Shrek 4-D

This is the same ride that was released right after shrek was so popular in theaters. Shrek 2, Shrek 3, puss n boots all spun off of that massive success.
Since then, 3D as a fad has come and mostly gone. At the time of Shrek 4-D’s creation, the technology was state of the art. We were used to red/​blue glasses for 3D and definitely couldn’t get 3D at home.
The 4D elements still have some holdover value and have been largely incorporated in the more recent universal rides. This is just an interesting relic from a very particular point in the past. Unlike the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney, this is not a ride people demand to remain unchanged for years. It’s simply not worth investing to change while people still go see it.
Adults, don’t waste your time. Have kids? It’s fine.

Shrek is always a winner. You actually get wet and watch a huge screen. Will be back again next time.

Okay this ride is now officially outdated sadly and quite boring.
Before you even get on the ride, they make you stand forever in a room watching a boring scene play out.
Then when you’re in your seats, the actual show is quite dull and replicates a lot of what you saw while standing. Eh.
I’d move onto better, newer experiences if I were you. Like Minions.

Just saw the show. Great job. More for kids, but totally enjoyable for all. Some cool effects different from other shows A Bugs Life. Reminds me of how great the movie is.

This was a cute attraction and I felt was worth the wait of the short line we waited on. I am not sure why the reviews are as bad as they are. I thought that the special effects were good and the multi dimensional movie was amusing. The part of this attraction that really annoyed me was the wait once you are inside to get into the theatre. That wait to get inside the theatre is way too long and way too crowded. It was the only time that I was at the park that I had a serious feeling of claustrophobia.

This was a fun 4D movie. I’m surprised by all of the bad reviews.
Lord Fuqua has become a ghost and is trying to kill Fiona. Shrek and Donkey come to the rescue. A lot of bumps and jerks on this one, but most 4D movies tend to be bumpy. Know what you’re getting into.
The movie brought back memories of Shrek. And I felt like a kid again, which is really the best part of going to Universal Studios/​Disney anyway.

Screw this ride! I’ve seen better effects at the local zoo!
Not worth the 15 minute wait!
The pre show before the ride was rather good. It was cute, funny, and had all the charm of the original movie.
What confused me is that they said we will be tortured. There was no tourturing in the ride (super confusing)
Nothing happened! You were just watching a movie that moved back and forth occasionally (made a super annoying noise when it did) and sprayed water at you from time to time. Also, it was not synced in with the movie!
Also, the «4D» on the ride sucked! It was really blurry (I’m talking with the 4D glasses)
It had so much potential with great characters (I would say storyline, but that also sucked)
This «ride» needs to be taken down immediately!

I’m normally pretty critical, so I’m pretty surprised this ride only has three stars. I do have a couple complaints though… The queueing experience required a lot of outdoor standing and the indoor waiting experience during the introduction to the ride required a lot of standing as well. It’s a bit worse since they pack a lot of people in a small space, but it’s tolerable.
The ride itself was great though. The storyline was interesting and I enjoyed hearing the familiar voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy. Most of the 4-​D aspect included bouncing up and down on a simulated bumpy road but there were some other little surprises too.

Totally not worth it. The line for this attraction was ridiculous (and we had fast passes and still waited a really long time!). The attraction wasn’t even a ride — rather, you sit in a theater where the seats move around slightly during certain scenes, but that’s it. You watch a 3D movie, sure, but the story wasn’t even funny or cute. I’d rather be sitting comfortably and watching the actual movie at home… I don’t go to theme parks to watch lame versions of movies — I’d like to actually get a ride experience if I’m waiting in a long line. And the pre-​cursor to the theater part is so long-​winded and boring and you’re standing around uncomfortably in a very small and crowded area… My fiancé and I are big fans of Shrek (we just watched all 4 movies in succession earlier this year), but were pretty disappointed by the ride. I would skip it in the future.

