Friday January 13, 2012:
Friday the 13th, we have our master class at Islands of Adventure. On my way to the park I realized what day it was and questioned whether or not I should get on any thrill rides. In the Behind the Adventure tour we learned about all the different islands that make up Islands of Adventure. The islands are Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing.
Our first stop of the tour was at Marvel Super Hero Island where we learned about the futuristic/comic book-like world. I'm not much into super heroes, but some of the things that were done in order to create this island are amazing. Some of the buildings are painted with special paint that are actually 3 different colors depending on the angle you are looking at it from. Such a subtle detail is essential in telling the correct story. This might have been when I realized that I wouldn't be very good at building a theme park. Who thought of throwing in such tiny details? I wouldn't be able to think 2 steps ahead of the guests and my park would fail.
Lucky for us, we got to ride the Spiderman attraction not once, but twice! I had my eyes closed for most of the first round. The 3-D effects are scary to me sometimes! Afterwards, we learned about the technology put into the attraction. Again, way over my head. During the second round, we could better appreciate each move and effect of the attraction. Our tour guides also took us on The Incredible Hulk roller-coaster. We all loved it, except Kayla who sat out. At the time, I thought it was the scariest coaster that I'd ever been on!
The next part of our tour took us to Seuss Landing. The colors, shapes, and animals were extravagant! It instantly sent me back to when I used to watch The Cat in the Hat on repeat. We didn't go on any attractions, but that would come later!
Through Seuss Landing, we went backstage to the D.A.V.E school. Let me see if I can get this right. It is the Digital Animation and Visual Effects school. I hope that is right. If not, it's close! Even as a media student, most of what students at this school goes way over my realm of production. These students literally learn to create animation and special effects through projects. Jerry was very intrigued, but the only part that I understood was the sound stage and some of the equipment inside. I only wish I could understand such technology!
The rest of the afternoon was our to explore the rest of the islands. We decided to head over to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was insane. If I were to guess, I'd say that most of the guests in the whole park that day were on this island. It was horrible just trying to get through. An extreme amount of guests were lined up to get butterbeer. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I have a good feeling that it's not a real alcoholic beverage. I saw a boy who looked to be only 13 years old drinking it. Jerry strongly encouraged us to get on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction. I was very skeptical that the 70 minute wait wasn't going to be worth it, but it was! It was almost like half roller-coaster, half simulator. Even if you don't like Harry Potter and you go to Islands of Adventure, get in line for this attraction. I really enjoyed it and I don't even know how many Harry Potter movies there are anymore.
Also in the Harry Potter world is the roller-coaster that one-upped The Incredible Hulk. The Dragon Challenge was definitely scarier. Ben, Kayla, Amanda, and I got on in the front row, thinking that it would be a breeze. I loved it, but I don't advise it for people who aren't adrenaline seekers.
We did end up going back the Seuss Landing to go on some of the more kid rides. Since it was something we all knew growing up, we didn't mind getting on such childish rides. Unfortunately, the temperature was not nearly as nice to us today. After getting back to the hotel, we were ready for our cozy beds!
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