How Scary Is The Flying Dinosaur? 5 Ways to Make It Less Frightening

Since opening in 2016, the high-thrill ride The Flying Dinosaur has remained immensely popular.

Its unprecedented flying position and twisting track layout continue to captivate thrill-ride fans.

the scariest attraction at USJ—and many people say The Flying Dinosaur is exactly that!!
Who should ride, and who should skip it?

For those who still want to try it despite not being good with thrill rides, here are some tips to make it feel a little less scary.

The Flying Dinosaur: Types of Fear

There are many reasons why thrill rides can feel scary, and The Flying Dinosaur combines the following five elements:

• Height
• Speed
• Riding position
• Centrifugal force
• Floating sensation

It uses a unique riding position that feels as if you are lying face down and moving headfirst!

The high-speed rotations create intense centrifugal force.

There is also the fear of losing track of which way you are facing or where you are going.

Depending on the rider and seat location, you may also feel a floating sensation.

The Flying Dinosaur: Who Should Not Ride

1) People with a sensitive inner ear or who get motion sickness easily

This attraction combines all of the following:

・A face-down riding position
・Twisting forward, backward, left, and right
・Difficulty telling which way is up or down

You may want to skip it if you:

・Get motion sickness on roller coasters
・Do not do well with VR or 3D visuals
・Feel sick when your spatial awareness becomes disoriented

People with these sensitivities may continue to feel unsteady for a while after the ride, so it is best not to ride.

Lack of sleep or accumulated fatigue can also make you feel sick, even if you normally do not experience motion sickness.

The Flying Dinosaur: How Can You Make It Less Scary?

Here are some ways to make The Flying Dinosaur feel less frightening:

• Remove your glasses or contact lenses before riding
• Look as far into the distance as possible
• Keep your mouth open
• Sit in an inside seat
• Wave enthusiastically as the ride departs
• Do not close your eyes

In particular, keeping your eyes open is important.
When you cannot see, not knowing what is happening or what comes next can make the fear worse.

As the ride slowly climbs at the beginning, wave to the guests walking below and let the excitement build.

The height is only scary at first.
After that, you will be spun around so much that you lose your sense of height and direction.

QR Lockers: Important Notes

Starting April 17, 2023, guests began storing their belongings in newly installed ground-level lockers instead of beside the ride just before boarding.
These are not coin lockers. You scan a paper QR code provided by a crew member at the locker reader to store your belongings. You will receive the QR code shortly before boarding.

Items That Must Be Stored

・All carry-on belongings, including bags
・Smartphones
・Everything in your pockets, including handkerchiefs and coins
・Glasses (you may reportedly wear them at your own risk, but they could fly off)

Important Notes

・You board the ride while carrying the paper with the QR code.

　Unless your clothing has a pocket that closes with a zipper, snap, or button, the paper could fly away.
　If you do not have a pocket, you must hold it in your hand during the ride.

・The QR-code paper does not show the locker number or the letter assigned to the reader.

　If you use a different reader, you will not be able to open your locker.
　Remember the letter of the machine you used when storing your belongings.

Additional Notes and Concerns

・It takes about 10 minutes from storing your belongings to boarding. Even if the line looks long, guests are now guided through faster than before.

・After storing your glasses, you must walk through stairs and passageways without being able to see clearly.
　You cannot store them immediately before boarding.

The Flying Dinosaur: How Long Is the Wait?

Wait times are shorter than they used to be, possibly in part because operational improvements were introduced in 2023 to shorten boarding time.

During the quieter season in December 2025, waits were about 30–100 minutes.
Even on extremely crowded days during Halloween 2025, waits were around 100–180 minutes, making the ride easier to experience than in the past when lines were much longer.

Because the attraction is located at the far end of the park, waits tend to be short for about the first hour after opening.
The peak lasts until around 5:00 p.m., and wait times decrease toward the evening.

Crowd levels vary by day and weather, so be sure to check the official app for current wait times before heading over!

The Flying Dinosaur: Ride Specifications

・Track length: 1,124 m (one of the world’s longest flying coasters)
・Maximum height: Approx. 46 m (151 ft)
・Drop height: Approx. 37.8 m
・Maximum speed: Approx. 100 km/h
・Inversions: 5
・Ride duration: Approx. 3 minutes
・Capacity: 32 riders (4 riders × 8 rows)

・Single Rider: Available
・Express Pass: Available

Location: A 1-minute walk from the entrance to Jurassic Park (about a 9-minute walk from the park entrance)

It is number 1 on the map, near the far end of USJ.

The Flying Dinosaur: What Should You Know Before Riding?

・Height restriction: Guests must be between 132 cm and 198 cm tall
・Wheelchairs cannot be taken close to the ride
・Guests must be able to walk independently to transfer to the ride seat

・Guests with prosthetic arms or legs, or those wearing a cast, should consult a crew member.
・The ride includes sudden acceleration, drops, climbs, turns, and stops.
・Remove your glasses before riding.

