Can Scopolamine Save Your Universal Trip? My Ride-by-Ride Results
I survived Universal Studios rides thanks to a prescription patch and here’s my ride ratings.
If you suffer from motion sickness as I do, then a day at a theme park can be an anxiety-inducing experience. You spent a lot of money to be there. Used vacation days. But will you be able to enjoy the experience, or nervously watch for the nearest trash can or first aid station?
Braving the parks with motion sickness
Amusement park rides have always been a struggle for me, but an over-the-counter patch has made most Disney rides enjoyable – except Guardians of the Galaxy.
However, heading to our first visit to Universal Studios in Florida, I knew the rides were going to be more intense, and the patch wasn’t going to be able to prevent motion sickness. I expected to skip most of the rides and just enjoy the atmosphere while my family did the rides. I opted to get a prescription for scopolamine to help me avoid any motion sickness and still brave some of the rides.
The scopolamine patch was a game-changer for me. I didn’t have any feelings or nervousness, no shaky nerves. I didn’t get the tight stomach clench during drops and I didn’t feel lightheaded or dizzy stepping of the majority of attractions I rode.
How am I rating each attraction?
My scale for this assessment is on a 0-5 range. A score of zero means I had no feelings of stomach clinch, nausea, or dizziness. A rating of 5 means I was dizzy or sick and needed to sit down or lie down to recover.
| Rating | Symptoms experienced |
|---|---|
| 0 | no symptoms at all |
| 1 | some nerves and head fuzziness |
| 2 | some nerves, head fuzziness and queasiness in the stomach |
| 3 | headache, weakness in limbs, unstable balance |
| 4 | headache, weakness in limbs, unstable balance |
| 5 | headache, dizziness, weakness, potential vomiting and needing to lie down |
I am also adjusting for the scolopomine patch, so I will give my best guess on how I would have reacted without the patch, so you can compare the difference.
Finally, I give it a “would I ride it again?” Score. 1 thumb is not likely, 5 thumbs is absolutely!
My experience at Universal Studios Orlando
There are several rides I did not attempt. The Simpsons Ride is notorious for triggering of motion sickness. I sat that one out while my family completed it and they walked off looking a bit green and needed a rest. We all avoided Race Through New York for the same reason.
I also skipped Fast and Furious, Men in Black and Minion Mayhem. These are all screen rides with motion and I didn’t care enough for the IP they are based on.
Let’s look at my ratings
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™
Motion sickness rating: 0
Non-medicated rating: 4
I normally get super nervous in line as we get closer to the loading zone. I didn’t have any nervousness or tightening in my stomach. When we got on the ride, it still hadn’t hit me that this would be an indoor coaster. When the car started to tilt down, facing into the dark unknown, I wondered if I was going to be down and out right at the start of our trip. However, I didn’t have any symptoms at all and was able to enjoy the ride. Feeling good after that one, we did some wand work and headed for the next ride.
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I had a great time on this one and I enjoyed that it had moments of pause before zooming off to the next scene. It hits the Harry Potter nostalgia and the 3D elements weren’t disorienting. I wouldn’t wait more than 25-30 minutes, though. Four thumbs up!
Revenge of the Mummy™
Motion sickness rating: 0
Non-medicated rating: 4
I didn’t realize this one was also an indoor coaster and was clued in when I started seeing the ride warning signs as we approached the loading zone. When we launched up the hill, I had a voice in my head saying “what did you do??”, but I didn’t have any feelings of nervousness or motion sickness. I actually had a blast on that ride and walked off a little shaky just from adrenaline.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
This ride was at the edge of my thrill tolerance and I had fun riding. It’s short. The launch is fast and the drops are minimal. If it’s under a 25-minute wait, I will ride it. Four thumbs up!
Transformers™ The Ride-3D
Motion sickness rating: 0
Non-medicated rating: 5
Next up, we wandered over to Transformers. This ride I did have some spoilers so I knew it was primarily screens and fast turns so I could have some disorientation coming off of it. That wasn’t the case, though and I felt completely fine coming off the ride. While I had fun riding it, it wasn’t one I was going to get on again.
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I had fun experiencing it but it wasn’t something I would ride again. I am not a fan of being immersed in screens and being jostled around. I would ride if others in my travel party wanted to, but I wouldn’t wait more than 25 minutes for it. Two thumbs up.
E.T. Adventure™
Motion sickness rating: 0
Non-medicated rating: 0
This was a chill ride with a similar setup as Peter Pan’s Flight so I wasn’t expecting any issues here. I grew up in the 80s and I remember this movie so it was fun to revisit the story and a calmer ride.
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As enjoyable as it was, this feels like a one-and-done ride unless I need to get off my feet, escape the heat and it has a short wait time of 15 minutes or less. Three thumbs up.
Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast
Motion sickness rating: 1
Non-medicated rating: 2
I walked onto this ride thinking that I would have no problem with it, but standing on a conveyor belt and turning from one screen to the next on my own did create a little bit of fuzziness in my head.
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This ride was cute and fun. I wouldn’t make an effort to ride it again. If someone in my travel group wanted to do it and the wait time was under 10 minutes, I would do it. One thumbs up.
Conclusion
This completes my ratings for Universal Studios Orlando. Be sure to check out my ratings for Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe, too.
I hope this rating review helps anyone else who experiences motion sickness that prevents them from having fun at amusement parks. While your reaction and experiences with scopolamine may be different than mine. I am not a doctor and I am not providing medical advise. I encourage you to talk to your doctor about taking scolopamine.
