Islands of Adventure Photo Update 11th December 2019
Welcome back to another short photo update from Islands of Adventure. We hit the parks on the 11th of December, when it was surprisingly quiet that even Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure had a short queue.
Work continues on the yet to be announced Jurassic Park coaster in front of the Discovery Center. Popeye’s is still down for it’s annual refurbishment.
Seuss Landing still had some work walls surrounding the entrance to the land but a short visit on the 12th, showed the painting was completed and the walls removed.
It’s been a month since our last update (which you can check out here) so let’s see how things have changed.
Photo Update
Entrance
The entrance turnstiles for both parks have received an update to remove the actual turnstile aspect. I was not able to grab a photo but it works much more efficiently.
It wouldn’t be an Islands of Adventure photo update without ‘the adventure begins’ photo.
The Adventure Begins
From here it’s a look across the lagoon to see if there are any visible signs of vertical construction for the Jurassic Park project.
When you see the project from across the lagoon it really is such a big space they have to work with. Considering all they have lost is some pretty views of the Discovery Center and the closed Triceratops Encounter it seems like a win.
Marvel Super Hero Island
First up was Marvel Super Hero Island, wait times for Dr Dooms and Spiderman were both 5 minutes with the Hulk at 15. A quiet day in the park.
Below are some views of Jurassic Construction from the smoking area within Marvel Super Hero Island.
As you can see, a lot of pipework and ground work is still being completed.
After that it was on through to Toon Lagoon and Popeye’s is still behind work walls. Refurbishment is due to be completed on the 22nd of December. When this area opens back up it should provide some more views into the Jurassic Park Project. There was some visible scaffolding on the roof tops of Popeye’s and Blutos Rapids.
The view below is taken from the back of the Mythos restaurant.
As we continued round the park even on a slightly chilly rainy day it’s worth noting the amount of guests that ride Ripsaw Falls. So many soaking wet guests between here and Hogsmeade.
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park is still a mass of work walls with nothing visible. Many cranes and excavators are in use though. The World Beat Drummer’s seem to have moved to the area next to Thunder Falls.
Pizza Predattoria is currently closed and walled off.
Hogsmeade
Hogsmeade was by far the busiest area of the park. With the bridge being full of people taking photos and the Frog Choir playing it was a bit of a mission to get through.
Much to my surprise Hagrid’s was only a 60 minute queue and sounded as if it was running smoothly. It would have been rude to not jump on in the single rider queue. This resulted in about a 20-25 minute wait. Not bad at all and another ride on the motorbike side. It really is the most fun coaster in Orlando.
As I was leaving the ride it was about 4 pm. The posted wait time was 30 minutes. The ride was operating at least 10 trains and subsequently the regular queue was moving just as fast at the single rider. Operations really have got better lately.
Lost Continent
Heading to the back of the Mythos Restaurant really does provide best look into the Jurassic Park construction at the moment. As I walked over they were installing some sort of pump into the ground.
Next up is the first signs of walls being formed in the project behind Popeye’s.
Some more shots showing what else is being worked on.
Construction is ramping up with lots being worked on. When vertical construction finally starts, I imagine it will be able to move at quite a rapid pace. Large pillars are continuing to be drilled into the water to possibly expand the shore front.
Suess Landing
After that it was a trip through Suess for some food. The entrance to Seuss Landing was still being worked on yesterday the 11th. However today (12th) when I popped in to watch the Grinchmas show, the walls had come down and paint work completed.
Below is a view from today of the area now with a fresh coat of paint and groundwork.
Finally, there was just one more stop to make in the park and that was to Green Eggs and Ham for some food. The recently refurbished quick service has changed its menu to offer Tater Tots. I went with the Buffalo Chicken Tots and they were pretty great. I think they are better than the Halloween Horror Nights staple pizza fries however I would never say no to both. Not bad at all for $9.99.
Thanks for joining us, we will hopefully keep going with our monthly updates into the new year. We are back at Universal Studios on Saturday the 14th for the Bourne Stuntacular pre show filming and may drop in for some more photos into Islands of Adventure then.
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