Port of Entry
This marketplace of sorts is filled with six shops and four different places to grab a bite, as well as many of the park's more mundane but necessary guest services (mostly near the very front of the Port). If you plan to save shopping for the end of the day, return to Islands of Adventure Trading Company, which offers a variety of merchandise linked to attractions throughout the park -- from Jurassic T-shirts to stuffed Cat in the Hat dolls.
Score One for the Park -- Music at Universal's Islands of Adventure was composed specifically for the theme park, much like a score for a movie. It's the first time such a large-scale musical effort has been mounted for a theme park, and it truly adds to the feeling of total immersion in whatever land you happen to be in at the time.
The Spell is Cast -- "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is coming to Universal." This announcement (made back in 2007) sent fans of Happy Potter into a tizzy, and with good reason. Interactive rides and attractions combined with themed entertainment, restaurants, and shops (think Diagon Alley), will recreate Harry Potter's magical mystical world in meticulous detail. It's currently slated to apparate (that's debut for those not familiar with wizarding lingo) late in 2009. When this guide was published, the $200 million-plus 20-acre park-within-a-park remains under construction, but it promises to bring Hogwarts Castle, the Village of Hogsmeade, and the Forbidden Forest to life in signature Universal fashion.
