Universal Florida Basics: Part 2: Rides at Universal Studios

This post is part of my Universal Florida Basics series, if you missed Part 1: Getting in the Park, you can find it here.

This second part is going to cover all of the rides at Universal Studios. I’m going to try to go in order based on location, but there might be some jumps around.

Some of these rides require personal items to be placed in a locker. (Fanny packs with a three-prong clasp don’t need to go in a locker). There are small free lockers available for any attraction requiring lockers. There are also larger lockers available to rent for a fee.

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem

• Minimum Height 40″ (101.6 cm)
• If Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass accepted
• Stationary Seating Available

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is a simulator ride in a theater. It’s a cute story that follows along with the Despicable Me characters. There is a giant screen and you sit in a “vehicle”, but the movement is minimal. It does not have 3D glasses, but can affect motion sickness if you are sensitive to simulator rides. The ride also has stationary seating if you need it.

Shrek 4-D

• Express Pass accepted
• Stationary Seating Available

Shrek 4-D is also in a theater, and it has theater-like seating. This ride has 3-D glasses that you wear during the show. You follow along with characters from Shrek and feel like you’re part of the story through 4-D effects. This ride does jostle you around a bit, the seats don’t move off of the ground, but they bounce up and down. There is stationary seating available.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

• Minimum Height 51″ (129.5 cm)
• Express Pass accepted
• ALL items must go in a locker (you will walk through a metal detector before boarding)

Rip Ride Rockit is an intense roller coaster. Despite what it looks like, this coaster does not go upside down, as there’s a twist at the top of the loop. You are able to choose which music you listen to as you ride this roller-coaster via a screen on the lap bar.

Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon

• Minimum Height 40″ (101.6 cm)
• Express Pass accepted

Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon is another simulator ride. This one has a small theater that you sit in. The whole theater seating area lifts up to add to the motion effects. In this ride, you will race Jimmy Fallon through New York as part of The Tonight Show. It’s a fun ride, especially if you’re a Tonight Show or Jimmy Fallon fan. Right now, due to social distancing requirements, this ride usually only has a Virtual Line, or you may ride using Express Pass. See more about Virtual Lines here.

Revenge of the Mummy

• Minimum Height 48″ (121.9 cm)
• Express Pass Accepted
• Personal Items must go in a Locker

Revenge of the Mummy starts out as a dark ride with slightly scary thematic elements. It then turns into an indoor roller-coaster in almost total darkness. It doesn’t go upside down, it’s just fast and has some turns. This ride is really fun if you like thrill rides, even if you’ve never seen any of the Mummy movies. If it’s a busy day, this line will also go Virtual or Express only.

Transformers: The Ride 3-D

• Minimum Height 40″ (101.6 cm)
• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass Accepted

Transformers is a 3-D ride where you board a vehicle and then drive around following battle scenes and lots of action. This ride combines screens and actual props. You will wear 3-D glasses on this ride. This ride is very similar to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man over at Islands of Adventure.

Fast and Furious Supercharged

• Minimum Height 40″ (101.6 cm)
• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass accepted

Fast and Furious is a simulator type ride that puts you in the middle of the Fast and Furious movie. I’ve never ridden this ride but I have heard it can make you motion sick.

Hogwarts Express

• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass accepted
• Must have Park to Park Ticket or Annual Pass to ride

The Hogwarts Express is the train that runs between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. You do need a Park to Park ticket or Annual pass to ride, as your ticket gets scanned before you board the train. Be sure to ride the train both ways as it’s different each way!

Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts

• Minimum Height 42″ (106.7 cm)
• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass accepted
• Personal Items must go in a Locker

Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts is a 3-D ride with a little bit of roller-coaster element. The ride vehicle is on a roller-coaster track and there is a steep drop at the beginning. The ride vehicles also spin to add to the immersive experience. This ride follows Harry and friends as they are under Gringotts Wizarding bank.

Men In Black Alien Attack

• Minimum Height 42″ (106.7 cm)
• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass accepted
• Personal Items must go in a Locker

Men In Black is a competitive game and a ride all in one. You will compete against others in your ride vehicle as you go through training to become an agent. You shoot at aliens with your gun and get points as you hit them. There is some spinning, and jerking around, but the motion on the ride is fairly mild.

The Simpsons Ride

• Minimum Height 40″ (101.6 cm)
• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass accepted

The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride following the Simpsons characters. The ride vehicle raises up into the theater and moves with the screen to simulate a roller-coaster experience. This ride made me very sick, the projections are not crisp, making it very hard to watch without getting motion sick.

Kang and Kodos’ Twirl & Whirl

• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass accepted

Kang and Kodos’ is a “Dumbo” type kid ride that spins in a circle. Right now, with Covid, it isn’t open every day. Usually it’s open on the weekends or on more crowded days.

Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster

• Minimum Height 36″ (92 cm)
• Under 48″ (121.9cm): Supervising Companion Required
• Express Pass Accepted

Woody Woodpecker’s is a kiddie coaster. It would make a very good first coaster for a kid, and it’s still fun as an adult. It’s a very quick ride as well.

E.T. Adventure

• Minimum Height 34″ (86.36 cm)
• Under 48” (121.9 cm) Requires Supervising Companion
• Express Pass accepted

At E.T. Adventure, you will board a bicycle to go flying to visit E.T.’s home planet. This ride is similar to Peter Pan’s Flight at Magic Kingdom. It’s a very gentle ride with lots of whimsy.