WDW Thrills Compared To Universal Thrills

[hsmamato2]

For someone who can't handle Mine Train, Mummy would be a hard no. My mom sounds like OP's wife when it comes to ride.

exactly what I was going to say..... nothing at Disney comes close to the intensity of the coasters at Uni.... Uni has the 'big kid' rides...Disney is way more family friendly.... if you can't go on 7DMT, all the coasters at Uni will make her unhappy. And a few of the non coasters too probably. I personally don't like big coasters, I've done Everest and RnR, both are at my intensity limits.... I've done Mummy,and I love it,but it pushes me (b/c I'm wimpy) and I wouldn't dream of the Hulk etc. Even Men in Black can be a bit much for me if I'm not in the right mood...IMHO Disney is a lot of fun, but nothing there is truly scary as far as drops,speed etc. The mine train is a teeny tiny little kids coaster as far as I'm concerned,and it's a lot of fun,as is Thunder Mountain.

 

[fredandkell]

Maybe I'm stupid, but I didn't realize there was a drop at Gringott's - and I rode it twice yesterday? Because it's mostly the CGI/immersive movie screen experience, she can close her eyes if she gets too scared. The one that I thought was the most intense of the HP rides was the Forbidden Journey/Hogwarts ride. No big drops, but very fast feeling and at one point you almost go upside down (but you don't). My kids are wimps (age 10/13) and that was the toughest one for them. They LOVED Hagrid's though. It is very fast and there's one minor drop but it was so much fun! My 13-year old especially is the biggest wimp ride-wise but she was like, "I love Harry Potter so I'm riding it all, I don't care!!" and she did just fine.

ETA: What helped the 13-year old a lot was watching all the rides, in advance, on YouTube. She does NOT like surprises (whereas I didn't want to know ANYTHING beforehand) but it helped reassure her that "she could do it." And she did!

 

[Disxuni]

Maybe I'm stupid, but I didn't realize there was a drop at Gringott's - and I rode it twice yesterday?

It’s at the very beginning when the track changes / tilts, were you sitting in the front row, or near it? That might be why. Because the closest you are to the opening of where the “roller coaster part” begins the less of a drop you’ll feel, because once you go in there it goes forward instead of dropping.

 

[fredandkell]

It’s at the very beginning when the track changes / tilts, were you sitting in the front row, or near it? That might be why. Because the closest you are to the opening of where the “roller coaster part” begins the less of a drop you’ll feel, because once you go in there it goes forward instead of dropping.

Good point! I was in the front both times! It was more of a tilt, then a pause, then a fast moderately downhill ride for a few seconds.

 

[CPanther95]

My guess is that it's about an 8 - 10 foot drop at the beginning of Gringott's if you are at the front. If it's actually 30 feet, then they must be measuring from the back of the tilt track. But you're also starting from a dead stop so it doesn't feel like a significant hill at all. It's just supposed to make you think it might be because you are descending into darkness.

 

[disneyguy87]

@baozi Orange! She doesn't know how the G-Forces are done (and I didn't either until before our last trip!) Neither of us like the takeoff but we find it manageable.

I got a lot more great feedback and I appreciate it. I watched a POV of Mummy and MIB she's willing to try MIB (does not love the spins, nor do I actually) and it's a big no for the Mummy.

I'm trying to avoid watching POV on the HP rides because I really want this to surprise me.

@fredandkell Thanks for the heads up about Forbidden Journey tilt...that sounds alarming to me I think she'll hate that and I might as well. I know I'm willing to tough it out but I may have to watch the ride POV for her. I think it would be a big disappointment if we go all that way to not do Forbidden Journey though.

Great tips on the Gringotts ride, I'll request a front seat and hopefully that drop won't be so bad.

I really appreciate everyone chiming in and sharing their experiences.

Could anyone let me know how other spins (Transformers, Spiderman anything I'm not aware of) compares to the MIB spins (the spin did not look fast to me in the video but I'm not sure if that holds true in person). Thanks!

 

[fredandkell]

@baozi Orange! She doesn't know how the G-Forces are done (and I didn't either until before our last trip!) Neither of us like the takeoff but we find it manageable.

I got a lot more great feedback and I appreciate it. I watched a POV of Mummy and MIB she's willing to try MIB (does not love the spins, nor do I actually) and it's a big no for the Mummy.

I'm trying to avoid watching POV on the HP rides because I really want this to surprise me.

@fredandkell Thanks for the heads up about Forbidden Journey tilt...that sounds alarming to me I think she'll hate that and I might as well. I know I'm willing to tough it out but I may have to watch the ride POV for her. I think it would be a big disappointment if we go all that way to not do Forbidden Journey though.

Great tips on the Gringotts ride, I'll request a front seat and hopefully that drop won't be so bad.

I really appreciate everyone chiming in and sharing their experiences.

Could anyone let me know how other spins (Transformers, Spiderman anything I'm not aware of) compares to the MIB spins (the spin did not look fast to me in the video but I'm not sure if that holds true in person). Thanks!

You can do the Forbidden Journey line (which goes through the castle) and not do the ride - that's totally allowed and encouraged! The line/castle tour is almost as good as the ride itself!

 

[Renarr]

I know not too many people are talking about this part, but the Simpsons ride was definitely more herky-jerky than the Star Tours ride it is similar to. Star Tours is a delight for me, but the two times I rode the Simpsons (yeah, I didn't learn the first time), I got off feeling nauseous.

