Universal's Lost Boat Ride: Island Skipper Tours at Islands of Adventure

Island Skipper Tours was a boat ride at Universal's Islands of Adventure for only a few short years. Learn why this attraction sank so soon. Thanks for joining me in this chapter of theme park history!
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📚 VIDEOS USED:
Island Skipper Tours
Popular Mechanics for Kids S03 E02
• Islands of Adventure -... (Cartarsauce Theatre)
• 20 Years: Islands of A... (Sean Flaharty)
• 2000/05/07 Orlando: Un... (Armindo Souza)
Lagoon
• Incredible Hulk Roller... (AmusementInsider)
Swan Boats
• Plaza Swan Boats Ride-... (widenyourworld)
Discovery River Boats
• Discovery River Boats ... (Willy McKenna)
IOA Fireworks Show
• Islands of Adventure F... (Fastpasspartout)
Wizarding World Construction
• Wizarding World of Har... (MookieMovies)
UOR Transportation Boats
• Water Taxi from Loews ... (Michael Landman)
Island Skipper Tours Tribute Painting by Sonder Quest
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forums.wdwmagi...
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A special thanks to my friend Jack who sent me the Popular Mechanics for Kids special and for his enthusiasm about Island Skipper Tours!
You can follow him on Twitter here: / killerjack144
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[@killerjack144]

Wonderful job documenting the history and legacy of this unforgettably unique attraction. Truly the definitive compendium of Island Skipper Tours!

[@StorybookAmusement]

Thank you so much for your help in getting this together!

[@ThemeParkStop]

The only attraction I never rode at Islands, and one of my greatest regrets in life!

[@StorybookAmusement]

I was too aloof to even realize it existed when it was open! 😅 Shame.

[@PiTheThemeParkGuy]

I LOVE the detail of the three unique boats and how creative they all are!

[@StorybookAmusement]

They are gorgeous! I'm sure the designers and artists had a lot of fun putting them together. 😊

[@dildoyolo]

Awesome video! Never would’ve known about this otherwise - rides like this often get skipped on other channels. Love seeing what’s left over from past attractions but love knowing the history even more! Subscribed now, can’t wait to binge watch your other videos! 💕

[@StorybookAmusement]

Well thank you so much! I love looking into these lesser-known attractions and doing what I can for their legacy. I appreciate you dropping in!

[@upstopwheel441]

Great video! Island Skipper Tours is immensely underrepresented in the world of defunct attractions. It's crazy that the whole queue, and even the frame for its sign, have remained virtually untouched for two decades now.

[@StorybookAmusement]

I have to stop by that Port of Entry queue every time I'm there! I miss visiting the Jurassic Park queue, but I suppose VelociCoaster is a fair trade. I'd love to see more people talking about this one. Thanks for watching!

[@disinfinity]

So interesting to see. Never even knew about this. Awesome details and reporting. Looking forward to seeing more like this.

[@StorybookAmusement]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@ParkTwister]

The history of these boats was richer than what meets the eye!

[@StorybookAmusement]

And what meets the eye is 👌🏻 beautiful.

[@morethanthrills1616]

Great video! Nothing better than early 00s IOA footage

[@StorybookAmusement]

I could watch old home movies from IOA for hours. 😅 So comforting.

[@jamesmason5576]

Its also very hard to find IOA footage on youtube for some reason. Those were the best times!

[@StorybookAmusement]

I’ve talked with a few people who brought camcorders to the parks, and they usually say they were there for Disney. They either didn’t want to use up a tape for Universal, or they just didn’t think of it. Too bad!

[@ALifeintheParks]

@@StorybookAmusement I’m pleased that I did manage to capture what footage I did but I obviously wish I had much more. It’s odd to think I had a camcorder on me but didn’t use it enough. My main focus was the Disney Parks back then but I have so much Seaworld footage but I definitely spent more time at the Universal parks.

[@sophy23686]

First And by the way your channel deserves more subscribers SUPER UNDERRATED Keep up the good work 👍

[@StorybookAmusement]

I appreciate that so much! Thanks for dropping in and commenting. 😊

[@thefalsekingslayer3717]

"like it had been there since the beginning of civilization" THIS, i have been searching for so long for a way to describe just what exactly port of entry is, thank you!

[@StorybookAmusement]

Well thank you! This park means a lot to me, so I'm glad this resonated!

[@JakeOrl]

Cool stuff. One thing you missed, that you should further look into, was that they added the boats back to the map in 2010 when they added Trike Encounter back to the maps. I believe that they had full intentions to bring it back but then a last minute change canceled it.

[@StorybookAmusement]

Oh interesting! Thanks! Your video on this a few years back was really good by the way!

[@coltonsupergame]

From what I saw they didn’t do it because there was a bridge built between The Lost Continent and Jurassic Park (The Velocicoaster bridge now) and it blocked the boats from being able to get to the dock.

[@StorybookAmusement]

@@coltonsupergame for sure. It seems like guest flow took priority. Trike Encounter temporarily reopened around when the Wizarding World opened to help alleviate heavy crowds. Not sure whether that was in place of Skipper Tours or not.

[@desakita4568]

Very nice sharing

[@StorybookAmusement]

Thanks for watching!

[@bluebridgette]

OMG i've been waiting so long for someone to make a video on this! i genuinely never knew what the boats were for i kept seeing old footage of them but i didn't know there was a whole attraction! thank you for making videos on the lesser known stuff i really appreciate it

[@StorybookAmusement]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed. 😊

[@8bitthemepark]

Wonderful video! I had no idea about this ride, the boats look so charming and a great way to tie this otherwise disparate park together. Wish they’d at least stick some benches in the old queue so guests can enjoy the view!

