Universal Islands of Adventure: Honest Review & Tips

Our family spent a long weekend at Universal Orlando Resort, and Universal’s Islands of Adventure was the park I was most curious about. The short version: it’s a genuinely great park with world-class theming, a couple of the best roller coasters in the country, and lines that will test your marriage by 2 p.m. We had a good time. We still prefer Disney, mostly because you don’t spend the entire day in motion simulators fighting to hold down your Butterbeer.

One thing has changed in a big way since our first visit: Universal Orlando Resort now has three theme parks, not two. Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure are the originals, and Universal’s brand-new third gate, Epic Universe, opened May 22, 2025. There’s also a water park, Volcano Bay. You still enter and exit both original parks through City Walk, Universal’s much smaller version of Disney Springs, which has restaurants, shops, and lines of young men in button-down shirts flocking to the clubs after dark to get their macks on.

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Is Loews Portofino Bay Hotel Worth It?

We stayed at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, one of Universal Orlando Resort’s on-property deluxe hotels. I chose it for one reason: the stay includes Universal Express Unlimited for every guest in the room, for the entire length of your stay. Universal Express Unlimited is like Lightning Lane at Disney World, except it’s unlimited and applies to most attractions. The only thing stopping you from riding motion simulator after motion simulator is nausea.

Read the fine print before you book on that perk alone, though. The complimentary Express Unlimited is valid only at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. It does not cover Volcano Bay, and it does not cover the new Epic Universe park. If you’re planning to spend real time at Epic Universe, the headline reason to splurge on Portofino covers two of the three parks, so budget accordingly. For a full breakdown of the resort itself, see our Loews Portofino Bay Hotel review.

I booked Loews Portofino Bay Hotel using Citi ThankYou Points earned on the Citi Premier card (now rebranded as the Citi Strata Premier). ThankYou Points can be used on most travel and are redeemed through a travel portal, so you aren’t locked into certain brands. Citi periodically changes the signup bonus, annual fee, and earning categories, so check the current offer and bonus terms before you apply rather than trusting whatever number was true the day I wrote this. If you’re just getting started, our guide to the best miles and points credit cards for beginners walks through how to pick one.

You can combine ThankYou Points from multiple Citi accounts, and my husband and I pooled ours to cover this trip. Citi’s pooling and points-expiration rules have shifted over the years, so confirm the current policy in your account before you transfer or share points, and don’t combine them until you’re actually ready to spend. For more on stretching points like these, see our primer on earning travel points without a credit card (and also with them).

How Much Are Universal Islands of Adventure Tickets?

Universal prices its tickets dynamically by date, so there’s no single sticker price. As a rough guide, a 1-day single-park ticket (Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios) recently ran somewhere in the ballpark of $132 to $201 for adults before tax, depending on whether you go on a dead Tuesday in September or the week of Christmas. A 1-day park-to-park ticket for the two original parks runs higher, roughly $191 to $260 for adults. Epic Universe is priced and sold separately. Because these move constantly, treat my numbers as a sniff test and confirm current pricing before you buy.

You can find discounted tickets on sites like Undercover Tourist and Viator. If you have some lead time, sign up for Undercover Tourist’s newsletter and wait for the additional discounts they email periodically.

Universal offers single-park and park-to-park tickets. Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure are within walking distance of each other, and there’s also a train, the Hogwarts Express, that runs between them. In the interest of making more money, Universal only lets people with park-to-park tickets ride the Hogwarts Express. One important note for 2025 and beyond: the park-to-park ticket covers the two original parks only. It does not include Epic Universe, which needs its own ticket.

I took the bait and bought park-to-park so my Harry Potter loving child would not miss out.

It was cutely decorated….

But it was not money well spent. The ride is a short, scenic transition with a fun window effect, not a thrill. If you’re going to hop between the two parks anyway, go for it, but you will not ruin childhood if you do single-park tickets and skip the Hogwarts Express. If your kid ends up in jail, this will not be the reason.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade is the highlight of Islands of Adventure, just as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley is the best part of Universal Studios Florida. Universal hits all things Harry Potter out of the park.

