Cinematic Thrills at Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure, Ranked

The originator among destinations where you can “ride the movies,” the Universal Studios Resort in Orlando pushes the boundaries of thematic entertainment to the max when it comes to thrills. Last year it opened the Velocicoaster, the tallest and fastest launch coaster in Florida, inspired by the Jurassic World franchise.

Within the next five years the company is set to open an additional park with Epic Universe, which promises more state-of-the-art attractions within immersive areas based on franchises yet to be announced. Based on concept art it will be a combination of both indoor rides and coasters (lights a summoning circle for one based on the Universal Monsters). In the meantime, while we wait for the projected 2025 opening of Epic, io9 was invited to both of Universal’s operating parks to put its current slate of coasters and rides to the test for thrill-rideability. That’s fun enough, but we also wanted to see just how cinematic the attractions were at the same time, excluding the immersive areas centered around a certain franchise that shall-not-be-named.

How do pre-existing attractions stack up before Epic Universe is set to take more of its properties and go all in with creating more immersive experiences with in-universe Universal thrills? Here’s our ranking of rides we were able to experience.

This Universal Studios coaster ranks the lowest for me; its long-abandoned premise of centering around making a music video makes it stick out of the bunch. It’s not really attached to any film so you’re not riding a movie. It’s a solid but bumpy coaster offering the option to soundtrack your ride with a random assortment of songs and even a secret playlist you can find online. At most you can maybe pick a song from a movie soundtrack.

Thrills: 4 out of 5

Cinematic Thrills: 0 out of 5

What can I say other than this Islands of Adventure coaster is green? While a Hulk statue welcomes riders before entering the queue, Marvel’s hero is not really a part of the story. So while Universal Parks & Resorts owns the rights to the majority of Marvel characters and branding east of the Mississippi, here you become the Hulk after Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross recruits you to be hit by gamma radiation upon launch. The idea is you’re on the coaster, hulking out.

Thrills: 5 out of 5

Cinematic Thrills: 2 out of 5

Unfortunately, I never got to ride Kongfrontation, the Universal Studios’ original beloved animatronic ride with physical sets that took guests through the devastation by King Kong on a city. Around the release of Legendary and WB’s Kong: Skull Island, Universal Studios opened Reign of Kong and I definitely felt hoodwinked when riding it for the first time. It’s just the same as Universal Studios Hollywood’s Kong motion 3D screens section of the tram tour inspired by Peter Jackson’s film, with one animatronic at the end. Wish it was more connected to the current MonsterVerse. Interestingly enough, director Adam Wingard told Polygon he was inspired by Universal Studios’ Back to the Future: The Ride for the sequence leaving Hollow Earth in Godzilla vs. Kong–which I would ride in a heartbeat if it was the premise instead.

Thrills: 2 out of 5

Cinematic Thrills: 2 out 5

The fact that two well-loved rides on both coasts were closed to make way for this ride based on the 1999 The Mummy makes its existence one that’s accepted on the good graces of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz alone. Mostly kidding! It’s really a fun gateway coaster with some solid scares (those darn beetles!). While I’m not a fan of the bare bones structure of the ride itself, hopefully we’ll see some projection updates added; the terrifyingly thrilling opening and mid-ride encounter with Imhotep helps this ride rank solidly in both categories.

Thrills: 3 out of 5

Cinematic Thrills: 3 out of 5

This ride helps me get the appeal of the Transformers movies and is my favorite of the franchise behind Bumblebee. It puts you squarely in the middle of a Michael Bay action set-piece and makes it work. You get the slo-mo ‘splosions and it gets so much more immersive if you scream “Optimus!” like the franchise characters whenever you need saving from the Decepticons.

Thrills: 3 out of 5

Cinematic: 5 out of 5

Totally an underrated gem, this blaster-heavy ride takes you on a recruitment training mission that gets hit by an alien invasion. The show building features landmarks from the Barry Sonnenfeld Men in Black film and the queue transports you into the offices with a full set you walk over (and tour if you’re lucky). There’s a fun moment with the worms and a cool display of weapons and, yes, those sunglasses. I always hit this ride because it’s also one of the most do-able rides, with decent wait times and an air-conditioned queue with things to look at. The ride itself is just pure fun, filled with moving targets and spinning action. The ending of the ride changes depending on if the entire ride vehicle hits the Galaxy Defender point range over 150,000. Pro-tip: bonus points are awarded if you hold down the red button when you see Agent J (Will Smith) near the end of the ride. It’s so wacky and that’s just fantastic.

Thrills: 4 out of 5

Cinematic: 5 out of 5

The Islands of Adventure area for the Jurassic franchise has seen major attraction additions between the original film and the latest entries into the franchise. But while the Universal Studios Hollywood version of Jurassic Park: The Ride has been updated to Jurassic World, Islands of Adventure is sticking with the original for now. And that’s a good thing! It’s just a classic that feels like you’re on an island cruise through the park seeing dinos around you before things go terribly wrong. It has more of the Spielberg vibe than its West Coast counterpart, even though there’s no final huge dino battle in the end. The Rexy encounter is still thrilling before you drop for a splash.

Thrills: 4 out of 5

Cinematic : 5 out of 5

Here you have arguably the best coaster in a theme park right now. It’s a smooth but very fast ride with a 155 feet drop where you feel the airtime. The queue takes you into the sleek look of the recent Jurassic World films with Michael Giacchino’s score and scenes with characters from the films including Chris Pratt as Owen (who may be reigning as the theme park ride king at the moment). One of the coolest parts of the line is the up-close raptor encounter with blinking and breathing animatronics in the paddock before your “run” on the coaster with Blue and friends. The coaster itself gives you a pteranodon eye-view of the Jurassic area but steps away from deep thematic surroundings, besides some rock work and raptor statues you fly past through the film-accurate enclosure design on the ground.

Thrills: 5 out of 5

Cinematic: 4 out of 5