How much time at Universal?

Gretchen1973

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 29, 2016
We have anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 to 2 days for Universal. It has been so long since my husband and I have been there and our two girls (15 and almost 12) have never been. We all love rides, but we don't love rides like Star Tours where it's more virtual than anything else. I am trying to plan our trip and wondering realistically how much time we should spend there. TIA!
 
Most of the rides at Universal are like Star Tours - more virtual than anything else. Some are pretty amazing like Transformers and Forbidden Journey.

Depending on when you go one day is enough.
 
I also think one full day would be enough. I don't like virtual rides like Star Tours either, and some of Universal rides are like that, so you'd probably skip those. We had a season pass last year and every time we went I think the wait times were between 20-40 min for the rides, except Forbidden Journey which was anywhere from 45 min - 2 hours. I think of the shows, the only one that is a "must do" for us is Waterworld.
 
Thank you! None of us have issues with Soarin', but the rides like Star Tours really give us motion sickness. Any really bad ones to avoid?
 


I rode Forbidden Journey because I couldn't miss it, but that was kind of pushing it for me as far as motion sickness. It moves, but you stop in front of screens along the way.

I believe Simpsons, Minions, and Transformers are the mostly virtual ones. I sent the kids on first and they told me I wouldn't like them, lol.

You go through a couple virtual simulations on the tram ride (king kong and fast and furious) but surprisingly I've been ok with those.

Star Tours really bothers me but I don't have any issues with Soarin either, so we probably have similar ride preferences.
 
I rode Forbidden Journey because I couldn't miss it, but that was kind of pushing it for me as far as motion sickness. It moves, but you stop in front of screens along the way.

I believe Simpsons, Minions, and Transformers are the mostly virtual ones. I sent the kids on first and they told me I wouldn't like them, lol.

You go through a couple virtual simulations on the tram ride (king kong and fast and furious) but surprisingly I've been ok with those.

Star Tours really bothers me but I don't have any issues with Soarin either, so we probably have similar ride preferences.


Sounds like we do! So given this, what rides really make you feel gross like ST that I should probably avoid? TIA!
 
The only virtual ride I braved at US was Harry Potter Forbidden Journey. After the first movie screen we stopped in front of I had to close my eyes for the rest of the screens. So it made me a little sick like the ST ride, but being a huge Harry Potter fan I had to ride it at least once! ;) If you're worried about riding it, you should at least go through the queue to see the castle. It's amazing!

So I've never been on Simpsons, Minions, or Transformers because my kids said they were all virtual and I wouldn't like them. The other rides were fine for me - The studio tour tram, Jurassic Park, Flight of the Hippogriff, The Mummy (but you should know the ride goes forward and backwards - you go forward to a point, then backwards to the start - I wasn't prepared for that so it threw my tummy just a little). Walking Dead is a walk through attraction. I think that's about it for rides. There's some kiddie rides in the Minions area but I didn't go on those either.
 


Transformers was fun, Simpsons makes me queasy, same with the Mummy because I hate going backwards. My favorite attraction is the Studio tram tour.

You can do the park in one day.
 
The park only took one day for us, and we rode everything. My husband has no issues with Star Tours, but he had motion sickness from a few of the Universal rides and had to stop riding. They are nearly all motion simulators. The Simpsons was particularly bad for him. My brother in law has motion sickness to begin with and Forbidden Journey made him lose his lunch. We were all fine on Transformers. Jurassic Park (the boat ride) and the Mummy are actual rides. All of the following are motion simulators:

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (actual forward motion and screens)
Transformers (actual forward motion and screens)
Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
The Simpsons.

The King Kong and Fast and Furious are part of the Tram Tour, so aren't really separate attractions.

Revenge of the Mummy is a coaster, Jurassic Park is a water flume ride (you will get soaked), Flight of the Hippogriff is a kiddie coaster, Silly Swirly Fun Ride is a kiddie ride.

That is it for attractions in the park. We had no issues seeing everything in a day. We also saw a special effects show, and the Water World show is pretty good.
 
My husband also gets motion sickness and can't do FJ, Simpsons or Tranformers. He does okay with Minions, especially in the stationary seats. You'll be fine with one day, especially if you skip the motion simulators. My kids love the Waterworld and Special Effects shows too.
 
How 'jerky' are the rides for people with back and neck problems? I also have motion sickness--I can do Soarin' with meds, but it is very gentle. I would love to ride Forbidden Journey, but I don't want to mess up my back and neck for the rest of our trip.
 
How 'jerky' are the rides for people with back and neck problems? I also have motion sickness--I can do Soarin' with meds, but it is very gentle. I would love to ride Forbidden Journey, but I don't want to mess up my back and neck for the rest of our trip.
Forbidden Journey really tosses you around. Simpsons and Transformers are quite jerky.
 
We have gone a few times and found that 1 day is plenty even when you don't have front of the line passes. The first time we went we spend 1 1/2 days there (got rained out most of the first day and all of the 3rd day) and we were back at the hotel before dinner on our first full day. Most of the rides are like Star Tours though. You pretty much only have the 2 rides that are not since Jurassic Park is now gone; but they are all still fun (Forbidden Journey and Simpsons are my favorite).
 

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