Jrb1979]

"Auto-themed" means "themed to itself" (like "autobiography"). Slinky Dog Dash is themed to be a roller coaster, which "justifies" the exposed steel track. The same goes for the attractions in Pixar Pier and Dino-Rama. That doesn't make it a good design choice, though.

Exposed track shouldn't be a big deal. IMO the more you do to hide the track the less thrilling it becomes. To me coasters don't work that great for a story telling ride. They are made to be thrilling.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I wanted to vote “yes”.

Wasn’t an option though.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Bruh.