Islands of Adventure: Marvel Superhero Island

Marvel Superhero Island is the first themed land you'll encounter on your day at Islands of Adventure. Whether you're in the park or not, it's hard to miss - the bright green Incredible Hulk Coaster stands tall and proud over the entire park. You can actually see it from I4, the main highway leading across Central Florida, which adds to the thrill and anticipation of what's sure to be an exciting day. "Exciting" is the key word here. Of the five themed islands making up the park, Marvel Superhero Island is the place to be for thrill seekers due to the fact that it houses two of the park's most incredible attractions.

Have you ever dreamed of being a Superhero? This is the place to do it! While Marvel Superhero Island definitely caters to all demographics, it's especially exciting for young boys who are sick of the princesses and giant animal characters over at Disney World. This land screams "non-stop action," and really puts you right in the middle of your favorite superhero stories. There are large, colorful buildings set to look like the famed Gotham City. It's not quite New York, but it's close. Giant cutouts of Marvel characters, both heroes and villains, line the buildings, pathways, and restaurants. There are lots of huge yellow and green slabs of steel twisted and turned into lamp posts, benches, superhero cars and special air crafts. If you ever wondered what it would be like to be in a Marvel comic book or movie scene... this is it.

There are four major attractions in Marvel Superhero Island. One of them is the lean, green monster known as the Incredible Hulk Coaster, where you soar over Islands of Adventure at incredible speeds as if you were the Incredible Hulk himself. Then there's my personal favorite, The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. Part dark ride, part simulator, and part 4D show, this is an award-winning attraction the likes of which can't be found anywhere else in the world. Also in the area is Dr. Doom's Fearfall (a fun free-fall ride) and Storm Force Accelatron (a twist on the spinning teacups). The rides here are fast and furious, so be ready to hang on tight.

If all the screaming you do leaves you hungry, there are several counter service options available in Marvel Superhero Island. The options include Cafe 4 and the Captain America Diner, two classic burger-and-fry joints where you can catch some traditional theme park food at affordable prices. The food isn't anything special, especially compared to other options in the park, but it isn't bad.

When it comes to shopping, there's everything you could possibly need to make a superhero fan happy. The Comic Book Shop offers some of Marvel's most famous and hard to find comic books, while the Spiderman Store caters specifically to Spidey fans. If you're looking for a more general selection, the Marvel Alterniverse Store has t-shirts, mugs, key chains, shot glasses, collectibles, DVDs, comic books and even stuffed animals of Marvel's most sought-after superheroes. If superheroes aren't really you're thing, you can browse through Oakley, a small shop selling the brand's sunglasses.

Marvel Superhero Island can not be missed on a trip to Islands of Adventure. It's full of thrills, chills and non-stop action sure to make anyone's day a little more exciting. For an even more memorable experience, you can stop here to meet some of Islands of Adventure most famous characters throughout the day, including Spiderman, Captain America and the Fantastic Four.

Have you ever wondered what it felt like to fly? To put your arms out and glide over the earth and incredible speeds? Well the Incredible Hulk Coaster at Islands of Adventure lets you do just that. Located in the Marvel Superhero Island section of the park, the roller coaster is the tallest and fastest in Islands of Adventure. Painted bright green to represent the larger-than-life Incredible Hulk, the roller coaster is a fitting tribute. Regardless of how big and twisted it is, the coaster provides a smooth ride and the unique sound of a roar, making it's presence known as soon as you enter Marvel Superhero Island.

The adventure begins as you enter the line into Dr. Bruce Banner's Laboratory. Well it's supposed to be his lab, but you don't really get that from the ride. It looks more like a giant spiraling line through a warehouse, but the occasional pictures on the walls bring the warehouse to life. While it's easy to miss the small details describing Bruce Banner's lab, you can't miss the giant engine that sits in the middle of the room. This replica of one of coaster's engines is massive and the line winds right around it. It's a harrowing reminder of the excitement yet to come.

