How creepy is Forbidden Journey (and everything else?)

[elaine amj]

I'm pretty excited to plan our first trip to Universal Studios - but now I'm having 2nd thoughts. I have a quick weekend trip in May booked at HRH (dying to try Express Pass) and plan 3 day hoppers, flying in Saturday morning and back home Monday evening. I know this isn't a problem for most folks but I need some help...

I was showing my DD some pics and ride videos tonight and she freaked out at a number of them. Just how creepy is Forbidden Journey? I watched the ride video, but it is so dark I have a hard time telling. What about the new rides in Diagon Alley? Mind u, my DD hates anything creepy looking (needless to say - other than the candy involved - Halloween is not her favorite season). To the point where she hates the opening section of Pirates of the Caribbean, shuts her eyes through the entire Dinosaur ride, and will not ride Haunted Mansion (our whole family skips this one). I'm not big into creepy stuff myself and don't feel horror, ghosts, etc is necessary so I have mildly encouraged her.

We took a look at some ride videos and quickly decided that the Mummy is out for her (although I won't be able to resist riding that one myself just to see what it's like). The Hollywood Horror Makeup Show is definitely out due to some gruesome scenes from campy horror movies. She's not too impressed with the aliens in Men in Black but said she'll manage. She was not happy about the TRex in the Jurassic Park ride, but will close her eyes at that scene and cope. Any other rides/shows I should keep her away from or warn her about? What about Terminator?

She does absolutely love coasters and is super excited about Hulk and Rip, Ride, Rockit.

I don't know why I didn't realize how intense so many of the attractions in Universal are. Heck - I'm starting to worry the entire place will be too creepy for her.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I can only speak for the Hogsmeade section of Harry Potter (I'll be seeing Diagon Alley for the first time in May). I don't think Forbidden Journey was creepy at all, although there are a few "jumpy" moments in the ride itself, such as the dragon and the dementor. They occur and are over pretty quickly, though, so I don't think it should be a problem? I don't think the queue through the castle is creepy at all - you see sections of Hogwarts castle that are similar to the movie (the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Dumbledore's office, etc.), but absolutely nothing is gross to look at. The interior sections of the queue are a little dark, but I don't think creepy at all. The ride itself is stunning, and if your daughter is fine with rides full of motion, she should enjoy it.

I agree that the Mummy had many more "scary" moments - the fire, the Mummy, etc., so it may be a good idea to skip that one. I've not yet seen Transformers so I can't speak to that; however, I've read in multiple trip reports that the storyline is nearly identical to Spiderman in IOA (just take out Spiderman and insert the Transformers). If she's fine with Spiderman I think she'll be fine with Transformers.

I hope you have a great time! I can't wait to see Universal again in May!

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

Has she seen any of the Harry Potter movies? We are planning a trip for February and from all I have read and seen online it looks like the "Streets" and shops of HP World look just like the movies. I have not experienced the rides, but I would imagine some of them could be creepy. THe Forbidden Journey ride has a dementor encounter and spiders...


Wikipedia says this about it..."Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey uses KUKA robocoaster technology, which allows the seats to pivot while being held above the track by a robotic arm. However, the ride is not a roller coaster but a scenic dark ride. The experience includes a flight around Hogwarts castle, an encounter with the Whomping Willow and a horde of Dementors, and a Quidditch match. The ride drops, spins around, twists and turns, but does not turn upside down, though passengers sometimes lie flat on their backs. Over-the-shoulder bars are used to secure guests in their seats, and a single parabolic metal bar is used as a hand grip. At the conclusion of the ride, guests exit into "Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods" gift shop.[5][8] As of May 2014, Universal Express Pass is not available for this attraction,[9] but a single rider queue is available."

 

[elaine amj]

The Mummy ride is full of skeletons, and the super creepy Mummy - so definitely a no go.

My DD has watched one of the Potter movies - she said they watched it in class in Grade 4. She has had no interest in watching another one and none of our family has been interested either. I did tell everyone we will sit down to watch at least the first one in a family movie night sometime in the next few months before our May trip. She tends to be less concerned about creepy villains on a movie screen - although she still doesn't care for them. It's mostly dark, spooky places with things that can jump out/get too close to her (this girl will NEVER go near a haunted house ROFL!)

