TR: Wizarding World of Harry Potter 6/1

[Delirium_Guy]

As everyone knows, Universal began to do soft openings of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for Resort Guests. People crowded by the gates of Hogsmeade, hoping that regular day guests would be allowed in. This wasn’t the case for Memorial Day weekend and I was beginning to lose hope of getting to check it out before driving up to Ohio and Indiana for Holiwood Nights. My luck changed though on Tuesday, as I received a text message from a friend that works for Universal. He told me that it’d probably be a good idea if I were at the IOA gates by 9AM. SO I jumped out of bed and ran right over. Much to my delight, as I strolled through the gates, a line team members were greeting guests at the front and telling us all that Wizarding World would be open for preview until 10AM. Whoo hoo! So….a few points.

· Walking into Hogsmeade is nothing short of spectacular. The quaintness of the shops, the level of detail, the music, smells. I was completely overwhelmed.

· The shops are small, no, TINY. They definitely chose form over function. Each shop has its own personality and line of unique merchandise. I was floored with the variety of merchandise that they’ve created for the locations. Prices are varied. Most of the shirts started around $24.95, with the nicer polo style shirts coming in at close to $60. No doubt, one of the top sellers are the replica wands from the Harry Potter characters…selling for $24.95-$28.95. I saw people purchasing 5 or 6 different ones. You do the math. Hopefully with the soft openings, Universal will devise a plan to accommodate the massive crowds that will soon descend upon WWoHP ….cause its going to be ugly.

· Butterbeer is delicious! So is the pumpkin juice!

· Dragons Challenge is the most disappointing aspect of the entire project. What was arguably once the best themed que is now a shadow of its former self. Very minimal theming within the castle itself, with the exception of the Tri-Wizard Champion Tent that is set up in the first room. Gone are the beautiful stained glass windows that once graced the castle. L Cool projections in the station itself though, silhouettes of the dragons fighting are projected on the ceiling that used to portray the battle of Fire and Ice.

· Flight of the Hippogriff. Nice to have this open again. Forgot that they have two trains for this guy. Efficient operation with both, no stacking which is quite impressive. Hagrid’s Hut was super cool, but most impressive was Buckbeak. Laying in his nest, positioned by the base of the lift hill, Buckbeak is there to greet each train as he bows his head down while you pass by.

· Hogwarts is unreal. After seeing this baby being built for the last 3 years, it was so wonderful to finally get up close and personal with it. It looks absolutely massive when you are entering the gates and standing underneath it. The que is beautiful. Littered with so many tiny details that they are far too many to mention here. The talking portraits blew me away, they have an oily texture to them which really make them look authentic. They are scattered all over the second level of the que and help tell the story behind the castle and Harry. They continue to actually give you the safety instructions prior to boarding the ride.

· Dumbledore’s office was stunning, but we’ve seen video and pictures prior to the previews. He makes his appearance thanks for the same technology that allows Christopher Walken to visit us at Disaster. Such a cool effect. It is used in the next room as well, the Defense of the Dark Arts classroom where Harry, Ron and Hermoine show up. At one point, they perform a spell which makes it snow inside the que. From here, you meander down a hall way to Gryffindor Common Room which is the final room before loading the ride.

· A second test seat has been installed after Gryffindor Common Room and they are ensuring that if there is anyone that appears to be questionable to fit, they must try the seat before proceeding

· Forbidden Journey itself, WOW. Right from the beginning, it is impressive from all aspects. The loading area is quite clever. The vehicles are incredibly large, in fact you are riding through the show scenes and such around 25 feet in the air…..however prior to boarding guests will never know exactly what they are climbing board. Thanks to a mirrored wall that extends down behind the benches themselves, you have zero view of the Kuka Robotic Arm….just see the benches floating down the Great Hall.

