View Full Version : Should we go?
Big Mack
08-03-2003, 16:27
Hi everyone
I am planning my families first trip to Florida for September 2004 and i have quickly realised that there is no way we will be able to see every park (not enough time, not enough money!!)
We are planning to go to the 4 Disney parks plus Typhoon lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Universal and Sea World which i reckon will take up a large chunk of our fortnight.
My two kids will be 8 and 6 and basically i am wondering if IOA is a park we could miss out this time or is it one that we should definately do.
Thanks
:):D:)[:o)]
athurstance
08-03-2003, 17:07
Although your kids will be too small for some of the major rides at IOA there is a lot there to interest them. Mine were 9 and 7 last time we went there. They were able to ride quite a lot - so it depends really how tall your kids are. Mine went on most things except The Hulk, Dr Doom and Duelling Dragons. They loved Spiderman and the Unicorn coaster and Seuss Landing was a huge hit.
We spent a couple of mornings at IOA. If you buy multi-day tickets for Universal you can just wander in for an hour or so and see what you think.
Angela
HI Mack
you are planning a lot for your trip [|)]:D
we went to IOA in october my kids 7 and 9 they had a great day really enjoyed watching me getting soaked
again as said before depends how tall your kids are what they can get on
as you have already planned a lot why not wait till you get there and see how much time you have left then you can always add it at the end if the wallet will stretch and the feet can take it
just a thought as you are going to Universal can you not get a 2 day 2 park ticket which includes universal and IOA ??or a 1 day 2 park ticket not sure what the price difference is :D
Islands of Adventure has Spiderman which is the best ride in Orlando and leaps and bounds technologically in front of any other ride. It would be worth going just for that alone. Poseidons Fury is another attraction that they will really enjoy as well as the Sinbad show. They will love Jurassic Park with its dinosaur themed big log flume ride, the Triceratops Encounter where you can see a " living breathing dinosaur" and the Pterandon Flyers where you can zoop over a primeval landscape in chair suspended from a flying dinosaur. There are loads of water rides, flumes and rapids, in Toon Lagoon and kids love to get wet and they will enjoy Cat in the Hat in Seuss Landing. Sure there are a lot of big heavy roller coasters but there is lots more besides. I would not miss it if you have any option. The two park escape pass is good value and entitles you to go in both parks on the same day and unused days never expire. If nothing else, ensure that you catch Spiderman by bopping into IOA before you go into Universal and doing that. It gets some fair queues so go in there first and fastpass it, not last. There is only a very short walk between the two parks.
Andy & Arlene
09-03-2003, 18:04
I personally prefer Universal & IOA to the Disney parks. As has been mentioned before, lots of ace rides that you and your kids will enjoy.
Arlene
Islands of Adventure is my favourite park, but then I am 33 and love coasters.
Having said that, there are only three rides that your kids may miss out on, The Hulk, Duelling Dragons and Dr Doom's Fear Falls all of which have a 54" height restriction (I think).
While the first two are excellent roller coasters, Dr Doom isn't much to shout about and equivalents can be found in Blackpool (The Sony Playstation now called Ice Blast) and other static fairs around the UK.
But its not all coasters. There are three great water rides in Bluto and Popeyes Bilge Rat Barges, Dudley Do Right's Rip Saw Falls and Jurassic Park River Adventure, not to mention the brilliant Spiderman anda host of other child orientated rides and attractions that are dotted around the park including Suess Island which is specifically for kids, but fun for adults too.
As you can probably tell from this, I'd definitely recommend IOA for you and your kids, however that does give you 9 parks to get around in 14 days, which might be a bit tiring, especially for the children.
You could always use the two water parks as rest days, relaxing in the lazy river and wave pools giving your feet a well earned break.
As for tickets, you should buy a 2 day Universal Escape ticket, giving you access to Universal Studios and IOA in a similar way to Disney's hopper passes.
A bit of a ramble, but hope it helps with your decision.
On our first trip to Orlando we left out Universal altogether. If you can possibly afford to go back for a second holiday I say its a good idea to keep something back for that time. We have just been for our 3rd holiday and this time used up the last day on our 3 day universal tickets. The advantages are you dont get theme park fatigue by feeling you have to do everything on the first visit, it spreads the cost as there are less tickets to buy in one go, and you've still got something new to look forward to.
Next time we will be visiting Busch Gardens for the first time and are also planning on a dinner show.
Big Mack
13-03-2003, 00:22
Hi guys
Many thanks for all your great advice. IOA sounds like the kind of place my kids would love so i guess i have a bit of thinking to do, just as well i am not going till NEXT September eh!!!!!
