Comparing rides between Universal and WDW/Disneyland

[nallepuh]

Sorry, this is quite long... We go to Disneyland and Walt Disney World almost every year but it's been 20 years since last time I visited Universal Studios Orlando and back then there was only one park. And I was much braver when going on rides.
We are going on a Disney Cruise in two weeks and when we get back we will go straight from Port Canaveral to Universal. Right now we have booked Loews Sapphire Falls but not sure if I should switch to one of the top three hotels for the Express Pass.

Main reason we are choosing Universal instead of WDW this time is that our 10 year old loves Harry Potter (well me and my husband do too) and we thought it would be fun to experience the Harry Potter world in both parks. We will have park to park tickets so that we can ride the train.

However, my concern when looking at the HP rides and all other rides in the two parks is that there doesn't seem to be much we can ride. We don't do thrill rides and we don't want to get wet on rides. Our 10 year old is not brave at all when it comes to rides and still prefer the small kids rides. The biggest rides he has been on is Radiator Springs Racers and Soaring over the world at Disneyland in California.

Some rides are easy to figure out by watching Youtube, I am 100 % sure that neither one of us will ever ride the Hulk Coaster or the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
Other rides are more difficult to figure out if they will be too scary or not. And I would hate to find out when we are on the ride and can't get off.

I have tried o find a site that compares the rides at WDW with the rides at Universal but haven't been successful. So hoping someone here, who have been to both WDW/DIsneyland and Universal can help me figure out which rides will be OK for us.

At WDW/Disneyland we like the following rides and ride them with no problem (the first four are our favorites):
Radiator Springs Racers
Toy Story Midway Mania
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin/Astro Blazers
Star Tours
Dumbo
It's a small world
Mad Tea Party
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
Peter Pan's Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
Alice in Wonderland
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

My son and husband also enjoyed Soaring over the world, while I wasn't too comfortable on it.
My husband and I like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and can handle The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror but our son doesn't want to go on any of those.
My husband also likes the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland California.

So based on the above, which rides do you think would be safe for us and which rides should we stay far away from?

I'm very grateful for any advice you can give!

 

[Travelgrrl]

Hi! Men in Black is like Toy Story Mania and Buzz where you are shooting at Aliens. Spiderman, Forbidden Journey, and others are somewhat like Star Tours (but a bit more 'real' as each ride vehicle has its own screen, I believe?), Jimmy Fallon, Simpsons etc are similar. I think Gringotts and Mummy combine screens with more of a roller coaster thing and may be too intense. Flight of the Hippofgriff is a smaller coaster such as Seven Dwarves Mine Train.

The Suess rides are all pretty cool (similar to Disney's Peter Pan or Little Mermaid rides), and there are extensive play areas at the Universal parks (for bigger kids, too.) Some people go for half a day in their swimsuits (and presumably, coverups), and ride the 'wet' rides. For Potter fans, there are performances and cool shops, the Ollivanders's wand show, the Hogwarts train ride, HP restaurants, and spells to perform if you invest in the $50 wand.

 

[anorman]

Universal Studios side has several shows that I think you might all enjoy.
Horror Makeup show,
Terminator 2 3D,
Animal Actors on Location,
Blues Brothers,
Tales of Beedle the Bard, and
Universal Orlando Cinematic Celebration.

Rides would be Storm Force Acceletron (kind of a spinny thing),
Twirl and Hurl (like magic carpets),
Kong (like pirates of the caribbean sort of),
ET Adventure (peter pan like),
Transformers (kinda similar to star tours)
Minion Mayhem (simulated ride like star tours but again maybe more intense)
Men in Black (like buzz lightyear)

Islands of Adventure has a few shows as well.....
Night time Lights at Hogwarts Castle,
the Frog Choir,
Poseidon's Fury.

Rides would be Suess Trolley is fun (kind of like the peoplemover),
Cat in the Hat (under the sea),
Spiderman (kind of like star tours but may be a bit more intense)
One Fish Two Fish (dumbo like)
Flight of the Hippogriff (like goofy coaster)

I hope this helps. There is lots to see and do......Character experiences and Parades too. You won't be bored.