As you get to the front of the line, sirens turn on and off as bright red lights flash and spin. Acting as a warning to all those about to throw themselves into Bruce Banner's lab, this is it. It's time to become you're own personal Hulk! Rider's board trains in rows of 4. If you're in a party of more than 4 people, the attendant will split you up so no one has to ride alone. A few seconds after the constraints come down and everyone's buckled in, the fun begins... the lift hill takes visitors up the 150-ft lift in a bright green tunnel. Before you reach the top though, you shoot from 0 to 40 miles per hour in only two seconds, careening out of the tunnel into a zero-g roll where you truly do feel weightless. This is the absolute best part of the ride and really caught me by surprise on my first visit. Thrilling doesn't even describe it.

The rest of the ride is relatively tame compared to the launch, but still just as exciting. Reaching speeds up to 67-miles per hour, the ride twists and turns guests over Marvel Superhero Island, through the Islands of Adventure lagoon, and even below ground. It's 2-minutes of intense thrills and with all of the visual effects, you'll want to keep your eyes open for the entire ride, if you can.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster is, in my opinion, the most thrilling and intense coaster in all of Orlando. Needless to say, it's not for children or the faint of heart, and you have to be at least 54-inches to ride. If you fill the requirements, buckle up and hold on tight!

The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman is my favorite rides in all of Universal Orlando. It may even be my favorite ride in the world. I was absolutely amazed the first time I rode it, and regardless of how many times I've ridden it since, the amazement never fades. This is a truly incredible, unique and thrilling ride unlike anything else in the world. Part dark ride (where a car moves along a track in a dark building), part simulator (where a car moves on it's axis), and part 4D adventure (where 3D effects are paired with tangible surprises), this ride simulates your mind and nerve endings unlike any other attraction I've ever been on.

The experience begins in the offices of the Daily Bugle, which the attraction's line maneuvers through. Here you'll see pictures and awards given to the writer's of the fictional newspaper, as well as Peter Parker's own cubicle in the office. The attention to detail here is amazing, with different papers, articles, mugs and general knick-knacks filling each individual cubicle. Of course several of them include pictures of the ever-elusive Spiderman who's been saving lives around the city. As you move through the line you eventually come to a giant room with a video playing news briefs from the fictional New York City of the comic book, including the story that the Statue of Liberty has been stolen! This sets the tone for the ride, where you tag along with Spiderman as he tried to get it back from several evil villains.

The queue concludes with guests donning 3D glasses and being split up into rows of four. Each row is themed after a different New York City borough which, being from New York City, my family especially loved! Guests are them ushered into their car which consists of three rows of four people. If you're in a group of more than four, the ride attendants will split you evenly so no one has to ride alone. When the door to the giant car slides closed, it's time to hold on tight as the adventure begins...

It's hard to explain how truly incredible this ride is. The car moves along a track, while also tipping on it's axis in a myriad of directions. It's not quite a simulator since the car actually moves, but the rotation of the car can make it feel like it. If you get motion sick during simulator rides, you may want to steer clear of this one. The car moves between a series of gigantic screens that completely wrap around the vehicle. Paired with the 3D effects and 4D surprises that I won't give away, this ride really does put you right in the middle of the action. My favorite scene perfectly recreates a free-fall experience that feels incredibly real despite the fact that your car isn't actually leaving the ground. It's an amazing effect!

The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman can't be missed on a trip to Islands of Adventure. Located in the Marvel Superhero Island section of the park, I've found the ride to be so incredible that it alone is worth the price of admission to the park. Of course you'll want to visit other attractions while there, but I can almost guarantee you'll find yourself coming back to Spiderman time and time again. Just know that all guests must be over 40-inches tall, and that the line can get long on hot summer afternoons, so you'll want to visit this attraction first thing in the morning or wait until later in the evening when the crowds begin to disperse.

When it comes to freefall-style rides, it's hard to beat Disney's offerings. Due to the incredible theming and technology used on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, all future rides of the type will be compared to it. Unfortunately, Dr. Doom's Fearfall falls short. Located in the Marvel Superhero Island section of Islands of Adventure, this is a thrilling yet short ride that gives visitor's the weightless feeling of flying while also using the excitement of anticipation to up the thrill factor.

