58 Best Sights in Universal Orlando, Florida

Your excursion begins as a peaceful raft cruise on a mysterious river past friendly, vegetarian dinosaurs. Naturally, something has to go awry, and a wrong turn is all that it takes to float you into the Raptor Containment Area. Drifting into a research lab, you'll see that it's been overrun by spitting dinosaurs and razor-clawed raptors—and this is when things get plenty scary: straight ahead is a towering, roaring T. rex, ready to use its sharp claws and teeth the size of hams to guard the getaway route.

Just when you think you're about to become a Cretaceous period entrée, your raft slips down a tremendously steep, 85-foot plunge that will start you screaming. Smile! This is when the souvenir photos are shot. Thanks to high-capacity rafts, the line moves fairly quickly. The ride is not, however, suitable for guests who are pregnant or who have heart, back, or neck problems. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle; assisted-listening devices are available. Come early in the morning and/or use Express Pass.

A sign stating that this is a "freefall slide that starts when a trap door is removed" could be a warning to some, an invitation to others. If you're among the latter, then step into the volcano that's the centerpiece of the park, and begin your ascent. Scaling what seems like endless stairwells, you'll be sprinkled with water dripping from intertwined blue and green tubes twisting overhead. These are Kala and Tai Nui, which are soon to be your ride home. As you climb higher and higher, occasionally you'll catch a wonderful aerial view of the park (as well as neighboring I–4), a vista that reveals just how far you've come—and just how far you'll fall.

When you enter your tube, cross your arms, cross your feet, and then just wait for gravity to do its stuff. When the door drops, so do you, shooting down the slick, splashing tube as it sends you into high, banking corners and spinning around for nearly 25 seconds in a thrilling race (with the person in the opposite tube) to a splashdown finish. For people with disabilities: Guests must be able to climb stairways and exit the splash pool unassisted or with help from members of their party. This ride accepts only the Express PLUS Pass.

This ride is inspired by the intergalactic creatures that make an occasional appearance in Springfield. About a dozen flying saucers encircle a towering statue of Kang (or Kodos), the one-eyed, fang-toothed, octopus-tentacled alien. Once you've climbed into your saucer, the spinning ride takes flight and whirls you and your copilot around Kang (or Kodos). Kids who love the opportunity to take the controls raise and lower the craft in hopes of avoiding the jets of water shot from surrounding poles. It's a pleasing, fun, low-thrill ride.

The towering, steaming volcano commands attention from every part of the park. But even that doesn't compare to the experience waiting inside the volcano. The ride is based on the concept that a body remains at rest until acted upon by another force. You step onto a seemingly solid floor that supports your body weight; the "other force" is gravity, when the door disappears. That's when the reaction is your body falling through the void and into a 70-degree, 12-story drop—a dizzying descent that rockets you right into the splashdown pool. Rinse and repeat. For people with disabilities: Guests must be able to climb stairways and exit the splash pool unassisted or with help from members of their party. This ride accepts only the Express PLUS Pass.

Encircling a substantial portion of the park and winding through the lush foliage, this lazy river lets you go with the flow. As you drift on an inner tube past tropical surroundings, you're occasionally sprayed by streams of water triggered by guests along the banks. When you enter Stargazer's Cavern inside the volcano, the scenery changes again—this time to a brilliant night sky. Along the way are several entrance and exit points, as well as lifeguards keeping an eye on things. For people with disabilities: some entrance points are sloped, making it easier for guests using wheelchairs to transfer to the pool.

A sign that reads "Greater than any man-made thrill" greets you at this attraction. But is it really greater? You'll find out after you slip into a four-person canoe that speeds down a toboggan-style run, whips around corners, shoots you through dark tubes, and then drops you down steep falls again and again and over and over until you're alternately screaming and laughing. A quick 60 seconds later, you plunge toward the finish through a shimmering waterfall. So, yeah, it's pretty great. For people with disabilities: Guests in wheelchairs must transfer to the ride's canoe.

