When I went to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel. I personally liked it, but they play loud music in the elevators, lobby, and pool area. If you don't like loud rock 'n' roll music then I would stay at either the Portofino or Royal Pacific.
There are two good restaurants I think in the Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios. The first is a restaurant called Mythos in the Lost Continent island. This restaurant has a very random menu with everything from burgers to tacos. The interior of this restaurant is like a cave and even if you don't eat there I would at least pop in to see how it looks inside. The second restaurant is the Three Broomsticks in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter island. This restaurant has an English menu and looks kind of like an old fashioned inn. I thought the food & decor at Mythos was better but the menu makes more sense at the Three Broomsticks and the Butterbeer is one of the best drinks I have ever had. If you choose Mythos you might want to make a reservation.
If you stay at one of the three hotels I mentioned in the first paragraph, you get an express pass to all the rides except Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. You also can get to the park at 8:00 an hour before it opens to the general public. However only part of the park opens early: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So when you actually get there you run through Suess Landing and Lost Continent and get to the Wizarding World. The first thing I would do is Get in to the line for Ollivander's. The show takes about 7 minutes and then you enter the shop. The main item sold at the shop is of course: wands. I'd say about everyone under 13 that goes to the park gets a wand. After you've bought yourself a wand you should hurry to get in the line for Forbidden Journey before 9:00. This ride is commonly known as the best ride in the world. You sit in a 4 seat bench while a mechanical arm moves you around in front of a series of TV screens and stuff. After you ride the Forbidden Journey I would ride the other two rides Flight of the Hippogriff and the Dragon Challenge. After you have ridden all the rides you can explore Hogsmeade. Be sure to stop at Honeydukes (you really should know what this is, but it's a candy shop) fairly early because sometimes lines will form just to get into the store, however, there is a back entrance through Zonkos.
By now it should probably be at least 9:00 so you can head to Jurassic Park. The first thing I did was try to ride Pterodon Flyers, but you have to have someone with you under a certain height to ride. The next thing I tried was Camp Jurassic. This is a high in the sky playground made of ropes stretched tightly between wooden platforms. I wouldn't recommend this attraction, but I wouldn't say it was that bad. If I was planning your trip the only thing in Jurassic Park I would do is the Jurassic Park River Adventure. You sit in a boat similar to a large roller coaster car and start off in raft ride fashion. Then you take a wrong turn and drop 85 feet at a 90 degree angle. After the River Adventure you keep going into Toon Lagoon.
Toon Lagoon has three main attractions: Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barge, and Me Ship, The Olive. Dudley Do-Right's is pretty much dumping a gallon of water on your lap so if you don't like getting wet I would not ride this ride. Me Ship, The Olive is pretty much a spinach-run boat converted into play area. I went in the ship and I thought all the spinach was cool but other than that it wasn't a great experience. The only thing in Toon Lagoon I would highly recommend is Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barge. It is a raft ride with a great story.
After Toon Lagoon you head into Marvel Super Hero Island. The first thing I would do is The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, one of the best rides I have ever ridden. The other good thing is The Incredible Hulk Coaster. I didn't ride this because I am at the medium extremity level, and this ride is high.
The next island is Suess Landing. I think this looks better than any of the other islands except maybe Harry Potter. You might think because of this the trolley ride would be great. However this ride goes so fast you don't really get to see anything. But another one of my favorite rides "The Cat in the Hat" calls Suess Landing home. This ride takes you through the story of the classic book and terrifies the average three year old. After the Cat in the Hat you can head on to the Lost Continent island.
This island has no rides but the show Poisidon's fury takes place here. I won't tell you about this because it has a certain element of surprise. The restaurant Mythos also is in the Lost Continent. The Lost Continent is the last Island of adventure so if somehow you still have time before 7:00 (when the park closes in January) you can go to Universal Studios.
The first thing in Universal Studios is Shrek 4-D, an alternate Shrek 2 in 4-D. After that you should ride Jimmy Neutron Blast a simulation of riding a slightly unpredictable rocket ship. After that you should walk through either New York or San Francisco (fake remakes) to either Men in Black or The Simpsons Ride. After you ride which ever one you rode first, ride the other one then go home. Don't forget to eat lunch!
EXTREMITY SCALE
High-The Incredible Hulk Coaster
Medium-Men in Black: Alien Attack,Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, Jurassic Park River Adventure, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man,
Low-Flight of the Hippogriff, Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barge, Cat in the Hat, Shrek 4-D, Jimmy Neutron Blast, The Simpsons Ride, Camp Jurrasic, Me Ship, the Olive
Show/Shop-Poisidon's Fury, Ollivander's, Honeydukes, Zonko's, Dervish and Banges
Eatery-Hog's Head, Three Broomsticks, Mythos
After the sunset I went to dinner at the Flaming Buoy. The food there was good but nothing super special. On Thursday I went to the Audubon House which was interesting and had cool drawings of birds on the wall throughout the house. After the Audubon House I went to the Truman Little White House, which was very interesting. The whole house looked like it was taken out of the 40s. Next we went to the Hemingway house which was really good. The yard was really cool and it was great to see all the six toed cats. For lunch I went to the Blue Heaven. They have good food and the whole place is filled with rosters. After lunch we went to the key west aquarium. They have lots of sea turtles and sharks there. Next we drove down to the southern most point in the continental US. I got my picture taken by the giant buoy then drove to Louie's Backyard. Louie's Backyard is a restaurant that is very famous in the keys. I went up to the top floor and got small plates and drinks. They had very good food. After dinner I drove back to Bahia Honda. The next day I went to the turtle hospital. It's really cool to see all of the injured turtles they have. 
Later in the day I went on a kayak tour with Kayak Adventure Tours. The guide was really good so I saw lots of things. That night I went to Winn-Dixie and bought ingredients to make pasta and shrimp again. After the shrimp was cooked I realized the shrimps were not skinned even though the store said they would be. After I skinned them and tasted them I realized they weren't nearly as good as Publix's. On Saturday I went to the beach. After the beach I stayed at the cabin until I left for dinner. For dinner that night I went back to the Chiki Tiki and actually ate there. The food was good but not amazing. The next day I went back to the beach at low tide but the tide wasn't nearly as low as it was last time. For lunch I went to the 7 mile grill. The food there was pretty good. After lunch I went on a Pigeon Key tour. The tour guide was really good and knew a lot about Florida History. For dinner I went to Lazy Days. The place was really really big so it was a little overwhelming but the food was really good which more than evens it out.
