Scared to ride Harry Potter

[lkitzen]

So I'm going down to Disney World/Universal Studios with the fam next week. I can handle pretty much all the rides at Disney with the exception of a few. I am not a coaster or spinning rider. I can handle motion rides like Soarin' and Star Tours and small coasters like Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain (no loops). I'm totally freaking myself out about going on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I know it's a motion ride but I also know how the bench moves you all around on the robotic arm. Not sure if I can handle four long minutes of that. Am I worrying about nothing? Are there any other ride chickens out there that loved the Harry Potter ride?

 

[Lynne G]

I am a ride weenie most of the time. I take motion pills to help with the rides. I can't say I really liked the ride, but it was ok. When I felt sick, I just closed my eyes, and that usually helps me. Some of the scenes were fun to watch and if you don't mind riding star tours, then you should be ok with FJ. It is a very jerky arm that puts you on your back a few times. My kids called some of the swings we did 180's. They liked it more than me. I will say, the best seat for me was the far right if you are looking out from the seats. I did the far left seat one time, and I thought I felt the swings much more and almost felt sick. I did not feel sick with the other 3 seats.

I would try it once. If you don't find it a great ride, don't ride again.

 

[mesaboy2]

I actually find the robotic arm movements smooth and fluid. Guess that says something about different people's perceptions. I agree with the PP otherwise, though, and recommend you try it once.

 

[schumigirl]

I don`t find it scary the way some people find real coasters scary.......it`s just a lot of fun.

I can`t do many simulators but found this very smooth. I only had to close my eyes once.

Give it a go.....it may surprise you and you`ll love it

 

[SmallWorld71]

Well, personally I don't think the movement is any worse than the rides you've mentioned. What did me in, was the things that jump out at you. I am terrified of most Haunted Houses (the only one I will go on is Disney's and it took me about 35 years to be able to completely open my eyes, LOL) and I won't ride things like Dinosaur because of the dinosaur surprising you. How are you on rides like that? As an arachnophobe, just knowing the spiders were there was also scary for me even though I shut my eyes during that part.

While I plan on never riding it again, I am glad I did it and I encourage you to give it a try. The rest of my family did OK. DH and the boys (11 and 14 at the time) LOVED it and DD(7) did OK. She only rode it once but wants to try again.

Good luck!

 

[l_mccafferty]

I'm fine with all of the rides in Disney and Universal and I did enjoy this ride. However, it was the only ride I have ever been on where I felt sick once I had come off it!
The seats feel very secure and the movement feels smooth, I can't really think of another ride to compare it to!

Try it once, because I know that if I hadn't, I'd still be wondering if I should do it!

 

[lkitzen]

Thanks so much for all the responses. I'm going to give it a try. I know I'll regret it if I don't (not to mention my kids will never let me live it down).

 

[Sillyminny40]

I just rode it twice....exc ride smooth no problems you will love love it! Brutal to get on it though....huge lines. Take single rider as u don't see your seat mates anyway.

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Hmmm, wondering if I should tell DH that some folks have issues on this ride, or let him figure it out himself? He doesn't do spinning/backwards rides either. Did fine on Soarin and Star Tours. He was brave our last trip and rode all the coasters and Tower of Terror. (I know he won't be doing TOT again, but everything else will be okay.) Maybe I'll warn him about the brooms tilting and since he can always shut his eyes he'll be okay.

Now, whether DD10 will freak out or not is another story...Do they have a swap option?

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I rode it twice within 30 mintues last month. I felt a little queasy after the first time and pretty bad after the second. I normally ride everything with no problems. I believe if I would have waited a few hours in between I would have been fine.

Loved the experience and the que and will definitely do it again though.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Hmmm, wondering if I should tell DH that some folks have issues on this ride, or let him figure it out himself? He doesn't do spinning/backwards rides either. Did fine on Soarin and Star Tours. He was brave our last trip and rode all the coasters and Tower of Terror. (I know he won't be doing TOT again, but everything else will be okay.) Maybe I'll warn him about the brooms tilting and since he can always shut his eyes he'll be okay.

Now, whether DD10 will freak out or not is another story...Do they have a swap option?

Yes the do have a swap, but I don't know much about it as we didn't use it. I know that the swaps are different than Disney's as you would all go through the line and there is a room where non-riders would wait. But, that's all that I know about it. The queue is the best I've ever seen, so even if someone isn't going to ride, I would recommend them going through the line or doing the castle tour.

 

[lkitzen]

From what I've read, the best way to enjoy the ride is to do the Tour Only queue first. This way you have time to soak in all of the castle details without being rushed by the crowd trying to get to the ride. Also there's a few things that you wouldn't normally get to see in the normal ride line. Then when you're done touring, do the single rider line. As posted earlier, since you don't see your flying partners, it doesn't matter if you're traveling with your party or not.

 

[Lynne G]

From what I've read, the best way to enjoy the ride is to do the Tour Only queue first. This way you have time to soak in all of the castle details without being rushed by the crowd trying to get to the ride. Also there's a few things that you wouldn't normally get to see in the normal ride line. Then when you're done touring, do the single rider line. As posted earlier, since you don't see your flying partners, it doesn't matter if you're traveling with your party or not.

