Universal's Islands of Adventure - Orlando, Florida Entertainment-Themed Amusement Park

Universal's Islands of Adventure is a family-oriented amusement park located in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the very popular and world-renowned Universal Theme Park franchise. It opened in May of 1999 and is part of a large-scale expansion that converted the Universal Studios Florida theme park into the Universal Orlando Resort.

In keeping with the theme of many of the Universal parks, Islands of Adventure was created around the idea of adventure and fun. Visually based entertainment media like television, cartoons, and movies are well represented within this theme. However, there are also many rides and attractions present and accounted for that were modeled after comic book heroes, folk heroes, and children's tales as well. As is the case with many similar parks, the park grounds at Universal's Islands of Adventure are divided up into five separate sections (or islands), each patterned after its own unique subtheme. A lagoon is the centerpiece of the park.

The first island is known as Marvel Super Hero Island and consists of rides and attractions built around popular characters and stories from Marvel comic books. Visitors to this section of the park can expect to experience encounters with such characters as Wolverine, Doctor Doom, Captain America, and Spider-Man to name just a few. Popular attractions include the exhilarating Incredible hulk Coaster, Doctor Doom's Fearfall, and the Storm Force Accelatron.

The second island is known as Toon Lagoon where the attractions are all water-based rides centered around popular and well-known cartoons, both classic and modern. These include Popeye, Blondie, and Dagwood. Some favorite attractions from this section include Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges and Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. Cartoon-themed restaurants can also be found here.

The third island is known as Jurassic Park and is themed after the popular movie franchise of the same name. Visitors to this section will enjoy appearances by well-known characters from the movies as well including Dr. Ian Malcom and John Hammond. Popular attractions and rides include the Jurassic Park Discovery Center, the Jurassic Park River Adventure, and Camp Jurassic.

Venture on to the fourth island and you'll find yourself in the midst of the Lost Continent, the section of the park dedicated to legends, folk tales, and ancient myths. This section is further divided into two subsections dealing respectively with the regions of ancient Arabia and ancient Greece. Restaurants and live action shows are also part of the mix within the Lost Continent, while popular attractions include Dueling Dragons, the Mystic Fountain, and Poseidon's Fury.

Last but not least is Seuss Landing, a Seussian-themed section specially designed to the park's youngest visitors. Seuss-themed restaurants are also located here. The d,cor of this section is modeled after the illustrations from the Seuss book and do not feature a single straight line. Popular attractions include a Seuss carousel, a Cat in the Hat ride, and the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride.

Scheduled to be included in Universal's Islands of Adventure by 2010 is a 20-acre sixth island themed after characters, locations, and storylines from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Expected to be included in this section of the park are such attractions as the Dragon Challenge, Ollivander's, and Flight of the Hippogriff.