A Theme Park for WHEEEEEE! Folk

Wearing his trademark baseball cap and slightly rumpled gray pants, Steven Spielberg appeared on the steamy sidewalk of a new amusement theme park in Orlando, popping up like a jolting image from a shock ride. He was trailed by reporters earlier this month at what Universal Studios, the Los Angeles-based entertainment company, is calling its Islands of Adventure park.

There should have been little surprise that the director of mega-hits such as “Jurassic Park” was taking a look-see. Spielberg, after all, served as creative consultant to Universal on the $2.5-billion park, the company’s biggest and most ambitious ever.

But the key question is whether the Spielberg magic that turns make-believe into pure gold will rub off on Islands of Adventure, which Universal touts as the theme park for the 21st century. Islands of Adventure is also Universal’s latest salvo in a decade-long war against archrival Walt Disney World, about five miles away.

Islands, whose official public opening is on May 28 (though it’s been open for special groups since March), is a sprawling, 110-acre hilly complex a few hundred yards from the movie theme park Universal opened a decade ago, called Universal Studios Florida. But unlike the relatively sedate, sometimes deliberately understated Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure is largely a bold, brassy, in-your-face extravaganza.

Gary Slade of Amusement Today, a magazine in Arlington, Texas, says Islands is the first true thrill ride park in Orlando. “I think Disney’s got to counter. Universal has built one incredible theme park,” he said.

I went to Islands of Adventure for three days this month with my 11-year old son, Jake, as part of a media opening. It turned out to be a delightful experience. At the end of our second day, as we were leaving Islands of Adventure, Jake said, “I’m going to remember this for years and years and years.”

We found Islands of Adventure to be an often unexpected mixture of gentle and not-so-gentle rides and attractions and unusual fast food: Consider a green eggs and ham sandwich at Seuss Landing. It took a lot of walking to cover the many games and rides, which owed much of their excitement to the technological marvels used in movies.

There are two types of attractions that set Islands of Adventure apart from other theme parks. One is a pair of high-speed, action-packed roller coasters (Incredible Hulk and Dueling Dragons) said to be the first of their kind in the country. The other key attraction is a tamer but technologically advanced ride called the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. It takes riders along a track on a 1 1/2-acre set and uses 3-D techniques to give one the feel of actually being part of a movie about saving Manhattan from bad guys. The last part of the Spider-Man ride is a surreal experience: You go down what appears to be a straight drop from a skyscraper, and you feel it in the pit of your stomach. Actually, though, the car you are in only moves about a foot; the sensation is all from a graphic, 3-D movie technique.

A visitor’s reaction to the park will depend a lot on what you want out of a vacation. But Universal is trying hard to appeal to all comers. The hope, of course, is that there will be a little something to appeal to everybody. But not everyone is likely to be pleased. During the preview week we attended, some visitors were jubilant, while others said Islands of Adventure just didn’t grab them as special enough. Some said they preferred Disney because it’s bigger.

As you walk into the park, the first thing you see are the roller coasters, which are massive and colorful. “I can’t believe I’m one of the first kids in America to see this,” Jake said. Islands of Adventure is actually five theme parks in one, arranged horseshoe fashion around a lagoon. They are distinctly different from one another, each offering different rides, foods and places to shop.

Marvel Super Hero Island is just the spot for teens, and the still brave and young at heart, to strap themselves into the park’s two giant coasters. Jake went on everything, including the roller coasters, but there was no way I was going on them. So I watched in horror as he sped about. The Hulk catapults riders up a 150-foot tunnel at the G force felt by an F-16 pilot, and immediately turns them upside-down more than 110 feet above the ground. Riders then dive at 60 mph before skimming the waves of the lagoon, rising 109 feet and finally plunging into the water. Jurassic Park is the place to study dinosaurs, take a ride in a vehicle that coasts gently along at treetop level, or pet an animatronic triceratops named Chris, who is treated by “vets.”

In one building in Jurassic Park, there’s a device that allows you to see what you might look like as a dinosaur. I stood in front of a glass and a camera took a picture of me; after a few minutes an animated, dinosaur version of myself appeared. I had the same nose and eyes, but the rest of me had morphed into a dino.

There’s also a section where you can see and touch dinosaur “eggs,” each equipped with a computer chip that makes noises that are supposed to approximate the sound of a baby. Another machine lets off what’s said to be a dinosaur sneeze. You also won’t want to miss the Jurassic Park River Adventure. It starts out calmly with a boat ride through prehistoric times, but suddenly something goes “terribly wrong,” as a voice on the ride warns. You start hearing alarms going off, copying a scene in the movie when the dinosaurs go wild. I also got spat on by a raptor (water squirts out when the boat passes).

Seuss Landing--inspired, of course, by the legendary children’s author--is a particularly colorful and creative part of the park. At the Green Eggs and Ham Cafe, they serve up such a sandwich for $5.29. The eggs are mixed with parsley paste. I don’t suggest eating a Seuss sandwich, though; the green eggs tasted like mush.

There are rides here, among them the Cat in the Hat, which takes you through the book’s story, past such Seussian oddities as fish jumping out of toilet bowls..

There are also interactive play areas and a store that will delight most parents and teachers of the young, called Dr. Seuss’ All the Books You Can Read, where Seuss books sell for as little as $4.

