Celebrate 'Back to Hogwarts' with new Harry Potter ride reveals

Again clear they were planning on Forbidden Beasts and have to shift when that franchise flopped yet still pretty impressive. Just thinking if going for pure HP at the start, might be even better.

According to Alicia Stella, the British ministry was always going to be part of the land with plans back before 2018. The only thing that changed was they dropped the French ministry ride/experience after the new franchise failed to catch on. I’m definitely curious as to how they are going to link 1920s Paris with 1990s British ministry from a storytelling perspective.

So lifts that move up and down and horizontally as well. Basically a plussed Tower of Terror????

I've said it before and I will say it again. Twilight Tower will win this war EVERY time because they actually put you outside and you can see how high you are. Nothing conveys the since of height like actually being outside and "seeing your house from here." From what I can tell the Ministry of Magic will not have any views of the park, guests, or anything outside. Some of the coolest things about some of my favorite rides are the outdoor elements.

Another element is the real life cast member interactions, I feel for them having to react to every scene over and over again, but they probably rotate rides. Universal really needs to have rides with cast members again. That was Universals whole angle back in the day. Disney had dumb mascots running around and Universal had people and not costumes. Put a cast member on the Ministry of Magic Ride while there is still time..... I don't want a rote experience. If they aren't on the ride vehicle put them in a scene, something!!. T

he only outlier for totally being indoors is probably King Kong but that didn't even make my top 10. Here are my top 10 experiences at a theme park (in order):

1. Jaws. Night ride. Daytime. Rainy day. Good skipper. Great skipper. Other peoples' reactions.
2. Twilight Tower of Terror. How do we end up on the first floor so quick and we were just right there.
3. Cheetah Hunt. Acceleration and a trip.
4. Pipeline. I remember when I was finally tall enough for a standup coaster. This is a hefty upgrade sense.
5. Journey to Atlantis. Why don't more water-coasters exist and why wasn't the full potential reached.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy. I was able to resist the POV videos and thoroughly enjoyed everything including the excitement of getting my virtual queue tickets (not an endorsement for virtual queue but I made the entire trip for this ride... I'm pissed because I actually had to make 2 separate trips to Orlando to get to ride Tron because of virtual queue BS) and the music. Just finished the video game before the trip.
7. Big Bad Wolf. Swing coaster that is quite simplistic and short but was an amazing ride. They should have canned Loch Ness instead.
8. Volcano the Blast Coaster. I think I waited 2.5 hours for this once. Was definitely one of a kind for its time.
9. Test Track. I drove faster than this to get to the park but it just feels so rad driving through a damn parking lot at that speed. I need to get a convertible.
10. Manta. Ever since I was kid I wanted to fly. This that. Some of these sensations from the elements in this ride are new to me. Besides LSM launches nothing new has really blown away (Pantheon is awesome but is a 1/10 for theming).

I don't think this going to be a similar ride system to Tower of Terror. From what I have read in the rumor mill and from what I can see from the concept art, it seems it will be a plussed version of the Spiderman/Transformers/Jurassic World vehicles. More similar to Jurassic World than the other two. But this one will have the ability to lift up and down as it progresses a typical dark ride track layout. I'm imagining something like a scissor lift attached to a dark ride vehicle.

I've also heard rumors there will be an encounter with a large magical creature/fantastic beast AA that will chase the vehicle, a la the Indominous Rex chase in the Jurassic World ride. Lending more credence to this being closer to that ride system than a ToT/drop ride system.

I think it's pretty clear from the descriptions and concept drawings that this attraction is going to somewhat similar to DHS's ToT, but I think there's been a massive leap in technology since the original ToT opened 30 years ago. As such, I really think that while the basic premise of this attraction will be similar, the motions and overall experience will be very different because of the likely smoother transitions and better technology throughout. Don't get me wrong, that first time you rode ToT when the vehicle moves forward through the 5th Dimension room and when Disney introduced random drop sequences the to tower portion of the ride will always be vivid memories. However, I think what this ride will be able to do will be like what RotR did to motion base dark rides. Speaking of what is regarded as the best dark ride in the world, I think this new HP ride will be similar to the Star Wars ride in that it will utilize multiple phases and/or ride systems to create an overall experience. There are so many concept photos here of various locations guests will visit throughout the queue that there must be some show or experience that occurs along the way (similar to the elevator on Gringott's).

When it comes to the drop being fully enclosed, I don't think it makes a lick of difference. Honestly, the doors opening on ToT do absolutely nothing to me in terms of making it feel bigger or better. The fact that the system can pull you down faster than gravity negates the height somewhat already, and the advances in technology can replicate the look and feel of being outside as much as a set of randomly opening and closing doors. I'll use the example of RotR again where the drop portion of the ride doesn't move more than 20 feet, but screens and motions inside the drop mechanism, make it feel like your falling much further. The same goes for Transformers where if you didn't know it, you would never believe that the ride vehicle takes 2 elevator trips during the course of the ride. The seamlessness of those transitions is the kind of "magic" I expect to see in this new ride, and this sounds very much like one of those attractions where you step off for the first time trying to figure out how they did it with a big "WOW" factor.