Maybe I just visited this ride on a bad day, but I had a really bad experience. I went on a Saturday, and after getting caught in a 75 minute line at the Minion Ride nearby, decided to get an Express Pass. Now, I think that if I pay $ 90 for a special pass, I should be able to get into a ride with a 20 – 30 minute wait for the REGULAR line in less than 30 minutes. To be clear, we did actually get into A room within 5 minutes, but there were so many delays that we ended up waiting probably closer to 30 minutes before beginning the actual «ride.» I was honestly pretty upset, not only because of the wait but also because no employee had the courtesy to let us know that there were delays in the first place, so all of us were waiting with the false belief that the wait time was normal practice. Only later (when someone in front of us asked) did I find out that the real reason we were waiting was that the ride was having issues.
The unpleasant waiting experience would have been less awful if the ride were good, but unfortunately that turned out to be subpar as well. A bunch of people were ushered into a theatre setting and we basically watched a screen — with 3D effects. The 3D effects weren’t even that good. The glasses they gave us paired with the 3D technology didn’t go well together — the resulting vision was blurry a lot of the time. The motion effects weren’t spectacular either — they basically consisted of awkward jolting, and the seats were pretty uncomfortable too.
Overall, I did not like the experience. The next time I’m at Universal, I will definitely not be returning to this ride, express pass or not.

This was an interesting experience. Coming into Universal for the first time, it was the first «ride» my friends and I all rode. Thankfully, the line was pretty short, at around 15 minutes. (Well, short for what it could have been!) It was cool and air conditioned inside, and completely shielded from the sun because it was more of a theater than a ride (in case you didn’t get the part that says 4-​D).
–PLOT SPOILERS BELOW–
When you finally get into the little lobby, you see a short video. You quickly learn that this area is Lord Farquad’s dungeon. There are even a few familiar faces, like Pinocchio, Gingy, and the Three Little Pigs. The scene is set by a park employee, in character with the whole «I’m going to put you all in the dungeons» schpeel.
Then you’re ushered into a movie theater, where you watch a short film that involved Shrek saving Fionna from Lord Farquad (who is a ghost). There’s a fast horse ride (jolting along the whole way), a stone dragon, donkey jokes, etc. It stays pretty much within the usual Shrek universe. It’s actually thematically kind of dark in parts (Farquad wants Fionna to join him… in death), and also involves some subtle adult jokes (things your child wouldn’t understand but which you would).
–PLOT SPOILERS END–
PROS:
–Gets you out of the sun. The air conditioning was ahhhmazing.
–Cute storyline, which went with the Shrek theme pretty well.
–Some adultish humor. Nods to Star Wars and other references.
–Wait time wasn’t bad at all.
–Pretty decent movie length, all things considered.
–All-​ages show.
NEUTRAL:
–Not actually a ride, but a 4-​D movie.
–Scared some kids, so be mindful of that.
CONS:
–Certain 4-​D effects didn’t work on my seat.
–There were some technical difficulties getting the movie to run. The host was good at entertaining us with trivia questions, though.
–Seats really weren’t that comfortable, but think of how many butts sit in them every hour…
–The seats jolt pretty hard, especially during the horse racing scenes.
THE VERDICT:
Expect 3-​D graphics, water spray, light wind whirling, and jolting seats. I will say that some children were scared of the effects. There was one older child in particular, who was screaming in terror while her mother let her sit in her lap and didn’t remove her from the theater. So I guess if your kid is easily scared, I’d avoid this, or AT LEAST REMOVE THEM. I don’t think I’d make this «ride» a special trip every time I go to Universal, but it was a nice respite out of the sun.

This ride is a cute, easy show for Shrek fans. The «ride» is more of a quick performance and a 4D movie. There are some effects like water spray and air jets.
Good ride for the little ones, or the squeamish ones. Usually short lines, and you can get out of the sun for a while. Fun? No, not really.