The theming is amazing. The centerpiece is Hogwarts castle, with snow-capped rooftops and a frozen-village feel that holds up no matter how many times you’ve seen the photos.

There is a ton to see. You could spend a considerable amount of time just walking through the land, ducking into shops and catching the live entertainment if you time a showtime right.

The rides (but not their corresponding lines) are great. Hogsmeade has a mix of coasters and a marquee castle dark ride, and the headliners tend to draw some of the longest waits in the land, so plan around them. For a deeper look at what’s worth your time, check our rundown of Islands of Adventure attractions.

Islands of Adventure has a store called Ollivanders where kids can drain their entire college accounts customize wands. You can use said wands to interact with things throughout the land. We didn’t even enter because I left the Black Card at home and there was zero chance the wand would still be intact after a day. We tried someone else’s once. It didn’t seem to work that well. Lots of kids violently flicking their wands in frustration.

With this amazing experience comes crippling crowds. The mornings were fine, but it was miserable by the afternoon. I definitely recommend going here first if you have a disdain for crowds. I’m not sure what Harry Potter jail would look like, but I have a feeling it would involve fire and general unpleasantness. It is probably best to avoid it.

Oh! The Stories You’ll Hear!

Oh! boy. This is a short street show in Seuss Landing with Dr. Seuss characters. A woman with a very odd fashion sense reads a story and the characters jazz hand around. It runs for under ten minutes and has several showtimes a day, so you can catch it without building your whole afternoon around it.

The woman was super sweet and greeted the kids before the show, but she has logged some serious community theater hours. I’m pretty sure when she gets mad at someone she calls them a cotton headed ninny muggins. It was a short show that didn’t really hold my kids’ attention. It would probably be more interesting to toddlers.

Where Can Kids Burn Energy at Islands of Adventure?

Camp Jurassic

Camp Jurassic is a great place for kids to run around and burn some energy after standing in lines for long periods of time. It’s a sprawling, multi-level play structure of rope bridges, rock tunnels, and climbing nets in the Jurassic Park area. This place made me nervous because I was not sure if there were multiple ways to exit the structure. I did my share of rope climbing in flip flops.

Kids can explore different rock tunnels.

They can shoot water at dinosaurs below, also manned by children.

There is a little splash pad area, so pack a change of clothes if your kid is the type who finds the water no matter what.

The kids had a great time in this area. I managed to escape Universal without a broken ankle.

Jurassic Park Discovery Center

Jurassic Park Discovery Center is an indoor, interactive center, which makes it a great break from hot or inclement weather. A lot of the exhibits were pretty cool, and when we were there it was not crowded.

It has large dinosaur skeletons that span both floors.

You can use some kind of microscope to examine these guys, despite the fact that they are not real dinosaurs.

You can look for fossils(?)

There is a station that allows you to figure out what you would look like as a dinosaur. My codependent/grabby kids ended up doing a combination of themselves because they just couldn’t take turns.

Inbreeding is illegal for a reason.

Not too sure what is happening here, but I’m sure it was supposed to be educational.

Finally, you can see baby dinosaurs hatch.

The Jurassic Park Discovery Center was enjoyable. I had to drag the kids out of there after an extended period of time, because, touring plan, obviously. I’ll tell you where you can have fun, kids. You’re welcome.

One planning note if dinosaurs are your kid’s whole personality: the marquee thrill ride in this area is now the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, which opened in 2021 and is regularly ranked among the best coasters in the country. It hits about 70 mph and has a 51-inch height requirement, so it’s for your taller, braver crew, not the splash-pad set. The slower, family-friendly Jurassic Park River Adventure has had stretches of extended refurbishment, so check whether it’s open before you promise anyone a soaking.

Which Characters Can You Meet at Islands of Adventure?

Islands of Adventure has some unique characters you won’t find at Disney, namely Marvel superheroes and the Seuss characters from the show with Mrs. Rogers up there.

They were deep in character. Wolverine scolded me for telling my children to hold up their nails. “Claws!”

