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A theme park with something for everyone. The park is situated next door to
Universal Studios and both parks are reached via Citywalk. Both parks and
Citywalk also share the same car parks.
IOA is made up of five different 'islands' which are reached by walking through
the Port of Entry, an area made up of shops and places to eat. The different
islands are positioned around a central lagoon, which you can go round either
clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on what you want to see first.
If you go clockwise, the islands are Marvel Super Heroes Island, Toon
Lagoon, Jurassic Park, The Lost Continent and Seuss Landings.
Marvel Super-Hero Island
MSHI takes you into the Marvel Comic themed island. There are three rides
straight out of the top draw here.
First off, The Incredible Hulk Rollercoaster, a fast and thrilling
ride that blasts from standstill to 40mph in two seconds.
Dr Doom fearfall is a ride not for the fainthearted. You are strapped into a
chair and shot up the side of a 200ft tower. A moment of feeling suspended in
mid-air is followed by the plummet back to earth.
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman is a 'must-see' moving 3-D ride reached via
the offices of the Daily Bugle. Experience a battle between Spiderman and his
arch enemies such as Doc Oc and The Green Goblin. The special effects are
fantastic, but you have to ride more than once to take it all in.
The last ride in this area is Storm Force Accelatron, a Super Hero take on the
traditional tea-cup ride. There are also plenty of opportunities to have your
photo taken with your favourite comic hero.
Toon Lagoon
Another Island dedicated to comic book and cartoon characters is Toon Lagoon. A
couple of very wet water rides, wity fountains and squirt pools will give
you plenty of opportunity to cool down on a hot day.
Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges is a variation on the white-water raft ride
and is very unpredictable. Next door is Me Ship, The Olive, an
excellent play area set in a three storey boat with plenty to keep the
youngsters occupied.
Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw falls is a very wet log flume in which you are
tasked with saving Nell, Dudley Do-Right's girlfriend.
Also in Toon Lagoon is Mat Hoffman's Crazy Freakin' Stunt Show, a display of
tricks on BMX's and Skateboards.
Jurassic Park
The key ride in this island is the Jurassic Park River Adventure which
takes you to a land of animatronic dinosaurs. The ride turns into a race
to escape the rampant dinosaurs and involves a rather wet plunge to
escape the jaws of the T-Rex.
The other ride in Jurassic Park is the Pteranodon Flyers, a brief ride
through the air over the Jurassic Park island. This is a gentle ride and one
that often involves a long queue.
Other attractions here include Camp Jurassic, another fantastic
playground for the kids (and maybe the adults) to let off steam. Triceratops
Encounter gives you the chance of a close up meeting with a real life
dinosaur! Lastly there is the Discovery Center, an interactive area
where you can enjoy a hands-on exhibits and watch the dinosaurs hatch from
their eggs.
The Lost Continent
This island is home to The Dueling Dragons double roller-coaster, a
thoroughly thrilling coaster entered through a dark and mysterious path that
tells the story of the dragons of fire and ice. You then get to choose the
dragon you wish to ride, so you'll have to go twice to try both.
For those a bit too young (or scared) to try DD, how about trying The Flying
Unicorn, a tamer coaster without loops but with a bit of pace for the younger
riders.
Other attractions in TLC are The Eigth Voyage of Sinbad, a special effects and
stunt show which is entertainment for the whole family. There is also
Poseidon's Fury, a walk through show full of suspense which leads to a battle
between Poseidon and an ancient demon in the arena at the end.
There are also a few shops and places to eat, as well as the odd pitch and
skill games stall.
Seuss Landings
The place at IOA for the little ones with plenty of quirky characters
which are fun even if you are not acquainted with the books of Dr Seuss. The
rides are all based on Seuss characters.
Kids will love Caro-Seuss-el, where the horses are replaced with Seuss'
fictional characters.
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is similar to the Dumbo ride at the
Magic Kingdom, but this time you pilot a fish from the book of the same
name.
The Cat the Hat ride takes you through the popular story and
involves quite lot of spinning and finally there is If I ran the Zoo
playground, which is aimed at the pre-schoolers. Plenty of imagination has gone
into this attraction and the young ones will love it.
In peak season, IOA also has a firework show on the lagoon at the end of the
day.
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