Universal Islands of Adventure
Universal Islands of Adventure, often shortened to Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, United States. It originally opened as Universal Studios Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, along with Universal CityWalk, as part of a major expansion that transformed Universal Studios Florida into Universal Orlando Resort. The investment was Universal's largest since the resort's founding in 1990. A short time later in 2001, the park was renamed Universal's Islands of Adventure, which remained in effect until 2023. It was the second theme park to open at the resort, followed by Universal Volcano Bay in 2017 as the first water park, and Universal Epic Universe in 2025 as the third theme park.
Islands of Adventure is designed around the concept of exploration, with each section of the park representing a different themed island. Initially, the park featured six themed areas. A seventh area called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade, based on the Harry Potter franchise, was introduced in 2010 and resulted in a notable increase in attendance. In 2024 the park hosted 9.4 million visitors, making it the 14th-most visited theme park in the world that year.
History
Before Islands of Adventure was built, the site was originally planned as a shopping mall called Galleria Orlando. Plans were first drawn up for the mall in 1985, but it was ultimately cancelled in 1990, the same year Universal Studios Florida opened next door.Preview Center
During the construction of IOA, Universal opened the Islands of Adventure Preview Center at adjacent Universal Studios Florida. Opening two years before the new theme park, the Preview Center was designed to give guests a sneak peek at some of the themes and attractions for Islands of Adventure. It was housed in the Paradise Theater building located in the New York section of Universal Studios Florida, next to the Kongfrontation attraction. In the attraction, guests would walk through various rooms themed to the various "Islands" in the new park. The final room stated when the Islands of Adventure Park would open, and showed guests Universal's future plans for the Universal Orlando Resort. The Preview Center was closed shortly after the opening of Islands of Adventure. The space that was used for the preview center is now a locker room and a year-round "Tribute Store".Opening
Islands of Adventure had a soft opening beginning March 27, 1999, during which visitors could preview the park at a discounted price while the staff conducted a technical rehearsal and worked on the "finishing touches." During this soft opening, guests were informed that attractions might open and close throughout the day without notice and that some attractions might not be open at all. Initial plans were to open the park in mid-May, but this was ultimately delayed until May 28, 1999.After the enormous capital expenditure required to build Islands of Adventure, CityWalk, and the resort hotels, Universal sought to overtake nearby Walt Disney World in attendance. However, with the addition of the second park, new resorts, and entertainment district, the resort was named Universal Studios Escape. Essentially, it seemed that visitors were confused by the name, assuming that Islands of Adventure was a new area added to the already-existing Universal Studios Florida theme park. For the first two years, attendance did not rise as expected. By 2001, the marketing was revamped, clarifying that Islands of Adventure was indeed a second, completely separate park with new rides and attractions. Universal Studios Escape was renamed Universal Orlando Resort and ended up being the only resort in the Orlando area to have an increase in attendance after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Timeline
Former attractions
At Islands of Adventure many past attractions have been closed, some simply being closed with no replacement like Island Skipper Tours while others like The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! were altered from their initial concept to the attraction that operates today. Other rides closed include Dueling Dragons, renamed and rethemed to Dragon Challenge for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a dueling inverted coaster. The two sides of the coaster eventually stopped dueling and were dispatched at separate times after guests were hit by belongings of riders from the opposite ride vehicle flying toward and colliding with them during the "duel" section. As a result, the ride declined in popularity and eventually closed. It was replaced with what is now known as Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.Islands
Islands of Adventure consists of eight themed "islands", the majority of which are based on licensed intellectual properties, with only two lands based on original Universal Pictures works. They are, in clockwise order from entry: Port of Entry, Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Skull Island, Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing.Port of Entry
Port of Entry serves as the park's main entrance and includes various shops and services, including a Guest Services location named The Open Arms Hotel. The park's centerpiece, Pharos Lighthouse, is also located within the Port of Entry. Each night, this functioning lighthouse sends out a bright beam to lead visitors to and from the park's gates. It has dining options including Croissant Moon Bakery, Backwater Bar, The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast, Confisco Grille, Starbucks, and Cinnabon. It has shopping options such as Port Provisions, Island Market and Export Candy Shoppe, DeFoto's Expedition Photography, Port of Entry Christmas Shoppe, Ocean Trader Market, and Islands of Adventure Trading Company.Marvel Super Hero Island
Marvel Super Hero Island is based on the superhero characters featured in Marvel Comics. The area features comic-book styled architecture; many of the building interiors are created in comic book perspective, with exaggerated lines and angles. Many exteriors are painted in a special paint which appears to change color based on the angle from which it is viewed – sometimes purple, sometimes orange. The buildings are all labelled generically: "Store", "Shop", "Food", and "Comics", etc.| Attraction | Year opened | Manufacturer | Description | Height requirements |
| Doctor Doom's Fearfall | 1999 | S&S – Sansei Technologies | A space shot ride based on the Fantastic Four archenemy Doctor Doom. | 52 in |
| Storm Force Accelatron | 2000 | Mack Rides | A teacups ride based on the X-Men. Where guests use their ride vehicles to help Storm harness enough forces of thunder and lightning to defeat Magneto. | Supervision is required for riders under 48 in |
| The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man | 1999 | Oceaneering International | A 3D dark ride based on Marvel Comics Spider-Man. The ride is set in New York as Spider-Man stops the Sinister Syndicate from taking the Statue of Liberty. | 40 in |
| The Incredible Hulk Coaster | 1999 | Bolliger & Mabillard | A launched roller coaster based on the Hulk comics. The island's signature coaster with a top speed of. | 54 in |
The area is also home to a variety of dining outlets and merchandise shops. Food and beverage items can be purchased from Cafe 4 and Captain America Diner. Merchandise items can be bought from a variety of themed stores, including Spider-Man Shop, Marvel Alterniverse Store, Comic Book Shop, and Oakley.
There is also "Meet Spider-Man and the Marvel Super Heroes", a meet-and-greet attraction, where guests can meet superheroes including Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Rogue, Spider-Man, and Captain America.
In late 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced that it had sought to acquire Marvel Entertainment. Universal announced that Marvel's new ownership would not affect Marvel Super Hero Island as a contract for exclusive rights to the characters had been signed in 1994, and Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that Disney would continue to honor any contracts that Marvel currently has with Disney competitors. In March 2012, Bob Iger revealed that Disney had begun preliminary concepts of incorporating Marvel's properties into their parks, although no major negotiations with Universal were announced. Hong Kong Disneyland has since announced an expansion to its park featuring characters from the Marvel Universe. Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in California has also since incorporated meet-and-greet Marvel characters, as well as an Avengers Super Hero Half Marathon Weekend at the resort. Both Hong Kong Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have opened Marvel attractions since the acquisition, with Iron Man Experience at the former and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! at the latter. Both attractions officially opened in 2017. Only Walt Disney World Resort is barred from having Marvel characters in its parks, due to contractual obligations to Universal and Universal's exclusive rights to use any Marvel characters related to Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, and The X-Men in the region east of the Mississippi River. However, this only includes Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, the villains associated with said characters, other characters in the "families" of said characters, and the Marvel name. This clause has allowed Walt Disney World to have meet and greets, merchandise, attractions, and more with other Marvel characters not associated with the characters at Islands of Adventure, such as Star-Lord and Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy as well as create Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure in California and Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris. However, as a result of the contract, Disney is not allowed to use the "Marvel" name at any of their theme parks anywhere in the United States, regardless of what side of the Mississippi River the park is in. In April 2021, Disney announced that the area would open on June 4, 2021.