6 Rides To Avoid At Universal Studios Orlando Resort
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Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, Florida has more than 40 rides for guests to choose from. However, not all rides are created equal. Having visited the resort multiple times over the past decade there are a handful of rides I choose to avoid when visiting. My reason for skipping out on these rides often comes down to one of two reasons;
The ride is super dull, old, outdated and not worth the time waiting in line when compared to some of the other rides inside the park. The ride triggers extreme motion sickness from motion simulation.
Now I’m not someone who gets motion sickness easily, however, there are a small number of rides at Universal Studios that can leave me feeling queasy for the rest of the day.
Depending on how many days you’re spending at Universal Studios and your tolerance to motion simulation these are rides you may want to research further and consider skipping out on too during your trip.
1. Transformers: The Ride 3D
Transformers: The Ride 3D is a 3D motion simulation ride that sees you spend four and a half minutes riding a N*E*S*T vehicle and working alongside Optimus Prime and Bumblebee to keep the AllSpark out of Megatron’s hands.
Guests need to be at least 1.02m tall to go on this ride, and the average standby wait time for this ride is usually around 40 minutes with the Express Pass queue being available for Universal Express Pass holders.
I’ve been on this ride three times now and each time I’ve found I get extremely motion sick and have to close my eyes and remove the 3D glasses to minimise the sickness feeling.
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2. Fast & Furious Supercharged
The Fast & Furious Supercharged ride is based on the Fast & Furious movie franchise and is situated in the Universal Studios Florida park next to Kings Cross Station where you’ll find The Hogwarts Express.
This ride opened back in 2018 and was quickly criticised for its lack of creativity and thrill.
The ride concept is very similar to that of King Kong’s Skull Islands that you’ll find over in Universal’s Islands of Adventure which sees you board a tram that goes into a tunnel with surrounding screens.
From there wind, rain and other weather conditions are simulated, and the tram is moved based on the way it’s situated on the platform. You don’t actually go anywhere.
The standby wait time for this ride is usually around 40 minutes, which unless you’re a huge fan of the Fast & Furious may not be time well spent inside the parks.
3. The Simpsons Ride
As a huge Simpsons fan, it pains me to put The Simpsons Ride on this list as a result of the heavy motion simulation.
This ride opened back in 2007 as a replacement for Back to the Future: The Ride and sees you crash through the park with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie in an over-the-top non-stop exhilarating adventure.
However, given that the motion simulation technology used on this ride is now more than 15 years old, I’m sad to say that it’s not on par with other similar rides inside the park and can leave you feeling rather sick afterwards.
That being said I love the concept of this ride, so I’d be the first back in line should the ride undergo a refresh in the near future.
4. Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
Having opened back in 1999 it’s no surprise that I’d say Doctor Doom’s Fearfall is outdated and well in need of a refresh.
This space shot ride is located in Comic Book City at Islands of Adventure and often has a wait time of around 20 minutes.
Despite the relatively short wait time, the only people I’d encourage going on this ride are children who meet the height requirement that may be looking to build up a tolerance to some of the larger rollercoasters inside the Universal Studios Orlando parks.
5. Hulk Coaster
Also located in Comic Book City at Universal’s Islands of Adventure is the popular Hulk Coaster. While I’ve been on this thrill ride many times during our trips to Universal Studios it’s not without its downfalls.
The most notable of which is the way in which you’re head bangs side to side on the overhead bars leaving you with a pretty bad headache afterwards. You can minimise the impact of the ride by pushing your head to the back of the seat rather than leaning forward.
However, this can be somewhat hard to do when you’re being pushed forwards and backwards as a result of the sheer force of this ride.
The Hulk Coaster is one of several rides subject to the Universal Studios lightning policy. This means that if lightning is found within a set proximity of the resort, the ride is suspended until 30 minutes from the last strike.
6. Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon
Situated in Universal Studios Florida, this ride benefits from a virtual queue that allows you to browse The Tonight Show’s memorabilia while waiting for the ride.
However, even that may not be enough to make going on this ride worthwhile.
This is another of Universal’s motion simulation rides, however, given that the ride opened in 2017 the technology used here is good and doesn’t leave you feeling too sick.
Instead, the only sickness you may experience is from boredom.
Since this lacklustre ride, sees you race the host of The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon through New York to the NBC Studios from which he presents.
If you’re a fan of The Tonight Show and / or Jimmy Fallon then this experience may be worthwhile. Otherwise, I’d recommend skipping this ride for something a little more thrilling!
I loved the Simpsons ride. To each his own. Didn’t make me sick at all. The only one that did was the Hulk ride and the Mummy.
As an annual pass holder who has ridden most most of the rides, on several occasions, I think that you should have prefaced your comments by saying that you’re kind of a wuss. Stick to the Cat In the Hat. Maybe you won’t get sick on that. 😉
Agreed!! He’s should’ve said… “Amusement parks ain’t for me…. And im kind of a wuss…😅💯…
We went on the Simpsons ride when we went in November 2020 and we just walked on. I thought it was very fun ride. I don’t ever get motion sick though. My boyfriend can and he was fine on the ride. Men in Black, however, did not do well with him and while I didn’t get sick I did have some serious whiplash.
Worst take I’ve ever seen.
So, because you get sick on everything, everyone should avoid the rides.
Not at all, I’m just giving this list as a guideline. Everyone is going to be different. I’d love to know what rides you’d skip when visiting?