Dr. Doom's Fearfall looks very cool. Two towers of 200-feet each stand side by side behind the Incredible Hulk Coaster. They're one of the several attractions that can be seem from the highway (and much of central Orlando), adding to the anticipation for guests as they make their way into the park. The towers are especially pretty at night, when their purple and yellow steel are filled with soft-lighting to make sure they're still visible from miles away. This is where the unique aspects of the ride end, though. Unlike everything else at Islands of Adventure, the ride isn't really themed. Yes there's a story attached to it, but there aren't video screens, animatronics or memorabilia to take the story farther.

The beauty of the ride is the ride itself. Guests seat themselves in rows of four around one of the giant towers. Then red lights begin to flash as a countdown begins. "Five... four... three... two... one!" This aspect of the ride is my favorite, since the build-up and anticipation make the ride even more thrilling. At the count of "one," the cars are shot up 150-feet in the air with more speed and power than a 747 jet engine, according to signs around the ride. Also according to statistic-signs around the ride, the cars accelerate faster than a space shuttle. This ride's INTENSE! I didn't expect it to be quite so intense on my first ride, so it definitely came as a surprise.

What makes Dr. Doom's Fearfall unique is that unlike on Disney's Tower of Terror, the cars shoot up in the air rather than falling down. While the different bobs the cars make on their way back down are fun, the thrill here is on the ride up. The ride is so intense that you need to be at least 52-inches tall to ride it, and you should be free of any heart, back or other medical problems. As wild and crazy as the ride is, the whole thing is over within a minute. It's not worth the incredibly long line that can often be found here, so go either first thing in the morning or right before the park's closing. While the ride's a lot of fun, I'd like it more if it was a little longer, and there was more of a theme to really draw guests into the experience.

Storm Force Accelatron is one of the oldest rides at Islands of Adventure, having been there on opening day back in 2000. Located in the Marvel Superhero Island section of the park, it's a twist on a classic ride. You know the famous spinning teacups over at Disney World? Now picture them with strobe lights, fog and intense speeds, and you have an idea of what to expect on Storm Force Accelatron.

The ride is themed after Storm from the famous X-Men franchise. The evil Dr. Magneto is trying to take down the X-Men yet again, just for Storm to conjure up her powers of nature to defeat the evildoer. Despite the storyline, the ride isn't as much of an experience as other rides in the park. There aren't video presentations and animatronics to bring guests farther into the story, making this a ride that could be found at any other amusement park around the country. What makes the ride special are the few special effects that make the ride somewhat stand out from others of this kind.

Instead of teacups, guests board giant, futuristic pods painted bright purple and yellow. Each pod can seat four adults comfortably, or five children (although all children have to be over 48-inches tall). Unlike on traditional spinning-vehicle rides, you don't sit around a circular car here. Instead everyone sits next to each other, all facing in the same direction. As simple as that sounds, it actually makes for a unique experience since the feeling of the ride is completely different. It also ups the dizziness factor so if you don't like spinning rides to begin with, stay away from this one! There are sixteen pods in all, split up into groups of four that all spin together on a small platform. Then guests have the chance to spin their own car to their heart's content, deciding how fast, and how many times, they want to spin themselves around.

To up the excitement factor, the ride plays off of the "nature" theme. I was surprised on my first ride to find how many sound effects there were, which was something I didn't expect. You feel as if you're in the eye of a hurricane as you hear rain falling and thunder clapping. To bring the effects to the next level, there are also flashes of lightning in the form of strobe lights, and fog machines provide the feeling of clouds enveloping your car. Unfortunately we've found that the fog effect is often down, but when it does work it's really only effective at night, as are the strobe lights. If you want to experience this attraction, definitely go after dark when the effects are more visible.

As cool as the effects are, the ride really isn't anything special. A lot of times the effects don't seem to be working, and the ride isn't enough of an experience to take away time from the other, more elaborate rides in the park. The only great thing about the ride is that it's located at the very back of Marvel Superhero Island, and you can hardly see it from the main walkways. Due to this fact, many people don't even know the ride exists so there's almost never a line.

Having visited the Orlando theme parks so many times, we've tried to switch up our restaurant choices on every trip in order to try all of the different options available. Unfortunately we've found that the counter service options at Islands of Adventure just aren't very good. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part the food has been at or below average. For such a world-renowned theme park it doesn't make sense for me for the counter service food to be so bland, but it is what it is.