Don't knowl. I'd do the ride first. My kids were fueled to ride that thing, even though it was 8am in the morning. We took more time to look and take pictures after we had rode a few times. We did as a family of 3 for the first 2times riding (as we had early entry at a lower populated time), and when the line seemed longer, we did single rider. You cannot really see your seatmates. You can see their legs, but because of the high sides near your face, you cannot see them, and the harness fits pretty tight, so you cannot lean out very far either.

My kids rode more times than me. They did single rider, and sometimes the 2 of them were on the same vehicle, and sometimes they were separate. I just waited for them outside the store you exit into.

Have fun. Though I am not a huge potter fan, the attention to detail and the amount of things to see was amazing. I really enjoyed the que, as each time I saw something I didn't before. It's kinda dark inside, and I missed alot the first runthough.

 

[mesaboy2]

From what I've read, the best way to enjoy the ride is to do the Tour Only queue first. This way you have time to soak in all of the castle details without being rushed by the crowd trying to get to the ride. Also there's a few things that you wouldn't normally get to see in the normal ride line. Then when you're done touring, do the single rider line. As posted earlier, since you don't see your flying partners, it doesn't matter if you're traveling with your party or not.

Hmm, I can't think of anything in the Castle Tour queue that you don't see in the main queue. You do see a different Portrait Room than the main queue does, but that's about it.

Don't knowl. I'd do the ride first. My kids were fueled to ride that thing, even though it was 8am in the morning. We took more time to look and take pictures after we had rode a few times. We did as a family of 3 for the first 2times riding (as we had early entry at a lower populated time), and when the line seemed longer, we did single rider. You cannot really see your seatmates. You can see their legs, but because of the high sides near your face, you cannot see them, and the harness fits pretty tight, so you cannot lean out very far either.

My kids rode more times than me. They did single rider, and sometimes the 2 of them were on the same vehicle, and sometimes they were separate. I just waited for them outside the store you exit into.

Have fun. Though I am not a huge potter fan, the attention to detail and the amount of things to see was amazing. I really enjoyed the que, as each time I saw something I didn't before. It's kinda dark inside, and I missed alot the first runthough.

I agree, ride first--especially if you're there early in the morning. Doesn't really matter when you do the Castle Tour, but timing the regular queue right can make a big difference in wait times. I also agree single-rider is the way to go if you don't want to wait in the long queue, but be sure to do the main queue once so you can see everything there is.

 

[macraven]

So I'm going down to Disney World/Universal Studios with the fam next week. I can handle pretty much all the rides at Disney with the exception of a few. I am not a coaster or spinning rider. I can handle motion rides like Soarin' and Star Tours and small coasters like Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain (no loops). I'm totally freaking myself out about going on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I know it's a motion ride but I also know how the bench moves you all around on the robotic arm. Not sure if I can handle four long minutes of that. Am I worrying about nothing? Are there any other ride chickens out there that loved the Harry Potter ride?

Check the ride out on youtube.

you'll be fine once you see how it is.

 

[Pygmypuff07]

I would suggest If you go on the ride to take one of the middle seats if you are afraid of heights. You can't see anything that is going on off the ride or how far up you are.

 

[Pembo]

Ride chicken - HP is unlike anything you've ever ridden and it's just amazing!!! I was very nervous too but it is just so cool you forget to be nervous about it.

And the more you ride it, the better it gets!

As for childswap, you are all in queue together and near the entrance to the ride, the cs people get to go sit in a very cool room directly behind the ride entrance. There is even a tv in there showing Harry Potter! Awesome! My dd loved the childswap room.

 

[tina_la]

curious... wud a 6 yr old be too young for this ride. after some of the comments im a little concerned mainly because if he gets scared he wont have me next to him. anyone else take a younger child on this ride?

 

[SmallWorld71]

curious... wud a 6 yr old be too young for this ride. after some of the comments im a little concerned mainly because if he gets scared he wont have me next to him. anyone else take a younger child on this ride?

I think it depends on the child. I would think it would be too much for your typical 6 year old, but there are exceptions to every rule.

What else has he been on? DD went on FJ when she was 7 1/2, but she has always been a ride daredevil - Kali River Rapids at age 3, Splash Mountain at 4, Expedition Everest at 5 etc... She was also never afraid of spooky rides such as Haunted Houses and such. The Haunted Mansion has been one of her favorites for quite some time. Even so she found it a bit intense for her liking.

Before taking your child on I would ask yourself 5 questions:
Are they OK with movement on rides? (Test Track, Big Thunder, Soarin etc...)
Are they OK with spooky rides (or Haunted Houses where things jump out at you) such as The Tower of Terror or Dinosaur?
Are they OK on bigger rides without my holding on to them or do they really need someone to hold onto?
Do they have enough experience with rides that even if they HATE the ride, it won't cause them to be afraid of trying others?
Will he understand that it is all make-believe? There are some elements to this ride that could be pretty scary for a child - giant spiders, dementors, dragon, tree that tries to bludgeon you....

If you can answer yes to each of these questions, then go for it. If not, I would wait.

While you are technically next to him, you won't be able to put your arms around him if he needs comfort and that can make all the difference to some kids.

 

[damo]

curious... wud a 6 yr old be too young for this ride. after some of the comments im a little concerned mainly because if he gets scared he wont have me next to him. anyone else take a younger child on this ride?

How is he on Dinosaur?