Wow, really? Hulk is one of the best roller coasters of all time and I love motion rides like The Simpsons and Jimmy Fallon. Rather than writing this article, you could have saved your readers’ time by just saying that you don’t like motion rides. And why didn’t you list Spider-man? It’s basically the exact same ride as Transformers. And what about Minions? Isn’t that basically the same ride as Jimmy Fallon? Lame.
Hi Ward,
It’s just personal preference, nothing more. I’m also not the first person to make these comments about any of these rides. That being said I’d love to know what rides you’d skip.
In regards to Spiderman the interactive element similar to MIB makes this a worthwhile ride for some. Meanwhile, Minions has more of a worldwide appeal than Jimmy Fallon. Being from the UK, I barely know who Jimmy Fallon is.
I don’t agree with this list at all. This list would maybe only apply to people who get easily motion-sick. And on the contrary, I actually thought the Incredible Hulk Coaster was pretty smooth, not rough at all. To anyone reading this, don’t listen to these kinds of articles and try any ride you want when you go, I promise you they’re all worth at least one ride, and you’ll find to like most of them anyways.
Wow! We rode all the rides in this list recently & had no problems with motion sickness. This is coming from someone who gets motion sickness from riding in a car too long. I only agree with Fast & the Furious. That ride was so lame!! Our kids, 8 & 16, thought so too. And they are huge car enthusiasts. Since you mentioned not even knowing who Jimmy Fallon is, maybe that ride shouldn’t be on the list. We enjoyed it!
We just went to Universal Florida back in April 2022. I had never done simulator rides like these until that day. I absolutely loved the jimmy fallon one. I am not a super fan or anything of his show. But I thought the ride was fun. We did the Simpsons one and the 3 of us felt super nauseous after it. I was so bad I refused to ride anything else after. My husband and son went on the transformers and fast & the furious rides and loved them both. So I’m not sure why the negative feedback. Each person is different and rides effect everyone so different.
Dang this list is long. So basically stay home and save your money according to this…I haven’t been on JF or fast, but the other rides my family loves them.
Fully agree that Hulk should be avoided unless you want to spend the rest of the day with a mild concussion. Every other coaster is totally fine.
I think if you’re prone to having motion sickness, writing a blog about Roller Coasters and thrill rides may not be in your Forte! While I do agree with you on Fast and Furious and Jimmy Fallon, neither are great rides, but should be ridden for the experience alone! But, many of the other rides you’ve mentioned are really great rides and shouldn’t be missed by new visitors to the park! Transformers and Simpsons are 2 of the best non thrill rides in the parks! And, I’ve ridden Hulk many, MANY times, as much as riding it 6 times back to back without getting off other than to change seats/rows on the same train, I have never one time bumped my head nor do I know anyone that has had this issue! Hulk is easily a top 3 ride in the park and is a must ride upon entering IOA! I’m shocked that you somehow managed to make a blog about what rides to avoid at Universal, but Kong wasn’t the first ride mentioned! Absolutely nothing about that ride is enjoyable! However, again worth the experience of riding at least once!
If you’re new to Universal, avoid reading blogs or list like this and ride the rides and form your own opinions on them!
I totally agree that Transformers and Simpsons are outdated and just not worth it. I personally don’t care one way or the other about JF, but my kids love it. Dr doom and Hulk are ALOT of fun tho. You have a point about the head jostle on Hulk, which is why I won’t go more than once per visit, but it’s a lot of fun. I’m going to guess since Dr Doom is out, you aren’t a fan of Disney’s Tower of Terror, they are basically the same with a different theme, but ToT is one of my all time favorite ride.
Constructively I found this a little disappointing so many of the reasons given are primarily subjective or based on personal reasons. Reading through the comments the most typical responses are it is personal or everyone is different. While those are valid it is in contrast to the impression given by the title of the article which indicates an level of expertise that would be applied to everyone. It would have been a much more honest approach to have titled the article “6 Rides I avoid at…”.
You should keep you opinion to yourself. Other people reading this may miss out on a great ride cause of your opinion. For example the Simpsons ride is to me a great suprise of a ride. I always tell people don’t pass it up. I usually get great feedback after too.
Race Through New York is fantastic! We live right by the park and season pass holders. This our first ride every single time. You got it right with #1 and #2.
Lame.. people should Avoid reading your list before avoiding any of those rides… I’ve been to Universal studios/ island of adventure probably 12 times in my life and I absolutely Love it and I completely disagree all you’ve said… 💯
Bro you’ve got it all wrong, all of the rides are so enjoyable at Universal Orlando, in my personal opinion. And coming from a guy who gets no motion sickness whatsoever, the only two rides there that personally I did not enjoy are:
2. Transformers Ride
Just a motion buss, nothing special, I didn’t really care for the action all that much, but I mean in the least bit, I’m glad I went on it, it was somewhat enjoyable, I didn’t hate it, I wouldn’t even say I don’t like it. I’m just neutral to it, completely numb, not much creativity.
1. Fast And Furious Ride
Now this is it, the only ride I absolutely despise at Universal Orlando. It’s literally just the Transformers ride, but 10 times worse. It’s incredibly loud, extremely uncreative, and the majority of it, you just sit there doing nothing or watching some clip. But unfortunately, I’d take that boringness anyday over the 30 second action part, you are not a part of it, your buss is just a witness that happens to follow the action. The loud noises are so unneeded though, it’s literally like 170 decibles at some points, it’s not worth your time. I never thought I’d prefer the line over the actual ride. I actually did enjoy the line, it was entertaining, and the mid-line rooms were fun, but after the line, it all goes downhill from there. So if you want to check out a fun and entertaining wait line, then that is the only case scenario of me recommending this ride.