It will take several flights of stairs to reach the starting point of this ride, one that pairs you up with as many as five others on a rafting adventure. After settling in, a little push is all it takes for gravity to take over and water to wash you into a humongous enclosed tube for a short stretch before you are spat out into the daylight and into a massive basin where your forward motion sends you up toward the rim (but not over it). From here, you wash back down again and slide into another tube before the cycle repeats, taking you through another tube followed by a circular tour of another basin before finally flowing into a calm pool. For people with disabilities: There's a lift to the right of the main queue area; wheelchair users must be able to transfer to the raft unassisted or with help from a member of their party.

Disguised as a teetering-tottering ship that's moored on the edge of Toon Lagoon, this fantastic, three-story playground has, from bow to stern, dozens of climbing and other activities to keep kids busy. Toddlers enjoy crawling in Swee' Pea's Playpen, and with high-powered squirt guns, older children and their parents can take aim at unsuspecting riders twisting through the rapids over at Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges ride. The most excited participants are small kids, who can't get enough of the whistles, bells, tunnels, and ladders. Check out the view of the park from the top of the ship. For people with disabilities: The playground area is wheelchair accessible. Come in the morning or around dinnertime.

The preshow of "the world's first ride-through video game" provides the storyline: to earn membership in MIB, you must round up aliens that escaped when their shuttle crashed on Earth. On board your vehicle with a few others, you enter the backstreets of a city where aliens pop out from windows, trash cans, and doorways. Fire at them with that laser gun mounted to your futuristic car, and since there's no limit to the number of shots you can take, blast away. Even though the gun's red laser dot is just a pinpoint, an onboard scoreboard helps you keep track of what you've hit. Aliens fire back at you, and if they score a hit, it'll cause your car to spin out of control. Depending on the collective score, your ride will wrap up with one of 35 endings, ranging from a hero's welcome to a loser's farewell.

All in all, it's pretty exciting, though the spinning nature of the cars might cause dizziness. Use caution if you're prone to motion sickness, and don't ride if you have heart, back, or neck problems. For people with disabilities: Equipped for assisted-listening devices. Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle. In summer, waits can be up to an hour. Come first thing, or plan to use Express Pass.

At some point, you'll realize that the most thrilling rides at Volcano Bay involve climbing several flights of stairs. Height is what makes such attractions work, and this is one of them. On your way to the top, you cross a deep chasm and walk across rope bridges before finding yourself at the entrance to the Ohno tube (Ohyah is right nearby). Like its counterpart, you'll slip and slide through a serpentine run until the tube runs out and you're flying out on a 6-foot drop into the waters at the base of Krakatau. For people with disabilities: Guests must be able to climb stairs, cross rope bridges, and exit the pool without assistance. This ride accepts only the Express PLUS Pass.

You don't need a mat; you don't need a raft; you just need you to enjoy the first of two side-by-side body slides that snake around corners and shoot into straightaways on a fast-paced slide to the finish. On this side of the ride (next to the Ohno portion), the finish comes with a 4-foot drop into a swirling pool. Oh yeah! For people with disabilities: Guests must be able to climb stairs and exit the splash pool without assistance. This ride accepts only the Express PLUS Pass.

Dr. Seuss put elephants in trees and green eggs and ham on trains, so it doesn't seem far-fetched that his fish can circle "squirting posts" to a Jamaican beat. After a rather lengthy wait for what will seem like a very short experience, you climb into your fish, and, as it spins around a center pole, you (or your child) control its up-and-down motion. The key is to follow the lyrics of the special song—if you go down when the song tells you to go up, you might be drenched courtesy of the aforementioned squirting post. Then again, if the guests ahead of you miss their cue, the water's still spraying—and will likely splash you, too. Mighty silly, mighty fun. For people with disabilities: Modified mounts let guests using wheelchairs ride without having to transfer to a ride vehicle. Consider skipping it on your first visit. Otherwise, come early or late.

As with every ride at IOA, there's a storyline here, but the real attraction is boarding the wide, circular raft with 11 other passengers and then getting splashed, sprayed, or deluged as the watercraft bounces and bobs down and around the twisting stream. The degree of wetness varies, since the direction your raft spins might or might not place you beneath torrents of water flooding from a shoreline water tower or streaming from water guns fired with enthusiasm by guests at an adjacent play area. Pregnant women and guests with heart, back, neck, or motion-sickness problems should skip this one. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle. Come first thing in the morning or an hour before closing, and stow your items in a locker, since you will likely get completely soaked.

