When Universal’s Islands of Adventure opened in 1999, it represented the “next generation” of theme parks. Sure, it’s often said that Islands was Universal’s first outright attempt to build a “Disney-style” park… but in retrospect, Islands of Adventure was so much more! Filled with hidden gems and secret spots, it’s a park that doesn’t celebrate movies, but stories! Across Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, The Lost Continent, Hogsmeade, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, and Marvel Super Hero Island, shared, timeless, intergenerational genres come to life.
But beyond the technological ride systems, incredible environments, and character collections that rightfully make Disney Parks fans jealous, one of Islands of Adventure’s most beloved elements is something much simpler: its score.
In fact, at the time of the park’s opening, the music that played throughout its lands was one of the park’s most talked-about features among theme park fans. Why? Universal boasts that Islands of Adventure was the first theme park to ever have a custom score developed from scratch as part of its design – music written, recorded, and built into the park’s infrastructure under Soundtrack Producer John Rust! The soundscapes of Islands of Adventure remain among the best in the business, and today, we’re celebrating our favorite tracks from this iconic album.
6. “Marvel Main Street”
You have to remember that Universal’s licensing of Marvel’s superheroes happened long before the “MCU” dominated the box office… and even before 1999’s X-Men kicked off the superhero movie trend at all! This is no Avengers Campus of hyperrealistic layered detail and “grounded” characters; these are the pages of a Marvel comic book; bright, loud, brash, explosive, and oversaturated! Marvel Super Hero Island is the kind of cityscape you’d see lightly sketched in the background of a comic panel, or on an episode of Fox Kids’ 1992 X-Men animated series.
There’s no doubt that the colorful, cartoonish Super Hero Island looked pretty out-of-vogue as the 2000s progressed. But like anything in pop culture, the rock ‘n’ rolling “Main Street” music loop that felt downright silly in the wake of The Avengers has returned to retro-cool status; a fun, frantic throwback to the Marvel heroes’ ’90s Saturday morning cartoon intro theme songs. (And it’s sure to be even cooler once Disney+’s X-Men ’97 animated series launches.) It actually makes us glad that Universal’s superhero land is “stuck” in the ’90s. After all, that fits Islands of Adventure’s timeless, literary style better than something like Avengers Campus would anyway.
5. “Welcome to Seuss Landing”
Written by: Tony Humecke and Chip Smith
From The Cat in the Hat to The Grinch… You know a Dr. Seuss illustration when you see one… but what would it sound like?! That was the challenge laid before the musical team responsible for scoring Seuss Landing, a whimsical, shapeless, pastel seaport without a right angle in sight.
Given that Seuss Landing is as free-flowing, wacky, and otherworldly as the sketches and rhymes of Seuss himself, it makes sense that regular instruments wouldn’t do. “Welcome to Seuss Landing” was quite literally composed by assembling “Seussian” instruments from found materials, melding together different household supplies, and creating one-of-a-kind soundmakers based on the illustrations in Seuss books. The result is exactly, perfectly right – a sort of joyful, jazzy, percussive, teetering score that adds so much life and light to the already-astounding land.
4. “The Lost City”
Written by: William Kidd
Stepping from Seuss Landing to the Lost Continent is like warping between worlds. (The “flash cuts” between Islands of Adventure’s lands are one of our favorite transitions in any theme park.) At once, the whimsical sounds of Seuss Landing give way to something mysterious and ethereal; the whistling, airy tones of “The Lost City.”
The mini-land surrounding the Declassified Disaster: Poseidon’s Fury is one of the most staggering environments ever built in the theme park, with the crumbled ruins of a hundred-foot-tall Poseidon scattered around guests, beneath the burbling faces of Mythos. It makes sense that it’s music feels just as magical. It’s a place that’s impossible and mythical and foreign, underscored by the vocalizations of an ancient, unseen chorus. It’s eerie. Unsettling. Enchanting. There are even elements of the music that blend into “Sinbad’s Bazaar” (the next sub-section of the Lost Continent), setting the stage for falling deeper into mythic landscapes and far-flung places.
Speaking of which, our next track is a world away…
3. “Jurassic Park Calypso”
Arranged by: Louis Forestieri (based on a theme by John Williams)
Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure is an experiment in being “meta.” After all, it’s a theme park recreation… of a theme park. The Jurassic Park River Adventure is a ride gone wrong; the Discovery Center is the “real” visitor’s center of the “real” park; dino-themed games along the midway can even be excused as fitting in “in-universe” since the “real” Jurassic Park is a theme park that would probably have dino-themed midway games! Get it?
Obviously, Universal could’ve just pumped John Williams’ iconic Jurassic Park film score into the land, but the “real” Jurassic Park wouldn’t be playing a film score from a movie that doesn’t exist in its universe, right? Okay, if you’re confused, just rest assured knowing that the “Jurassic Park Calypso” track on the Islands of Adventure soundtrack is perfection; it’s the kind of lighthearted, tropical, easygoing theme park music you’d expect to be pumped into SeaWorld, with John Williams’ score not-to-subtly baked in.
2. “Ocean Trader Market”
Written by: William Kidd
No one needed to go this hard on the music of a park’s “Main Street,” and yet here we are. Port of Entry is already one of the coolest “entry” lands of any Disney or Universal Park. It’s stylized as a peaceful, harmonious, seaside explorer’s port constructed by adventurers from every continent. Its eclectic architecture reflects civilizations from around the globe, all coming together to build a safe harbor, reigned over by the Pharos Lighthouse. It’s a beautiful, lively, pulpy land that manages to somehow feel like a cohesive opening act for the unreleated “islands” to follow.
“Ocean Trader Market” is – quite simply – an incredible piece of music. Capturing the same otherworldliness as “The Lost City,” it’s exotic and intriguing and even mysterious. Yet it’s also warm, filled with chimes and gongs and steel drum, all reverberating as seagulls chatter in the distance. You could study to it. You could play it underwater in a pool. You could listen to it walking across campus. This is the kind of music that sets a tone and builds a world. It’s simple, but it’s iconic for a reason.
1. “The Call to Adventure”
Written by: William Kidd
“The Call to Adventure” is Islands of Adventure’s theme; a rousing, orchestral march that must be heard from beginning to end. As cinematic as anything developed for a film, it’s rich, vibrant, and emotional, somehow seeming to allude to and complement Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, the Lost Continent, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, and Marvel Super Hero Island in one. It’s pretty impossible to pass beneath the Pharos Lighthouse, under vibrant orange and yellow clam-shaped sails, and through the ancient brass gates of Port of Entry to the tune of “The Call to Adventure” without getting goosebumps.
“The Call to Adventure” is truly incredible. It’s reprised throughout Port of Entry’s standard music loop, with fluttering brass instruments and soaring strings. (It’s also “reprised” in the music inside Confisco’s Grill – Port of Entry’s full-service restaurant, filled with relics collected from each of the park’s islands. There, it’s more of a folksy, accordian-led polka tune you might expect from “the old country.”)
Not until Islands of Adventure had music been so thoughtfully infused into a park, not just technologically, but narratively. “The Call to Adventure” speaks the park’s spirit aloud. It’s captivating and joyful and bold and yes, adventurous. So next time you step into Universal’s Islands of Adventure, keep your ears open. A whole lot of care went into bringing the park to life in a way you can’t see… but you can definitely hear.