 

[smiths02]

Universal for the Non-Thrill Ride Seeker
http://www.disunplugged.com/2019/01/24/dis-unplugged-podcast-012419-universal-show/

 

[nallepuh]

Hi! Men in Black is like Toy Story Mania and Buzz where you are shooting at Aliens. Spiderman, Forbidden Journey, and others are somewhat like Star Tours (but a bit more 'real' as each ride vehicle has its own screen, I believe?), Jimmy Fallon, Simpsons etc are similar. I think Gringotts and Mummy combine screens with more of a roller coaster thing and may be too intense. Flight of the Hippofgriff is a smaller coaster such as Seven Dwarves Mine Train.

The Suess rides are all pretty cool (similar to Disney's Peter Pan or Little Mermaid rides), and there are extensive play areas at the Universal parks (for bigger kids, too.) Some people go for half a day in their swimsuits (and presumably, coverups), and ride the 'wet' rides. For Potter fans, there are performances and cool shops, the Ollivanders's wand show, the Hogwarts train ride, HP restaurants, and spells to perform if you invest in the $50 wand.

Thank you so much, this is really helpful! And I have made a note of visiting the play areas, and we will definitely spend a lot of time just looking at all Harry Potter stuff and eat at the restaurants (can't wait to finally taste Butter Beer!) and I might just have promised our son that he can buy the $50 wand.

 

[nallepuh]

Universal Studios side has several shows that I think you might all enjoy.
Horror Makeup show,
Terminator 2 3D,
Animal Actors on Location,
Blues Brothers,
Tales of Beedle the Bard, and
Universal Orlando Cinematic Celebration.

Rides would be Storm Force Acceletron (kind of a spinny thing),
Twirl and Hurl (like magic carpets),
Kong (like pirates of the caribbean sort of),
ET Adventure (peter pan like),
Transformers (kinda similar to star tours)
Minion Mayhem (simulated ride like star tours but again maybe more intense)
Men in Black (like buzz lightyear)

Islands of Adventure has a few shows as well.....
Night time Lights at Hogwarts Castle,
the Frog Choir,
Poseidon's Fury.

Rides would be Suess Trolley is fun (kind of like the peoplemover),
Cat in the Hat (under the sea),
Spiderman (kind of like star tours but may be a bit more intense)
One Fish Two Fish (dumbo like)
Flight of the Hippogriff (like goofy coaster)

I hope this helps. There is lots to see and do......Character experiences and Parades too. You won't be bored.

Thank you so much for this list, super helpful! And we love characters so will definitely spend a lot of time trying to meet as many as possible.

 

[nallepuh]

Universal for the Non-Thrill Ride Seeker
http://www.disunplugged.com/2019/01/24/dis-unplugged-podcast-012419-universal-show/

Perfect, thank you. I'll take a look at this!

 

[nallepuh]

So I have a follow up question. If you could compare Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey to rides at Disneyland/Walt Disney World, what would be similar rides?

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

So I have a follow up question. If you could compare Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey to rides at Disneyland/Walt Disney World, what would be similar rides?

I think that is a hard question, because they aren't like Disney rides. Both have some elements like Star Tours where you are in front of a screen and you feel like you are moving, even though there is little motion going on at the time and Soarin' where you feel like you are flying.

Gringotts has a drop at the beginning, but the rest is just being slung around in a car with 20 or so of your closest friends and strangers. The car is "thrown" a few times and you turn quickly to move from one scene to the next.

In Forbidden Journey, it reminds me at times of an action packed Soarin'. You are flying behind Harry as he travels through Hogwarts, including a quidditch match, Aragog's lair, the Whomping Willow, etc. Unlike Soarin', you are in a hanging "robotic arm" that is on a track. It moves suddenly at times and even tilts pretty sharply.

For both, if one or more of you decide not to ride, the queues are worth walking through. If you look at youtube.com, you can probably find some recordings of both rides to give you a first hand perspective.

