At the top of Hogsmeade high street towers Hogwarts Castle. It’s a vast structure, made to look even vaster by clever painting techniques that make the top look even further from the eye than it really is. It’s home to the headline ride, The Forbidden Journey.
The journey starts in the queue itself – a good thing too, as queues are initially likely to be long. The queue snakes through the dark halls of the castle, passing portraits on the walls that come alive and talk to one another.
Hyper-real holographs of the characters in the films welcome visitors – from Dumbledore in his office to Harry, Ron and Hermione in the Defence of the Dark Arts Classroom.
After passing the Sorting Hat, it’s finally time to get on the ride in the Room of Requirement, where hundreds of candles float above your head.
Riders board in groups of four, but once you’re locked down into your seat you can’t see anyone else and it’s easy to become completely absorbed in the experience.
A seamless mix of real action and clever simulation, The Forbidden Journey is a stunning experience, and definitely the closest any of us will ever come to feeling what it’s actually like to live in the world of Harry Potter.
You soar above Hogwarts and sweep down to hide among its turrets as a dragon attacks. After narrowly missing being scorched by its fiery breath, and being whisked around by the Whomping Willow tree, you’re zooming around playing Quidditch, before finally facing the terrifying Dementors.
The Forbidden Journey has taken the kind of techniques used in Universal’s earlier Spiderman and Simpsons rides and runs with them. This is more absorbing, more realistic, and more thrilling than ever.
Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, explains that the ride has broken barriers when it comes to range of motion and proximity, allowing the designers to immerse riders in the experience. “Increased range of motion allowed us to create the freedom of flight, and closer proximity means you can get right up to things like the Dementors – it takes your breath away.”
While riders are flung around a bit, this isn’t a rollercoaster and doesn’t go upside down, so it’s not too much for the faint of heart or weak of stomach to take on.
However, it is really convincing, so younger family members could be frightened. There is a height limit for the ride, and as a rule of thumb I would tell parents that if they thought their children were old enough to see the films, they should be able to handle it.
Other rides
Dragon Challenge
Dragon ChallengeThe second ride is a rebrand of the former Duelling Dragons rollercoaster, now known as Dragon Challenge, and is themed around the Triwizard Tournament, which featured in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Guests can choose between the two rollercoasters that intertwine, and at certain points feel like they might collide.
Recommend guests who love thrills sit at the front of the blue Hungarian Horntail coaster for views, and at the back of the red Chinese Fireball for the most vigorous bone-shaking.
Both these rides go upside down and are perfect for white-knuckle thrillseekers.
The Flight of the Hippogriff
The Flight of the HippogriffThe third ride, the Flight of the Hippogriff, is also a re-theming, this time of the former Flying Unicorn ride.
This is a great coaster for kids or more sedate visitors, with a gentler but still thrilling route and nice touches for fans.
Riders pass Hagrid’s Hut as they board the ride and hear his voice telling them how to approach a Hippogriff – which they view on its nest as the ride begins.