The Lost Continent has lots of shopping--Moorish-style baubles, beads, rare coins, billowing dresses, blouses and books. It also has the Dueling Dragons coaster, said to be the first in the world designed so that its two coasters speed toward one another. Its tracks intertwine in a knotted mass of metal that sends riders barreling toward each other at nearly 60 mph three times in three minutes. The coasters avoid collision at the last moment.

To get onto the ride, you walk for what seems like blocks through a dark, dank castle. The lines at this and most other attractions promise to be incredible, so be prepared to stand inside these places for an hour or more this summer, and assume the outside temperature and humidity will be in the 90s. This island also features Poseidon’s Fury: Escape from the Lost City, an underwater ride that gives passengers the sensation that they are down very deep with varied marine life, but again it is merely a technological illusion.

Toon Lagoon offers live performances by cartoon characters, as well as water rides--such as Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, which is a fun log ride going down a real waterfall--that the young set will enjoy. Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges, however, are a bit rougher. It’s a ride through choppy water, and you mostly get soaked.

As in any other amusement park anywhere, there are two basic things you’re going to need to make it through most of those broiling Central Florida days: a pair of good shoes, and cash. Admission to the park is $42 for adults and $34 for kids 3 to 9. (Disney charges the same prices.) But food, drinks and $6 parking are extra. A bottle of water will cost you $2.35. There are drinking fountains around, but not everywhere.

I spent a lot of time strolling the five islands, and was surprised each time to see something I had not noticed before. One of them was a little fast-food restaurant called Blondie’s: Home of the Dagwood. As a lover of the old Dagwood cartoons, I got a kick looking at the walls, which are covered with images of the old funnies. The place offers the Dagwood, a sandwich Bumstead would have loved: ham, salami, turkey, bologna and American cheese, for only $6.79.

If you’re walking around with no big meal in mind, stop at the Goose Juice in Seuss Landing, where they offer a tasty Walloping Wiggler (jello parfait) for $1.99. Or, if it’s a hot day and you need something cool, there’s the Hop Top Pop, also in Seuss Landing, where you can Pick-A-Sundae for $3.59. For people too busy to stop at sit-down restaurants, there’s Chomp, a stand that offers $3.45 hot dogs, or City Ice Snow Cones, which sell for $2.95 each.

In the Marvel Super Hero island, the kids will like the Captain America Diner, where chicken sandwiches are $6.59 and hamburgers go for $4.99.

There’s plenty to buy here, to be sure, and each ride or attraction naturally enough lets you out or off at--where else?--the gift shop. If you are looking to bring home some knickknacks, you can stop at the Mulberry Street Store, in Seuss Landing, where Cat in the Hat stuffed dolls sell for $8 and T-shirts for $16. Better clothing at some shops in the Lost Continent becomes much pricier. I saw dresses and men’s jackets in the three-figure range. I paid $20 for a great safari cap in a Jurassic Park store.

If a day at Islands of Adventure has not entirely worn you out, you might try CityWalk, 30 acres of stores, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs directly off the huge main parking area, which opened last year and is modeled after the popular CityWalk at Universal Studios in the San Fernando Valley. It has a Hard Rock Cafe, a Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, a Latin Quarter with singing and dancing, and there is a NASCAR Cafe, themed after stock car races. I personally found CityWalk a bit too loud and jarring. You’re going to need somewhere to stay. In the luxury category, Loews Hotels is planning in September to open a 750-room hotel, the Portofino Bay, where rooms will go for $275 a night. It will be the first of three Loews hotels that are planned near Universal’s Islands of Adventure, but Orlando offers plenty of budget motels too. There is no doubt that Universal is in a war with Disney for the lion’s share of the huge tourist trade in Orlando. Disney World was built nearly 30 years ago, and then a decade ago along came Universal Studios. To counter, Disney built Disney-MGM Studios, a working entertainment production center with tours, on its property.

Disney may be planning other attractions, but not because of anything Universal has done, said Disney spokesman Rick Sylvain.

“While we wish Universal success, our focus is on the growth of Walt Disney World,” Sylvain said.

But Spielberg is betting on Islands of Adventure. During the welcome ceremony, Spielberg stood on a platform in the middle of the park’s lagoon and offered what he said was the philosophy of Islands of Adventure. “We want people to be dazzled, entertained, and to come back again and again and again.”

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GUIDEBOOK

Orlando Adventures

Getting there: United and Delta airlines have nonstop flights from L.A. to Orlando; Continental has a flight with one stop and no change of planes; Southwest flies to Orlando with two stops. Round- trip fares start at $348.

Where to stay: We stayed near Universal at the Omni Rosen Hotel, 9840 International Drive, Orlando, telephone (407) 996-9840; doubles $140-$180. But Orlando has scores of accommodations. A good starting point is the city’s Web page, https://www.orlando.com.

Universal Studios admission: Islands of Adventure, which officially opens May 28, costs $42 per person, $34 for kids 3 to 9; kids under 3 are free. Parking is $6 per car. Several types of packages are available; Ride the Movies includes accommodations and two-day passes to the theme park and Universal Studios for $169 and up per person, double occupancy, effective June 1 (prices vary depending on hotel and arrival date). Additionally, you receive a one-night Key to the Clubs for admission to some venues in CityWalk.

For more information: Universal Studios Escape, tel. (888) 889-4783, Internet https://www.usevacations.com.

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A kid rates the rides L15