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Islands of Adventure Preview Center

Apr 6, 2014
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Rushmore Academy
I've always heard this has existed but I never went in nor have seen any photos. Does anybody have a description or anything to share about it? Would love to know more
 
I remember going in there when I was reallyyyy little. Just a bunch of vignettes and displays with some models and maps thrown in there too. I bet if you looked it up on youtube you'd find a walk-through or something. I cant wait to hear what other people have to say about it.
 
http://universalstudiosflorida.wikia.com/wiki/Islands_of_Adventure_Preview_Center

Too, I had never seen this concept art before even though some of you may have:

Sans+titre-2.jpg
 
The preview center rocked. It was really well done.

Out front, there was a huge (20 ft tall?) hour glass with sand running through it, counting down the opening to the park in 1999.

When you walked into the Preview Center, you were given a passport with about 5 pages, one for each island. You then progressed through a series of rooms, one for each island. You would get your passport stamped in each room. The rooms were done very well, all decked out in theming from that island. Concept art adorned the walls, there were models, figures of characters, etc. I remember the Jurassic Park room had a huge dented metal door that said "Raptor inside" and it would shake every couple seconds and scare the crap out of you. It sounds corny when I type this, but it was very well done.

In the last room, there was a huge physical model of the resort (including stuff that never was built, like the adjacent golf course and expanded production facilities). Once you toured it, you absolutely wanted to go. I wish I could go back. I remember all the concept art for the Lighthouse had the flame burning on top -- I wish that was never cut.

For a while, one of the Passports from the preview center was hanging in one of the windows in the Port of Entry, but it has since been removed.
 
I remember the preview center, but not much about it. But I remember being so excited for the opening of Islands of Adventure, especially after watching those "making of" the rides and stuff on tv.
 
Boy do I have a treat for you guys. Luckily I had it bookmarked from a couple years ago.

Link Removed - Malware Warnings were popping up.
 
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I remember it...loved it! After going through it I knew I had to get back to Florida ASAP to check it out. I finally got my IOA fix back in spring 2000. Sadly Dudley was closed for refurb or something.
 
I remember heading out around March of 1999 and eating at Margaritaville on the patio. Definitely remember the hour glass in the rotunda (wish I remember where the pics are).
 
Is this the same thing that was next to/in part of the Mummy queue or it may have even been Kong then?
 
I like Teebin's comparison to the hype for Potter because it sounds like they really put it up to that scale to get people excited. I know if I'd gone through something like that I would have begged for months on end for my parents to take me :lol:
The video's definitely a great find!
 
That first logo (along with the entire preview center) is so cartoony, even marvel and JP looked more silly and classic than how it turned out. Wonder what caused the overall mood change
 
The preview center rocked. It was really well done.

Out front, there was a huge (20 ft tall?) hour glass with sand running through it, counting down the opening to the park in 1999.

When you walked into the Preview Center, you were given a passport with about 5 pages, one for each island. You then progressed through a series of rooms, one for each island. You would get your passport stamped in each room. The rooms were done very well, all decked out in theming from that island. Concept art adorned the walls, there were models, figures of characters, etc. I remember the Jurassic Park room had a huge dented metal door that said "Raptor inside" and it would shake every couple seconds and scare the crap out of you. It sounds corny when I type this, but it was very well done.

In the last room, there was a huge physical model of the resort (including stuff that never was built, like the adjacent golf course and expanded production facilities). Once you toured it, you absolutely wanted to go. I wish I could go back. I remember all the concept art for the Lighthouse had the flame burning on top -- I wish that was never cut.

For a while, one of the Passports from the preview centre was hanging in one of the windows in the Port of Entry, but it has since been removed.

I can remember it well, I have lots of photos from that trip, no idea if there are any from the Preview Centre though. If I find them then I'll scan them.
By the time I first visited, January of 1997, the hourglass was at the merge point of the walkways from the two parking garages.
 

Wow, it was still there til 2001? Definitely shows off how nerve-wracked they were about selling this as a Disney-esque resort. This is before Cali, Tokyo and Paris all got 2 parks so the concept was pretty foreign outside WDW.

The video is certainly cheesy, but cute. You can tell that they're really going for Toontown in Toon Lagoon and the Seuss room looks, appropriately, downright incomprehensible. Marvel definitely has that 90s edgy comics idea down, which was a little toned down to the actual island itself. (it reminds me almost more of the USH Marvel Mania restaurant) Jurassic Park easily seems like the most confident land and it shows.

They seem to be showcasing a slightly lesser product than what actually appeared and was done. I remember vividly a Travel Channel special in 1999 talking about just how technically advanced and gorgeously themed IOA was for the time, which of course used the actual park. That was 100% closer to what the park is than this preview center. Still, it got the idea across and was cute.
 
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