There’s less than a handful of rides at Universal my wife will do. Even those that aren’t roller coasters tend to spin or throw you around, or simulate spinning or throwing you around. They definitely could use some more slow moving rides with lots to look at, like Disney has. Or even a bit gentler simulator rides, like Soaring.
My sister and I decided to try Universal this year. We've been avoiding it because we were both under the impression that Universal was mostly thrill rides. But we we wanted to give it a try and this was one of the threads that I found somewhat encouraging.
After a day here, I will say that our initial impression was correct. Even though we sat in the stationary benches at Minions, my sister still got terrifically motion sick and was nauseated for most of the rest of the day. I wasn't feeling so hot afterward myself. Although I wouldn't describe the giant screen in Minions as out of focus, it's not in sharp focus, and I have a difficult time with visuals like that.
The only ride we did after that was the Hogwarts Express (we did both directions), which we both enjoyed and which didn't induce any motion sickness.
However, we were not willing to try any other motion-simulator-type rides, especially since the Minions thing was touted as one of the milder ones. We also didn't go to the horror makeup show, which I'd been looking forward to, since there's a warning outside that includes strobe lighting, which I cannot stand. And we missed the Bourne Stuntacular because after the Minions, watching something that had a lot of movement seemed out of the question.
Perhaps this is unnecessary to say, but we don't do heavy-duty thrill rides. Big drops and coasters that turn you upside down are not our thing.
Overall, I have to say that Universal is not for us. I'd made a color-coded list ahead of time, showing rides we definitely wouldn't do, rides that were maybes, and rides that were okay.
Three of the okay rides were water-based rides, which we love, but it was quite cold today--in the 40s and 50s--and the prospect of getting soaked was off the table (or the deck!). Perhaps we'll come back for a day in warmer weather.
One thing we really like is the resort. We're staying at RPR and it's very nice here. Apparently a clock in the room and drinking glasses made of actual glass are possible to have in a hotel room even though WDW can't manage these niceties. And this room costs a heckuva lot less than a Disney Deluxe.
And as a final note, Universal is not a great place for a vegan, which I am. Yes, there're vegan food choices here, but many of them are lackluster or just plain horrendous (the scrambled tofu at the trattoria at Portofino was 98% salt and 2% tofu--inedible). The vegan hot dog I had at Citywalk was so bad that I couldn't eat it and the mediocre french fries I had with it were edible, which I considered high praise after several terrible meals.
The only great vegan thing I've had here is a vegan donut from Voodoo Donuts. Now that is really excellent. But woman cannot live by donut alone, even if she wanted to.
I look forward to having some steel-cut oats with raisins and soy milk for breakfast tomorrow at POFQ.
But I'm glad we finally tried Universal. We've been planning to do this for years, so it's good that we finally did.
Almost forgot: I walked through Hogwarts tonight, although riding FJ was out of the question. And both the exterior and interior were very impressive.