· The ride is the next generation Spiderman. It’s a great mix of live action screens, blended seamlessly with rich, detailed heavily themed scenes with several fantastic animatronics. Due to the motions that the vehicle engages in, you truly have no sense of surrounding. One minute you are on your back, the next you are nearly face first. The animatronics are well executed and work well with the motion of the benches. In particular, the Whomping Willow and Dementor animatronics were incredible…the Dementors are actually attached to Kuka arms themselves, so you can only imagine the motions that they are going through. There is just so much going on at all times, you are constantly trying to find a focal point….only to be startled by something popping out or jumping up. Amazing, simply amazing. The ride really isn’t intense, but that’s ok as it serves its purpose well…immersing guests into the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermoine.

· The overall story of the ride is somewhat disjointed. It is really a mash up of some of the more popular events from the movies, there really isn’t a definitive storyline other than following Harry around on his random adventures. With that said, it works and it works well. The attraction as a whole is just so incredibly well done, rivaling the Mouse down the road in every sense of the word.

Hats off to Universal for bringing The Wizarding World to life, it really is breathtaking. No doubt, this is going to be a grand slam for them. Even if the popularity of Potter dies off after a few years, which I just don’t think will happen, Universal will have already reaped the handsome rewards that this investment is going to bring them. I plan to go back once I get back to Orlando on Friday to try to catch some of the smaller things that I missed. I had 2 hours in the area, but I still feel like there wasn’t enough time for me to check out each little detail and really spend quality time taking it all in. You’re going to need to allow yourself a fairly large chunk of your day at IOA to fully appreciate and enjoy The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

- Todd

[HTCO]

Very Nice TR. Good read. Your so luck to have ridden the Forbidden Journey, this indeed makes me excited for my November Trip!

[Dbfan]

Glad to hear it turned out so great. About how long is the Forbidden Journey?

[Delirium_Guy]

Glad to hear it turned out so great. About how long is the Forbidden Journey?

To be honest, I really wasn't paying attention....I was so engrossed in everything else. Its reported to be around 4 minutes in length though.

[Avatar]

Thanks Todd for your time in sharing with us your first hand adventure with the biggest and most anticipated addition to the theme park industry. Your detailed report was worth the wait, you seem to know how to get us even more excited about coming down to see it ourselves. Looks like IOA will have another #1 dark ride attraction for many years to come. The thing that I am picking up on in your report is that overall you seem to be extremely impressed and that coming from someone who has been around the business and travels regularly to keep up with the latest, I have read most of your reports and you always seem to try to be both fair and to the point. This is great news indeed.

BTW it was very nice to see you at HWHN over the weekend and I just loved the light show you guys put on. I think if you pitched that idea to Cedar Fair you could finance even the most imaginative coaster tour ever. I mean seriously I would buy those to put on for our group. Great idea. I look forward to more updates about Harry Potter from you if you feel there is more to share, in the meantime welcome home and stay safe during your travels.

[Delirium_Guy]

Thanks Todd for your time in sharing with us your first hand adventure with the biggest and most anticipated addition to the theme park industry. Your detailed report was worth the wait, you seem to know how to get us even more excited about coming down to see it ourselves. Looks like IOA will have another #1 dark ride attraction for many years to come. The thing that I am picking up on in your report is that overall you seem to be extremely impressed and that coming from someone who has been around the business and travels regularly to keep up with the latest, I have read most of your reports and you always seem to try to be both fair and to the point. This is great news indeed.

BTW it was very nice to see you at HWHN over the weekend and I just loved the light show you guys put on. I think if you pitched that idea to Cedar Fair you could finance even the most imaginative coaster tour ever. I mean seriously I would buy those to put on for our group. Great idea. I look forward to more updates about Harry Potter from you if you feel there is more to share, in the meantime welcome home and stay safe during your travels.

Thank you for the compliment, Jesse! I try to look at things from different perspectives when I ride them and like to give credit where due. I'm definitely impressed with it and feel it has been worth the long wait. It is clear that they took their time with the project and paid close attention to even the smallest of details. Their hardwork clearly shows.

It was definitely a pleasure to see you again at Holiwood Nights! Can't believe how fierce all 3 coasters were running for the event! Hahaha, glad you enjoyed our light show. It was really random that we bought those, but turned out to be so much fun :-) I still crack up laughing thinking about it. Such an amazing weekend, sad to see it end! Back to Orlando I go on Thursday though!

- Todd