| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
GenericName
Joined: 21 Feb 2009
Posts: 1630
Location: ¯\(°_o)/¯
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 2:22 pm Post subject: Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter |
 |
|
So I just got back from a vacation to Orlando that I took in order to see Universal Studios' new Harry Potter area that opened last month. I thought it was really amazing - Pretty much everything about it was really authentic to the Harry Potter series. I really only had two disappointments with the attraction. The first thing was the lines. They were incredibly long, and there was a line for pretty much everything. I spent two hours in line just to go buy a wand. Not that I minded, of course, but that's a bit ridiculous. The other thing was the fact that everything I had read or heard about the attraction made it seem like you could look around the giant replica of Hogwarts' Castle they had made, when really you could just go through two or three rooms in it as your waited in line for the ride within the castle. That ride was amazing though, I spent more than an hour in line each time I went on it though. But it was worth the wait every time to go on the ride. It would take too long to type out a description of the ride, so I'll just end here.
Has anyone else from scorehero been to this place?
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
RichardGHP
Joined: 01 May 2009
Posts: 2327
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
All I can say is that I've been to Universal Studios Hollywood and I know exactly what you mean with the long waiting lines. >.>
What's the ride like, exactly? Is it fast? Slow? How long is it? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
FreeXBird
Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 2485
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| im not a huge fan of harry potter, but would it be worth it to go on it for the ride rather than interest in harry potter? (like would a roller coaster fan who doesn't like harry potter still have fun?) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Raikri999
Joined: 12 Jan 2008
Posts: 1573
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| FreeXBird wrote: | | im not a huge fan of harry potter, but would it be worth it to go on it for the ride rather than interest in harry potter? (like would a roller coaster fan who doesn't like harry potter still have fun?) |
You'd like the big ride there, not Dueling Dragons 2.0, where it's pretty cool for a simulator type ride. Actually, really cool. However that's the only thing you'll like, if you haven't been on Dueling Dragons before.
I really didn't like it, excludding the large Harry Potter ride. I thought it was really good, compared to everything else there which was about meh. My idea to cut lines is to do everything else in the park(S, admission allows you to go to both parks), and then come back around 5-6ish. The lines will still be long, but much shorter. To give you an estimate, the Wand Shop will have lines of about 2.5 hours rather than the regular, and yes they said this, 4 hours. I obv.didn't do it.
The new Universal Studios Rollercoaster is much better than the Harry Potter area, in my opinion, not to too off topic. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
clawmaster2
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
Posts: 2245
Location: Fairfield, California
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Oh, please do explain more.
My best friends are HUUUUUUUUUUUGE HP fans, and wanna go to this place incredibad. They'd like a nice description of favorite things, all this and that. Then they can bask in joy and then envy about how you were there
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
GenericName
Joined: 21 Feb 2009
Posts: 1630
Location: ¯\(°_o)/¯
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 12:06 am Post subject: |
|
|
| RichardGHP wrote: |
What's the ride like, exactly? Is it fast? Slow? How long is it? |
Well, you sit down in this thing and you get the big guard thing pulled down on your for safety, then you get pulled over to the left to start the ride. (You are being carried from on top so you are just sort of floating there. You can't see anyone else who is riding the ride.) It's not a roller coaster or anything, but it's not like a normal simulation ride. It gets moved around to feel like you are flying all over the place, but you don't actually move around THAT much, just sort of along a track at points? Sort of hard to explain. What you see changes from sort of a screen to actual stuff throughout the ride.