 

[Raeven]

It’s hard to compare to Disney rides because Universal has more screen based ones that I can’t really think of a comparision for but I’ll try. I also don’t like thrill or water rides and I get motion sickness or some rides here’s what I’m able to do in the park:

Universal Studios

Shrek 4-D (this is really just a movie and the chairs move once in awhile)
Fast & Furious Supercharged (this is basically a bus that moves past scenes)
Escape from Gringotts (can’t think of a direct comparison but I think Space mt and btrrm are worse)
Hogwarts Express (really just to get from park to park isn’t fast or anything but does have a screen)
Men In Black (like tsmm)
Kang and Kodos (like Dumbo)
Shows like Horror Makeup, Animal Actors, Fear Factor Live, Blues Brothers (the Terminator one someone mentioned closed in 2017)
Et and other rides in Kidzone (though I’ve never been on the others)

I’ve ridden Transformers before and thought it was a little rougher than Spiderman (but probably not as bad as Star Tours) & I’ve never ridden Despicable Me but heard there’s stationary seats. A lot of people seem to be able to handle The Mummy too the coaster wasn’t bad, but the G force launch gives me a headache and it’s definitely more of a thrill ride imo.

Islands of Adventure

All the Seuss rides (includes a dark ride, one that’s like the peoplemover, a dumbo type ride)
Poseidon’s Fury (show)
Flight of the Hippogriff (maybe the barnstormer would be a comparison)
Reign of Kong (another ride that’s basically a bus driving through scenes)
Spiderman (if you can do star tours this will be easier)

Jurassic Park also has the Raptor Encounter and a themed center with some dinosaur games in it. And a ride I've never been on that’s just for kids. I’ve never ridden Forbidden Journey just gone through the queue though. Never been on Storm Force either but I assume it’s like the tea cups.

 

[nallepuh]

I think that is a hard question, because they aren't like Disney rides. Both have some elements like Star Tours where you are in front of a screen and you feel like you are moving, even though there is little motion going on at the time and Soarin' where you feel like you are flying.

Gringotts has a drop at the beginning, but the rest is just being slung around in a car with 20 or so of your closest friends and strangers. The car is "thrown" a few times and you turn quickly to move from one scene to the next.

In Forbidden Journey, it reminds me at times of an action packed Soarin'. You are flying behind Harry as he travels through Hogwarts, including a quidditch match, Aragog's lair, the Whomping Willow, etc. Unlike Soarin', you are in a hanging "robotic arm" that is on a track. It moves suddenly at times and even tilts pretty sharply.

For both, if one or more of you decide not to ride, the queues are worth walking through. If you look at youtube.com, you can probably find some recordings of both rides to give you a first hand perspective.

Thank you so much for this detailed explanation of the rides. I think I would be OK on Gringotts, so maybe I'll ride it first and see if I think our son would be ok on it. Not sure about Forbidden Journey but maybe I'll send my husband on a test ride there to see what it's like. And yes, we will definitely walk through the queues to see everything.

 

[nallepuh]

It’s hard to compare to Disney rides because Universal has more screen based ones that I can’t really think of a comparision for but I’ll try. I also don’t like thrill or water rides and I get motion sickness or some rides here’s what I’m able to do in the park:

Universal Studios

Shrek 4-D (this is really just a movie and the chairs move once in awhile)
Fast & Furious Supercharged (this is basically a bus that moves past scenes)
Escape from Gringotts (can’t think of a direct comparison but I think Space mt and btrrm are worse)
Hogwarts Express (really just to get from park to park isn’t fast or anything but does have a screen)
Men In Black (like tsmm)
Kang and Kodos (like Dumbo)
Shows like Horror Makeup, Animal Actors, Fear Factor Live, Blues Brothers (the Terminator one someone mentioned closed in 2017)
Et and other rides in Kidzone (though I’ve never been on the others)

I’ve ridden Transformers before and thought it was a little rougher than Spiderman (but probably not as bad as Star Tours) & I’ve never ridden Despicable Me but heard there’s stationary seats. A lot of people seem to be able to handle The Mummy too the coaster wasn’t bad, but the G force launch gives me a headache and it’s definitely more of a thrill ride imo.

