Once you're at Islands of Adventures:
Use lockers. You'll find many lockers in the Islands of Adventure park, for good reason: riders on the x-treme rides (those ones that hang you in the air and shove your heart in your stomach) aren't permitted to carry any sort of bag at all, and you'll need to tuck your stuff in a locker before you ride. Lockers are free for 75 minutes, and then cost $2 for half an hour.
9. Ride the most popular Island of Adventure rides early in the day: presumably you've arrived early, as recommended above! On our visit, we headed to the Marvel Super Hero Island area and quickly sampled The Adventures of Spiderman (a super ride), and the Incredible Hulk (not as terrifying as it looks.) If you're arriving with little kids, head first to the Pteranodon Flyer: the line-up builds quickly for this cool little attraction, and then moves at a snail's pace.
10. Know that wait-time estimates are on the high side. Outside every ride in Islands of Adventure is a sign announcing the estimated waiting time. Even when the sign said 20 minutes, we often walked right onto the ride.
Check the signboards that track waiting times. Scattered throughout the park are a number of signboards that announce the waiting times for the most popular rides. If you see that The Incredible Hulk has a waiting time of only 10 minutes, dash over and go for it.
Use Universal Express Passes strategically. Express Passes (similar to Disney's Fastpasses) are a way to reduce lineups for popular rides. To get an Express pass, simply insert your regular admission ticket into a machine, select a ride, and presto! you'll receive a slip of paper with a time marked on it. During one magic hour, you're able to board that ride using the Express lane. You're only allowed one Express Pass at a time, but can get another one (a) after you ride the ride; (b) after your magic hour is up; or (c) two hours after you obtained your Pass.
Use your Express Pass strategically! If The Incredible Hulk has a waiting time of only twenty minutes, get an Express Pass for another ride, then wait in the normal line-up for the Hulk. While you ride, the clock will be ticking closer to your time for the second attraction.
Note: you can also buy a Universal Express Plus pass (for $20), which is nearly as good as the front-of-the-line access for guests staying at a Universal resort. With both, you enter a special line-up for popular attractions; but with Universal Express Plus, you can only fast-access each ride once. Read more.
Use the baby swap. At every ride in the Islands of Adventure park, parents can take turns watching their small child while the other parent (and maybe older kids) rides.
13. Best bets for budget meals: turkey legs at a street stand in the Port of Entry; Green Eggs and Ham, at Seuss Landing; chicken and and fries platters at the Thunder Falls Terrace, in the Jurassic Park area. The IOACentral Guide site lists restaurants and meal prices.
More Islands of Adventure:
• Islands of Adventure - at the official Universal Studios web site.• Seuss Landing - cute kiddie zone in Islands of Adventure
• Universal Orlando- at About's Theme Parks site.
Enjoy your visit to Islands of Adventure!
* Universal Studios owns Universal Orlando, Universal Studios Hollywood, and two other locations. Universal Orlando has two theme parks-- Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida-- the CityWalk shopping/ entertainment complex, and three resorts.
