Rides for Someone Afraid of Fast Speeds & Big Drops

gemologygal · May 27, 2015

DH and the rest of our traveling party want to go to Universal for the day while we're visiting WDW and while I'm excited about going too, I'm also pretty scared because the rides there seem more intense. At WDW, I love Star Tours and Dinosaur, but was really shaken up coming off of Test Track and Big Thunder Mountain (yes, I'm a wimp

).

I checked out some online reviews of the Harry Potter rides, Spider Man, Transformers, etc., and know those are the 4-D rides, but do those go at super speeds along their tracks and/or do any of them have big drops? Any help is very much appreciated!

gunderda · May 27, 2015

Just posting so I can watch this as I'm curious too. I am not very big on thrill rides (and now you have me super paranoid about test track lol)
I can do fast speeds (i think) but I'm not real keen on roller coaster type things. I have a nephew that is 6 or 7 and likely can't go on most of the thrill rides at Universal so I'm planning on him being my ride buddy for the day lol

Kivara · May 27, 2015

I've been to Disney once as an adult, so I can't compare rides from Universal to Disney, but I'll try to answer your questions.

First, it was helpful to me to watch YouTube videos of the rides, to get a general feel for them.

SpiderMan ride: car on a track, lap bar. Jerky on turns, but not painful. At one point, you do go up and drop towards the ground, but it is enhanced by a simulator screen. The drop, in my opinion, is not near as bad as a roller coaster. It can be intense, with the bad guys, for younger kids.

Harry Potter/Forbidden Journey (castle/IoA): Sideways car, shoulder restraints. Not a roller coaster really, but it does jerk you around a bit, tip you so you are on your back, and there are a few sudden, but not too bad, drops. Again, enhanced by screens. Some intense moments with Dementors,a large spider, dragon, etc.

Harry Potter/Gringotts (bank/Studios) I haven't ridden.

Same for Transformers, but I hear it is similar to SpiderMan.

RMulieri · May 28, 2015

Transformers is essentially the spiderman ride only different overlay .Gringotts has one small drop at the beginning.It accelerates a bit ( nothing terrible ) .This is enhanced with screens and 4d

gemologygal · May 28, 2015

Thank you all so much for giving some insight. It helps because I don't feel as scared and am excited to try the Spider-Man ride. Will do that one first and see how I do.

BrianL · May 28, 2015

The "drops' in Spider-Man and Transformers are on-screen only; Your cart is not actually dropping, just angled downward. The same is true of Forbidden Journey (though the general motion is quite a bit more intense but I can't think of a real drop scene). Escape from Gringotts has one drop at the beginning at a fairly steep angle, but it is quite brief and you will be stopped and level almost immediately after. The rest of the ride pretty much uses screens (though it simulates one BIG drop).

The Simpsons Ride and Minion Mayhem are both have several simulated drops, but actual cart motion is not that extreme. For any on-screen "drops" if you close your eyes the sensation will go away.

I would stay off of any of the roller-coasters, including the Mummy (Even though Mummy has no lift hill, if you didn't like Big Thunder I'd avoid it). Also, Jurassic Park and Dudley Do-Right have large drops. Men in Black is 100% drop free!

Hope that helps.

damo · May 28, 2015

There are tons of attractions for people who don't like thrill rides.

Universal
rides: Despicable Me, Shrek, Twister, Men in Black, Gringotts, Simpsons, ET, Terminator, Transformers, Disaster
shows: Animal Actors, Horror Make-Up

IOA
rides: Poseidan's Fury, Cat in the Hat, High in the Sky Suess Trolley, Forbidden Journey (has no drops or fast speeds), Spiderman, Storm Force Acceletron

Jeannie in NJ · May 28, 2015

On Forbidden Journey when you are on your back, is it only for a short time? I get vertigo when I lay on my back so now sleeping on my back is out and I can't do any floor exercises on my back for work outs. I just developed vertigo the last couple of years so have not been to Disney to check out if Spaceship Earth will bother me (hope not) and I have not been on Everest yet. Maybe I could take meclizine before such rides , that helps when I get dizzy.

damo · May 28, 2015

Jeannie in NJ said:
On Forbidden Journey when you are on your back, is it only for a short time? I get vertigo when I lay on my back so now sleeping on my back is out and I can't do any floor exercises on my back for work outs. I just developed vertigo the last couple of years so have not been to Disney to check out if Spaceship Earth will bother me (hope not) and I have not been on Everest yet. Maybe I could take meclizine before such rides , that helps when I get dizzy.

It is only for a second or so.

Jeannie in NJ · May 28, 2015

Great, thanks damo. I should be able to handle that then lol.

gemologygal · May 28, 2015

Jeannie in NJ said:
On Forbidden Journey when you are on your back, is it only for a short time? I get vertigo when I lay on my back so now sleeping on my back is out and I can't do any floor exercises on my back for work outs. I just developed vertigo the last couple of years so have not been to Disney to check out if Spaceship Earth will bother me (hope not) and I have not been on Everest yet. Maybe I could take meclizine before such rides , that helps when I get dizzy.

I am so sorry to hear about your vertigo. My mother was recently diagnosed and from what I've seen her go through, my heart goes out to you.

