Gringott's lives up to the hype aka what's a little lost sleep?

[rcraw45425]

Out the door at Hard Rock Hotel this morning at 5:10, at the main gate to Universal Studios by 5:30. Already quite a large crowd. They opened the gates at 5:45 and we were through the turnstiles by 6:00. TM's were positioned all along the route to discourage running to the que area. We were held in front of the Fear Factor area for a little while and then directed to form single file line through a roped line. We made it into the holding area with the first group. We were allowed to sit on the ground, and even got out of the holding area to the restroom with no problems. Promptly at 8 they blasted our eardrums with their greeting and announcement that DA was now open. We all filed in and managed to be in line pretty quickly for Gringotts. it really is incredible. The ride is also a lot smoother than Forbidden Journey. We were completely finished with the ride by 9AM and inside The Leaky Cauldron sharing a breakfast platter. Very impressed. Glad we went ahead and woke up early to do this as I read in the Sentinel that wait times are insane now in the heat and the ride had already gone down at least once.

 

[zebsterama]

it really is incredible.

Thanks for your insight.

Could you please tell us a little bit more about your experience and the ride itself?

Thanks!

 

[rcraw45425]

Thanks for your insight.

Could you please tell us a little bit more about your experience and the ride itself?

Thanks!

I sort of hate to let too much out about the actual ride. the que line begins the total immersion, animatronic elves are spot on, very lifelike. You get a sense of richness and history here, this wasn't thrown together. Crystal chandeliers, soaring ceilings, you feel like you really are inside the actual bank lobby. There were some college age kids in our elevator group and one girl actually had tears running down her face..... A young man literally was jumping up and down as he sent photo after photo to Instagram. There was such an initial rush to get in line I did not realize there was a singer rider line until we were boarding. The ride itself is very smooth, coaster like, much like the Mummy but ten times as smooth, no jerkiness. Video is perfect, it feels "real".

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Very exciting! Still hoping for more info about the ride itself. And hopefully by the time I go at the end of October, on a Tuesday morning, that it won't be as bad to get in and get in line!!!!

Any insight on how people will fit in the ride? ie if you fit on the Mummy are you good on Gringotts?

 

[goddesserika18]

does THE NEW GRINGOTTS ride make you dizzy or motion sickness , forbidden journey makes me nauseous so was just wondering and is it tight for heavy people? thank you!

 

[diamondpixienc]

Very exciting! Still hoping for more info about the ride itself. And hopefully by the time I go at the end of October, on a Tuesday morning, that it won't be as bad to get in and get in line!!!!

Any insight on how people will fit in the ride? ie if you fit on the Mummy are you good on Gringotts?

Good question about the Mummy comparison. If the cars are similar. But, we're holding out until next June before we return to US/IOA so I don't think the lines will be too bad. At least I hope not last report was the wait was now at 6 hours!!!! That is Cray!

 

[KingdomHearts24]

What should be my strategy when lining up? Not staying at an onsite hotel. Staying at POR. Will be going there Thursday.

 

[Bluer101]

Great, we are doing EE tomorrow. Thanks for the post.

DA itself is really amazing the past 2 days we were there. I have to ride Gringotts to finish it off.

 

[ohiotinkfan]

Sounds great!!! DD and I will be arriving on Thursday! We are so excited..staying onsite at PBH. Does anyone know where onsite hotel guests line up for early entry? I know we can get in at 7 AM but I am worried we won;t even be able to get to the onsite guests line area at US. Any suggestions???

 

[janetkay272]

there have been a lot of concerns about gringotts and whether or not people of size will be able to fit. those of you have ridden it can you speak to how large of people were able to fit. My husband is 5 11 and about 250. Do you think he will be able to fit alright?

 

[ohiotinkfan]

Sounds great!!! DD and I will be arriving on Thursday! We are so excited..staying onsite at PBH. Does anyone know where onsite hotel guests line up for early entry? I know we can get in at 7 AM but I am worried we won;t even be able to get to the onsite guests line area at US. Any suggestions???

