What wins this matchup: a $300 million roller coaster,
or a ride based on "The Cat in the Hat?" The answer…
could surprise you? But the real surprise is how low The Incredible Hulk Coaster is on this list.
The wait times for Storm Force Accelatron aren't usually too bad, but that's only because people
are spending their time doing other things. It's not an awful experience. It's an acceptable,
family-friendly teacup-clone, even if it's a bit more dizzying than it needs to be. But it doesn't
make for a memorable time, either, and while you're waiting for it to end in your spinning
seat with your chin in your palm, you'll have plenty of time to think about all the better
X-Men rides that could have been. Don't waste your time unless you've hit everything else first.
Pteranodon Flyers isn't a bad ride in and of itself. The problem? The
ride is simply too restrictive, as only two riders can use Pteranodon Flyers at a time,
one in front of the other, and one of them has to be a kid, too.
This means, A) you have to have or be a kid to begin with, B) riders can't sit next to each
other and experience Flyers together, and C) larger families are separated for the duration
and have to wait for the rest of the group at one of the three confusingly arranged exits.
This also leads to childless park visitors being unnecessarily turned away from the ride.
There just wasn't quite enough thought put into this one.
"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could
they didn't stop to think if they should."
On One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, riders can move their little cartoon fish
cars up and down as they swing around in a circle. The views of Seuss Landing are colorful and fun,
but they can be a bit distracting. That's because if you don't pay attention to the
ride's catchy jingle, which subtly tells you when and how to move your car, there's a chance
you'll get splashed with a little stream of water. It's a memorable little mechanism,
but we can also see how it'd be a reason for parents to take their kids on other, dryer rides.
Kiddie coasters have a tendency to get overlooked. But Flight of the Hippogriff, in the Wizarding
World of Harry Potter section of Islands of Adventure, might be worth a visit if you've
got kids young enough to enjoy it. It takes you through the Forbidden Forest, past Hagrid's hut,
and up to Buckbeak, the titular magical creature, before looping back around.
The track is predictably tame, although there are some mildly unexpected twists that can force
a smile out of you along the way, and the views of Hogwarts castle are spectacular.
Space shot rides definitely aren't for everyone. They're the ones where you get shot up to the top
of a tower and then dropped rapidly, usually in controlled bursts broken up with air cushions
for a stop-and-start thrill experience. Doctor Doom's Fearfall is one of the better ones, thanks
to a fun queue that gets you into the story. The problem? You'd better love that queue, because
this is a long wait for a very short ride, so only check this one out if you have time to spare.
The Caro-seuss-el is exactly what it sounds like: a carousel ride where the horses have
been swapped out for Dr. Seuss characters. It's good, family-friendly fun with a relatively short
wait time and a catchy little jingle. And if you push on the levers on the character's necks or
pull on their reigns, you can animate them, giving this one an extra little bit of fun.
The Cat's iconic Hat towers above Seuss Landing and can be fairly easily seen from adjacent
areas of the park. The ride itself is certainly well put together: it's a track that takes you
through a dimly lit, twisting hallway filled with iconic scenes from the classic children's book.
There's the talking fish, Thing 1 and Thing 2, lots of crazy furniture to look at,
and much more. And of course, the Cat makes plenty of appearances throughout.
The main problem with the ride is that it's too scary for small kids, and too boring for adults.
But if you're the exact right age in between, you might enjoy it a lot.
Dudley Do-right's Ripsaw Falls ride isn't an essential stop, but it can be a fun way
for the family to beat the muggy Florida heat with laughs and a whole lot of water.
The queue is fun, and the ride provides an iconic, 75-foot plunge into the water below.
The climax of the ride leaves nobody dry. Anyone who doesn't feel like getting soaked can still
have fun with the ride: you just have to stand by and watch people get drenched,
or you can pay a small fee and shoot them yourself with water turrets.
Poseidon's Fury is at least as much fun for the theater kid playing the archaeologist tour guide
as it is for the families experiencing it. The idea is that the guide needs your help
navigating the Temple of Poseidon, which is under attack from an evil dark lord.
There's a great mix of physical setpieces that someone clearly had a blast building
and digital effects that bring it all to life with the help of your animated,
thoroughly entertaining guide. There are spooky moments, but nothing sudden or shocking that
parents of young tykes need to concern themselves with. As of January 2022 the ride is closed,
but there are reports that it will open back up in the very near future.
There are raft rides and log flumes in just about any major theme park, including several others at
Universal Studios itself. But what sets Jurassic Park River Adventure apart is something that, on
paper, would make it sound rather lame: education. You lazily cruise past massive, life-size
animatronic dinos while a narrator fills you in on the details of the real thing. Think of it as
a time traveling boat tour. And if you're not into learning, no worries, there's also an enormous,
85-foot plunge at the end that will soak everyone on the ride. It's the best of both worlds!
High above the family-oriented fun of Seuss Landing, you'll find the High in the Sky Seuss
Trolley Train Ride, which takes families through Seuss-styled circus tents and houses, filled
with all the weird, wacky, colorful creatures and contraptions you'd expect in such places.
