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Forbidden Journey or Gringotts: Battle of the Harry Potter dark rides

Forbidden Journey or Gringotts?

  • Total voters
    47
Matt N

Matt N

CF Legend
Hi guys. Since the opening of Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure in 2010, Universal has created two different dark rides themed to Harry Potter; Forbidden Journey and Gringotts. Forbidden Journey has clones in Hollywood and Japan, while Gringotts is unique to the Florida location. Both utilise truly groundbreaking technology to immerse riders in different Harry Potter tales. But which one do you personally prefer?

I’m going to be controversial, because I actually prefer Gringotts, personally. Don’t get me wrong, I think Forbidden Journey is fantastic, and I absolutely loved it, but I personally find Gringotts slightly more enveloping as a finished product; I’m not sure whether it’s the use of 3D or something else, but I find that Gringotts blends physical scenery and screens seamlessly, and does it on such a grand scale compared with Forbidden Journey. I’m also a huge fan of the motion base technology that Gringotts uses (it’s not dissimilar to the likes of Transformers/Spider-Man, and I think those rides are terrific), whereas I’m not quite as sure on Forbidden Journey’s robo-arm technology, even though I’ll admit it’s very clever.

But which one do you prefer?
 
Same as you @Matt N I preferred Gringotts. It's definitely not a coaster, very much a dark ride on a coaster track but I loved the immersion from beginning to end and felt the screen-based elements were very well done, and it made it feel like you were in a side plot from the movie.

Forbidden Journey is clever tech for sure but I thought the 'magic bench' was uncomfortable and the design of it meant you were effectively cut off from the other members of your group so couldn't share the experience with them. Also it's basically just a whistle stop tour through a bunch of Harry Potter scenes rather than having much of a coherent story. That said, the Hogwarts recreation and the build up to the ride is excellent, but so was Gringotts!
 
@witchfinder, do you class Gringotts as a credit, out of interest? I personally do class it as a credit, and rank it among my coasters, but I must admit it’s possibly my most challenging ride to rank.
 
Another vote for Gringotts from me.

The queue line for both coasters are absolutely top notch. One takes you through Hogwarts castle, while the other has you walk right into Gringotts bank, complete with goblins. It's an amazing experience in both cases. It's the ride experience that makes the two differ, and in that sense, well ... I actually didn't think that highly of Forbidden Journey.

Forbidden Journey plays like a clipshow of all the darkest, loudest, and scariest elements of the Harry Potter franchise, without much coherence, all while going BRRRRRRRRT in your ear the whole time. BAM! - dragon in your face. BAM! Have a three-meter spider. BAM! Whomping Willow. BAM! rockfall in the Chamber of Secrets. SSHHHRRRRIIIIIIIIEEEK! Dementors. Ride over. The effects are nice and all, but it's far too much and without any time to breathe. Gringotts tells a somewhat simpler story and has some time to chill in front of screens instead of blasting effects in your face and noise in your ears the whole time. I think I would have liked Forbidden Journey better if they had just ripped out half the scenes and replaced them with something a little calmer with more of a story. As it is, it tries to hit the crescendo of every movie in very short order, and comes across as a noisy, incoherent mess.
 
I was underwhelmed by both of them.

Both suffer from too much action without time to breathe.

With Gringotts, I did not expect the ride to be 90% screens with barely any coaster. You might as well watch the Gringotts scenes from the films at home whilst wiggling your seat about. Lazy execution. 2/10.

Forbidden Journey gets a higher score because it has more practical effects and I like the ride system, but it still has too many screens. 7/10.
 
For me it's Gringotts.

Forbidden Journey is spectacular, but it strays ever-so-close to a motion sickness inducing ride for me. For my partner, we rode it once and she loved it, but didn't want to do it again.

Gringotts doesn't have that effect, quite as much. The sets feel bigger, the screens are further away, etc. Plus, it's a cred. ;)
 
Gringotts wins for me. And its not even close. I found Forbidden Journey to be no1 of "the queue is better than the ride". The ride made me nauseous. Whilst this is a complaint that could be made about Universal generally as the reliance on screen based technology and simulator type rides can get a bit much over a day, I found Gringotts to have no such problems. It was fun, family friendly (I went on with my young daughter, 6 at the time, and my mum, 60 at the time) and most importantly had a bit of a story to it so fitted in with the immersion of Diagon Alley outside. Forbidden Journey, whilst I can admire the robotic arms ride system, had no real cohesion and lacked any story. Whilst it remains immensely popular, noting Universal's recent additions, I wonder if they will retheme one day to actually give it a story.
 
Sorry for bumping yet another old Orlando poll... actually no, scrap that, I'm not sorry at all. I might be about half a decade late with this one but as I've now experienced both rides I've got sumat to say, so Imma say it.

Forbidden Journey for me, by miles.
For the last 20 years, if you'd asked me what the best dark ride in the world was, I would always reply with The Amazing Spiderman at IOA, without hesitation. I first rode it in 2003 and was blown away by how well the combination of screens, practical effects and motion all worked together to create a dynamic, exciting and action packed ride. In all those years, nothing else has come close really.
But yep, you guessed it, I think Forbidden Journey is better than Spiderman! Me and Mrs Howie were both floored by it.
Seems kinda fitting actually that 20 years later, almost to the day in fact, that my new favourite dark ride* would be found at exactly the same park.

*For the purposes of this poll, let's assume for a moment that Rise of the Resistance doesn't exist. Calling RotR a 'dark ride' simply doesn't do it justice, that attraction goes way beyond mere 'dark ride' and becomes this whole other.... thing. Forbidden Journey on the other hand is just a dark ride. Good job then that it's a bloody brilliant one.

