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Islands of Adventure
Orlando, FL
NBC Universal / Comcast
---- THE LATEST BUZZ ----
(5/13/2023) Take a Last Trip Into The Temple of Poseidon (MORE...)
(4/22/2023) How to Incorporate Poseidon's Fury Into The Wizarding World (MORE...)
(4/12/2023) Universal Orlando To Close Islands of Adventure Attraction Next Month (MORE...)
(1/21/2023) Marvel Character Dinner Returns To Cafe 4 (MORE...)
(12/20/2022) Pteranodon Flyers Has A Reopening Date (MORE...)
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Posiedon’s Fury CLOSED FOREVER on May 9, 2023
Harry Potter at the Forbidden Journey - June 8
Wizarding World of Harry Potter - DIAGON ALLEY Review!
Screamscape Previews Diagon Alley!! We’ve Got All The Details!
Screamscape Review Part II: Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
Screamscape Review Part III: The Hogwarts Express!
Other Features & Reviews
Skull Island: Reign of Kong (2016)
Volcano Bay (2017)
Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (2017)
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (2019)
Jurassic World VELOCICOASTER (2021)
 General Park News - (5/13/2023) For the record books, InsideUniversal has posted a video shot at the very last performance of the Poseidon’s Fury attraction at the end of May 9th, 2023. Of course the guests in attendance were fully aware of it, as the show was full of cheering fans and a little improv. Love it or not, it is sad to think this is the last time anyone will get to walk through the awesome water vortex effect.
A few fun facts in case anyone was wondering after all this time… the “Professor Baxter” character who is heard but goes unseen in the attraction was named as a fun homage to the famous Disney Imagineer Tony Baxtor. Oh… and the live-actor “Taylor” character? I’m pretty sure this name-dropping was done by Taylor Jeffs, current head of Legacy Entertainment, who worked on the Poseidon’s Fury revision with Gary Goddard back when Legacy was known as “The Goddard Group”. Of course the placement of little ‘Easter Egg’ references by creators isn’t as uncommon as you might think. After all, it has been said that you leave a little piece of yourself in everything you create for others to enjoy.
So let’s take one last trip into the Temple of Poseidon!
 (4/22/2023) Listen up…
THIS IS NOT A RUMOR!
THIS IS NOT EVEN SPECULATION!
This isn’t anything that will likely ever happen… it’s just a fun idea I had on my own. Consider this a little example of Armchair-Imagineering if you will indulge me. Ok? Ready?
I just had a crazy idea of my own about a fun idea Universal could do with the former Poseidon’s Fury attraction space. What if it were possible to transform the existing attraction into the Wizarding World’s Azkaban prison? Looking at the Wizarding World lore about the creation of the infamous prison, it was said to have been created as a lair and trap of sorts by the mad wizard Ekrizdis who practiced dark magic and would lure unsuspecting Muggle sailors to it in order to trap and torture them.
Right there alone, this sounds like a fitting concept fit for transporting and trapping Muggle theme park guests into the heart of Azkaban prison, tucked away on the outskirts of the Wizarding World at Islands of Adventure. Taking some inspiration from the concepts of the old Poseidon’s Fury attraction and then mix in some modern cuttiing-edge Escape Room style interactivity, and perhaps borrowing a bit from Galaxy’s Edge our hapless Muggles would be brought into Azkaban, trapped in prison cells and tasked with escaping the dark nightmare of a prison before someone attempts to finish whatever dark works were once started by Ekrizdis.
Ok, I now return you to the real world… and while this will never happen, it does give us a fun little idea to think about what kind of attraction this really could be. Of course the Azkaban concept could also work as a Galactic Starcruiser ultra-themed resort experience, where your price of admission is an overnight adventure trying to escape from the prison through a series of trials and experiences, allowing guests to escape into the theme park at dawn’s light lest they be trapped forever in the bowels of Azkaban.
Either way… just imagine the fun kinds of merchandise Universal could create and sell with an experience like this, especially when ever prisoner goes through an admission’s experience where they take your Wizarding World “mug shot’ with you in chains holding the Azkaban Prison sign.