When it comes to the setting of this attraction, I do think UC have had to make some tweaks as the location of this attraction (originally slotted for the Fear Factor theater) and the changes in setting in the Fantastic Beasts universe, are a natural function of the lengthy development process for this ride. Also, let's not forget that Universal is only licensing the HP IP, so they have ZERO control over what WB does with the franchise in the theaters, nor what the creator does on her social media. UC can only work with the material that exists in the Wizarding world and what Ms. Rowling will approve. This attraction appears to still be grounded in the Fantastic Beasts world that was originally intended, and maybe, just maybe, connect the two distinct franchises more elegantly than anything Rowling has attempted to do in prose.

Strongly disagree about being indoors. Sure 30 years is a long time for advancements. But Ministry at most is going to be Body Wars without a screen. Skull island on a Spiderman ride system with King Kong upside down scissoring features. Maybe like Resistance when you drop into spaceflight (admittedly cool) and Runaway Railway when youre rafting down the river. But NOTHING will beat walking up to tower of terror seeing other victims experience the ride and knowing you will be up there. These boring indoor dark rides do have the element of surprise for a first time ride and maybe with the way ticketing will work this may be a once in a lifetime experience but most dark rides have ZERO (what we call replayabilty and randomization in the videogame world and why people get addicted to them) and no matter how great this ride is this will be a 1 or 2 time experience that diminishes every time. For reference i took a tour of verboltens track drop and its unimpressive when ridden (probably in comparison to tower of terror... equally unimpressed with Hagrids) but its actually physically 25 feet. If both of those had been outside that would be terrifiying. Sure screen effects will make it feel some kind of way but if they dont let people in the queue see me and me them then the build up an anticipation cant be there. Sure being in VR and stepping off the Chrysler building is compelling but Tower of Terror is a pure and simplistic ride that is unmatchable and calling the Ministery ride a plussing of that is insulting and frankly impossible... without the outdoor elment. 100% missed opportunity especially with such a beautiful setting. Weak arguments will say "wait and see." 30 years versus convoluted story with who knows who getting a mcguffin for that guy i recognize on syndicated tv... wasnt he on dancing with stars?

I can see where you're coming from @puckpilgrim, but you can't honestly say that an enclosed drop like the one on Verbolten would be more exciting/thrilling if guests could see how far (or how little) the drop is. That's actually the beauty of ToT, because while those doors open to show guests how high they are when they're at the top, many of the drops do not traverse the full length of the shaft. If ToT was completely open like a traditional drop tower, the illusion of making that full drop would be lost.

That's exactly why you enclose a drop, because you want guests to think it's bigger than it is, and I would expect Universal to do the same thing here, particularly since most of the attractions at Epic are smaller in stature to keep each individual portal more immersive since you won't be able to see structures in other parts of the park.

Frankly, I think the doors on ToT do more for guests NOT riding the attraction, because it allows guests nearby to hear the screams from guests on the ride. In fact, I would say that GotG:MB is just as good on the actual ride, especially with the various ride programs and videos that play inside the shaft compared to what ToT does in Florida. The original is still the best version of the attraction, but that's solely because of the 5th Dimension room and overall Twilight Zone theming that I prefer to the GotG overlay. I expect Epic's attraction will take the concepts and principles introduced by ToT to completely new levels, and I wouldn't be surprised if Universal utilizes some multiple paths to bring some unpredictability and re-rideability to the attraction. FWIW, I've probably ridden Forbidden Journey and Gringott's (and their otherwise static experiences) a couple of dozen times each, and they're both still great, not one-and-done like you're suggesting where dark rides are becoming boring on the 3rd of 4th time through. Spiderman is still as good the 50th time I rode it as it was the first, even though I could recite the dialogue from memory and know exactly when each of the effects are triggered.

Forbidden Journey was main reason to go to Universal last year. That ride was the biggest letdown of the entire trip. I didnt mention this before but not being OUTSIDE ON QUIDITCH pitch is highly dissapointing.

Gringots having a tilting drop was neat but i feel like there are only 200 (two hundred) feet of track basically being a 3 story attraction or basically double the height of the mummy, fun but also not a must do coasters. If Im seeing a track i want a physical experience. Trackless then give me a show. Again the overall theme here is i like being outside.

Theme parks are parks first. Lush verdant greenery and if you can use natural landscaping (or forced like Hagrids and Jurrasic World) enhances your score for me intensely. There is a glass ceiling to my scoring if the ride cant be expeirenced differently based on time of day. After doing the Last Of Us house last year i prioritized my haunted houses by the wrong metric. This year im only waiting for outdoor mazes or houses that have an outdoors. This chat has solidified that for me.

Space mountain at Disneyland Paris better for it. The only time where an outdoor element of sinilar ride system loses to fully indoor for me is Runaway Railroad over Rise of Resistance.

I think Tower if Terror could be upgrade with a simple lighting package tied to the numbering the floors. A force perspecitive (queued to the randomizer) could display all 13 floor numberings on the wall. If i fall from 13 and watch the numbers go down to 5 or 3. Then rapidly climb to 13. I think the 5th (4th) dimension is actually the worst part of the ride. Im highly curious to see what a ToT upgrade looks like. As far as guardians is concerned im making a trip to california just for that. If they dont have doors that open at the top id rather ride something else. But sure the imagineers could have modified those doors and closed them if they thought it would make the ride better. I'm excited how they make the ride's pitch that we are seeing Disneyland California adventure live and in person.... from a dizzying height as part of their ride. Guess Universal missed the memo.