Should we go or not? About This Page:

[zipuzee]

I don't do rides. At all. The wildest I do is Norway at Epcot. DH likes rides but won't ride alone. So would we be wasting time and money to visit US/IOA? I'd really like to visit at least once.

[jimmymac]

Yes. US ? IOA has the best rides in Orlando but if you don't do rides and DH doesn't do rides solo you'd be wasting your time. How about Seaworld? Great shows, very few rides

[Colexis Mom]

If you're not going to do the rides, then I wouldn't go!!

[TMWIlson7196]

I agree if you don't do rides then don't bother going. The rides are awesome.

[Shell_of_the_South]

Here's a list of the "lite" or non-rides:

US:

Shrek 4D - 3D movie
Twister - you stand and watch (and feel) tornado winds
Terminator 2:3D - 3D movie (awesome!)
Universal Horror Make Up Show - very funny show that features make up special effects
Jaws - very slow boat ride - similar to Maelstrom
Disaster - part show and part slow moving ride similar to the Backlot Tour (but better IMHO)
Animal Actors on Location - live animal show
E.T. - Dark ride - similar to Peter Pan

IOA:

Jurassic Park Discovery Center - interactive exhibits related to dinosaurs
8th Voyage of Sinbad - stunt show
Posideon's Fury - walk through show
High in the Sky Suess Trolley - very slow moving train that is overhead of Suess Landing
Caro-Suess-el - merry go round
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - similar to Dumbo
Cat in the Hat - dark ride - similar to Pooh, but has a few swings and jerks.

You can see there are a lot more shows in US than IOA. If you want to visit once, I think there is enough for you to do in both parks to be worth one day's visit. IOA has beautiful theming in each "island". If you're a shutterbug there are plenty of photo ops.

[chezp]

We've been twice, even though we're in a similar position. We do a few more rides, but we hate coasters - neither of us can cope with them. :

Borrowing the list of "lite" or non-rides above, here's what we did:

US:

Shrek 4D - 3D movie - yes and loved it, a lot of fun
Twister - you stand and watch (and feel) tornado winds - very well done, we had no problems with this
Terminator 2:3D - 3D movie (awesome!) - absolutely amazing. A definite must-see. We went back to Universal a second time really to see this and we weren't disappointed.
Universal Horror Make Up Show - very funny show that features make up special effects - we didn't see this, lack of time.
Jaws - very slow boat ride - similar to Maelstrom - we loved this and thought it was a lot of fun and it is similar to Maelstrom.
Disaster - part show and part slow moving ride similar to the Backlot Tour (but better IMHO) - this was a lot of fun and much better than the Backlot Tour.
Animal Actors on Location - live animal show - again, we missed this due to lack of time.
E.T. - Dark ride - similar to Peter Pan - one of our absolute favourites, this is so cute and a very Disney-esque ride.

IOA:

We didn't do much in IOA, but what we enjoyed was seeing all the amazing theming in this park. To us, that was worth going there alone.

Jurassic Park Discovery Center - interactive exhibits related to dinosaurs - these were really interesting.
8th Voyage of Sinbad - stunt show - didn't see this
Posideon's Fury - walk through show - didn't see this
High in the Sky Suess Trolley - very slow moving train that is overhead of Suess Landing - didn't do this
Caro-Suess-el - merry go round - didn't do this
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - similar to Dumbo - our friends did this and it looked like a lot of fun.
Cat in the Hat - dark ride - similar to Pooh, but has a few swings and jerks. - we did do this and it was a lot of fun.

You can see there are a lot more shows in US than IOA. If you want to visit once, I think there is enough for you to do in both parks to be worth one day's visit. IOA has beautiful theming in each "island". If you're a shutterbug there are plenty of photo ops.

I would agree with this - it's worth at least a one day visit. We visited one day one vacation and went back for another day the next vacation as we still had things we hadn't done or seen.

[Wolfy6688]

I would just do US, and skip IOA. IOA is basically all rides, minus the Dr. Seuss section. US has more variety for people who don't do rides.

I DEFINITELY recommend the Universal Horror Makeup Show. Awesome queue area, too - lots of facts about the original actors in horror films.

[Chelledun17]

We don't love thrill rides, but we loved US. There are really only one or two things you would need to rule out. We did not visit IOA, although we plan to do both parks this December since we had such a good time at US.

[DVCBird941]

US is worth a trip, IoA not so much. Although there is one BIG reason to go to IoA and that is Mythos. This restaurant is well worth the extra $$ to get a park hopper tix.

[bsblady01]

I would do regular universal if your are not a ride person

[carters_mom]

We visited both Universal and Islands of Adventure along with Seaworld during our recent visit to Orlando. If you're not a fan of rides I would also suggest you visit Seaworld. It is an awesome park, with so many non ride things for you to do!

[zipuzee]

Thanks for the responses. We do plan on going to SeaWorld, that's what got me wondering about US/IOA.

[LuvMinnie]

Originally Posted by Shell_of_the_South

Here's a list of the "lite" or non-rides:

US:

Shrek 4D - 3D movie
Twister - you stand and watch (and feel) tornado winds
Terminator 2:3D - 3D movie (awesome!)
Universal Horror Make Up Show - very funny show that features make up special effects
Jaws - very slow boat ride - similar to Maelstrom
Disaster - part show and part slow moving ride similar to the Backlot Tour (but better IMHO)
Animal Actors on Location - live animal show
E.T. - Dark ride - similar to Peter Pan

IOA:

Jurassic Park Discovery Center - interactive exhibits related to dinosaurs
8th Voyage of Sinbad - stunt show
Posideon's Fury - walk through show
High in the Sky Suess Trolley - very slow moving train that is overhead of Suess Landing
Caro-Suess-el - merry go round
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - similar to Dumbo
Cat in the Hat - dark ride - similar to Pooh, but has a few swings and jerks.

***Excellent list...give it a try atleast once. I think you'll have a wonderful time... 2 Great Parks!