I'm mostly worried about the dementor scene. We watched the youtube video but couldn't tell clearly how much of it u could see. I mostly noticed one flash of a creepy spider (is that what a dementor is?) that looked like disco yeti (she shut her eyes the first few rides on EE too until I convinced her disco Yeti wasn't too bad).

I'm glad the walk through the Castle isn't creepy. If that was full of dementors, etc too - I might as well forget taking her anywhere near the place.

The other one that caught my eye was Terminator. Can anyone recall how potentially creepy that attraction could be?

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

The Mummy ride is full of skeletons, and the super creepy Mummy - so definitely a no go.

My DD has watched one of the Potter movies - she said they watched it in class in Grade 4. She has had no interest in watching another one and none of our family has been interested either. I did tell everyone we will sit down to watch at least the first one in a family movie night sometime in the next few months before our May trip. She tends to be less concerned about creepy villains on a movie screen - although she still doesn't care for them. It's mostly dark, spooky places with things that can jump out/get too close to her (this girl will NEVER go near a haunted house ROFL!)

I'm mostly worried about the dementor scene. We watched the youtube video but couldn't tell clearly how much of it u could see. I mostly noticed one flash of a creepy spider (is that what a dementor is?) that looked like disco yeti (she shut her eyes the first few rides on EE too until I convinced her disco Yeti wasn't too bad).

I'm glad the walk through the Castle isn't creepy. If that was full of dementors, etc too - I might as well forget taking her anywhere near the place.

The other one that caught my eye was Terminator. Can anyone recall how potentially creepy that attraction could be?

You have multiple encounters with the dementors (which are hooded black creatures resembling ghosts)- they appear at first on one of the screens, then three animatronics pop up at you at different times, one follows you, and they appear again on the last screen. The first time I rode it, I screamed every time one popped out.

The spiders are in a different scene, and aren't too bad.

The new ride, Escape from Gringotts, isn't nearly as creepy. You encounter villains (on screens), but the only thing that springs toward you is the 3-D image of a snake. Much easier to handle than Forbidden Journey.

 

[Gru]

My son was petrified of the spider scene on Forbidden Journey. I would suggest avoiding the Knockturn Alley section of Diagon Alley. It is pretty dark and creepy back there. The only thing you woukd miss is a store and some cool interactive wand activities.

 

[RMulieri]

If she is creeped out easily , I would ride it first and judge ..You have a fire breathing dragon in your face, a forest with giant spiders dangling and the dementors in your face "sucking your soul" out.

 

[schumigirl]

If she is creeped out easily , I would ride it first and judge ..You have a fire breathing dragon in your face, a forest with giant spiders dangling and the dementors in your face "sucking your soul" out.

Definitely follow this advice.

My friends have a nervous child among another two daredevils.......nervous child was talked into going on this ride and was in tears when she came off and wouldn`t go back on most rides, even at Disney if she couldn`t see them. She was 8 maybe 9 at the time.

Sounds as if your daughter may want to miss this out if she`s scared on POTC

Terminator is not creepy......but it`s loud with lots of bangs and noises......jumpy, but not creepy.

 

[elaine amj]

UGh - from the sounds of it - she should probably sit out Forbidden Journey. Either that or close her eyes through most of it! My DD hates sitting out rides by herself, so DH will either sit out with her (he doesn't do most coasters either) or she will have to ride with her eyes closed.

Thanks for the advice on Knockturn Alley - we will avoid that spot. My kids aren't into wands and stuff so that's fine.

That's a relief about Terminator - she is fine about jumpy - just hates the creepy stuff. Says it gives her nightmares.

This sucks - because Forbidden Journey looks like one of the few rides my non-coaster loving DS will actually do (he will do anything if it doesn't involve him going downhill fast although he tolerates short downhills like Splash Mountain). I'm so glad Escape from Gringotts is not likely to cause us the same problems.