・Wigs cannot be worn on the ride. Please consult a crew member.
・Carry-on belongings are not permitted.

・The ride cannot be used by guests with heart conditions, abnormal blood pressure, conditions affecting the back, neck, lower back, or spine, guests who are pregnant, prone to motion sickness or dizziness, feeling unwell, unable to maintain the correct riding posture, unable to fit in the seat due to body size, or unable to be secured by the safety restraint.

・Guests with a fear of heights or claustrophobia should refrain from riding.

Source: 　Official Universal Studios Japan website

The Flying Dinosaur Course Guide

The ride’s theme is “Fly Beyond Imagination,” with guests soaring through the air fully exposed as if a rampaging pteranodon had grabbed them by the back.

True to that premise, guests are suspended from the ride and swung through the course.

With a track length of 1,124 m and a drop height of 37.8 m, Universal Studios Japan reported that The Flying Dinosaur had the world’s longest track and largest drop of its kind as of 2016.

Its five 360-degree twists were also said to be a world record.

Course Details

After All That Waiting, It Is Finally Time to Ride!

As soon as you board, the safety restraint secures your torso and legs. It holds you very firmly, which is reassuring, but it also makes you wonder just how intense the course will be ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Once everyone’s restraints are locked, the seats tilt forward 90 degrees and leave your body suspended. The ride then starts moving toward the beginning of the first drop.

As you slowly climb, you can look down and see many guests and crew members waving up at you.

First Drop

For anyone afraid of heights, this may feel like pure torture, but once you reach the highest point of the course, you can see across the entire park.

While you are distracted by the spectacular view, the first drop begins. The ride plunges down the 37.8 m height difference in one rush!

There is a slight floating sensation at the very beginning of the drop, but it lasts less than a second.
Even guests who dislike airtime may still enjoy it.

One and a Half Rotations

After the first drop, the ride makes a 360-degree rotation while climbing, then descends through a 180-degree rotation. Guests travel along the track with their backs facing downward.

Steep Climb

Just as guests find themselves facing the sky, the ride climbs as steeply as it did before the first drop. During the climb, it rotates 180 degrees so riders face downward again.

Descent, Then Climb

The ride descends more gently than on the first drop, then climbs toward The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Along the way, it adds a slight twist and rotates about 100 degrees. It then returns to its original orientation while descending and drops 50 m into the underground tunnel zone.

Underground Tunnel Zone

You spend only a moment in this zone, but it is completely dark, nothing is visible, and a pterosaur lets out a loud cry. For anyone who is easily frightened, this may be an especially scary section.

What follows is what I found most distinctive about The Flying Dinosaur.

As the ride exits the underground tunnel, it makes an extremely steep climb—probably the steepest climb on the entire course. The G-forces are so intense that the other riders stopped cheering, too, haha.

This Is Where You Lose Track of Up and Down, Haha

After exiting the underground tunnel, the ride makes a steep climb and sudden drop under intense G-forces.

There are no twists here, but after experiencing so many earlier in the course, I could no longer tell where the sky or ground was.

Then the ride heads over the San Francisco area.

Drop Close to the Ground, Then Rotate

The ride flies just above the walkway toward the San Francisco area while adding a 360-degree twist, then returns to the Jurassic Park area.

It speeds past the roofs of restaurants and shops at extremely close range.

Next, it follows a circular track parallel to the ground and descends slightly. It then adds another 360-degree twist on the way to the finish.

The ride returns to the original boarding area, bringing the attraction to an end.

Honestly, How Scary Is The Flying Dinosaur?

Until a few years ago, I was actually terrible with roller coasters. My limit was Snoopy’s Great Race in the Universal Wonderland area.

I had only tried a more intense roller coaster for the first time a few months earlier. My reaction was…

It was soooo much fun. I barely felt the floating sensation people associate with roller coasters, and once I made it through the first drop, it was no longer scary.

In fact, The Flying Dinosaur is what taught me that roller coasters can be fun. I especially hope people who think, “I have never ridden a roller coaster, but it looks too scary,” will give it a try ＿φ(￣ー￣ )

That said, as mentioned earlier, the G-forces are extremely strong and there are five 360-degree twists, so anyone prone to motion sickness or dizziness should be careful.

Guests with a fear of heights or claustrophobia should also think carefully before deciding whether to ride.

Why We Recommend The Flying Dinosaur

Its one-of-a-kind style lets you fly through the open sky in a face-down position, and it features the world’s first underground section on a flying coaster, making it an exceptionally rare roller coaster even by global standards.

Unlike other theme parks and amusement parks, Universal Studios Japan has a custom—or perhaps an unofficial tradition—of guests waving to people on the rides, which makes the experience even more exciting ٩( ᐛ )و

It would be a shame to miss one of the world’s largest and longest roller coasters when it is right here in Japan! Be sure to ride it when you visit USJ!