These prehistoric bird–style gondolas are eye-catching and tempting. The catch is that this very slow, very low-capacity kids' ride can eat up a lot of your park time. Do it only if (1) your child asks, (2) you want a prehistoric-bird's-eye view of the Jurassic Park compound, or (3) you've been to the park a dozen times and this is the last ride to conquer. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle. Crowds are usually perpetual, waits can be long, and Express Pass isn't offered. Consider skipping this on your first visit.

This multiperson rafting ride follows a journey similar to that of its neighbor, Maku. But this one includes a few different twists and turns—primarily one with a moment of zero-gravity hang time as you spring out of an immense funnel. The twists keep coming as you cling to the raft handles and rock and roll to a spectacular splash finish. For people with disabilities: There's a lift next to the main queue area; guests must be able to transfer to the ride raft unassisted or with help from a member of their party.

A relaxing place for families, this small leisure pool is relatively secluded from the park's most active areas (albeit beside the splashdown pool of the Ohyah and Ohno slides) and includes elements that kids will appreciate—namely jets of water they can spray and tropical bongo drums they can beat. For people with disabilities: A pool lift makes it easier for guests in wheelchairs to transfer into pool, but they must do so unassisted or with help from a member of their party.

For some friendly family competition, grab a mat and pick a lane. There are four tracks on this attraction, and once you have your mat, you'll launch yourself into a tube that twists and turns and then changes to an open-air slide just to keep things interesting. The first person to cross the finish line of this race receives a celebratory spray of water. For people with disabilities: Guests must be able to climb stairs and exit the finish area unassisted.

What ultimately amounts to a photo op (albeit a very intense one) begins with a guide offering the members of your group safety instructions prior to entering the paddock, where a life-size velociraptor resides. Once inside the paddock, the guide coaxes Blue (the dinosaur) into view, which sets the stage for souvenir photos. But with your back turned and a row of razor-sharp teeth directly behind you, the snapshots are usually framed with a look of fear. It can be a very interesting, and very intense, experience that easily frightens kids—and usually scares adults. If you can handle it, the souvenir picture might be worth the brief flash of fear.

This intimate leisure pool has one of the best views in the park, at the base of Krakatau and beside the clear acrylic tube that carries those who've braved the Ko'okiri Body Plunge. You'll often see people lined up along the tube, watching as guests drop out of sight at the top of the mountain and reappear seconds later en route to the splashy finish. With its own waterfall, this is a nice spot to find a little peace and quiet that's still close to many of the park's main attractions. For people with disabilities: Guests must transfer from a wheelchair onto the pool lift without assistance or with help from a member of their party.

Action, adventure, and horror are in abundance in this spine-tingling thrill ride that combines roller-coaster technology, pyrotechnics, and some super-scary skeletal warriors. The entrance is set up like the tomb of a pharaoh, which means you'll walk through winding catacombs in the near-dark, passing Egyptian artifacts and archaeological scenes before reaching your vehicle. After boarding the multipassenger coaster car and zipping into the heart of a haunted labyrinth, "dead" ahead, you're given the chance to sell your soul for safety and riches. Whether you take the deal or not, a guardian mummy thinks it's high time to send you hurtling through underground passageways, where you must escape a beetle-infested burial chamber, zip backward through fog, and then race full-tilt into the mummified mouth of Imhotep.

Take note: you feel the 1.5 g-forces when flying uphill, and much of the ride takes place in the dark, which adds to its unforgettable intensity. Needless to say, this isn't a good choice for expectant mothers or anyone with neck, back, or heart problems. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle. By all means, use the available free lockers to stash loose items.

This colorful, creative aquatic playground gives kids plenty to discover through a wide range of toys and activities that'll keep them busy and entertained. There are shallow wading areas, low-pitched slides (that probably seem stupendously huge from their perspective), spray guns, bubbling geysers, and dump cups. For people with disabilities: Guests in wheelchairs can transfer into the wading areas.

As you wind along a path into the heart of a towering mountain, the mood grows more ominous. Navigating darkened corridors that are inhabited by "scare actors" (hence the warning that kids might find the preshow too intense), you pass a proliferation of skulls and then meet an old crone, who hints that something unsettling lies ahead—and you'll find that out when you and your fellow travelers enter a primeval world where things get very scary, very quickly.