Anything else I should watch out for? I do make her cope with some stuff, but really don't want all her (my?) trip memories to be of clutching on to me with a death grip. She IS superexcited about Dueling Dragons, Hulk, and Rip, Ride, Rockit.

Just trying to figure which rides we will have to split up on. Part of the fun of Disney for us is that we don't have to split up as much. My DH and DS have spent literally hours and hours warming benches at Cedar Point (although now DS has discovered the bumper cars, they did that at least 20 times on our last trip!). It does help that we will have Express Passes so it should be easier for splitting up.

 

[coastgirl]

My dd was 7 the first time we rode FJ, and she LOVED Harry Potter (still does), so she was very interested. She really didn't like the spiders as they are large and they spit--expect to get a few drops of water on you. The dementors creep *me* out, still--they fly into your field of vision and they have ghoulish faces and tattered dark robes. But maybe they freak me out more because of my understanding of their role in the story (they are disturbingly evil...). We love the ride, though, and wouldn't miss it. Castle doesn't strike me as remotely creepy, but YMMV--it is fairly dark, and there's a skeletal dragon hanging from the ceiling in one room. So if you aren't fans, I'd think it's probably not worth it for your dd.

We have determinedly avoided the horror makeup show and the Mummy ride as that kind of thing doesn't do it for us at all. (For comparison, it took us three visits to try the Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror at DW, and none of us has any interest in repeating those rides.) As others have said, the movie rides likes Spiderman and Transformers are more loud than creepy, and we enjoyed both.

 

[PurpleMouse]

The aliens in MIB are really more campy/cartoon/fun than scary or spooky.

But it sounds like she should sit out Forbidden Journey. Or go through the line and take the chicken exit so your son can ride.

 

[2girlsmom]

For what it's worth, my dd16 who is a ride chicken and also extremely creeped out, will ride Forbidden Journey (actually likes it), she does close her eyes basically at the dragon and keeps them closed until after the dementors. She also will ride Gringotts (1 short drop) and Mummy (2 short but fast drops), so your son may actually be okay with these as well.

 

[elaine amj]

Castle doesn't strike me as remotely creepy, but YMMV--it is fairly dark, and there's a skeletal dragon hanging from the ceiling in one room. So if you aren't fans, I'd think it's probably not worth it for your dd.

We have determinedly avoided the horror makeup show and the Mummy ride as that kind of thing doesn't do it for us at all. (For comparison, it took us three visits to try the Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror at DW, and none of us has any interest in repeating those rides.) As others have said, the movie rides likes Spiderman and Transformers are more loud than creepy, and we enjoyed both.

Glad for the thumbs up for the castles. I'll warn her about the dragon and the rest should hopefully be OK. She actually likes the Tower of Terror, the ghosts really didn't look creepy in that one and the whole twilight zone thing was just cheesy, which worked for us. We definitely always skip Haunted Mansion though. Ghosts IN our ride vehicle? EEEKKK!

Very excited about Spiderman and Transformers

For what it's worth, my dd16 who is a ride chicken and also extremely creeped out, will ride Forbidden Journey (actually likes it), she does close her eyes basically at the dragon and keeps them closed until after the dementors. She also will ride Gringotts (1 short drop) and Mummy (2 short but fast drops), so your son may actually be okay with these as well.

If she does end up coming with us on Forbidden Journey (which she likely will since she hates waiting by herself even more), it is REALLY good to know when she should close her eyes This is super helpful!

Good to hear my son will be OK with Gringotts and Mummy As long as the drops are little, he loves rides. Just hates the feeling of fast drops.

The aliens in MIB are really more campy/cartoon/fun than scary or spooky. But it sounds like she should sit out Forbidden Journey. Or go through the line and take the chicken exit so your son can ride.

I showed her the video of MiB and she said she likes how the aliens in Buzz are way friendlier lol. But after some discussion, she said she'll be fine with MiB.

Now - what about Poseiden's Fury? I watched the Youtube vid and it looked like it might be on the bordeline too. (again, really hard to see the effects on Youtube vids so I REALLY appreciate this!)