[@StorybookAmusement]

Thank you so much! There's a smoking section about 10 feet around the corner from the queue with benches facing the other direction. So it's hard to appreciate it fully at the moment haha. But I would love to walk and sit down there!

[@MrBump2]

This is a great video, I only learned about these boats somewhat recently despite going to these parks a lot growing up.

[@StorybookAmusement]

They're so interesting to me! So much work went into their design, and they just vanished.

[@ALifeintheParks]

To this day I don’t know why I didn’t ride this when I had the chance. Probably as you point out you could easily walk it or back then, I probably assumed for a new park nothing would go away so quickly. Many thanks for this in-depth look back at this great attraction.

[@StorybookAmusement]

That makes me want to do everything in Epic Universe when it opens no matter what. You never know! Thanks for watching as always!

[@ALifeintheParks]

@@StorybookAmusement That’s going to be my plan when I go back to any park, ride everything at least once. I didn’t ride Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes or Mike Fink Keel Boats at the Magic Kingdom despite having the opportunity. Water rides definitely seem to be ill-fated at theme parks.

[@StorybookAmusement]

Water is not a cheap thing to keep up with. Can’t imagine the damage a boat takes on compared to a standard ride. I’m sure it’s a numbers thing at the end of the day!

[@keouine]

Fireworks also gone. I heard the neighbors complained. The dock area is so under used. A storm resistant covered area with tables and seats would be such a gift for the hot tired guests and would alleviate crowding The toon lagoon dock area is my fav spot very shady and there's a breeze and usually only lost or curious guests pass by.

[@StorybookAmusement]

It's definitely a quiet little spot now, which is hard to find these days. I'd love those ideas to improve it!

[@briansieve]

Ha! I never knew this. Thanks.

[@StorybookAmusement]

Which boat was your favorite? Boatney, Tropic Trader, or Sam Plane?

[@PiTheThemeParkGuy]

Boatney!

[@StorybookAmusement]

@@PiTheThemeParkGuy probably the most detailed out of them all. That's a good one! And you know you're a legend because I read that in your voice. 😅

[@PiTheThemeParkGuy]

@@StorybookAmusement Lol it helps that I've got a pretty unique voice hahaha

[@UmpireSam1]

Sam Plane named after me Skipper Sam

[@rlmaass]

BRING THESE BACK.

[@StorybookAmusement]

Amen to that!

[@scottin360]

Fantastic video Matt! So many great shots of IOA from the early days, really takes me back.

[@StorybookAmusement]

I appreciate that! A few good angles of Hulk 😎

[@AdventuresWithParker]

Awesome video (duh)! It would've so cool to experience these boat tours (both this and the one at Animal Kingdom), but I completely understand why the parks couldn't keep them around. any idea what happened to those boats?

[@StorybookAmusement]

Thank you! If I knew (for sure) what happened to them, I would’ve included it in the video. People speculate they’re used now for hotel transportation, but I don’t personally think that’s the case. I could see the engines being used for parts. The dry dock is still there, so I wonder if the boats (in a less-than condition) are still back there.

[@jimbodeek]

I kinda wish Universal had repurposed the boats for this ride to serve as Water Taxis to the hotels… Kinda like how Disney repurposed two of the Discovery River Boats for transportation on the Seven Seas Lagoon.

[@StorybookAmusement]

I'm afraid those quirky designs would probably have clearance issues with the bridges in the resort waterways. Plus Tropic Trader would still be tricky to navigate. But I'd do anything to have these boats continue on!

[@RyanMc66]

I went to IOA on a family vacation approximately a year after it opened and remeber seeing the boats and wanting to ride them, but never got the chance :^( especially the "boatney".

[@StorybookAmusement]

Oh no! I went very early on and missed out too. 😭 We'll invent a time machine!

[@LaurensTravels]

Excellent history on this extinct attraction! I went to IoA in the early days but can’t remember if I saw the boats or not. Hoping fireworks come back to Ioa and not just the Hogwarts castle ones!

[@StorybookAmusement]

Thank you! I’m in the same boat-I have no memory of them back then, but I feel like I’ve seen them. Who knows. Anyway, I’d love more nighttime/lagoon shows in IOA! They have so many great spots to watch it too. Thanks for commenting. 😊

[@nicknack5795]

DO A VIDEO ON THE HISTORY AND FACTS ON THE REVENGE OF THE MUMMY ORLANDO

[@StorybookAmusement]

One of my earlier videos is a similar topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIi1aGyYa7FnjJY

[@nicknack5795]

@@StorybookAmusement That one is great but I’d also enjoy a topic more focused on the ride itself rather than its surrounding connections

[@StorybookAmusement]

@@nicknack5795 I'll look into it!

[@ParallelDiscover]

I want those boats in dicass form

[@StorybookAmusement]

Wait 😅 you’ve lost me. WHAT?!

[@ParallelDiscover]

@@StorybookAmusement like hotwheels

[@ParallelDiscover]

Die cast

[@StorybookAmusement]

@@ParallelDiscover oh my bad 😅 yessss, that’d be amazing!

[@ParallelDiscover]

@@StorybookAmusement my bad I should proof read before I send

[@UmpireSam1]

I was a Skipper Skipper Sam

[@StorybookAmusement]

Well thanks for commenting! Great to see you here. I’d love to chat some if you’re interested. 😊

[@UmpireSam1]

@@StorybookAmusement yea my Boat was the Sam Plane

[@StorybookAmusement]

@@UmpireSam1 That one was probably my favorite! If you ever want to share stories or any details, feel free to send me an email: [e-mail]

[@UmpireSam1]

@@StorybookAmusement our skipper break room were the unused offices for Sylvester monkey McBean very unusual driving machines

[@UmpireSam1]

I was a Skipper