Our final theme park for the trip - Islands of Adventure, which is part of the Universal Studios chain of theme parks. Oh yes, and the main Universal Studios is next to Islands of Adventure!
Islands of Adventure has a number of main districts - similar to how Disneyworld theme parks are organised. These districts even had their own unique designs and buildings!
This is Harry Potter World - where the famous Dragon Challenge roller coaster is...
And this is the fictional castle in Harry Potter:
The shops and buildings also had fake snow on them, and there were even places named after the fictional places in Harry Potter! Like Hogwarts and so on! Love the medieval architecture and the colour contrast that day!
Yes, there were lots and lots of people in that area. And no, this is not taken by a fish-eye lens. The buildings were constructed this way.
We went to the ruins of the Poseidon temple to watch a stunt show and experience the wrath of Poseidon - live! It's not too far from the Harry Potter district. Here's the temple from the outside - intimidating, yet intricate and attractive:
In the stunt show, we were "invited" into the temple, where we were led into danger by an "archaeologist-in-training", and we had a tour of the temple. The final part of the tour was when we "stepped" right into the place where Poseidon's trident was held. And witnessed a battle between Poseidon and his nemesis, before the tour ended and we left the building.
And here's yet another shot after exiting the temple. I was simply awed by the facade and the sculpted walls.
Another area we visited - Toon Land. Where famous comics and cartoons were.
The buildings were equally adorable, and had many cartoon characters:
We also took a ride down Rip Saw Falls - where we experienced 3 drops - the third being the biggest, fastest and most splashy! We got out of the ride, completely waterlogged.
Murals of various famous comics and cartoons...
And an impressive, yet massive sandwich depicting the entrance of a restaurant!
Another place we visited was Marvel, where characters like Superman, Spiderman and many other superheroes hung out. I love the illustrations by Marvel too!
And not to mention, the famous Hulk roller coaster is located in the Marvel area! I just happened to be sick that day, so I didn't have a chance to get on the coaster. But it was fun, according to what I saw from the entrance.
Buildings in between the Marvel district and the entrance...
And of course, my favourite place in Islands of Adventure:
Everything about Seuss Landing is awesome! Including the exit sign - which pointed us towards the Poseidon temple and Harry Potter land.
Actually the first and last place we visited in the theme park was Seuss Land, and the very first ride we took was a Cat in the Hat themed ride, through the original Cat in the Hat story by Dr. Seuss, together with some twists and turns in the carriage. Oh yes, and not to mention, Dr. Seuss is an awesome writer of children's books - his stories are really funny indeed.
The restaurant where we had our lunch - in fact, characters from The Cat in the Hat came to say hi and take pictures with us! I took pictures of all the characters, but here's Thing 2 and the Cat himself!
Another ride we took - which circled the entire Seuss Land and allowed me to take pictures of the entire area. Love the murals in the entrance of the ride!
I'll also never forget this quote: "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish".
The gift shop, with the famous hat the Cat wore, in the Cat in the Hat.
We also watched a show, titled "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". It's another story by Dr. Seuss, and the music in the show was absolutely gorgeous!
Introducing the characters from the fictional town of Whoville...where everyone was warm, nice and loving...
Who (no pun intended!) were excited about Christmas and the festivities awaiting...
And were rushing frantically to decorate their massive Christmas tree...
But the Grinch, who lived in an icy area - Mount Crumpit - overlooking Whoville, was very jealous and unimpressed and sought to steal Christmas once and for all! He was described as having a heart "two sizes too small" anyways!
So he formulated a plan to "take Christmas away from the folks of Whoville"...
While people in Whoville did their final preparations and got all their stuff ready for Christmas.
And sung a few carols under the moonlight before turning in for the night.
So the Grinch sneaked into Whoville with his dog, Max...
And began stealing all the trinkets, presents and stuff. Including the decorations on the Christmas tree. Simply to spite the residents of Whoville - in an attempt to steal Christmas from them.
But he bumped into a little girl who showed him the meaning of love and Christmas. He wasn't too aware of it then, but when he saw the town gather around the Christmas tree to sing Christmas carols, he realised that he couldn't take the spirit of Christmas away from them.
So the Grinch's heart "[grew] three sizes larger", and he returned back to Whoville, to return all the stuff he has stolen. And the folks welcomed him into Whoville, where he thanked the little girl who showed him the meaning of true happiness and enjoyment. And the entire town, including the Grinch, celebrated Christmas with lots of exhilaration, love and joy.
And by then, we had to head back to the hotel. It was getting cold and dark by then. But we definitely enjoyed Seuss Landing thoroughly. It was just so colourful, so warm, so cute...
Last few shots of the main road leading into the Islands of Adventure theme park:
And there's Universal Studios (Florida) from where we were!
The next day, still hyped from our visit to Islands of Adventure, we got up at the most ungodly hour of 4am and boarded the plane to Los Angeles...
And of course, Los Angeles would be our final destination in this series! Do stay tuned!