A SIDETRIP FROM
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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure |
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Dragon Challenge at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Florida is in the news this week. The steel coaster with two interlaced tracks will close forever on September 4, 2017. A new Harry Potter-themed attraction will take its place in 2019. The details are still secret. The original Wizarding World of Harry Potter, with a highly detailed environment based on a single popular movie franchise, changed what guests expect from theme parks. Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida took it to the next level. Disney followed the same model with Cars Land and Pandora – The World of Avatar. Expectations are high for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is coming to two Disney parks. In this world, Dragon Challenge became an anomaly—a steel coaster only “themed” through its name and queue, essentially in the tradition of a Six Flags thrill ride. Six years ago, on July 15, 2011, I wrote an article with my reaction to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter during its first year. It was not a typical Yesterland topic, but the new land was such a milestone in theme park history. Today, I’m republishing the same article.
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Simulated moss on a simulated rock cliff |
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[originally published July 15, 2011] “Attention to detail.” “Immersive environments.” “We’re storytellers.” If you follow the theme park industry, you’re aware of these catchphrases. Ever since Disneyland’s original lands and attractions opened in 1955, themed attraction designers have looked for opportunities to take the guest experience to the next level. Sometimes they are successful. Other times, inadequate budgets or poor executive decisions get in the way. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida succeeds brilliantly. The details have been executed with incredible skill and creativity. Guests are immersed in the world of J.K. Rowling’s books and the Warner Bros. movies based on those books. And guests participate in the story as they explore the nooks and crannies of the 20-acre masterpiece. I intentionally chose the photo of the simulated moss to begin this article. Compare the details in the photo with artificial stone that you’ve seen elsewhere. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 The wizarding village of Hogsmeade |
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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter officially opened June 18, 2010 (after a limited soft opening at the beginning of the month). Perhaps you’ve been there. If not, you’ve probably read about it. So I won’t describe all the details to you, but I’ll give you my reaction to the three rides—and to the best part of this park-within-a-park.
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Flight of the Hippogriff |
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The three rides all fall under the category of thrill ride, but they’re quite different from each other. Flight of the Hippogriff is the type of roller coaster that serious roller coaster aficionados call a kiddie coaster, but that I would call a family coaster. I enjoyed the one-minute ride with my wife, even though we didn’t have any children with us. The view of Hogsmeade from the top is great—that’s where the second photo in this article came from—and there are decorations in the queue and on the ride based on Hagrid and his magical creatures. The drops and turns are fun rather than terrifying. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2003 Flying Unicorn (2003 photo) |
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Flight of the Hippogriff opened as the Flying Unicorn in June 2000, a year after the opening of Islands of Adventure. The odd-looking trains consisted of armor-plated carts with a unicorn horn on the front car. An elaborate backstory explained how an ancient wizard had assembled the carts from knights’ armor and scraps of wood from magical castles—and how the carts came to life when he placed the unicorn horn on the head. I like the wicker basket look of the Flight of the Hippogriff trains much better. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Dragon Challenge |
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The next thrill ride goes back to the 1999 opening of Islands of Adventure. Originally Dueling Dragons, it’s now Dragon Challenge. The trains of the twin-track, inverted roller coaster represent two dragons, a Chinese Fireball and a Hungarian Horntail. I never wanted to go on Dueling Dragons and I didn’t want to go on Dragon Challenge either. There are people who love this kind of super thrill ride, but I’m not one of them. However, I walked the queue for Dragon Challenge until just before the boarding platform. It’s a nice walk, especially if the ride is a walk-on and you don’t have to wait behind guests wanting to board the ride. Among other things, you’ll see the crashed Ford Anglia (but why isn’t the Whomping Willow here?), the Goblet of Fire, and the Triwizard Cup. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 Dueling Dragons (2000 photo) |
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Dragon Challenge is a bare steel ride. It still looks like Dueling Dragons, including the colors of the supports, tracks, and trains. Beyond the queue, there doesn’t seem to be any Harry Potter magic. (Of course, I’m making this observation as a spectator, not as a rider.) The ride is visible from parts of Hogsmeade and detracts from the fantasy of being in the wizard village. The ride is an ever-present reminder that you’re in a park that built its reputation primarily with thrills, not with storytelling. I wonder how much of the 20-acre Wizarding World this ride takes up? Still, it makes sense that they kept the ride. It was already there. It represented a huge capital investment when it was built, and it’s still a well-liked ride. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Hogwarts Castle, home of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey |
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That brings us to the third ride: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It’s an attraction that attracts adjectives such as amazing, awesome, state-of-the-art, and cutting-edge. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Two winged boars guarding the gates of Hogwarts |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Entering the long queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Warning! |
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Before my first visit to The Wizarding World, I asked a woman at the park gate about the motion on Forbidden Journey. “There are some rides that I don’t handle well,” I explained. “Over at Disney, I’m okay on Star Tours, but I had to sit down for 20 minutes after Body Wars. I can’t go on Mad Tea Party. Here at Islands of Adventure, I do fine on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.” “You should be okay then,” she replied. “Forbidden Journey is about the same intensity as Spider-Man.” Hoping that she was right, I looked forward to the ride. A sign at the ride entrance suggested I might be making a mistake. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger |
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I entered the queue. The sign said the wait would be 10 minutes. The queue is a walk-through of Hogwarts Castle, complete with visits to Madame Sprout’s greenhouse, Headmaster Dumbledore’s office (where he invites us to hear a lecture about the history of Hogwarts), and the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom (where Harry, Ron, and Hermione suggest something that would be more fun than a lecture). I let people go ahead of me rather than racing through. I wanted to enjoy the “show.” |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Gallery with oil paintings that move |
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As queues go, this might be the most intricate, detailed, and entertaining theme park attraction queue ever (even including Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland). Of course, it’s still a queue, with some long hallways and sections of switchbacks. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Sorting Hat |
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The final location in the queue before boarding was the Sorting Hat. Rather than assigning riders to the Houses of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin, the animatronic Sorting Hat gave a safety spiel (“and so the Hogwarts Sorting Hat tells all you need to know”). Time to board. I hoped this would not be a mistake. First, let me share this description from an official press kit fact sheet: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey draws guests into the excitement and chaos of Harry’s life. Guests travel through the Floo network and begin the adventure as they soar over Hogwarts, narrowly escape a dragon attack, have a close encounter with the Whomping Willow, get pulled into a Quidditch match and more. The combination of pioneering, state-of-the-art technology, innovative filmmaking and surprises around every corner encapsulates some of the incredible drama in the Harry Potter stories—and make this attraction the future of theme park entertainment. That’s not quite how I remember it. I remember swerving very rapidly through a few scenes. Then I remember thinking that the motion was far more intense than Spider-Man, and that it would be a good idea to close my eyes, relax, and tune out as much as possible. I think the ride lasts around four minutes, but these were the longest four minutes. I was looking forward to getting off. I hoped that my breakfast would stay inside me (fortunately, it did). I staggered over to Jurassic Park and waited until I felt better. Yes, it was my own fault. I knew the motion might be a problem. I ignored the sign. I deserved what I got. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Motion sickness medication |
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A few weeks later I was back in Florida, this time with my wife. Our plans included The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I told my wife that she would have to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey without me. I wasn’t happy. By all accounts, Forbidden Journey is the greatest achievement in immersive theme park entertainment and a bellwether of the future of attractions. And I’m a theme park historian fascinated by the past, present, and future of themed entertainment. I wanted to experience it—and not with my eyes closed. I had an idea. If motion sickness medication works for boats and ships, maybe it would work for Forbidden Journey. We stopped at a drug store on the way to the park. I followed the instructions and hoped for the best. This time, I was able to keep my eyes open during the whole ride. I was flying along with Harry Potter and other characters, through big stage sets and facing movie screens that gave the feeling of great speed. There wasn’t any time to enjoy the details. The emphasis was on fast, fast, fast in a dark and scary world. The ride was okay. I was a bit dizzy when it was over, but I felt much better than the first time. [Disclaimer: Take the motion sickness warning seriously. The medication worked for me, but there’s no guarantee it will work for someone else.] The technology that makes Forbidden Journey possible is amazing, but I can think of a lot of attractions that I enjoy more—at Disney parks and at Universal parks. The technology of a boat floating through a flume is primitive compared to the whiz-bang KUKA robotic arm technology that Forbidden Journey uses, but I think that Pirates of the Caribbean, which has been around since spring of 1967, is still a better attraction. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Hogsmeade |
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So what is the best attraction at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter? It’s not any of the three thrill rides. It’s the village of Hogsmeade. That’s where the attention to detail, immersive environment, and storytelling provide a theme park experience unmatched anywhere else. |
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© 2011-2017 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated July 25, 2017.
HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. |
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, Curator of Yesterland, July 25, 2017