Cafe 4 in the Marvel Superhero Island section of the park is one of the few counter service restaurants that aren't too bad, as long as you order the right meal. The restaurant itself is more fun from the outside than the inside. Themed after the famous X-Men, the outside of the restaurant looks like a futuristic pod, with the name of the place written in a streaking fireball thrown by one of the superheroes. It fits in perfectly with the theming of the land. Inside, though, the restaurant looks like a cafeteria. Everything is done in white and beige, giving it a sanitized feeling that reminded me of being in my school's cafeteria back in elementary school. The only thing that makes the place unique are the big X-Men murals that line the walls. They're pretty cool, but don't add much excitement to the place.

Cafe 4 specializes in Italian food, but you'll want to steer clear of all actual Italian dishes. The offerings (which include spaghetti and meatballs, meatball subs, and Fettuccini with garlic sauce) again reminded me of the school cafeteria of my childhood, with everything tasting bland and stale. Maybe it's from having amazing Italian food here at home in New York, but you just can't eat this kind of food at a counter service restaurant in a theme park. Nothing was fresh and it was all pretty gross, for lack of a better word.

If you're determined to eat at Cafe 4, stick with the pizza. Sure it takes like the frozen pizza in your fridge, but it isn't all that bad. Options include plain cheese pizza, veggie pizza, and a unique barbecue chicken pizza. They're all pretty tasy, if not exactly authentic. All slices cost around $4.00 (which is incredibly expensive for what you get), or you can buy an entire pie for around $18. Considering the fact that we can get a giant, hot, fresh pie of delicious pizza for less than that here at home, this place rips you off. There are much better sit-down options in the park for not much more money.

If you're craving pizza, this is the place to go in Islands of Adventure, but you're better off seeking out other options.

The Captain America Diner is the place to go for basic burgers and fries. Located in the Marvel Superhero Island section of the park, the cafe is themed after the famous Captain America. It's hard to miss since there's a huge, gigantic painting of Captain America all decked out in his red, white and blue on the front of the building. It fits in perfectly with the theme of the land thanks to the larger-than-life cut-outs of fireballs, lightening bolts, and Captain America's trailing villains. It's especially appealing at night, when all of these details are brightly lit.

The fun theme continues inside, where the walls are covered in murals of Captain America and a variety of Universal's other popular superheroes. It's all very bright, colorful and eye-appealing, making it a great place to eat with kids. The counter where you order is especially fun, with a giant spaceship-looking creation standing tall in front of the kitchen. It almost makes you feel as is you've boarded a spacecraft and have traveled to a far-off galaxy.

Although the restaurant has "diner" in it's title, this isn't a diner in the traditional sense. There's no waiter service, with guests going up to a counter to order their food. The restaurant also takes on more of a cafeteria-feel, which I've found to be the case in many of Universal Orlando's counter service restaurants. Rows of very long tables dot the dining room, with many groups of guests all sitting at the same table (usually with an empty chair or two in-between). There are also a few private tables in front of the restaurant, but I've always found it far too hot to eat outdoors on a summer afternoon.

The food at the Captain America Diner isn't bad, but it's really nothing special. It's typical theme park, burger-and-fries food. Options include cheeseburgers ($6.00), chicken fingers ($8.00), chicken sandwiches ($8.50) and chicken salad ($8.00). It's definitely the place to go if you're a fan of chicken. Side dishes are limited to fries ($3.50) and onion rings ($4.00) which were both actually pretty good. I was disappointed to see that there weren't any vegetarian options though, so you should definitely steer clear if you're traveling with anyone who doesn't eat meat. On our one visit here, my mother and I were able to make a lunch of fries and onion rings (only on vacation!) while my father and brother enjoyed their chicken sandwiches.

The Captain America Diner isn't anything special, but it isn't bad. The selection is small, but what they do have is pretty good and is perfect if you're looking for some quick burgers in the middle of a busy day. Just try to eat at an offbeat time since the restaurant can get very crowded in the middle of the day. If you're lucky, you may even see Captain America himself, who meets and greets guests in, and right outside of, his namesake diner.