Islands of Adventure

All the Seuss rides (includes a dark ride, one that’s like the peoplemover, a dumbo type ride)
Poseidon’s Fury (show)
Flight of the Hippogriff (maybe the barnstormer would be a comparison)
Reign of Kong (another ride that’s basically a bus driving through scenes)
Spiderman (if you can do star tours this will be easier)

Jurassic Park also has the Raptor Encounter and a themed center with some dinosaur games in it. And a ride I've never been on that’s just for kids. I’ve never ridden Forbidden Journey just gone through the queue though. Never been on Storm Force either but I assume it’s like the tea cups.

Thank you so much! This is very helpful!

 

[Travelgrrl]

I love Disney rides, even the hokier, old fashioned ones like Peter Pan's Flight. But Forbidden Journey is simply the most amazing ride I've ever been on!

Also, you won't regret buying the wand. This is the second trip we're getting out of the one we bought in 2017. Apparently when the batteries die, they'll replace them (or the wand itself?) for free!

 

[ChrisFL]

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey to me is definitely difficult to compare to any other Disney ride. If you care to, look at the photos of the ride vehicles. They're on basically a huge robot arm that can move quickly in MANY directions, and while some feel like you're being turned upside down, it really doesn't quite happen like that. You will be on your back for a few scenes, plus there's plenty of live effects and screens mixed in as well. It CAN be quite intense from a visual perspective and I usually feel a bit queasy coming off of it.

Escape from Gringott's is MUCH tamer, it seems like it would be a huge thrilling ride at parts, but really it's not very intense. If you can do rollercoasters like Space Mountain or Everest...if not, then you might not enjoy it as much.

 

[andrniki]

I don't like rollercoasters because I don't do drops. I feel that Gringotts is WAY more intense than Forbidden Journey because it has a drop I just hate! I went on Forbidden Journey lots of times! It's more fluid and moves side to side more. Gringotts is most like Indiana Jones at DL. Nothing is like Forbidden Journey because it's partially screens and partially animatronic. I would suggest trying both just once!

 

[Nsaudra]

My kids are the same way, dont forget for staying at a lowes hotel your fastpass is good for two days.... there was so many things to do. We found it to be a family place on the studios side we saw parades, met Lucy "I love lucy" Marilyn Manroe , the Simpsons, scooby doo, sponge bob and a few others. The spongebob parade and the hop parades.. and this time of year the Mardi gra parades are the best. There is prob more to do as a family on the studios side.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Everest is the only ride at WDW that DH won’t go on (he used to ride, but lately it’s been making him queasy). He liked Forbidden Journey but definitely did not feel well afterward - it affected him more than Everest. He didn’t even try the Mummy. (And none of us rode Hulk or Rip Ride Rockit.)

I think the screen rides where you sit basically stationery (like Minions and Fallon) are more intense than those at DLR/WDW (Soarin’).

US definitely uses a lot more screens than Disney does and overall has a more mature feel. My DD wasn’t a fan of the queue on Kong (she was 10 and actors kept popping out scaring people, and there’s a “scary” animatronic).

I will say that the HP rides are very well themed, unique rides, that are worth it if you can stomach them. I have a friend who LOVES HP but normally can’t even handle carousels. She took Dramamine and rode both Gringotts and FJ, and did not regret it.

 

[Squirlz]

I hope you can ride Forbidden Journey as it is simply unlike any other ride I have experienced. You really do feel like you are flying!

 

[anorman]

My DD wasn’t a fan of the queue on Kong (she was 10 and actors kept popping out scaring people, and there’s a “scary” animatronic).

I forgot about that part of the ride

 

[skylock]

I hope you can ride Forbidden Journey as it is simply unlike any other ride I have experienced. You really do feel like you are flying!

I could sleep on the ride. I don't know if it is my best ride ever, but I sure do like the way it makes me feel.