The Best 7 Non-Coaster Rides at Universal Studios, FL

What Makes a Ride Awesome

Everybody has different opinions about what makes for a good ride. Some people like roller coasters with huge drops, loops, turns and speed. Others want to enjoy rides with their children while avoiding a fear triggered meltdown. Today, we’re focused on the best 7 rides at Universal that aren’t roller coasters.

We are the people who enjoy full emersion experience rides with epic prop & scenery design, comfortable ”fluffy friendly“ seats and tons of small thrill moments. So what rides offer that experience at Universal Studios Florida? Thankfully, quite a few!

Safety First: Let’s Nerd Out for a Second

As y’all know, we aren’t small folk and we often travel with others who have health concerns or disabilities. So before we encourage anyone to jump on a ride we like, we always suggest checking out what the ride requirements and restrictions are. Always know what conditions can be exacerbated by the movement, g-force, and special effects of a ride before you get on it. You can find information about all the Universal rides here: Universal Studios Attractions Info

Rides Vs Coasters

For the purpose of clarification, we aren’t talking about roller coasters at Universal. Coasters are the fast moving, cart on a track attractions. We love the heart pounding thrill of a good coaster, and every single one at Universal is epic. However, we wanted to focus on the other attractions that people who aren’t necessarily thrill seekers will really enjoy as well.

These rides are more about the special effects and storyline of the ride theme than typical coasters. They offer some of the same thrill sensations as coasters but aren’t as ”scary” if you will because they aren’t out in the great wide open where you can see all of Orlando just before you plummet towards the earth at breakneck speeds.

The Nitty Gritty: Best 7 Rides At Universal!

Race Through New York

Race through New York starring Jimmy Fallon is fun and silly chaos! It’s a motion simulation ride, which means you aren’t on a track, but the seats and theater style setup make you feel like you’re soaring, dropping, zipping and turning all through Manhattan. We laughed a lot on this ride and loved the goofy feel of it.

The seats are a little tight, but we fit which means the vast majority of people will too. The motion is a little jerky and the visuals move really fast. If you get motion sickness when you’re driving down a shade dappled road, think twice about jumping on this one. Otherwise, get ready for a speedy adventure through New York with jokes and goofiness along the way!

Silliest of the Best 7 Rides at Universal: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem

Kids and adults love this ride. It too is a motion simulator that makes you feel like you’re on a high-speed aerial chase. Zip along, tilting, climbing up and diving down all while you whoop and holler in laughter. Something about the minions voices and movement of the vehicle together had us cracking up the whole time we were on this ride.

If you haven’t seen any of the minion movies, definitely watch at least Despicable Me before you go to Universal so you can fully enjoy the character aspect of this ride. There are even dancing minions when you exit the ride so you can have your own dance party and enjoy some cute photo ops.

Our Fave of the Best 7 Rides At Universal: Skull Island Reign Of Kong

Face prehistoric predators and the colossal King Kong on a thrilling ride for your life. Take ride in a safari vehicle in this insanely realistic adventure. Kong takes on dinosaurs on every side of the vehicle. You feel like the truck is going to go over the edge of a cliff as it’s jostled in battle and races to escape the great giant’s territory.

This was by far my absolute favorite ride at Universal Studios. Epic. That’s the only way I can describe this ride. It’s so realistic that we were trying to squeeze to the center of the seat to avoid ”falling off the cliff”. I dodged, ducked, threw my arms up and held on as if my life depended on it. Then got back in line to do it again.

We both think this is the best special effects 3D/4D ride at Universal. It’s a six minute ride so it’s a little longer than some of the other rides which makes it more worth the wait than rides that only last 1-2 minutes. If you don’t take time to ride Reign of Kong, you’re missing out.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

This ride is pretty close to Skull Island: Reign of Kong for first place in our opinion. It’s a smoother moving ride with great 3D visuals. The sensation of swinging from spiderwebs cast out from Spiderman is pretty flipping cool.

If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you’re in a comic book, this ride satisfies that desire. You get to move through the city helping Spiderman fight crime while enjoying the aesthetics of a Marvel comic book. Spinning, dropping, climbing and moving forward through a dark cityscape is a great introduction to a great Marvel character and comic book world.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

Yep, the Harry Potter theme song started ringing through my head as I wrote the name of the ride. This is probably the closest I’ll ever get to getting into Hogwarts. Truly, this is a magical ride through Hogwarts that simulates flying with Harry and his pals. You’ll encounter some dark creatures, tour the castle and grounds and see some friendly faces along the way.

If this ride was a little more fluffy folk friendly, it would have taken the top spot as my favorite for sure. Unfortunately, Dhubs couldn’t get the safety harness to connect in the trial chair outside, so I rode it by myself which was kind of a bummer. But if you get to ride this with a partner, something tells me this will be any Harry Potter fan’s favorite ride in Universal.

Most Active of the Best 7 Rides at Universal: Men In Black: Alien Attack

This was a blast, literally. Teams of 6 sit in pods and compete against other pods to test your alien squashing abilities. Shoot at aliens as you spin, speed up, slow down, and avoid being spit on by creatures from outer space. As you train to become a member of MIB, be sure to just hold down the trigger to go on an endless shooting spree.

This is one of those rides that isn’t particularly comfortable for people who are blessed with thick thighs or love handles, however it’s still a lot of fun. Be aware that if you’re tall, you’ll want to sit in the lower seats so you have more knee room. This ride has tons of different scenarios so you’ll get a different experience each time you ride.

The Most Iconic of the Best 7 Rides at Universal: E.T. Adventure

This is a ride of nostalgia for us. As kids, we watched the movie and fell in love with E.T. This is one of (if not the only) opening day ride left at Universal Studios in Florida. There is something familiar and reassuring about this ride still being there. It’s a classic and we hope it never leaves the park!

Even the queue for E.T. is awesome with all the sounds, sights and smells of a giant redwood forest. The ride itself is a flying bike-like vehicle that travels from earth to E.T.’s home planet. The best part for us is being fully immersed into the most iconic scene of the original movie as if we are actually flying across the night sky.

The Wrap Up

Universal Studios Florida has all kinds of attractions to keep you busy for a weekend getaway or a full vacation. There are rides and coasters to suite every person in your party and you are destined to have an awesome time no matter what attractions you visit. If you’re planning on doing the full Orlando vacation with multiple theme parks, be sure to check out our Disney Tips and Tricks as well.