Jeannie in NJ · May 28, 2015

gemologygal said:
I am so sorry to hear about your vertigo. My mother was recently diagnosed and from what I've seen her go through, my heart goes out to you.

gemologygal, is your mother's vertigo worse when she has been lying down, for ex. sleeping and then gets dizzy when she get up? If so, one thing that helps me greatly is to never just get fast out of bed. I will spend a couple of minutes sitting up on the edge of the bed and that keeps the vertigo away for the day. I also never sleep on my back as that triggers it instantly. My first episode, I was lying flat on the floor on my stomach throwing up for 5 hours straight, dry heaves. Eventually I was able to get some meclizine down and that helped, I carry it with me at all times now.

gemologygal · May 28, 2015

Jeannie in NJ said:
gemologygal, is your mother's vertigo worse when she has been lying down, for ex. sleeping and then gets dizzy when she get up? If so, one thing that helps me greatly is to never just get fast out of bed. I will spend a couple of minutes sitting up on the edge of the bed and that keeps the vertigo away for the day. I also never sleep on my back as that triggers it instantly. My first episode, I was lying flat on the floor on my stomach throwing up for 5 hours straight, dry heaves. Eventually I was able to get some meclizine down and that helped, I carry it with me at all times now.

Wow that sounds terrible! I hate that nauseated sensation. She said her's is bad when she is getting up from bed but also when leaning forward like when reading. She said that she discovered she doesn't get as dizzy when she gets up from laying on her right side. I will mention the meclizine to her too.

I feel bad because she won't be able to do as much as she did on our last Disney trip and told her that we can check out the sights or sit and rest while my husband and our other family members go on the thrill rides.

DenyingReality · May 29, 2015

I'm personally scared of fast speeds as well. I consider myself a bit of a baby, but I blame it on not growing up around theme parks and everything being new to me

Trust me, there's still lots to do! The Mummy had me terrified, it was very fast (to me, I'm sure not to everyone). Gringotts wasn't too bad, but there is a bit of a drop at the beginning, so be wary of that. Nothing too bad, but it is a fast ride. However, personally I think The Forbidden Journey is more "intense" than Gringotts. It was fun the first few times we did it, but then the parts where they tip you upside-down and stuff just wasn't... as fun anymore? Although the last time we rode the audio was out of sync, so maybe it put a bad taste in my mouth. But it doesn't have any big drops and it's not too fast! The simulators I think you should be fine with; drops are simulated but you don't actually drop very far!

I hope you still have an awesome time! I've always managed to ^_^

damo · May 29, 2015

DenyingReality said:
I'm personally scared of fast speeds as well. I consider myself a bit of a baby, but I blame it on not growing up around theme parks and everything being new to me

Trust me, there's still lots to do! The Mummy had me terrified, it was very fast (to me, I'm sure not to everyone). Gringotts wasn't too bad, but there is a bit of a drop at the beginning, so be wary of that. Nothing too bad, but it is a fast ride. However, personally I think The Forbidden Journey is more "intense" than Gringotts. It was fun the first few times we did it, but then the parts where they tip you upside-down and stuff just wasn't... as fun anymore? Although the last time we rode the audio was out of sync, so maybe it put a bad taste in my mouth. But it doesn't have any big drops and it's not too fast! The simulators I think you should be fine with; drops are simulated but you don't actually drop very far!

I hope you still have an awesome time! I've always managed to ^_^

Just to clarify for others that may not know, you don't go upside down on Forbidden Journey. For a very brief moment you are flat on your back.

patrickpiteo · May 29, 2015

damo said:
Just to clarify for others that may not know, you don't go upside down on Forbidden Journey. For a very brief moment you are flat on your back.

Don't know what it is but that ride just gets me nauseas and tipsy just about every time..

elaine amj · May 29, 2015

Gringotts should be fine if you can manage that first, very short drop. After that, you move relatively slowly through everything with very mild, slow "spins" (more like turns). My DH gets dizzy and he could ride Gringotts over and over with no issues. My DS doesn't like big drops and handled the first drop fine. It is a little scary looking down since it looks like you are going to drop into a black hole...so it may just be best for you to close your eyes.

Universal rides as a whole are more intense but if you are OK with motion simulators, you should be OK e.g. Minions and Simpsons makes you feel like you are on some crazy coaster but you are safely in a simulator which doesn't move all that fast.

Spidey and Transformers are similar in that they are simulators. If you feel safe in simulators, you'll be able to experience the thrill of going fast/big drops without actually doing it for real. Which may work very well for you

damo · May 29, 2015

patrickpiteo said:
Don't know what it is but that ride just gets me nauseas and tipsy just about every time..

It does that for many people. It seems to be the proximity of the screens. Most people seem to be fine on the non screen parts.

johde · May 29, 2015

Like others have said, for the most part, Spiderman only appears to go fast and go down drops. The track itself is perfectly level and the cars themselves are probable a little quicker than TSMM. Back in 1999 Universal did a travel show that played on USA network on the Making of IOA. Here's the segment on Spiderman (if you want to avoid spoilers 1:00 - 1:30 and 3:20 - 4:20 shows the cars in motion)

Kivara · May 29, 2015

Thanks johde, that video was a lot of fun! I always thought you went up a bit & dropped a bit. Amazing what they can do!

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