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3. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

Okay, we have one colossal surprise remaining on the docket, but the top three consists of two of the rides you'd expect. Both Harry Potter attractions performed strongly across the various rankings. Each one was mentioned on all of the ballots, generally scoring quite high on the list.

For obvious reasons, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey falls a bit short of its successor. The explanation here is simple. Universal executives used this attraction as the basis for the one that came after it. The other ride would be a total failure if it were NOT better. So, this is a predictable outcome.

Realistically, Forbidden Journey doesn't need any critical acclaim anyway. It's the ride that almost single-handedly reversed the fortunes of Universal Orlando Resort. As the anchor attraction at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it had the longest line at the park for many moons and steadfastly maintained its popularity to this day. It's just not…

2. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

What if we took the concepts from Forbidden Journey and added a roller coaster aspect as well? This idea percolated in the minds of Universal park planners for a while before it ultimately came to fruition with Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.

The ride is Disney-like in the best possible way. Its theming starts outside with a fire-breathing dragon and then moves into a bank filled with detailed, believable Audio-Animatronic gnomes. Then, it marries two disparate ride concepts, the roller coaster and the dark ride, in an unprecedented way. The entire experience is stunningly detailed and engrossing. At a park filled with Potterverse attractions, Escape from Gringotts is unquestionably the best right now. Critics are rather emphatic on this point.

1. Revenge of the Mummy

Do you believe in miracles? Personally, I LOVE this unexpected outcome. I won't lie and say that I saw it coming, though. As I collated the selections across sites, I kept noticing the strength of Revenge of the Mummy. It appeared on every ballot, frequently in the top three. Its consistency ultimately won out, as it handily wins the title of the best-reviewed ride at Universal Orlando Resort.

How did this happen? Well, that's a matter up for debate. I suspect that critics admire Revenge of the Mummy for its intelligent design and immaculate theming. It takes the once popular film franchise of The Mummy and constructs a plausible roller coaster based on the premise.

You’ll zoom through Imhotep's tomb, an odd choice to be sure. During the experience, you’ll see a mummified crew member from the film, and you’ll eventually discover why actor Brendan Fraser vanished off the face of the planet. It wasn't his decision to star in Dudley Do-Right that did him in. He should never have angered Imhotep.

Look, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the end-all, be-all experience at Universal Studios. Critics are right that it doesn’t automatically get to claim the best rides, though. And I agree with them on the point that Revenge of Mummy is superior to Forbidden Journey. I just can’t cross that bridge that says it’s better than Escape from Gringotts, though. I respect the bravery of the choice, though. At a minimum, I think most people would agree that Revenge of the Mummy is the best pure roller coaster at the park.

 
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