I find it interesting that Forbidden Journey is winning the poll, but most of the comments are from people who voted Gringotts. It's almost as if they know, deep down, that Gringotts is the inferior attraction and feel the need to justify themselves. I'm reading comments like 'Gringotts has a simpler, more cohesive storyline' and 'Forbidden Journey is more of a clip show featuring all the big, loud, scary Potter moments'. Well, that's kinda true I suppose, but as someone who isn't really a Potterphile and couldn't give a rat's ass about the characters, I don't really want an intimate cohesive storyline, what I want is to get smashed in the face with all the best bits for 2 minutes. Bam, fire-breathing dragon, bam, giant 4' spider, bam, chase Harry on a broomstick, bam, quidditch, bam, whomping willow, bam, dementors.. etc etc...
Screens, sets, animatronics, illusions, pyrotechnics, projections, g-forces, loud music, all coming at you thick and fast - love it!
Much like Spiderman two decades ago to be fair, only with better ride vehicles.
Keep in mind that we went into this completely blind, not knowing a thing about it. 'Harry Potter dark ride', that's literally all we knew. Coulda been a Huss Breakdance with VR for all we knew. I had no idea that this robot-arm technology had even been deployed anywhere yet, the last time I even read about that system was when everyone here was convinced that Derren Brown's Ghost Train was gonna be one! Ha ha, remember that? How outrageously optimistic were we?? 🤣
Anyways, imagine my surprise then when Hermione shouted 3.. 2.. 1.. and the bloody thing took off! Genuine 'Wtf is happeninggg?' moment right there.
It wasn't until our 3rd or 4th go that I started to look around onboard and caught a glimpse of the car in front that I realised what it actually was: 'Ohhhh it's one of those', I thought. 💡
And for the record, it didn't make either of us feel the slightest bit nauseous or queasy, despite multiple rerides in quick succession thanks to that rather lovely single rider line (which we abused relentlessly and most of the time got seated together anyway).

Compare that to Gringotts, which we only rode once and, to be honest, can't remember a great deal about. It was fine, I guess, but compared to FJ, it just didn't offer anything new, just more of the same really, but with the added burden of 3D glasses, something which the other ride manages just fine without. Of course, it goes without saying that the presentation is fantastic. The theming and the queueline are all as lavish as you would expect but... it's a bank! Where's the enjoyment in that? Compared to the fun, charm and warmth of Hogwarts Castle, Gringotts just felt a bit cold, clinical and lifeless to me.
One and done.

Sorry, I seem to have rambled on a bit here but like I said, I had sumat to say, so Imma now said it. 😊
 
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I reckon FJ is still more fun to ride, the whole thing of having 50 robo arms on a track is very impressive.

but TBH Gringotts was way better than i expected. In the back the spinning is pretty powerful, and the set design is much better, with virtually no breaks in immersion. I think it just needed a teensy bit more coaster, especially at the end, instead of an S bend at the start and a banked turn at the end.
 
Erm, I voted for Gringotts because I couldn't vote for both, and 'undecided' seems like a cop out. They're both bloody brilliant, but I think I did enjoy Gringotts slightly more. Although, having said that, Cara is terrified of spiders to a level that's just ridiculous, so that was kinda funny.
 
When I first rode both of them, on the same trip not long after Gringotts opened, it was hands down Forbidden Journey. However, after now riding Forbidden Journey quite a few more times, including very recently in Beijing, I'm kind of going off it.

I've got a Florida trip coming up in February, so I'm interested to see if Gringotts will become the preferred ride now.
 
I am kinda regretting not giving Gringotts another shot to be honest. In hindsight, it probably deserved a reride, but I was like 'Nope, we haven't done Fast n Furious yet, let's do that instead'.
Some you win, some you lose.
😶
 
Forbidden Journey is the second best Ride in the world behind Hagrids in my opinion. In particular, Hollywood's was built more recently, and is in much better condition. Just those feelings while on a dark ride are so much fun.
 
I much prefer Forbidden Journey. When I was at Universal a few years ago, I only rode Gringotts once. But I marathoned Forbidden Journey and rode it so many times.
 
gavin said:
When I first rode both of them, on the same trip not long after Gringotts opened, it was hands down Forbidden Journey. However, after now riding Forbidden Journey quite a few more times, including very recently in Beijing, I'm kind of going off it.

I've got a Florida trip coming up in February, so I'm interested to see if Gringotts will become the preferred ride now.
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Yeah, although I'm sick of it, Forbidden Journey is the better ride. I only bothered with it once though, even though it wasn't getting particularly long queues, while I did Gringotts twice. Maybe that says something.
 
FJ is the better ride. I love the dynamic motion of the seats and the physical sets combined with the screens. Its one of my all time favorite theme park rides period.

Gringotts doesn't really do much. I love the tilt track and the launch at the end but the ride feels like it needs more to be complete. You take the physical show scenes way too quickly and the screens pretty much take up most of the ride. All the ride really needs is a proper coaster segment, maybe after the final launch have the ride go over a few airtime hills in the dark. A buddy of mine pretty much said it best. The screen scenes and the tracks around would probably make a better ride than Gringotts itself.
 
I've got to go with Forbidden Journey. While I enjoy both rides, Forbidden Journey has got everything you could possibly want from a dark ride. The motion, the screens, and the sets are all fantastic. Gringotts has some good moments and a phenomenal queue but I don't think its quite as good.
 
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