Just came back to my first visit to UOR after 20 years. I absolutely loved Islands of Adventure. I enjoyed Universal Studios but found all the use of movie and 3D movies a bit tiresome. There are only so many times I can be sprayed with water while watching a movie before it is not a novelty.
We had express passes and loved it even though it was a low crowd day. Not having to worry about lines and just taking the park in order of location was fabulous. This also allowed us to do a few rides multiple times all before dinner. On time bedtime for the kids makes for a happy family.
Advice:
Hogwarts Express Train: although we had express passes we still had to wait quite a while in this queue. We regretted waiting for the train and wished we had walked after experiencing the train a single time. walking would have been faster and more enjoyable. (even though I had walked 20,000 steps that day!)
Simpsons: I am prone to motion sickness due to too much jostling. This ride although funny definitely made me sick so I closed my eyes for the second half. Too bad because I was really enjoying the ride and its humor. My kids having never seen the Simpsons were laughing at the jokes the whole time… Took my meds after this and felt better. No other ride seemed to bother me.
Raft and flume rides: So much fun. My kids laughter and expressions as they got soaked were the best. Left us completely soaked. We were way too cheap for the $5 people dryers so just waddled along and felt bad for the wet seats we left on the other rides. Maybe we should have done these at the end of the day.
Favorite ride overall was Spiderman, Harry Potter Rides, and Hulk. Hubby and I happily enjoyed riding ET again for nostalgia reasons.