As excited as I was to visit Epic Universe, Islands of Adventure (IoA) had me just a little more excited, if I’m being honest. For years I have been hearing how amazing Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and Velocicoaster are. I’ve also been told that the Incredible Hulk coaster is pure fun. So those three rides alone had me pumped, but then there was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey too. After riding Battle at the Ministry at Epic Universe and Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios Florida (USF) earlier in the trip, they had me even more intrigued to experience it than I already was.
Much More Thrilling Coasters at this Universal Park
Did those four rides deliver on my expectations? Yes. Some more than others, but I did enjoy them all. What I didn’t expect, however, was to also fall in love with several other rides at the park. Although I’m not going to go into detail for them, Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges, Dudley Do-Right’s Rip Saw Falls, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man were all fun. And we also rode Cat in the Hat. That was something!
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
We had no idea that this ride was on our Express Passes when we bought them. Apparently it was recently added, so we went here first thing. Even though we had the skips we still waited 30-40 minutes. Sadly the queue for the Express wasn’t as visually interesting as I had heard the queue for this ride to be. Guess that was the price we paid to skip this long line. Oh well.
For our first ride on Hagrid’s Sam took the cycle and I sat in the side car. Right away we saw why people loved this ride. Between the setting, theming, audio, and moderate forces, it felt like a perfect mix of everything. Nothing was too heavy in one area. It did them all and did them all amazingly.
Sadly, Intamins do Intamin things and as we entered the cave portion the ride broke down. We had to sit in the darkness for about 5-10 minutes. The ride did eventually resume, but it was a long immersion break.
We would get in a second ride later. I rode the cycle this time, with Sam taking the side car. No Intamin things happened on the second ride thankfully and we got to experience the ride uninterrupted.
While Hagrid’s is not a top tier ride when it comes to intensity, height, or crazy elements that many enthusiasts crave, there is no denying that this ride is top tier. It is not one to skip or even overlook if you’re one of those enthusiasts who only want to ride coasters with the strongest ejector airtime and thigh crushing moments. You would be doing yourself a disservice. This is one hell of a fun ride and it’s even better if you’re a Harry Potter fan, obviously.
Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey
Speaking of Harry Potter, the Universal Parks were making me want to rewatch all the movies again and buy one of the wands before we went home. Battle at the Ministry wowed me at Epic Universe. Diagon Alley and Escape from Gringotts at USF were even better than I expected. I also just explained how much fun we had on Hagrid’s and walking the streets of Hogsmead was wonderful too. Now it was time to enter Hogwarts for another highly-touted ride.
As much as I liked the queue experience at the Ministry and Gringotts, let’s be real here. We were now inside Hogwarts. Is there any better setting to visit from the Harry Potter universe?
Taking everything in as we walked to the ride vehicles was something I wish we had more time to take in and enjoy. Thankfully I did ride it a second time to appreciate some of it more, but still. It’s Hogwarts. How can you not want to get lost inside exploring?
This ride was a lot like Monsters Unchained at Epic with ride vehicles that can move in numerous directions to put you right where you need to be to see a screen or a large animatronic. And just like Monsters Unchained, you’ll probably need multiple rides to see everything, or at least appreciate what you’re seeing fully. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to ride it again. Well that and it’s Hogwarts!
Velocicoaster
Now for the ride I have long coveted. A ride that many claim to be in their Top 5, Top 3, or even their overall favorite when it comes to coasters. Needless to say, my expectations were high and I had no doubts that the ride would live up to them. But did I expect too much?
I’m going to be 100 percent honest here. After my first ride, I was not all too impressed. We rode in the middle of the train with our seats assigned to us. I did get some airtime, but it wasn’t until the end. The portions over the water were easily the best, but the ride was not as intense as I had expected. I’d need more rides. Sam got off feeling the same way.
We ended up riding Velocicoaster four times, with our final rides being toward the back. The elements did hit way better in the back, but I don’t know. I really liked the ride, but it wasn’t going to knock Steel Vengeance out of its Number 1 spot or even be in my Top 5. It was a tale of two rides.
The first part of Velocicoaster has amazing theming, but I don’t feel like the elements hit. It’s more about the immersion of the theme. Once it leaves the raptor pen, however, that’s a whole other story. That portion of the ride is amazing. I just wish it was the entire ride.
Final Ride Counts
Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (1)
Cat in the Hat (1)
Dudley Do-Right’s Rip Saw Falls (1)
Flight of the Hippogriff (1)
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (2)
Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey (2: Patrick, 1: Sam)
Hogwarts Express (1)
Incredible Hulk (2)
Jurassic Park River Adventure (1)
Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges (1)
Skull Island: Reign of Kong (1)
Velocicoaster (4)
Finishing Up with an Incredible 550th Coaster Credit
I had thought about making Velocicoaster my 550th credit, but in order to make that happen we would have had to walk back and forth across the park two times. Incredible Hulk would be 550 instead and while Sam didn’t enjoy the ride, I thought it was pretty fun. It wasn’t the smoothest B&M I’ve been on, but it certainly wasn’t bad. It was also photogenic, so I spent some time getting pictures all around it before and after our rides. Not as many as I got of Velocicoaster though. Now that’s a photogenic coaster! Be sure to check out all my photos down below.
With IoA now in the books that means we’ve now visited all three of the main Universal Studios Orlando Resort parks, not including the Volcano Bay waterpark. We had a blast at all of them and we glad that we finally got to experience these parks. While everything did not go as planned (Stardust Racers at Epic Universe), these parks were a great change of pace from our normal coaster-heavy parks. I can’t wait to come back again. We’ll have Stardust Racers to look forward to and hopefully a new coaster will be taking the place of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. The Lost Continent of IoA also looks to be ready for some major changes. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Islands of Adventure Photo Gallery - September 22, 2025
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CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Flight of the Hippogriff, Velocicoaster, Incredible Hulk
Sam
Admiral
New Credit(s): Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Flight of the Hippogriff, Velocicoaster, Incredible Hulk