To the eerie chants of "Kong! Kong! Kong!" your guided tram drives through a towering set of doors where the skeletal remains of a great ape greet you. Put on your 3-D glasses, and soon other amazing sights will appear—namely Peg, a steely nerved scientist whose exploits are the centerpiece of the attraction. Swarms of bats are followed by swarms of pteranodons that lift her up and away, and now it's up to you to come to her rescue. Although Peg works to save herself, she lands in the middle of swamp infested with scorpions and slimy snakelike creatures. As she blasts them with a machine gun, you feel the splash of their guts before the tram speeds to the next scene, where velociraptors try taking a bite out of your tram. Those agile, snapping dinosaurs are soon overshadowed by a Tyrannosaurus rex, who is soon overshadowed by your hero: King Kong.

With the action taking place on both sides of the tram, you're in the middle of a high-energy, over-the-top battle that's thrilling from start to finish. Hint: after riding it once, go back again and wait for a seat on the opposite side to catch scenes you may have missed (they're just as exciting). This ride might be too intense for preteens. Pregnant women and guests with heart, back, neck, or motion-sickness problems should also skip this one. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle. The preshow is part of the fun, so go even if the line is long.

On this whirling ride, X-Men character Storm harnesses the weather to battle Magneto by having people like you board Power Orbs. Yes, the story line is that the containers convert human energy into electrical forces through the power of "cyclospin." Strip away the veneer, however, and what you've got seems like a faster version of Disney World's twirling teacups. Still, it's a high-adrenaline ride that's not for anyone who suffers from motion sickness. It's also not suitable for guests who are pregnant or who have heart, back, or neck problems. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle. Ride whenever—except right after eating.

Two slides are better than one, but this attraction doubles that with four slides that mimic the snaking trunks and twisting roots of puka trees. The tubes alternate in color (green and blue), and they alternate in experiences from channels that are completely enclosed for the entire run to tracks that are enclosed until they suddenly reveal the open air and use your speed to send you up on a high-banked turn. So take it for a spin. Or two. Or four. For people with disabilities: Guests must be able to climb stairways and exit the splash pool unassisted.

This is definitely not your typical gentle river. The water's fairly shallow, but a strong current means life vests are required (and that's on top of the inner tube you're riding). There are several things to like about this attraction, and one of those is its duration: Other rides are as short as 10 seconds; this one lasts a good six minutes. In addition, the river flows through various areas of the park, traveling beneath bridges and passing rides and restaurants, from Hammerhead Beach to the volcano and Rainforest Village. For people with disabilities: A pool lift and a sloped entry make it easier for guests in wheelchairs to transfer into the water.

Directly across from Runamukka Reef is this shallow-water play area with kid-size slides, spraying fountains, singing whales, and a miniature water volcano. For people with disabilities Guests must be able to climb stairways unassisted or with help from someone in their party.

Based on the toy-turned-film franchise that's generated billions of dollars, this high-intensity attraction has the ability to generate a lot of thrills and screams. You board your transport inside the stark industrial building that’s the headquarters of NEST (Nonbiological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty). In a flash, you're in an illusory world where 60-foot screens, fast-paced action, and plenty of 3-D effects ratchet up the excitement in a battle to save the planet as the heroic Autobots (including Optimus Prime and Bumblebee) try to keep the Allspark from falling into the hands of the evil Decepticons. (Confused? Ask your kids).

The attraction spins, twirls, splashes, and drops you. You'll also have some tremendously realistic intergalactic encounters that rock and roll you through the Transformers' world. Like the movies, this ride is very loud and very wild. Unlike the movies, this isn't suitable for expectant mothers; anyone with neck, back, or heart problems; or people with a fear of heights. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle.

In the shadow of Krakatau, the volcano that looms over the park, is this wide beach with chairs by the hundreds. Arrive early to claim the best spot, or upgrade by renting a premium seat that includes a sun canopy. Park yourself in a chair and do absolutely nothing, or venture into the water, where, every so often, a set of waves washes across the bay. So the choice is yours: swim and splash, or rest and relax. Or maybe a little of both. For people with disabilities: A sloped entry makes it easier for guests using wheelchairs to enter the pool unassisted or with the help from someone in their party.