Sorry to disagree with you cherryboy but my kids adore Blizzard beach and enjoy typhoon lagoon too. They love the yellow individual tyre ride at t-l and the massive wave machine pool. I suppose it all depends what sort of things you personally enjoy. I like just sitting on a tyre going around the lazy river all day, I cant stand the water slides.
steph_goodrum
13-03-2003, 18:31
We were most upset that we weren't allowed on the Pteranodon Flyers, to go on them you MUST be accompanied by a child UNDER a certain height and as our daughter is now 5'9" we didn't qualify, it's not to do with the weight or height of the adult as there were some very large people on there. What was annoying though was that if one of the adults was small then you could get on, we saw one couple where the lady was Chinese and must have been about 40 her other half was over 6 foot but they were allowed on as she came below the height. Our daughter would have been too tall even on our first trip when she was 10.
athurstance
13-03-2003, 18:45
You didn't miss much Steph. We qualify as we had 2 small enough kids with us. Fortunately the queue wasn't too long but it still takes an age to load this ride. It is all over in a flash - nice enough but it is just a 30 second swing ride.
Angela
steph_goodrum
13-03-2003, 19:02
I know Angela but don't you just HATE being told you CAN't go on something even if you didn't really want to in the first place. It really amused us at Butlins one year when my daughter was 8 , we were with a friend who is , lets say "vertically challenged" and is only 4'10", we went to go on the bumper cars and the attendant was adamant that my frined was not allowed to go on there as she didn't meet the height requirement, despite the fact she was at the time 48 and had held a full driving license since she was 19, but our 8 yr old was fine, she could go on no problem. It was only because my friend insisted on speaking to a manager and threatened to report them for discrimination he relented and let her on.
Regarding Wet n Wild we find it a bit of a concrete jungle and much prefer Blizzard Beach or typhoon Lagoon. Both my daughter and I got prickly heat in the summer at WnW.:(
athurstance
13-03-2003, 23:07
Wet n Wild is a concrete jungle. The white concrete under foot gets very hot aswell. There are some good slides for older kids and adults so its worth a day trip if you've not been before. It doesn't have the same appeal as TL or BB in my opinion - I can happily spend any number of days at either.
Angela
steph_goodrum
14-03-2003, 00:19
We've been to Orlando 9 times and not found time to go to Wet'n'wild yet. We always have enough Disney waterpark days and pools/beaches to go to and just have never fitted it in. It doesn't seem like we've missed too much.
The first time we went to Orlando we went to Typhoon Lagoon 4 times in 2 weeks and that was before Blizzard Beach was built. It has all the Magic of Disney where as Wet n Wild, you could be any where in the world. Dont get me wrong the rides are good, but thats all its got. Weve done Wet n Wild twice in 11 years but never miss the Disney waterparks. Oh and IOA is great I'm sure your kids would love it. My eldest is 8 and he does especially the Spiderman ride.
Mandy
caroline
14-03-2003, 13:34
We were going to go to Wet n Wild the first time we went to Florida, but took one look at it and changed our minds, I don't want to spend the day listening to all the traffic thundering past and breathing in the fumes, when you can go to BB or TL and chill out in a lovely setting.
Lesley S
14-03-2003, 13:48
We all love Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. They are very much child friendly.
caroline
14-03-2003, 13:57
Well, I guess on this one we'll just have to agree to disagree:)
athurstance
14-03-2003, 14:05
I suppose if you don't like themeing then you are going to be happier at Wet n' Wild - the lack of any trees etc is what makes it a concrete mess. I prefer the trees - I like to know I'm still in Florida - we have a Wet n' Wild in the UK.
Also I think you'll find its so crowded because you go in August - now if you went in April/May/September/October like the rest of us you'd be on the water slides with no wait at all. In fact for lack of crowds at BB I recommend early January - we had the place to ourselves.
Angela
According to the teens in my house Blizzard Beach rules! And we go in July or August - usually every year.
Sorry Cherryboy2004,
Who are you? I have only read a couple of threads that you have written to and you seem to write like a two year old (spelling and grammer) and make wide sweeping generalisations without adding any kind of information to substantiate these.:( In many cases the points (I think) that you are trying to make are possibly valid - I too think that W&W is a wicked day out (true it is a concrete jungle) but there are ways of expressing yourself without resorting to swearing and getting peoples back up - I refer you to your post re: best month.:( May I suggest that you think about what you are writing before you submit the post. Rant over.:)
honeybee
15-03-2003, 13:07
Sorry never appealled to us wet and wild, the disney water parks are excellant. Fantastic for childrens safety. If I am right was there not that hugh accident at wet and wild a few years back.
Disney is made for children they cater for all ages. Cherry boy you seem to be a pool of knowledge on these things, how many times have you actually been to typhoo lagoon, blizzard beach etc. I have never heard anyone give a negative cooment about the disney water parks. So I thingk you are out numbered on this one.
honeybee