Late Sunday afternoon, we park hopped over Universal's new Islands of Adventure Theme Park. We spent that night and all of Monday there and had a great time. Because we had never been there before, everything was new to us. Experiencing the unexpected made this park our favorite of the whole trip.

First entering the park, we walked under The Hulk, a green roller coaster with quite a twist. Though Preston and Brooklyn were too short to ride, we took advantage of the baby swap passes provided by the park. Greg went first as Susan and the kids waited at the exit and were surprised by the fifteen minute line. Using our walkie talkies, we were able to watch the coaster as dad got on and rode. Exiting with a big grin, he said it was great. Next it was Susan's turn. The beginning takes you up a steep incline, like most roller coasters, except this one is in a tunnel. Only half way up the incline, it unexpectantly takes off at full speed! It was only the second roller coaster Greg and Susan had ridden since their honeymoon 18 years ago, the first two days before at Sea World.

Following the Hulk, Preston was tall enough for Dr. Demon's free fall ride. Susan and Preston went on while Brooklyn, still not quite tall enough for even the napkin trick to work, waited. After leaving Comic Book Hero Land, we entered Cartoon Land. This colorful place was exciting and ended up house two of our all time favorite rides, Popyee's Raft Ride and Dudley Dorights Log Ride.

As we walked through Cartoon Land, Dudley Doright, Woody Woodpecker, Popyee the Sailor Man, and others appeared in the street and began dancing to the delight of all. Boarding the Dudley Doright Log Ride, we expected a ride similar to Splash Mountain. Boy were we wrong. This ride was a great thrill and got us absolutely soaked, a nice refreshment from the heat of the day. Though there were no seat restraints, we were lifted off of the bench as we took the final plummet just before getting soaking wet!

Taking a break to eat, he grabbed a bite at Whoppies Hamburger Stand just across from Popyee's Raft Ride.

Once again we were not prepared for the walls of water that splashed on top of us as we ventured through Popyee's Raft Ride. Already wet from the log ride, we enjoyed getting soaked. One of the nicest things about this park was that the lines were so short you really got to enjoy everything. We probably rode the raft ride six times with our longest line being a ten minute wait. That aspect alone made the park so much more enjoyable than any other one we have been to.

And finally, Jurassic Park! We were excited to find this ride Sunday evening and returned to it several times Monday. Already soaked from the log and raft rides, getting a little wetter didn't bother any of us.

How many times do you get a boat all to yourself! That tells you just how short the lines were at this park. It was great. Finally, by Monday and at least four times riding the ride, Preston manages to keep his hands in the air during the big fall. His extra motivation was Greg saying we had to keep riding it until everyone had his hands up plus Susan kept her leg tightly wrapped around his for extra security.

Anytime we got hot, the perfect place to cool off was at the bottom of the Jurassic Park ride. Water went everywhere and the kids loved getting splashed.

The Jurassic Park Play Fort provided at least an hours worth of climbing and playing for Preston and Brooklyn while Greg and Susan rested below on the rocks. Equipped with water cannons, climbing ropes, rope bridges, slides, ladders, etc., the fort made for a great afternoon of play.

We had a great time witnessing Zeus and Poseidon have a great water battle. 'This theatrical production used lasers, water cannons, walls of water with images portrayed on them, and other special effects. Outside, water cascaded down rocks and sculptures.

Like many other parks, Islands of Adventure strategically placed jumping waters throughout the park. These made for a great place to play, cool off, and take a rest.

A colorful, crazy place, Seuss Landing was definitely different than any other place we had been. Susan had to contain herself when she saw the elephant character on the carrousel.

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