Actual description of what happens during the ride, to the best of my memory -
You start off following Harry and Hermione on their brooms, swooping along around the castle, around big rocks and stuff. Really exciting and fast feeling, although you aren't really moving much. Hagrid has lost his dragon, so it appears and starts chasing you. The ride starts to actually move (instead of just feeling like you are moving) and you see the dragon and stuff, and it breathes "fire" on you (really just some smoke and a red light). Next part is the spider part. I had my eyes closed most of the time during this part, but there were lots of huge spiders all over the place and I'm scared of spiders. They spit on you, so you get sprayed with a little bit of water here. You then end up at the quidditch place and swoop around with harry while Draco tries to knock you off the broom. That part is another screen part that just moves you around in place but feels no different than the rest of the ride. Then some dementors come and attack Harry, and you go through another dark area with Dementors that pop up and stuff. Lots of moving around, pretty fun. After that you end up back at the castle after a bit more swooping around. Then you are in Hogwarts and people are congratulating you as the ride ends. Lasts about 4 1/2 to 5 minutes.
| FreeXBird wrote: | | im not a huge fan of harry potter, but would it be worth it to go on it for the ride rather than interest in harry potter? (like would a roller coaster fan who doesn't like harry potter still have fun?) |
I would say it wouldn't be worth it for the ride I just described, but apparently the "Dragon Challenge" is a pretty fast roller coaster. I didn't go on it, so I dunno.
| clawmaster2 wrote: | Oh, please do explain more.
My best friends are HUUUUUUUUUUUGE HP fans, and wanna go to this place incredibad. They'd like a nice description of favorite things, all this and that. Then they can bask in joy and then envy about how you were there |
OK, well Hogsmead looks pretty similar to what you see in the movies, so it's quite awesome. You can buy butterbeer pretty much anywhere around the park, and it seems to be quite popular, I wasn't like OMG BEST DRINK EVAR about it, but it was pretty good. The friend I brought to the park had 6 pints of it though, so apparently some people like it. It tastes sort of like rootbeer, but with a much stronger, buttery taste. The froth on top tastes like butterscotch candy. A pretty tasty drink. When you first go in, you see the Hogwarts Express, or at least part of it, but it's not much more than decoration.
The Owl Post is close to that, but I didn't go in there, so I guess you can just mail stuff. I first real shop is Honeyduke's/Zonko's. Honeyduke's looked cool, but was missing a few candy things mentioned in the books/films. Other than that it's pretty good as far as candy shops go, and has tons of Harry Potter candies. Some of it is ridiculously overpriced though... Chocolate Frogs are $10 each. They are quite big though. Zonko's, the joke shop, was incredibly disappointing. Of course, most of the stuff they were supposed to have there wouldn't be physically possible, so I guess it makes sense that there was almost nothing worth buying there. So yeah, nothing of any interest there.
The line for Olivander's, which I waited in for two hours, was largely pointless, as you can get into the shop where you actually buy the wands through another shop. You just get to go into the replica of the movie set for a few minutes if you wait in the long line. They basically replicate the scene where Harry gets his wand in the first movie with a randomly chosen person from the group in the shop, and then you move on to the actual place where you buy things. The shop that is connected to Olivander's is Dervish and Banges. You can buy some clothes and other souvenirs in there, such as some Hogwarts house themed robes for $100. I bought a Hogwarts glass. That shop is connected to Olivander's, so you can get wands there also.
There is the Three Broomsticks and The Hog's Head where you can get food and drinks, and they are also connected. The food at the Three Broomsticks was surprisingly VERY good compared to most theme park food. Really great food there. Also a partial replica of what you see in the movies of the two places.
The other ride of the Flight of the Hippogriff. It's a really enjoyable, not too fast, not too slow, rollercoaster type thing. The line moves quickly there because the ride is so short - I went on it three times in about 45 minutes at one point, which is realllly fast cmpared to pretty much everything else there.
Also see my description of the castle ride (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) higher up in the post.
I'll post more if I think of more.
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ready2rock
Joined: 25 Aug 2007
Posts: 1738
Location: somewhere in this vast universe
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
Really hoping to go there sometime soon, as I am a huge HP fan. It sounds really good (from what I've heard, I didn't read your review of the Forbidden Journey ride because I don't want to be spoiled).
_________________
 
 
REREAD YOUR POSTS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT THEM!!!
Posts that win: this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this whole thread, this, these, this, this |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Copyright © 2006-2025 ScoreHero, LLC
|
Powered by phpBB
|
![Inbox [ Login ]](templates/subSilver/images/icon_mini_message.gif){kind=icon}
Inbox [ Login ]
Search
Memberlist
Profile
Log in