 

[rcraw45425]

I normally have a sick migraine after the Mummy and Forbidden Journey, this didn't make me feel bad at all. It has some similarities to The Mummy, fire and going backward but it also spins a little bit like FJ, but no where near as rough. Each row is 4 seats across, with individual lap bars. I didn't have any problems, my husband might have though. He's 6'1 around 250 and has ridden FJ before but this time the FJ Team Members kept shoving on the lap bar and told him he had to get off. No offer of a larger seat or anything. They said that the lap bar had to do three full clicks. If we had stood in line for FJ (it was walk on Sunday evening after the rains) it would not have been good. I'm not planning to ride FJ again, it always makes me feel terrible. Gringotts was fine. I didn't see a sample car though for you to try.

 

[zebsterama]

I sort of hate to let too much out about the actual ride. the que line begins the total immersion, animatronic elves are spot on, very lifelike. You get a sense of richness and history here, this wasn't thrown together. Crystal chandeliers, soaring ceilings, you feel like you really are inside the actual bank lobby. There were some college age kids in our elevator group and one girl actually had tears running down her face..... A young man literally was jumping up and down as he sent photo after photo to Instagram. There was such an initial rush to get in line I did not realize there was a singer rider line until we were boarding. The ride itself is very smooth, coaster like, much like the Mummy but ten times as smooth, no jerkiness. Video is perfect, it feels "real".

Thanks for the info - very much looking forward to trying it!

 

[xApril]

I normally have a sick migraine after the Mummy and Forbidden Journey, this didn't make me feel bad at all. It has some similarities to The Mummy, fire and going backward but it also spins a little bit like FJ, but no where near as rough. Each row is 4 seats across, with individual lap bars. I didn't have any problems, my husband might have though. He's 6'1 around 250 and has ridden FJ before but this time the FJ Team Members kept shoving on the lap bar and told him he had to get off. No offer of a larger seat or anything. They said that the lap bar had to do three full clicks. If we had stood in line for FJ (it was walk on Sunday evening after the rains) it would not have been good. I'm not planning to ride FJ again, it always makes me feel terrible. Gringotts was fine. I didn't see a sample car though for you to try.

There is a sample car off to the right side of the entrance.

 

[cigar95]

For those who've been on - apart from the technology, how is the *storytelling* aspect of the ride portion of the attraction?

I thought, for comparison, that Forbidden Journey did a great job of setup and placemaking throughout the queue, but that once the actual ride began, there was no story being told to speak of. I'm hoping that Gringotts will do a better job in that regard.

 

[rcraw45425]

There is a sample car off to the right side of the entrance.

TBH, we were moving so quickly yesterday that I didn't even see the single rider line!

 

[sonofanarchy]

Rode it this morning. Diagon Alley is sick. The que for Gringotts is insane. Sadly, the ride was a huge letdown. The entire ride is dependent of movie screens and the picture was very blurry at times. Forbidden Journey is much better. Honestly, I don't think the actual ride is as good as The Mummy.

 

[damo]

Rode it this morning. Diagon Alley is sick. The que for Gringotts is insane. Sadly, the ride was a huge letdown. The entire ride is dependent of movie screens and the picture was very blurry at times. Forbidden Journey is much better. Honestly, I don't think the actual ride is as good as The Mummy.

Interesting! I've been following twitter for the past two days and reading all the Gringott's reviews. You are only the third person who has said anything negative.

What do you mean that the entire ride is dependent of screens? That there are no sets?

 

[atricks]

Interesting! I've been following twitter for the past two days and reading all the Gringott's reviews. You are only the third person who has said anything negative.

What do you mean that the entire ride is dependent of screens? That there are no sets?

There were huge cavernous sets, and quite a few places the sets combined with the musion/pepper's ghost effect (like in the disaster preshow, but larger scale) where it really blurred the lines between them in a much less obvious way than in forbidden journey. There's really a lot going on in the ride, it's extremely complex. I think that's where the confusion may lie. It is total sensory overload, so this ride really deserves several repeats to catch it all. I think it works better than Forbidden Journey myself since it really makes it difficult in places to figure out where the screens begin and end. It may take riding without the 3d glasses on to really figure it out in spots, it was that seamless.

Good luck getting multiple rides though, with the wait times like they are right now, you'd think Anna & Elsa are in the line waiting for Gringotts too.

 

[AliceinMaryland]

Why haven't I found any POV vids for Gringotts yet??? When Forbidden Journey opened, I found several. We won't be riding this for a few years so I'd love to see it ahead of time, just to see what I'm missing. I've seen lots of vids for the queue and inside the bank where the goblins are counting their money, but I want actual ride footage!!!