(4/12/2023) After being closed for a long period of time during COVID, only to reopen after a lengthy rehab as well… Universal Orlando shocked many today when they announced via an internal employee email that the Poseidon’s Fury attraction would be closing for good at the end of May 9th, 2023 to make room for something new at Islands of Adventure.
So what is on the horizon? No one knows for sure, but when The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad stunt show closed in 2018, I figured that Poseidon’s Fury was likely to be living on borrowed time. It’s also fair to assume that The Lost Contient island in general will also be lost to the sands of time, as after May 10th, both of the remaining attractions that made up the themed zone will be no more, leaving just a random assortment of gift shops, food stands and a foul tempered fountain. Oh, and Mythos… the park’s premier dining restaurant.
It would be interesting if Mythos was also shut down, but so far nothing has been said about that. Even if Mythos stays, the combined land used by the closed Sindbad and Poseideon attractions, along with the connecting shops is almost comparable in size to the land used for the Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure attraction. I’m not saying this will happen yet, but if Universal was willing to do so, they could level this entire space to the ground and be able to repurpose it for just about anything… a new major attraction to a whole land with several smaller attractions.
Universal seems to have something in mind however, as the email mentioned sharing more details about what might replace Poseidon’s Fury in the future. So it is also entirely possible that they could just reskin the existing Poseidon’s Fury attraction to create another similar walk-through adventure. I know at one point, many years ago, a concept was pitched to turn Posideon into a Legend of Zelda attraction, but those plans were never approved. Plus, from what I understand, the basic layout and effects gags from Poseidon would have remained intact, including the water vortex, the only change would be the story and theme of everything, so it makes sense why Universal never went through with it.
On an unrelated note, the email also confirmed that “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle” projection show would also no longer happen starting May 10th, while they work to “make way for future show enhancements.”
(1/21/2023) Marvel Character Dining is returning to Islands of Adventure on Feb. 9, 2023. The event takes place as a buffet style meal inside Cafe 4 on select dates starting at 5pm where you can meet Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm and Rogue. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended, which lets to see the dates available. The initial schedule for February shows the Dining event taking place Thursdays through Sundays, and dark Mon, Tue, and Wed.
(12/20/2022) According to the official Universal Orlando website, the Pteranodon Flyers is now slated to only remain closed through to Dec. 24th. Strangely, I did not however see a mention that Ripsaw Falls was closed... so perhaps it may be ready to reopen any time now.
(12/17/2022) Looks like some progress to refurbish Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls is now taking place as some construction walls have come down, and water is testing in the flume once again. A lot of the work-crew scaffolding that has been on the mountain for awhile has now come down as well. No word on when it may reopen, but this does seem to confirm that Universal is working to reopen the attraction as soon as possible.
(12/14/2022) It has been reported that the Pteranodon Flyers attraction shut down sometime last week, to allow rescue workers to evacuate some guests from the ride. On the surface this sounds like a possible “valley” may have occurred, where something random, like a strong wind, causes the car to slow down to the point where it can’t complete the rest of the course, eventually coming to a stop, and possibly even rolling backwards for a bit, before the train comes to rest in mid-course. While this wouldn’t be the first time this has happened, the ride has remained closed ever since leaving some to believe that the cause of the issue may have been something a little more serious than a random “valley”.
Anyone know more about what’s going on?
(12/11/2022) According to a report at ClickOrlando, Universal Orlando will soon be moving their Annual Passholder Lounge area. The current location inside the Universal Studios Florida park will close on Dec. 31st and a new one will replace it inside the Toon Lagoon area of Islands of Adventure instead.
(10/30/22) Many have been hoping for more information about the fate of Ripsaw Falls at Islands of Adventure, unfortunately this seems to be the best kept secret at Universal Orlando right now. What we have heard before and that is being reinforced now is that Ripsaw Falls was nearing a planned extended closure anyway for refurbishment and following the needed closure for inspection after Hurricane Ian they just decided to close it early.
