This is your complete guide to spending the day at Islands of Adventure Park at Universal Orlando. Do you have a one-day ticket to Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park but don’t know exactly what is the best way to fill the time? We’ve got tips like using Early Park Admission, avoiding peak crowds and more!
So if you’re ready to learn all about planning one day at Islands of Adventure read on!
We hope you find this post helpful! Our goal at The Park Prodigy has always been to help you save time and money on your next Universal Orlando vacation! If you are planning a trip to Universal Orlando be sure to check out our discounted multi-day Universal Orlando tickets and Universal Orlando vacation package deals which include EARLY PARK ADMISSION to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
SPECIAL NOTE: If you’re looking for the best time to visit Universal Orlando check out our Universal Crowd calendar!
Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar
Islands of Adventure is absolutely a park you can do in one day with a great plan in place with things like Early Park Admission and Express Pass.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!
Something to take into consideration is the seasonal hours at Islands of Adventure. While mostly the opening time doesn’t change too much, the closing time of Islands of Adventure can vary vastly. Make sure to double-check the Islands of Adventure hours long before your trip to make sure you can plan effectively.
Our spending the day at Islands of Adventure guide is going to work off of peak, weekend hours, where the park closes at 9 PM. Be sure to note that the park can close as early as 6 PM or be open as late as 10 PM.
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One of the best benefits of purchasing a vacation package or multi-day tickets through the Park Prodigy is our Early Park Admission. This allows guests to enter participating Universal Theme Park one hour before the regular park opens. Island of Adventure hours typically start at 8 AM, which means your park day would start at 7 AM with Early Park Admission.
Morning start at 7 AM
We are going to start our day after you grab a coffee from CityWalk at 7 AM and utilize our Early Park Admission to get on either Jurassic World VelociCoaster or Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
For your Island of Adventure itinerary, we suggest getting into the park as soon as you possibly can and heading straight to Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
By the time you get off of Jurassic World VelociCoaster, regular park hours will most likely have started. That usually means the most popular Islands of Adventure rides will have higher wait times.
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By mid-morning, many of the Islands of Adventure rides would be at the highest wait time, which means it is a good time to grab a snack or breakfast.
After your morning recharge, it might be a good idea to look for another attraction to ride that has a lower wait time.
If it is projected to be a really hot day, we suggest switching out these two rides with either Jurassic Park River Adventure, Popeye’s Bilge-Rat Barges, or Dudley Do-Right Ripsaw Falls. On hotter days at Universal Islands of Adventure, water rides tend to reach peak wait times during the afternoon.
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Once you’ve hit proper midday at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, we suggest powering through the typical lunchtime and trying more rides. Islands of Adventure food lines will be the longest between 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, hence, why we planned out a later breakfast.
If rides are not the number one priority for your trip, you can always try some of the outdoor Islands of Adventure shows at this time, as well. You can also find plenty of Islands of Adventure characters that will be wandering around for photos!
Right around 3 PM is a good time to grab lunch and get out of the Florida midday heat.
There are so many great quick service options at Islands of Adventure that are perfect for lunch options. Here is a list of our favorite places to eat for lunch:
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If you want to optimize your Islands of Adventure 1-day tickets, you can pack in more rides after you’ve settled from late lunch.
Between the hours of 5 PM – and 6 PM is a great time to jump in line for water rides, as the lines will calm down as the sun starts to drop. Or grab other attractions that you may have missed earlier on in the day. If you’re making sure to grab all Universal Orlando thrill rides, then make sure you’ve hit Doctor Doom’s Fearfall over in Marvel Super Hero Island.
You can also go speak to The Mystic Fountain in the Lost Continent or even do the Ollivander’s Wand Show over in Hogsmeade Village. Guests can wait in a short line and experience the “Wand Chooses the Wizard” moment for one special guest.
After a long day of running around the theme park, there is nothing better than sitting down and enjoying a relaxing dinner. For Islands of Adventure dining, this is what we suggest for dinner:
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Now that it is starting to get dark, it is time to start thinking of Islands of Adventure shows. Luckily, depending on when you visit, there should be a show at Hogwarts Castle to end your night perfectly. Starting at dusk about every 20 minutes a show plays on the Hogwarts Castle ending with very brief fireworks at Islands of Adventure.
Shows at Islands of Adventure – Hogwarts Castle Night Shows
We suggest at around 8 PM, or an hour before the park closes, to grab some butterbeer and find a spot in front of Hogwarts Castle. If you happen to catch an earlier viewing of the Hogwarts Castle Show, then you might have time to hop on one more ride before closing.
If you want, you can go for another round on Hagrid’s or VelociCoaster or you can queue up for a ride you may have missed out on earlier.
A: Islands of Adventure has 17 total attractions, 3 of which are roller coasters.
A: Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
You can visit Islands of Adventure in just one day, especially with Early Park Admission. You may not get to see everything or ride every ride in the park however, you will be able to get your top attractions done in just one day.
Beat the crowds with our discount Universal Orlando tickets! All guests who purchase their tickets from The Park Prodigy will get EARLY PARK ADMISSION to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter FREE! This could save you a ton of time in the parks and avoid buying express passes!
Make sure to check out our friends at Theme Park Today for great tips on how to have the best Universal vacation!