I took a look at Bettelejuice and thankfully that looks all right even though she's not going to like Beetelejuice himself. I love a good revue

My family are so complicated lol! I really didn't think it was going to be this bad until I started showing her ride videos and she started freaking out. Of course, this is my coaster-loving child. To add to that, I have DS - no big drops but everything else is fine and DH who gets queasy so skips most coasters (he does stuff like Big Thunder maybe once). Thankfully, I like everything (although I'm happy to skip Haunted Mansion).

 

[RMulieri]

Beetlejuice is fine..Just loud music and some of the Universal monsters( not remotely scary)
Poseidens Fury is a walk through show. The beginnings are in a dark temple- like atmosphere and the actors try to make it spooky.Alot of kids that spook easily do not like it..It isn't all that great ( imho) so you aren't missing all that much

 

[Seeker615]

Maybe watch the third Harry Potter movie if you get a chance. The Harry Potter sections are themed like the scenes from that movie and the first movie.

The third movie will give you an idea of what the dementors look like. I didn't find them very scary on the ride. My 5 year old nephew rode the ride and really enjoyed it. There is nothing really creepy on the ride. It's so well done it would be a shame to miss it. Maybe ride it first to see if it will freak out your child.

Transformers is a lot of fun and nothing there to creep anyone out.

 

[nighttowll]

I would say one thing no one mentioned yet is that if you do decide to ride FJ your daughter will not be able to see you sitting beside her, so if she gets scared, she won't really be able to grab onto you for support. You feel like you are riding alone the way the cars are set up.

Also, the thing I found most creepy / scary is that your legs hang down, but you can't see them. You spend a good part of the ride being "attacked" and chased by monsters (dragon, spiders, dementors, whomping willow) that you fly over / under and through. It really unnerved me that I had no idea what was right beside my legs, like something could just reach up and get them.

 

[tifl]

I am a massive Potterhead and have only been with my DU and DGM and I was both 14 and 15 I think when I rode it. I thought it was amazing - such a fun experience, the queue was insanely cool whereas my DSi went and rode it when she was 9 and she's the opposite to me, she's very much not into rides at all apart from what I would view as borderline young kiddie rides and she went on FJ with my DGM and both DU and survived the ride but started crying AFTER the ride! She thought it was spooky but now she is nearly 11 and I think having seen some of the movies would much prefer it.

NB: despite being huge adrenaline junkie I may or may not still close my eyes for the spiders and occasionally a dementor or two haha

 

[coastgirl]

NB: despite being huge adrenaline junkie I may or may not still close my eyes for the spiders and occasionally a dementor or two haha

I totally close my eyes when the dementors come. <shudder>

 

[goofy!]

Glad for the thumbs up for the castles. I'll warn her about the dragon and the rest should hopefully be OK. She actually likes the Tower of Terror, the ghosts really didn't look creepy in that one and the whole twilight zone thing was just cheesy, which worked for us. We definitely always skip Haunted Mansion though. Ghosts IN our ride vehicle? EEEKKK!.

There is a 20 second part in MIB where there are aliens in your ride vehicle. But it is pretty campy and it is over so quickly that it takes a couple of rides to realize that is what it is supposed to be as the effects are not all that great.

But, if you think it is going to bother her, just have her close her eyes during that part. Really, if she blinks she won't see it.

 

[elaine amj]

There is a 20 second part in MIB where there are aliens in your ride vehicle. But it is pretty campy and it is over so quickly that it takes a couple of rides to realize that is what it is supposed to be as the effects are not all that great.

But, if you think it is going to bother her, just have her close her eyes during that part. Really, if she blinks she won't see it.

I'm not even going to TELL her about that part! Hopefully she blinks and misses it. If not, she can yell at me after the ride ROFL.

We watched more Youtube videos last night together - she is not impressed about all the creepy stuff but will do her best to manage. Terminator might be another issue (creepy red eyed skeleton head jumping out at us - believe me even the Youtube video upset her mildly) but she said she just won't put on the 3D glasses.

This has all helped SO much so I know what to watch out for and determine what she can and what she can't handle. I've watched so many Youtube videos but so many of the effects are dark and it's really hard to tell.