Cute but not amazing. This is a lot like «It’s Tough to be a Bug» at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but definitely not as exciting.
You basically just sit and watch a 3D movie for 10 or 15 minutes. Sometimes your seat moves and you get water or smells sprayed at you. The movie was funny enough to keep me engaged but it really needed a few more special effects.
It’s not really worth a long wait, but it’s a good attraction for you to sit down, cool off and relax for a bit.

The reason why this is getting a 3 stars instead of a 1-​star is because I think it’s great for little kids. It’s really cute for the small kids that have already seen the Shrek movies and love the characters. It’s not the best for adults without kids, i.e., me. I enjoyed the movies and saw some amusement in this experience but it was definitely not for me. Also, I hate to watch 3D movies and wear those awful glasses because they hurt my eyes and this «4D experience» did just that.

The line was too long to ride this visit. We enjoyed it last time. This is easy and not as scary as the roller coasters.

I had read the reviews for Shrek 4-​D but thought I’d try it regardless, because I love Shrek. Shrek is one of my favorite animated movies, and I had been so impressed with everything else in Universal Studios I thought perhaps the other reviewers just weren’t as big of fans of Shrek as I was.
I jumped in line and walked and walked. There are some signs that are interesting to read and a looped video of part of the first movie is shown at the end of the line, but nothing to keep a person distracted for majority of the line, but no biggie.
Eventually the park attendants usher everyone into a large room where they give the scenario of why you’re there and what’s happening. The room is neat with Pinocchio and the three little pigs all entrapped in a torture chamber. It’s dark, very well done, and several children were very frightened to the point of tears.
A pun filled intro is given by the park attendant followed by the characters giving more info. It is a long intro made to feel longer since people wait in the room for several minutes while everyone filters in. After standing and listening to the intro the group is ushered into an auditorium that looks like a movie theater. Once people are situated and glasses are put on the movie starts and it’s ok.
The effects are actually pretty subtle compared to anything else in the park. The seats shake slightly, there’s light misting of water, and 3D movie effects that you can see at any 3D movie. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good, it was just ok.

One of the worst rides at Universal Studios.
For this ‘ride’, you enter a room that looks like a movie theater with rubber seats. The seats jerk you back and forth… way…too…hard…in time with the movie you’re watching. The movie itself is quite long, which is much too long for this very uncomfortable ride.
It is the ride that makes me ask «…And how much did I pay to visit Universal today?» No matter how much you like Shrek, I doubt you will enjoy this ride, and it is time Universal put in something better here.

Meh. I never watched the movies and this show/​ride made me want to never watch it.
Maybe if I did watch the movies, I would’ve gotten the jokes … IDK. This was good to rest my feet a bit.
It’s like the «Honey I Shrunk the Audience» show/​ride at Disney.

Geared toward kids this is a 3d movie with added movement, gushes of air and water spurts.
It’s a good spot to get out of the heat.

One thing is for sure, you’re kids will love this. As an adult, this is sure to entertain you at least the first time. Beyond that, it gets old very quickly.
What’s 4-​D, you ask? Well, it’s 3-​D in the sense that they give you glasses and everything on the screen pops out at you yada, yada, yada. The part that makes it the «4-​D» is the fact wind blows, your seats move up and down, water squirts out at you, etc., etc.
If you have serious back problems, they do have seats that don’t move. You may want to consider asking for one of those.
I like the first Shrek movie, but I haven’t been a fan of the others. Once you’ve seen the first one, you’ve kinda seen all of them. At least that’s my opinion. But this is still a cute little mini-​movie and Universal was able to get the same actors who voiced the characters in the actual movies to voice their little mini-​movie for this attraction, so that’s pretty cool.
The line for this one can get really, really long. Sometimes there’s up to an hour wait. I personally would not wait an hour to see this. The queue is outside and it’s very uninteresting. You and your children will get bored very quickly. If you do want to wait that long for this one, make sure you’ve taken your kids to the bathroom before you get in the queue. The nice thing is, once you do finally get inside, it’s a nice reprieve from the FL heat.