Some deep wisdom was imparted.

There was almost no wait to see any of them. If we’d had to wait for Dr. Doom for any amount of time, my kids would have chickened out.

Throughout the day, Spider-Man and crew ride down the street on motorcycles, then nothing else happens.

We’ll be scaling walls in no time.

What Are the Gluten Free Dining Options?

Three Broomsticks

Three Broomsticks is a quick-service restaurant in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade. Like the rest of the land, the decor is really well done, and it’s worth a visit for the ambiance alone.

Unfortunately, everyone knows this. There is a line out the door to get into this place. Try to eat at an off time, either early lunch or mid-afternoon, to dodge the worst of it.

The menu is relatively limited, but the good news for celiac families is that things have improved since our first visit.

Three Broomsticks now has a dedicated allergy and gluten-free menu, and the kitchen takes allergies seriously, with allergy-stick service and food delivered by a manager. Gluten-free options have included items like the roasted chicken, fries, and even gluten-free pancakes at breakfast. That’s a real upgrade from the days when you had to interrogate a cashier and hope for the best.

My old beef with this place was the food and the drinks: the chicken tasted like it had been run through a dehydrator, and I couldn’t find a diet soft drink to feed my middle-aged addiction to caffeine and artificial sweeteners. The dedicated menu fixes the allergy hassle, and the beverage stations may have changed since, so check before you despair. Order whatever’s coming out hottest and you’ll probably do better than I did.

Confisco Grille

Confisco Grille, in the Port of Entry near the front of the park, is one of the few sit-down restaurants at Islands of Adventure. We ate here on the last day because we didn’t have it in us to eat another expensive, sub-par, quick-service meal. We waited about half an hour for a table. The interior is spacious and clean. There was nothing overly exciting, but it did the job, and there’s an adjoining Backwater Bar if you’ve earned a drink by day three.

The menu had a few gluten-free items marked, including salads, pad thai, and wings; the menu got a refresh in 2025 with additions like quesabirria, so the specific dishes may differ from what we ordered. It wasn’t marked gluten-free, but I ordered nachos because I am not sensitive to cross contamination and I need a steady stream of cheese running through my body at all times. I’ve never had a problem with a common fryer. People with greater sensitivity should avoid that. The food was decent and the prices were reasonable. We would eat here again.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many theme parks does Universal Orlando have now?

Three: Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe, which opened in May 2025. There’s also the Volcano Bay water park. The older “two parks” framing you’ll still see floating around is out of date.

Do I need a park-to-park ticket?

Only if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express between Hogsmeade (in Islands of Adventure) and Diagon Alley (in Universal Studios Florida), or you plan to hop between the two original parks in one day. If you’re sticking to Islands of Adventure, a single-park ticket is plenty. Park-to-park does not include Epic Universe, which needs its own ticket.

How much time do you need at Islands of Adventure?

A full day covers the highlights if you arrive at opening and hit Hogsmeade first before the crowds land. With Express Unlimited from an on-site deluxe hotel, you can do it more comfortably and still have time for the play areas. Add a second day if you want to linger in the Wizarding World or ride the bigger coasters more than once.

Is Islands of Adventure better than Disney World?

For us, no, but the gap is closing. Disney still wins on dark rides and gentle family attractions for younger kids. Islands of Adventure wins on theming and thrill coasters, and with VelociCoaster and the new Epic Universe park, Universal’s pull is stronger than it was. If you’ve got teens or coaster lovers, Universal may even be the better fit. If you’re traveling with toddlers, see our take on visiting Universal Orlando with little kids.

Final Thoughts: Is Islands of Adventure Worth It?

We had a great time at Islands of Adventure. The crowds weren’t bad in most areas, Universal Express Unlimited was awesome, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade is genuinely special. Before this trip, Universal Orlando was a distant second to Disney World in my head. I still lean Disney, but Universal is closing the gap, and with VelociCoaster and the addition of Epic Universe, that gap is narrower than ever. We’d absolutely visit again. If you’re combining the two, our guide to adding Universal to a Disney vacation makes it painless.