Motion Sickness and rides at Universal

[TeacherDL]

Hello! Well, we (family of four including my husband and two daughters, 17 and 11) have officially booked our first trip to Universal! My youngest is a huge Harry Potter fan!! We will be going the first week of April and staying at Hard Rock. I have some severe problems with motion sickness which makes me nauseous but even worse than the nausea, is the dizziness that can last for the rest of the day. Yes, I take non drowsy dramamaine or bonine, but sometimes it does not help. Just to give you an idea...Here are rides that I am able to ride at Disneyworld: Big Thunder Mountain Raildoad, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Mine Train, Soarin' (although I have to close my eyes sometimes), test track....I have always been okay riding Star Tours (I sometimes have to close my eyes) until the last time we went, and it made me sick.

So, any advice on what rides I should avoid at Universal? I want to ride with my family as much as possible, but being sick, and dizzy for hours after, is just not worth it to me.

 

[damo]

I would avoid Forbidden Journey and Simpsons for sure.

 

[TeacherDL]

Thank you....I will avoid FJ and Simpsons.

 

[schumigirl]

Definitely agree with damo, FJ and especially Simpsons are two to avoid.

RRR if you do go on it ask for the front........it's a very different ride from the front compared to the rear of the carriages.........I can go on the front car time and time again........when I was in the cars at the back of the ride I came off feeling like you described above......horrible feeling.

 

[Mjkre]

It sounds like you are ok w rides that move, but not ok with motion simulators. Do not go on FJ (but take castle tour...very cool). Avoid Simpsons, Minions and any other motion simulators. But, Gringotts was the best ride ever and I did not feel sick at all. Men in Black was fine (although I did get a tad dizzy). Water rides are all fine. Dueling Dragons is a toss up. Some people are fine, others not so much.

 

[kip0992]

If you can survive Star Tours, then you could make it through FJ - Do the same close your eyes thing at the screens. Definitely skip Minions and Simpsons...I can ride pretty much anything, but those two make me ill.

 

[princesskimberella]

It really varies for each person; my daughter was fine in FJ, Minions and Simpsons but had a horrible time with Transformers and Spider-Man I think it's the ones that are 3D that messed with her and she didn't want to try Gringotts. Now my husband who can do coasters and most simulators got sick on FJ but he was fine on everything else.
** if you get sick on FB they do have a clean up room and will give you clean clothes. We unfortunately found out the hard way**

 

[afan]

I had trouble on Shrek 4d with the moving seats. Closed my eyes a couple of times on Simpsons and Minions, but was basically ok. Transformers was awful, I rode 75% of the ride with my eyes closed. I was ok after no too long by closing my eyes when I needed to. Tower of Terror was bad for me as well, the up and down is what I have more problem with, I've not felt well after horseback riding. I'm going to take dramamine for some of the rides in November because they were fun and I want to do them again. We'll see if it helps.

 

[schumigirl]

It really varies for each person; my daughter was fine in FJ, Minions and Simpsons but had a horrible time with Transformers and Spider-Man I think it's the ones that are 3D that messed with her and she didn't want to try Gringotts. Now my husband who can do coasters and most simulators got sick on FJ but he was fine on everything else.
** if you get sick on FB they do have a clean up room and will give you clean clothes. We unfortunately found out the hard way**

That is the thing..........everyone is different and what affects one person won't affect another.........I'm fine with Minions, but it does affect some.........I can do all other rides and simulators except Simpsons.......that is a bad one!

 

[TeacherDL]

Sounds like The Simpsons is pretty bad for everybody. I'll definitely sit that one out. I may try the others depending on how I'm feeling that day. Thanks everybody!

 

[Kivara]

If you have any issues, it seems Simpsons is pretty bad. My husband can't to "spinning rides" like teacups. He's fine with every other ride, including Simpsons. But it seems every other person in our group that had issues with other rides can't take the Simpsons.

 

[jjas]

Yes, I take non drowsy dramamaine or bonine, but sometimes it does not help.

Have you tried taking Bonine for a couple of days before you go to the park? I used to just take it our first morning at the parks and it would help some. The last couple times I have taken it for a day or two before - and the days we are at the parks - and it seemed to help even more. I also carry ginger gum and if something gives me an issue I chew it afterwards and that seems to help also.

I used to never be able to ride anything that would spin, go up-side down or was a motion simulator. I pretty much ride everything now. I even did the Simpsons once and I did fine and my kids who never have problems felt bad after the one!

 

[jodybird511]

You might also consider a scopalomine patch (MD prescription required)--this really completely changed my ability to enjoy theme parks. I really can't ride much of anything at Universal otherwise. The first time I tried FJ, as I'm a huge HP fan, I literally almost lost my breakfast at the end of the ride. When I wear the patch, there is absolutely nothing that makes me sick in the least. I was a miracle for me.

 

[klo1335]

Have you tried taking Bonine for a couple of days before you go to the park? I used to just take it our first morning at the parks and it would help some

I suffer from Motion sickness that even sitting in the backseat of a car makes me feel sick. During our trip last August I read on the boards that you should start taking Bonine that day before you leave for your trip and every morning of the trip. I did this and it was AWESOME until I rode Forbidden Journey. This ride is a mixture of motion screens and "real items." It is the screens that make me sick. So I will ride this again in Nov but I just now know when to close my eyes. I was actually thinking about asking my doctor for a prescription patch this time around. Good Luck!

 

[Cuchman]

Have you tried taking Bonine for a couple of days before you go to the park?

I agree on this, if you can. I believe Meclizine is the generic name, and it is inexpensive on Amazon. You can also take more or less depending on what you need (I'm not making that up, the instructions are on the label ). I found it to be very effective, though I recommend taking it once or twice ahead of time to make sure you don't have side effects.
I was prescribed Meclizine specifically for dizziness when I had vertigo issues - my dose was twice the high dose of the OTC - so I would guess that medicine could help with your dizziness also, possibly. Could be worth asking a doctor or pharmacist.

That being said, FJ STILL made me a little queasy when I went on it first thing in the morning, early entry, without having eaten anything. That is a mistake I won't make again - I am (and most are, I think) much more susceptible to motion sickness on an empty stomach. I know it is counter intuitive, but it is true.

Simpsons didn't bother me a bit, btw. My son described it as being like Soarin on steroids. So that could work out.
Hope you have fun!

 

[DisneyOma]

My husband can't handle Star Tours more than once a trip, and will not go on FJ ever again - it was much worse for him than Star Tours. He hasn't tried Gringott's yet, but I found it to be between ST and FJ in intensity for motion issues.

 

[Gemini1131]

I agree I did ok on star tours with Bonine but when I rode FJ even with Bonine felt like death and took awhile to recover

 

[snowybelle]

Was just there earlier this week...

Avoid Simpsons!

I love Forbidden Journey for its awesomeness but it makes me feel a little queasy, and I don't get motion sickness easily. My husband had a really tough time with it as well. However, my mom who claims to be extremely prone to motion sickness had no problems with it at all. I was surprised and she told me she just closed her eyes every once in a while and she was fine...

I didn't ride Minions this trip, but I think I had some mild reaction to it last time. Nothing that ruined my day or anything, but I remember being a bit uncomfortable at times.