Here is my review of the rides and shows at USH. I've been there 3 times in the last year., I only live about 30 minutes away. First time was the VIP experience. If you have any questions about VIP, let me know. I will try not to spoil too much, but there are some ...
Harry Potter rides
The hippogriff is the only outdoor coaster there, and it's lame. The closest I can think of is coastersaurus at legoland, and the coastersaurus was better I think. It's also very short. If the wait is more than 5 minutes, and it often is during the afternoon... skip it.
Forbidden journey is cool, not really thrilling except at a few points. You wear 3D glasses on this one, but make sure not to have anything loose on you. The castle you walk through is far cooler than the ride. There are lockers free available, which they require you to use if you have any bags. I wouldn't wait more than 30 minutes. Take advantage of the early admission and get this one out of the way if you can. The ride is on rails, and the first time a woman in the next car started screaming to get off the ride, so they had to stop the ride for a bit. This ride does move you around quite a bit in all directions.
ollivanders is neat and I would recommend going through this small attraction. It's mainly a way to get you to buy a wand, but it's fun to watch kids cast spells.
Simpsons ride: nicely themed. No 3D glasses. Good storyline too, and the length is just right. The entire simpsons themed area is awesome. This is a motion ride simulator.
Minions ride: nicely themed. 3D glasses. Fun storyline, probably near the top of the list. This is another motion ride simulator. The minions area is nicely themed including the silly fun land.
Walking dead: this is just a haunted house walk through. Not really scary, but too much for young kids. Good theming in the waiting line, once you get in to the actual attraction, it's just one scary zombie after another that try to scare you. I guess that its biggest weakness, no real variety.
Transformers: honestly, I enjoyed this the most from all the rides. It had an engaging story for a ride, and had lots of interesting scenes. It is just a motion simulator, although it does move on rails from one scene to another. 3D glasses ride.
mummy: this is an indoor rollercoaster. It launches you after a small themed area, stops, then launches you backwards. And then it ends. It is boring and very short. In my opinion it's the worst ride there, except maybe for the hippogriff, but that one is for kids, so I'll give it a pass. This is also the ride that for me at least, was the most uncomfortable in terms of being jostled about in my seat. Not very smooth. Skip this one.
Jurassic park: high points for theming, probably the best of all I theming in USH, with hogwarts
Castle in a tie. The ride itself is a typical ride that gets you wet, in many cases soaked, with a good drop near the end.
Animal actors show: it's cute animals doing amazing stunts with some audience participation.
Water world: best show at ush. Some really great stunts. Recommend this one over all other shows. If you sit close, you will likely get wet, splash zones are clearly marked and accurate.
Special effects show: meh. Maybe it's because I've seen it each time, but it's always the same and not too interesting. This show needs to be revamped. They were still advertising a movie that came out a few months ago for some reason. If you are a movie buff, you likely know this stuff already. It does have some audience participation which is chosen before the show begins.
Shrek: 3D glasses. It's a typical 3D movie with theater seats that jostle you about and spray water at you, and a couple other things. (Called a 4d movie). The waiting room before the show is interesting and sets the scene for what is to happen during the movie.
Studio tour: the VIP experience adds so much to this tour, so I can't view the normal one as anything but kinda boring. The best part for me is King Kong. The fast and furious part is fun, but I never really liked the movies. The guides do their best to keep interest up, but the jimmy Fallon parts are just dumb. The earthquake scene is neat, and at least to me, more engaging than the fast and furious part. If you are going for the studio tour and can afford the cost, the VIP version is so much better, however if you small kids, they may be bored during parts of the VIP version. Note that you will be splashed a few time with water depending on where you are seated throughout the tour.
Restaurants. Only neat one is three broomsticks, all the others are nothing special. There is no character dining except during VIP experience lunch, and even that wasn't anything special. I would definitely go to 3 broomsticks again. Line can be long though. Most restaurants have decent theming especially in simpsons land.
Harry Potter rides
The hippogriff is the only outdoor coaster there, and it's lame. The closest I can think of is coastersaurus at legoland, and the coastersaurus was better I think. It's also very short. If the wait is more than 5 minutes, and it often is during the afternoon... skip it.
Forbidden journey is cool, not really thrilling except at a few points. You wear 3D glasses on this one, but make sure not to have anything loose on you. The castle you walk through is far cooler than the ride. There are lockers free available, which they require you to use if you have any bags. I wouldn't wait more than 30 minutes. Take advantage of the early admission and get this one out of the way if you can. The ride is on rails, and the first time a woman in the next car started screaming to get off the ride, so they had to stop the ride for a bit. This ride does move you around quite a bit in all directions.
ollivanders is neat and I would recommend going through this small attraction. It's mainly a way to get you to buy a wand, but it's fun to watch kids cast spells.
Simpsons ride: nicely themed. No 3D glasses. Good storyline too, and the length is just right. The entire simpsons themed area is awesome. This is a motion ride simulator.
Minions ride: nicely themed. 3D glasses. Fun storyline, probably near the top of the list. This is another motion ride simulator. The minions area is nicely themed including the silly fun land.
Walking dead: this is just a haunted house walk through. Not really scary, but too much for young kids. Good theming in the waiting line, once you get in to the actual attraction, it's just one scary zombie after another that try to scare you. I guess that its biggest weakness, no real variety.
Transformers: honestly, I enjoyed this the most from all the rides. It had an engaging story for a ride, and had lots of interesting scenes. It is just a motion simulator, although it does move on rails from one scene to another. 3D glasses ride.
mummy: this is an indoor rollercoaster. It launches you after a small themed area, stops, then launches you backwards. And then it ends. It is boring and very short. In my opinion it's the worst ride there, except maybe for the hippogriff, but that one is for kids, so I'll give it a pass. This is also the ride that for me at least, was the most uncomfortable in terms of being jostled about in my seat. Not very smooth. Skip this one.
Jurassic park: high points for theming, probably the best of all I theming in USH, with hogwarts
Castle in a tie. The ride itself is a typical ride that gets you wet, in many cases soaked, with a good drop near the end.
Animal actors show: it's cute animals doing amazing stunts with some audience participation.
Water world: best show at ush. Some really great stunts. Recommend this one over all other shows. If you sit close, you will likely get wet, splash zones are clearly marked and accurate.
Special effects show: meh. Maybe it's because I've seen it each time, but it's always the same and not too interesting. This show needs to be revamped. They were still advertising a movie that came out a few months ago for some reason. If you are a movie buff, you likely know this stuff already. It does have some audience participation which is chosen before the show begins.
Shrek: 3D glasses. It's a typical 3D movie with theater seats that jostle you about and spray water at you, and a couple other things. (Called a 4d movie). The waiting room before the show is interesting and sets the scene for what is to happen during the movie.
Studio tour: the VIP experience adds so much to this tour, so I can't view the normal one as anything but kinda boring. The best part for me is King Kong. The fast and furious part is fun, but I never really liked the movies. The guides do their best to keep interest up, but the jimmy Fallon parts are just dumb. The earthquake scene is neat, and at least to me, more engaging than the fast and furious part. If you are going for the studio tour and can afford the cost, the VIP version is so much better, however if you small kids, they may be bored during parts of the VIP version. Note that you will be splashed a few time with water depending on where you are seated throughout the tour.
Restaurants. Only neat one is three broomsticks, all the others are nothing special. There is no character dining except during VIP experience lunch, and even that wasn't anything special. I would definitely go to 3 broomsticks again. Line can be long though. Most restaurants have decent theming especially in simpsons land.
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