In a previous article, I used a bit of mathematical hoodoo to determine the best-reviewed attractions at Walt Disney World. This time, I’ll use a similar methodology to identify the most critically acclaimed rides at the other theme park in town. Here are the best-reviewed attractions at Universal Orlando Resort.
9. Hogwarts Express
I don’t want to give away any massive spoilers or anything, but Harry Potter fans will love these results. I tallied five different reviews of the best attractions at both Universal parks in Orlando. I even included the Theme Park Tourist Top 100 as one of the metrics. One aspect became quite clear. The rides at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter are universally beloved. Harry Potter rides comprise a full third of this list including a couple of spots in the top five.
For my money, Hogwarts Express got undersold a bit by critics. I would rank it above one of the rides with Harry Potter in the title and certainly place it ahead of several other selections on this list. Unfortunately, the train at 9 ¾ suffers a strange voting fate. It appeared as a suggestion from most critics, just not a high one.
I’m a bit mystified by this, as I feel it’s legitimately the best ride at Universal in terms of pure theming. It possesses a magnificent amount of immersion, as you’ll honestly believe that you’ve encountered Dementors and other creatures from the book/movie franchise. Hogwarts Express is like the monorail, only with an exceptional Harry Potter tie-in.
8. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
X-coasters feature one of the weirdest designs of all roller coasters. The seats rest side-by-side in a sitting position, but they’re more upright than standard coasters. They’re also capable of different harness styles due to their positioning. And that brings us to Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, a ride that has ripped up my groin on multiple occasions. Its harness is guaranteed to crotch tall men and short women, kind of an impressive achievement when you think about it.
Critics love the power of this roller coaster, and they’re huge fans of its own track style, too. When you board Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, you’ll go straight up before sloping downward, sometimes at a 90-degree angle. You’ll make a full 360-degree loop during the ride, as well. It’s a remarkable amount of excitement that occurs in a modest 97 seconds. The ride generously lets you pick the tunes, too. It’s certainly an experience, even if it is a bit uncomfortable for some.
7. The Simpsons Ride
I jokingly refer to Universal Orlando Resort as the motion simulation capital of the theme park industry. I do so because so many of its newer attractions use this ride structure. You put on a pair of glasses, sit in a chair, and watch a cinematic as your ride cart shakes appropriately. It’s neither original nor imaginative at this point, but Universal has definitely perfected the craft. On this list, three rides fully qualify while a fourth gets partial credit. Three others narrowly missed selection, too. Motion simulation is Universal’s thing.
I struggle to complain about the concept when constructors are so good at motion simulation, though. The Simpsons Ride is particularly delightful. In fact, it reminds me of the four-player Simpsons arcade game I used to love many moons ago. The only difference is that you enter the game and experience the virtual world of Springfield on your own. Fittingly, Sideshow Bob tries to kill you the entire time you’re there.
As a Simpsons aficionado since day one, I adore all of the unique in-jokes from the show just as I admire the game’s willingness to provide tongue-in-cheek commentary about theme parks, also. This is my favorite ride at Universal Studios, and I lament that it didn’t do better in the scoring.
6. The Incredible Hulk Coaster
Everyone’s favorite green rage machine has his own coaster at Universal. Built in 1999, it got overhauled a little while ago and came back better than ever. Its main selling points have remained the same, though. It’s still a short, violent ride that goes from 0 to 40 almost immediately before topping out at 67 miles per hour. It also throws four G’s at riders, making it an electrifying 75 seconds of coaster thrills.
Regarding grading, critics were divided on The Incredible Hulk Coaster. A couple left it off the list entirely. Two others placed it in the top three with one suggesting it’s THE best ride at Universal. I don’t think most people are prepared to go that far, but it’s certainly a lot of fun. Since Universal is thin on coasters, it stands out that much more.
5. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
The top five is where things get interesting. It’s a real struggle between the top attractions at Universal, as each of them garners strong support across sites. Theme Park Tourist fans, in particular, adore The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. You’ve voted it one of the ten best attractions in the world.
