Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon Review

Motion Simulator#17 in Universal Studios isn’t as fun as the rest of them

Let me be clear with you upfront, my friend: I don’t know much about The Tonight Show. I do know that it’s one of the longest-running shows in the United States. Conan O'Brien was the host for several months before Jay Leno returned to replace him. Later, Jay Leno passed the hosting duties to Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy has been the host of the show for the past 10 years and has had the privilege of having a ride at Universal Studios named after him.

Race Through New York is… another motion simulator in Universal Studios. In a park filled with them, that might be a little disheartening to hear, especially when this ride is one of the most “meh” ones you can find. Adults will have a better time in Transformers 3D and kids will prefer Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem. 

This is a 4 minute ride which takes you from the Tonight Show’s set, then all the way to the streets of New York, the down the chaotic NY subways, then to the… moon… and back to his set. Let’s say that you visit a lot of places in just four minutes, and we aren’t even in Epcot.

The Good

I have to say that the queue for this ride is pretty cool, with a bunch of memorabilia from the original show. There is also a live performance most of the time, with the Ragtime Gals welcoming guests and singing before it’s time to head to the main attraction. If you are a fan of The Tonight Show and have been following it closely for years, this is a great place to take pictures and find Easter eggs that will fly over most people’s heads.

Race Through New York is a simple motion simulator, which might be great news for younger visitors. It’s similar to The Simpsons Ride, but with a bigger vehicle and real actors on the screen. Your vehicle twitches to the sides, but it doesn’t move forward like in The Amazing Spider-Man or Transformers 3D.

The Bad

Your vehicle will race through New York, going around landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building while Jimmy Fallon drives a car ahead of you. That’s it. It isn’t a terrible ride per say, but there is nothing really new here or charming to make it a must see attraction. The ride includes a lot of easter eggs related to the Tonight Show, like appearances made by Hashtag the Panda and the Ragtime Gals. 

I also don’t think the ride is very funny, even if there are a lot of attempts at jokes, including a few referencing the movies Taxi and Jaws. But, hey, at least the air conditioning is really good, so that’s a plus… I guess?

If you check reviews online, you will quickly see that most people don’t enjoy this ride much. The main complaint isn’t even about the ride itself, but that Race Through New York is yet another simulator in a theme park filled with them. I share this sentiment. With so many attractions in both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure that are motion simulators, why create another one? And one that isn’t very good to begin with, sometimes feeling more like marketing for NBC than a compelling ride to satisfy guests.

Will Kids enjoy it?

Will most kids care about who Jimmy Fallon is, or what is going on? Nah. But they might find it fun to board a vehicle and just run through New York with a bunch of weird stuff happening in front of them. There are a lot of visual effects across the streets of New York, with crazy characters popping up that will certainly entertain your children. This is also one of the rare simulators which use live action instead of cartoon and pure CGI, which might also be something different and cool for the kids.