BGuthrie Photos: FL -- Orlando -- Universal Orlando Resort -- Islands of Adventure -- Lotusphere 2005 reception

FL -- Orlando -- Universal Orlando Resort -- Islands of Adventure -- Lotusphere 2005 reception:

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Description of Pictures: For the conference, Lotus rents out a theme park for the night and gives attendees free access (and food) for a couple of hours. This year, it was Universal's Islands of Adventure. The food was horrible but The Incredible Hulk ride was a kick!

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[1] UNIVI_050126_005.JPG	[2] UNIVI_050126_009.JPG	[3] UNIVI_050126_016.JPG	[4] UNIVI_050126_022.JPG	[5] UNIVI_050126_026.JPG	[6] UNIVI_050126_029.JPG	[7] UNIVI_050126_035.JPG	[8] UNIVI_050126_042.JPG
[9] UNIVI_050126_045.JPG	[10] UNIVI_050126_053.JPG	[11] UNIVI_050126_065.JPG	[12] UNIVI_050126_101.JPG	[13] UNIVI_050126_106.JPG	[14] UNIVI_050126_111.JPG	[15] UNIVI_050126_119.JPG	[16] UNIVI_050126_125.JPG
[17] UNIVI_050126_158.JPG	[18] UNIVI_050126_191.JPG	[19] UNIVI_050126_215.JPG	[20] UNIVI_050126_254.JPG	[21] UNIVI_050126_270.JPG	[22] UNIVI_050126_277.JPG	[23] UNIVI_050126_279.JPG	[24] UNIVI_050126_282.JPG
[25] UNIVI_050126_297.JPG

AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Islands of Adventure
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort. The park's overall theme is that of a journey of exploration, where guests depart from a main port to visit six islands, each having its own distinct theme, but all emphasizing adventure. On June 18, 2010, the seventh island, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (themed to the popular Harry Potter franchise) officially opened at the park, its largest investment since opening. In 2009, Islands of Adventure hosted approximately 4.5 million guests, ranking it #9 among United States parks.

Like Universal Studios Florida next door, Islands of Adventure has not limited itself to Universal's own library. The park has licenced other characters from rival studios, many of whom did not operate theme parks themselves. Some of these include The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss Enterprises), Harry Potter (Warner Bros.), Dudley Do-Right (Jay Ward Productions), Popeye the Sailor Man (Paramount Pictures) and Spider-Man (Marvel Comics, now part of The Walt Disney Company).

History:

Preview Center:

During the construction of the park, Universal opened a Preview Center (known as the Islands of Adventure Preview Center) at their adjacent Florida theme park. Opening 2 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. The attraction was located 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.

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 re-vamped, 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 actually have an increase in attendance after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Timeline of notable events:

1990's:

* 1994: The first concepts for the Islands of Adventure park, including a Silver Surfer themed roller coaster and a Batman themed section, are conceived by MCA Planning and Development.
* 1996: Islands of Adventure is officially announced, with a planned opening date of either 1998 or 1999.
* 1997: The attraction Islands of Adventure Preview Center opens at the Universal Studios Florida studio park, replacing The Screen Test Home Video Adventure. It is meant to serve as a preview for the IOA park, and includes previews of all six original islands at the park and their rides and attractions within. The preview center also includes Universal's plans for an expansion into Universal Orlando Resort.
* 1999, March 27: Islands of Adventure begins soft openings.
* 1999, May 28: Islands of Adventure is officially opened with a grand opening ceremony, with the islands Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, The Lost Continent, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon and Marvel Super Hero Island. The Islands of Adventure Preview Center at Universal Studios Florida is closed shortly afterwards.

2000's:

* 2000, May & June 29: Flying Unicorn and Storm Force Accelatron debut in the park's The Lost Continent and Marvel Super Hero Island areas, respectively.
* 2000, December: The annual GrinchMas event begins in the park's Seuss Landing area.
* 2001: Universal delays the opening of Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driving Machines, which they had originally intended to open with the park, indefinitely due to technical and safety issues, as well as the ride's manufacturer going bankrupt.
* 2002: Mat Hoffman's Freakin Crazy Stunt Show opens in the park's Toon Lagoon amphitheatre. The Toon Lagoon Rock N' Roll Bash is moved outside.
* 2002: Island Skipper Tours is closed.
* 2002, October: Universal's Halloween Horror Nights event is held for the first time ever at Islands of Adventure. Each "island" is transformed into a different twisted world: Port of Entry into Port of Evil, Seuss Landing into Boo-Ville, The Lost Continent into Island of Evil Souls, Jurassic Park into JP Extinction, Toon Lagoon into Treaks and Foons and Marvel Super Hero Island into Island Under Siege.
* 2004: Mat Hoffman's Freakin Crazy Stunt Show is closed.
* 2004, October: Halloween Horror Nights is held in both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida.
* 2005: Triceratops Discovery Trail, also known as Triceratops Encounter, is closed down due to maintenance and staffing issues, and is left abandoned.
* 2006, June: Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driving Machines is rebuilt into a new concept, and officially opened as The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride.
* 2007, May 31: Universal Studios and Warner Bros officially announce Islands of Adventure's seventh island, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at a joint press conference, with an expected opening of late 2009 or early 2010.
* 2008, July 7: The Flying Unicorn, as well as the Enchanted Oak Tavern, are both closed due to Harry Potter construction.
* 2009, September 16: Universal officially reveals the Wizarding World's attractions, including Zonko's, Honeydukes, Owl Post, Dervish and Banges, Ollivander's Wand Shop Experience, Frog Choir, Triwizard Spirit Rally, Flight of the Hippogriff, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods and Dragon Challenge, which will replace the then-still operating Dueling Dragons rides.
* 2009, October: Oh, The Stories You'll Hear! opens in the park's Seuss Landing area.

2010's:

* 2010, March: Mat Hoffman's Aggro Circus debuts in the park's Toon Lagoon amphitheatre, the theater's first show since Mat Hoffman's Freakin Crazy Stunt Show in 2002.
* 2010, May 5: Dueling Dragons is closed for its final transformation into Dragon Challenge. Ice is re-named Hungarian Horntail and Fire is re-named Chinese Fireball.
* 2010, June 1: The Wizarding World begins soft openings for the general public.
* 2010, June 18: The seventh island, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, is officially opened with a grand opening ceremony. The area is Islands of Adventure's biggest investment since the park's opening.
* 2010, December 13: After five years, Triceratops Discovery Trail is finally reopened to the public.

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