They could have easily put a ride like this on the ground, but instead they elevated it,
so the outdoor stretches in between the ride setpieces offer spectacular views. All in all,
it's a fun, silly, colorful, relaxing way to spend a few minutes with the kids while
everyone takes a breather and plans the next stop.
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges is a great way for families to beat the Florida heat
and kill an hour or two. Just pile into a big, circular float and drift downstream, past plenty
of colorful setpieces, classic, old school Popeye characters, and other parts of Toon Lagoon.
It probably won't be anyone's favorite ride, but wait times are short and anyone willing
to get a little wet will have fun. Plus, it's a nice way to quickly explore a fun but neglected
part of the park that you probably won't be spending too much time in otherwise.
This is simply one of the best trackless theme park rides in the world. Riders board a safari
truck and get taken on a perilous journey through a spooky, dark Pacific island based on Peter
Jackson's 2005 "King Kong" movie. The ride blends digital and physical effects to magical levels.
There are bats, giant bugs, spooky caves, bones everywhere, and a huge fight between Kong and a
giant dinosaur that sends your car reeling and crashing over cliffs. It's an unforgettable
experience truly worthy of the flagship status it's created for itself at the park.
This one's a bit weird, because it's only half in Islands of Adventure. But that's the whole
point. Hop on the iconic train from the Harry Potter world there and ride it to the other,
original half of Universal Studios, or vice versa. It functions more like a shuttle than a ride.
Even so, though, the experience is almost as cool as the Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley park sections,
which bookend it. That's because it's not just decorated like the Express on the inside:
you get a digital display on the windows that makes it look like you're traveling
through the Wizarding World we see in the films. Just hold on to your chocolate frogs!
"Watch it! Aw, that’s rotten luck!"
The queue and the visible setpieces around Jurassic Park's VelociCoaster are all about
velociraptors, everyone's favorite dinosaurs ever since "Jurassic Park" made them famous,
so there's plenty of those to see and hear as you move through the line.
Eventually you'll get to the coaster, though, and to say it makes the rather underwhelming queue
experience worth it is an understatement. Prepare for high speeds, killer loops and twists, and big,
fast drops. It's as solid a roller coaster as you're likely to find just about anywhere,
and a must-ride for first timers to Universal and repeat visitors alike.
The Incredible Hulk coaster is perhaps the most iconic Universal Studios ride there is. Luckily,
it's also one of the first things you'll get to do upon entering the park. Unsurprisingly,
the wait is long, given how easy the coaster is to reach and how popular it is,
but Universal pulled out all the stops to deck out the queue with blaring lights,
sirens and cool, comic-booky sci-fi gizmos, so don't worry about getting bored on the way up.
And the ride itself is worth the wait. Appropriately enough, it's a powerful, angry,
green beast that plunges you into epic drops and launches you into loops and twists at thrilling
speeds. We will say this, though: while the ride isn't necessarily too extreme for most theme park
enthusiasts, it's definitely a good idea to grab a bite to eat after you get off, and not before.
Towering over Islands of Adventure and visible from several remote areas of the park
is Hogwarts itself: the iconic castle-school from the Harry Potter films. It's a good thing
that it takes so long to get to, because it builds anticipation throughout the day and keeps everyone
in your group excited to get to the next place. The recreated town of Hogsmeade is just below
and offers an incredible, immersive experience for Harry Potter fans and everyone else alike.
But the Forbidden Journey is the real draw here: a massive 4D flying adventure where you follow
Harry himself on a dizzying, dazzling flight through the school grounds and away from dragons
and dementors. The wait time can be absolutely excruciating, but thanks to the ride and the
chance to explore the castle, we've never heard of anyone regretting this one of a kind experience.
It's hard to make a better, more thrilling,
more impressive 4D movie experience than The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
The queue is almost as memorable as the ride itself, allowing you to check out the inside
of The Daily Bugle, the iconic fictional newspaper that Peter Parker worked at. That's where grumpy
editor J. Jonah Jameson recruits the guests to get the scoop on the latest supervillain attack.
The ride itself throws you into the thick of it alongside Spidey in his fight against the
Sinister Syndicate, led by Doctor Octopus. It pulls out all the stops to make it seem real:
lighting effects, wind blasts, simulator movements, and more.
And keep your eyes out for a cameo by the great Stan Lee!
"They've even added me to the 3D adventure.
But I'm not going to tell you where to find me! You'll have to discover that on your own!"
The best ride at Islands of Adventure is none other than Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike
Adventure, a $300 million behemoth of a coaster that opened in 2019,
in which the titular character takes you through a maze of epic Harry Potter setpieces filled with
three-headed dogs, unicorns, and other magical creatures that roam the woods around Hogwarts.
It's a good thing the ride is so great, too — because when it opened,
wait times often exceeded eight hours. The massive hype for the ride set a brutally high bar,
but it's safe to say that the coaster reached it and then some.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more Looper videos about your favorite theme parks are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.