Disney and Universal ride POV videos – a valuable resource in vacation planning

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As long as you don’t mind the spoilers, watching POV videos of the rides at Disney and Universal theme parks can be a great planning tool to both build excitement for your upcoming trip and determine whether each ride belongs on your “must-do” list or your “avoid-at-all-costs” list. These videos can also be a source of entertainment when you’re unable to visit the parks in person. In this post, I will list some of the videos I have enjoyed and discuss their role in my vacation planning.

Tron Lightcycle Run (Walt Disney World Resort)

This is one of the newest rides to open at Walt Disney World in Orlando, where I will be vacationing next month. Because I have issues with vertigo and motion sickness, there are certain roller coaster experiences I avoid. For example, I never get on ones that go upside down. Total darkness and moving in reverse can also trigger my vertigo, but I can handle these as long as it’s over quickly. I’ve been on Space Mountain, which is pretty much total darkness, several times and I get a little dizzy but not enough to ruin my day. However, the backward motion on Everest ruins that ride for me.

A quick Google search will reveal that the new Tron ride doesn’t go upside or backwards, but this video also allows me to see how much time is spent in total darkness and whether there’s enough light to see where I’m going (very helpful in avoiding motion sickness). Based on the video above and my previous research, I feel comfortable adding this one to my “must-do” list.

Not all POV ride videos are equal, so you’ll want to find ones with good quality. A shaky camera or blurry image could cause vertigo simply watching the video, even if the ride itself is not an issue. As you can see, the video above is 5k with a very clear image and steady camera. Another reason I chose that one is because the video starts at the beginning of the ride and not the entrance to the line. Standing in line for rides is not an experience I want to recreate a home, so I’d rather skip right to the action. With that being said, if you are traveling with children or other guests who get restless while standing in line, you might prefer a video with the full experience to see any interactive elements in the queue.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (Walt Disney World Resort)

This is another ride that has opened since my last trip to Walt Disney World. Unfortunately, this video convinces me I should avoid this ride. While I might be able handle the backwards part, all of the chaotic spinning to see the action on the screen would be my undoing. In fact, I got a little sick just watching this video, even though the camera seemed to be pretty steady. So, as much as I love the GOTG movies and really wanted to experience the ride, I have to nope out on this one.

With that being said, Attractions 360 is one of my go-to channels for these types of videos. As you can see in this video, they give you some shots of the entrance and the line, as well as the part where guests board the ride vehicles. Being able to see the ride vehicles can be helpful if you have mobility issues that might make this part tricky.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

This ride opened at Universal Studios Orlando less than a month after my last visit, causing me to just barely miss it. While I don’t currently have a return trip booked, I expect to go back at some point (probably after the new park opens). With that being said, I’ve been on the fence about whether to try this ride when I return. Most of the ride looks really fun but that backwards drop has me worried. After watching this video, the drop and the backwards motion actually seem a bit tame, and probably not as bad as Everest. Since I’ve survived Everest on more than one occasion (just felt a bit queasy afterwards), I would probably be willing to give this one a shot.

Disneyland Paris

These are the main three that I’ve watched recently specifically for planning purposes; however, I also watched a few videos from Disneyland Paris a couple years ago when I had the opportunity to study abroad. These videos were not super helpful in steering me away from Hyperspace Mountain as the ride is too dark to see the motion, but thankfully I did some additional research and discovered that, unlike Space Mountain, Hyperspace Mountain does go upside down. My favorite ride videos from Disneyland Paris are actually from a couple of the slower rides as they allowed me to compare how they are different from the Orlando versions. Here are a couple of my favorite ride videos from Disneyland Paris.

Phantom Manor (Disneyland Paris)

The main difference between Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris and The Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World, aside from the names of the attractions, is the role of the bride. She is much more prominent in the Paris attraction, appearing at the very beginning of the ride as well as several times throughout the ride and replacing the hitchhiking ghosts at the end. This gives Phantom Manor a bit more of a story, though I think the most recent Haunted Mansion movie provided a much better explanation for the number of ghosts in the mansion.

Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland Paris)

Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Paris is quite a bit longer than the Florida version. While there doesn’t appear to be a lot going on in the added scenes, anything that makes the ride longer, thus increasing the amount of time sitting indoors in the AC, is a welcome addition if you’re visiting the park during the summer. There’s also a second drop, creating a splash that may or may not get you wet, depending on where you are sitting, making for yet another way to cool off. However, it’s worth noting that despite going on a weekend in July (the first weekend after the opening of the Avengers Campus), the lines were actually pretty short. I think the longest line I stood in was 35 minutes, and most were closer to 20 minutes, though I did avoid some of the more popular rides due to my vertigo issues. Still, I only had one day to spend in Paris, and I was able to do all the rides I wanted (even got to do a few twice) and still catch the evening show.

All of the videos in the list, and many more, can be found on YouTube simply by searching the name of the ride, the park where it’s located, and including the term “POV.” You can also read the comments on the videos to get personal accounts of the ride experience from other visitors to the park. However, keep in mind, not everyone with motion sickness has the same triggers, so it’s important to know what you can and cannot handle when making this final decision on these rides.