 

[disneyguy87]

I know not too many people are talking about this part, but the Simpsons ride was definitely more herky-jerky than the Star Tours ride it is similar to. Star Tours is a delight for me, but the two times I rode the Simpsons (yeah, I didn't learn the first time), I got off feeling nauseous.

Interesting! Do you think Star Tours is still the closest equivalent?

 

[macraven]

Simpson’s is one of my favorites rides

I look at my feet in one section so I don’t get dizzy

 

[Renarr]

Interesting! Do you think Star Tours is still the closest equivalent?

I do, but just wanted to point out that Simpsons is a more "intense" version of it.

 

[nohomama]

I have never been on a roller coaster and likely never will. However, I did go on Gringotts and Forbidden Journey for my kiddo. We did all the motion simulation and trackless rides at UO. Everyone has a different experience and the motions that are scary to one person aren't to another. I have not done coaster rides at WDW so can't compare. I found Peter Pan tense the first time, hanging from the top.

I found a UO for wimps web page on tripsavvy.com and recommend reading that.

Both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are immersive and wonderful, a Potter fan will love them and you can spend quite a lot of time, even the shops are themed so well (and you don't have to even look at what is for sale).

I found Gringotts scary and not easy to do. For me, having never been on a coaster, the first drop certainly seemed like what I want to avoid, but I knew from reading it only lasted a few seconds. The drop felt fast and far but the leveling out was very smooth and not jerky to me, that helped. Then the middle sections are more simulated with movies then coasterish. Based on everything I read, I thought once I got through the first part I would be okay, but that is NOT true. At the end there is another coaster part with a corkscrew feeling to me, in total darkness; it really surprised me. The vehicle you are in seems like a coaster and there is a leg clamp and waist bar thing. We went directly there as soon as we got arrived so I could get it over with and said one and done; but for my kid we did it once more at the end of the trip.

Forbidden journey is individual chairs (a bit like Mission: Space but without the console right in front) with a big cage thing that comes down over you (as people have said your feet are dangling like Soarin'). It also, like Soarin', feels like you are hanging from the top. It does not spin all the way around, it moves some up and down, side to side. It also tips back many times, and a few you feel as if you are flat on your back. It didn't, to me, feel like I was going heels over head or all that fast. The simulated movies do feel like you are soaring on a broom. For me, this was no where near as scary as Gringotts and after a few days I decided to try again and then we did it multiple times and I grew to like it. (There are spiders, if that is a phobia.)

Hope all this detail is helpful. For all the other simulation rides, I think the descriptions on the UO for wimps page were accurate and helpful to me. I didn't like Transformers, Kong, Minions, Fast & Furious, Spider-Man, Simpsons, Shrek much, they were all too jerky and didn't find any of the stories interesting; but they weren't too scary and the motion is mostly simulated from the movie. The only one of that type I would probably do again in Race NY. We loved E.T. and MIB was fun, I didn't find the spinning to scary but it is definitely a more then 360 speedy spin.

Hope you have a delightful time and find the right rides.

 

[SCCNJ]

As a person who doesn't like coasters myself but am also a Potter fan, I would really encourage your wife to ride the HP rides at least once. I loved Gringotts and giggled like a 10-year-old all the way through it and it was not scacy to me. I'm a little jealous she gets to experience it all for the first time. Diagon Alley will take her breath away!
Enjoy!

 

[JustLikeMe]

My wife hates drops - her absolute limit is Splash Mountain, and she only does that a maximum of once per trip and only because it’s my favourite ride at WDW. She’s fine with 7DMT and loves Big Thunder, but doesn‘t enjoy Space Mountain (at WDW - she found it ok at DL) or Everest. She absolutely will not even try ToT.

At Universal she loves Gringotts, but doesn’t like the first drop from the back row. She much prefers sitting towards the front as she finds it less intense. She’s been on Forbidden Journey but it made her feel nauseous so she generally skips it now. She rode Jurassic Park once and she HATED the drop - it’s smooth, but it’s long and steep.

She loves The Mummy and Hagrid’s - both are fast and smooth but with no significant drops. She was worried re the drop track segment on Hagrid’s the first time but didn’t find it bad when she experienced it. She isn’t a fan of The Simpsons as she finds it too jarring. She’s totally fine on Spider-Man, Transformers, MiB, Kong etc.

She rode Hulk once... I was expecting to go deaf in one ear from her screaming but she literally didn’t make a single noise the whole ride. She said she wasn't even able to scream! She sits that one out now.

 

[disneyguy87]

@JustLikeMe Yes I myself would never ride the Hulk coaster. I am not a complete ride wimp but Expedition Everest is my limit. I will do it if someone in my party wants to otherwise I'm good. I don't like large drops like Splash Mountain so I sit that out every time though I know I could deal with it. I know she will hate The Mummy, we actually watched this ride on YouTube and she did not like it. I could handle The Mummy personally, but I don't like thrill rides by myself.

@nohomama My wife is going to definitely try Gringotts and Forbidden Journey, I suspect she will end up enjoying one of them. For example, she doesn't really like Flight of Passage but wants to try it again because she appreciates it (and I begged her, I don't like riding alone)! After she tries though two she will decide if she wants to give Flight of the Hippogriff a go. But I know Hagrid's is off limits, this is not something she will enjoy.

 

[Matthew81]

Please ride mummy at least once by yourself. I love riding it with someone that hasn't ridden it before. My family rode it for the first time last November and we are going again in 3 weeks and mummy is a big part of the reason why - it's amazing. It's really fun with first timers to scream really loud like your scared.