Islands of Adventure maintains face time with comic characters
Toon Lagoon was Instagramable before Instagram existed. The comic-strip land at Universal’s Islands of Adventure is saturated with photo opportunities amid dozens of characters and sight gags.
It’s been that way since IOA opened in 1999, but these days, it feels like theme-park visitors are beelining through Comic Strip Lane to get to one of Toon Lagoon’s water rides or to Marvel Super Hero Island. To be honest, some of these comics were dang crusty even in my younger days, so it stands to reason that today’s digital youth could be unmoved by these colorful images, even if creatively presented.
I was feeling nostalgic and attempted to list all the characters that appear in the land. Apparently I was feeling ambitious as well and later was feeling foolish when I couldn’t think of the redhead’s name atop Comic Strip Cafe. An official list from Universal Orlando reminded me: She’s Brenda Starr, reporter.
While compiling the characters I started admiring the creativity and shifted to another list, then yet another. So here are (1) five photo stops (and design elements) you should stop for and (2) comic factoids from the internet rabbit hole.
Say cheese, please
• The turned-sideways panel of the mammoth “Marmaduke” mutt on the run encourages folks to grab the leash and dangle, then turn the photo sideways for hilarity. This debuted back when cameras were dipping more into panoramic framing, and now it’s even easier to snap and flip. (Pro tip: Point your toes, open mouth wide for greatest effect.)
• We think “thought balloons” were a natural addition to the land, although there may be fewer than there used to be. Stand and pose beneath sayings such as “Curses! Foiled again” or “I haven’t had this much fun since I was a kid,” or use today’s tech to virtually white-out the balloon and make your own quip.
• The whole picture is a photographic challenge, but the visual is strong as water pours from the ship above one side of the walk (thanks to the “Hagar the Horrible” crew) into a red pipe, which appears to go underground only to emerge on the other side to splash a set of cartoon canines around a fire hydrant. This stretch also includes a cartoony soundtrack that mixes barking dogs and shouting Vikings.
• If you remember anything about “The Family Circus” panel, it’s probably the dotted-line adventures of curious young Billy, which are re-created in Toon Lagoon.
• The art may be even more dated and obscure inside Comic Strip Cafe, although designers leaned into an eating theme when selecting the images for the restaurant. It could almost be a museum in there with “Mary Worth,” “Terry and the Pirates,” “Moon Mullins” and “Alley Oop” among those featured. (Also fun is “new” artwork that pretends to look inside the lockers that are on the other side of the wall.)
History and mystery
• High above Toon Lagoon’s Annual Passholder Lounge is a lad tumbling out of bed. These are images taken from “Little Nemo in Slumberland,” a color strip from cartoonist Winsor McCay that started in 1905. It was considered experimental and set in a fantastical dream world, although Nemo snaps out of slumber by the end. Even more amazing, McCay’s work is on the side of a building in Orlando a century later.
• Two prominent strips seen at IOA are both ancient and current. “Prince Valiant,” seen in a giant rolled-up newspaper in Toon Lagoon, was started by Hal Foster in 1937 and remains in 300 newspapers today, written by Thomas Yeates and distributed by King Features Syndicate. “Gasoline Alley,” which is represented as a store and a restroom at Islands of Adventure, was created in 1918 by Frank King and has been drawn by Jim Scancarelli since 1986.
• “Family Circus” was originally drawn by Bil Keane, and the Billy character was based on his son Glen, who, in real life, grew up to become an animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios and was named an official Disney Legend in 2013 after his retirement.
• At the entrance to Comic Strip Cafe is a blond character named “Dave.” The strip, written by Dave Miller, ran from 1992 to 1999, the year IOA opened. (Fun fact from the story in Orlando Sentinel, which carried “Dave” in ’99: Miller originally called the strip “Bubba.”)
• Another Sentinel story from 1999 previewed Toon Lagoon in a special section published for the opening of Islands of Adventure, which will remain Orlando’s newest full-blown theme park until Epic Universe debuts in 2025. “We wanted people to be the comic strip character, be in their world,” Toon Lagoon show producer Chris Stapleton said. “From the music to the special effects, we wanted you to feel like you’re in the melodrama.”
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