I've never been to Orlando so I'm always interested in hearing peoples opinions on both of these rides. Its always interesting seeing how peoples perspectives on the rides/lands compare and contrast since its so natural to make comparisons to the 2 Harry Potter based lands. I've managed to stay away from any videos or pictures pertaining to FJ (to maintain level of hype for our version) but I have watched videos of Gringotts and was extremely impressed with everything from the queue to the ride system itself.
Brover, do you feel that Gringotts is superior in every aspect? Including the queue, the story of the ride, etc? From what I've seen in general, not just on the forum, I feel like it's about 50/50 with preference of either FJ or Gringotts.
In every single aspect? I'll say no here. The reason being two huge factors:
1) The queue, while absolutely fantastic, still has pacing issues. By that I mean it suffers from the same fatigue as "The Simpsons Ride" (although the pre-show elements are far superior)... it's start, stop, start, stop. The bank is gorgeous, the photo ID fun, the musion room is neat and the elevator is also really cool. Except that either you find that there's dead time, or they shove you in far too late. Both times I did the non-SR for Gringotts, I was let into the musion room 1/3rd of the way into the pre-show. I get that they want to push thru as many bodies as possible, but as somebody who would ask for a refund for a movie if they arrived late, it irritates me to no end. And then the wait by the elevators usually has you watching the same safety spiel twice. FJ, due its omnimover-like experience, never stops and starts all the way to the end.
2) While Gringotts is, IMO, a far more enjoyable expierence, it doesn't fully utilize its technology unlike Forbidden Journey. The elements are all there, and they certainly build a thrilling experience that is well-paced and manageable for all-ages, but it's still a roller coaster with simulator elements that only has
one drop. Personally if I were to add anything to the attraction, it would be a downward helix portion in-between the dragon appearing and the encounter with Voldemort. Deathly Hallows Part 2 specifically has that element that I was slightly disappointed was not at least mimicked once in the attraction. That would've elevated the ride to be the single greatest attraction I've ever ridden. (as it stands, Spiderman still takes the cake) It's just missing that middle roller coaster section. Likewise, FJ does at least take every advantage of its tech outside of flipping riders upside down which would've been gratiutious and unnecessary.
So while I vastly prefer Gringotts, there are a couple things FJ does better in general.
I think your opinion of the ride is based entirely on whether or not you like intensive experiences. I'm a huge fan of attractions that toss you around relentlessly, but I can also understand how people aren't a fan of being thrown around on a mechanical arm.
That being said, Japan's iteration is very tame and perhaps that will carry to the Californian installation once Wizarding World opens in Hollywood.
I will admit that I have noticed my tolerances for intense attractions has changed as I've grown older. For example, I grew up (and currently live after having moved back to) in Las Vegas and our town had so many cheap thrill rides, most of which have been torn out. My friend and I as teens loved hopping over every summer and plunking down our saved up allowances at both Circus Circus and Sahara. We'd do
"Speed: The Ride", a (much missed) Premiere shuttle coaster at Sahara twice and then going across the street and riding almost every flat ride, simulator and the Canyon Blaster at the Adventuredome. By far our favorite flat was Chance's
"Chaos" which moved from MGM Grand Adventures to there when that park shuttered. (I still vividly remember seeing that they moved it and high-fiving my friend because oh man we missed it) I think we'd ride that three, four times? In a row? And then even if the simulator was crappy, we'd have fun since it was one of those Douglas Trumbull-designed wraparound compact IMAX simulators that we thought were so neat.
That was well over a decade ago, and recently I went to attend their Halloween event (Fright Dome) out of pure curiosity and also to ride El Loco. While I was on very, very little sleep, I did fine on the coasters but wretched at the thought of riding Chaos. And for a nostalgia kick I went and did the simulator, still the same thing as it was all those years ago except much older. And yeah, I was on the verge of getting sick but it was mostly due to the fact that the terrible ridefilm, creaky projection and simulation wasn't functioning as it was supposed to. Which seems natural... I did fine on all the simulator attractions back in Orlando. And that reminded me of my problems on Forbidden Journey: where the points of reference suddenly became obscured and the simulation was happening without seeming purpose. Once the physical portion takes full hold in much of the second half, it felt lke Universal didn't really know what they were doing. Combined with my lesser tolerances, this suddenly made me uneasy.
So I'd say it's a combination of both for me: while I could stand to admit that I'm not as easily able to withstand intense attractions anymore, I also think that Universal needed to be a little more capable of doing the balancing act when creating Forbidden Journey.