The other word going around is that even without Hurricane Ian, the closure of Ripsaw Falls was expected to be longer than the usual winter-rehab, as the ride was also rumored to have been experiencing a number of technical issues causing more frequent bouts of downtime, and these issues needed to be looked at and addressed if possible. Keep in mind that water rides in general are an interesting beast, one that comes with an assortment of unique and high maintenance costs just because the wet environment is so destructive to everything.
Despite it all, there are those claiming that any added damage to the attraction caused by the storm may be enough for Universal to simply give-up on the attraction and close it for good, but that does seem a bit extreme. At the very least, it seems far too soon to make that kind of call right now. While very little is actually known at this point, the one common story is that Ripsaw is unlikely to open until some point in 2023 right now. This could be a 3 month closure, 6 month, or maybe even a 9 month closure… but at this point I think everyone is still trying to figure out what needs to be done, and how long it will take.
(10/26/22) While we know that Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls has been closed since Hurricane Ian, many felt that the ride was approaching it’s normal winter-season rehab time anyway, so they may have just started it early. Unfortunately, according to rumors being posted on the internet, Ripsaw Falls is being said to have suffered some more serious damage caused by Hurricane Ian that will keep the ride closed for an extended period of time.
According to posts elsewhere the Team Members normally assigned to work the ride have been reassigned to other positions. As for the ride itself, after sitting quite for some time, water was seen flowing once again over the past week, but no logs at all. Rumor right now are claiming that the damage is serious enough that it could be closed for the next 9 months, and some even speculate that it could be closed for good.
I have serious doubts about it being closed forever, but to be honest, I really haven’t been hearing much at all about Ripsaw as of late.
(10/2/22) I’ve got a quick attraction status update for Islands of Adventure. As of Sunday afternoon Incredible Hulk is now running once again and in an unexpected development the Universal app also lists Jurassic Park River Adventure as having reopened as well, despite there being a huge hole in the side of the building. Wow! In the words of Dr. Ian Malcolm… “Life Finds A Way!”
(9/16/22) Good news for Wizarding World fans, it seems that the Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle projection show will soon return to Islands of Adventure. According to the official park website the popular projection show will return on select nights between Sept. 16 and Oct. 31st, 2022.
(5/6/22) According to various reports sent in, Universal Orlando is sending out surveys asking some pretty nifty questions about guest’s current experience with the interactive wands used in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. In addition to just gathering data about their guests current experience with the interactive wand product, they clearly are looking into the possible future of the product.
While the survey does try to gain an opinion on the concept of just selling non-interactive replica wands, it also asks for opinions on a number of possible upgrades to the program. This includes revising the current wand stations, adding more station, adding a possible light option to the wand, or adding haptic feedback (vibration) to the wand. What really seemed cool was the idea of adding the ability for the whole system to recognize either the wand or the wizard, track your progress, and even increase the ‘power’ or the spells you can cast based on your level of mastery. Other ideas are also briefly floated about, including a wand dueling area, final battles or quests being added to the system, or custom spellcasting ability or effects based on the wizard’s Hogwards “house”.
Keep in mind this is just a survey, but enough options and neat sounding ideas are being included in the various surveys going out that it does seem to show that Universal Creative is taking a seriously long and hard look at this popular interactive guest activity.
2023 - Nothing new is expected this year...
Screamscape Reviews the VELOCICOASTER!
(6/14/21) I’ve just posted the official Screamscape review of the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, which just may be one of the best coasters on the planet, and most certainly to be considered the best in all North America. A few days ahead of the grand opening, I journeyed down to Orlando on my own with the family and took on this insane beast of a ride. But I’m not just going to tell you about it, I’m going to show it to you as well in an all new Screamscape video all about the VelociCoaster and and one other epic new attraction at Universal Orlando.
(5/28/21) Universal has released the official POV video for the new Jurassic World VelociCoaster. While watching all the insanity take place, keep in mind that the entire runtime of the video is just 90 seconds, with the first launch kicking off around the 7 second mark and the train doesn’t stop until it hits the second set of brakes around 80 seconds later. I’ll say that again… 80 seconds!
80 seconds of non-stop, pedal to the metal, high speed, velociraptor screaching in your face utter chaos! It’s a beautiful thing! Check it out!
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