Other critics agree with you to an extent. Most of them line up on the opinion that it’s one of the best rides at Universal. They just don’t think it’s in the conversation for best. To them, it’s aged out of the top few spots over time, a natural progression for most attractions. Walt Disney World is an exception since its rides are standalone enough that something like Haunted Mansion is timeless and impossible to top.
As the first noteworthy motion simulation attraction at Universal, Spidey was once the gold standard. Now that this kind of ride is the base model at the park, however, others have evolved the technology to the point where some find Spider-Man’s adventure less than amazing today. I think such evaluations are criminally insane, but I don’t get a vote here. You agree with me, though, right?
4. E.T. The Adventure
Ah, the classics. The E.T. ride is something of a survivor. When the park opened in June of 1990, E.T. stood out as one of the signature attractions, arguably the strongest selling point of Universal. Since then, it’s opened at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. It’s also closed at both places.
As Theme Park Tourist’s Amanda Kondolojy jokingly (?) told me, however, if Universal ever tried to close down the original in Orlando, people would riot (ed. note – I would absolutely show up at Universal with signs). The enthusiasm is real for this dark ride, as it should be. E.T. is one of the best rides ever translated from a popular movie. It would seem right at home at a Disney theme park. And the best part is that you ride a bicycle throughout the attraction. How perfect is that?
3. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Okay, we have one colossal surprise remaining on the docket, but the top three consists of two of the rides you’d expect. Both Harry Potter attractions performed strongly across the various rankings. Each one was mentioned on all of the ballots, generally scoring quite high on the list.
For obvious reasons, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey falls a bit short of its successor. The explanation here is simple. Universal executives used this attraction as the basis for the one that came after it. The other ride would be a total failure if it were NOT better. So, this is a predictable outcome.
Realistically, Forbidden Journey doesn’t need any critical acclaim anyway. It’s the ride that almost single-handedly reversed the fortunes of Universal Orlando Resort. As the anchor attraction at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it had the longest line at the park for many moons and steadfastly maintained its popularity to this day. It’s just not…
2. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
What if we took the concepts from Forbidden Journey and added a roller coaster aspect as well? This idea percolated in the minds of Universal park planners for a while before it ultimately came to fruition with Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.
The ride is Disney-like in the best possible way. Its theming starts outside with a fire-breathing dragon and then moves into a bank filled with detailed, believable Audio-Animatronic gnomes. Then, it marries two disparate ride concepts, the roller coaster and the dark ride, in an unprecedented way. The entire experience is stunningly detailed and engrossing. At a park filled with Potterverse attractions, Escape from Gringotts is unquestionably the best right now. Critics are rather emphatic on this point.
1. Revenge of the Mummy
Do you believe in miracles? Personally, I LOVE this unexpected outcome. I won’t lie and say that I saw it coming, though. As I collated the selections across sites, I kept noticing the strength of Revenge of the Mummy. It appeared on every ballot, frequently in the top three. Its consistency ultimately won out, as it handily wins the title of the best-reviewed ride at Universal Orlando Resort.
How did this happen? Well, that’s a matter up for debate. I suspect that critics admire Revenge of the Mummy for its intelligent design and immaculate theming. It takes the once popular film franchise of The Mummy and constructs a plausible roller coaster based on the premise.
You’ll zoom through Imhotep’s tomb, an odd choice to be sure. During the experience, you’ll see a mummified crew member from the film, and you’ll eventually discover why actor Brendan Fraser vanished off the face of the planet. It wasn’t his decision to star in Dudley Do-Right that did him in. He should never have angered Imhotep.
Look, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the end-all, be-all experience at Universal Studios. Critics are right that it doesn’t automatically get to claim the best rides, though. And I agree with them on the point that Revenge of Mummy is superior to Forbidden Journey. I just can’t cross that bridge that says it’s better than Escape from Gringotts, though. I respect the bravery of the choice, though. At a minimum, I think most people would agree that Revenge of the Mummy is the best pure roller coaster at the park.
