So, after five years of planning and nearly $300 million in spending, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is finally open at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park. Finally, we have a theme park addition that looks like the money that was spent on it. Disney’s upcoming Fantasyland expansion amounts to not much more than adding a new couch and re-arranging the furniture, but Universal’s latest addition — which we’ll refer to as WWoHP — is more like a full-blown barn-raising, and considering the Harry Potter movie series is on track to be the most successful film franchise of all time, it stands to be a good long-term investment for Universal which, like Disney, banks on classic characters.
So. What’s great about the Wizarding World?
1) Ground-breaking ride
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey’s technology isn’t something Universal’s honchos like to discuss. They prefer to focus on the “storytelling,” but for me, the real story is the inventive ride system.
Four-person “benches” are affixed to the end of robot arms that travel on a track through a cavernous building. The ride transitions between the sensation of flying through a movie (think Disney’s “Soarin'”) and the close proximity of a real dark ride (a dragon blowing hot air, spiders spitting, a massive tree bowing over you as you ride on your back).
2) Wait? What wait?
Universal expects lines to be as awesome as the ride, which is why it has put so much effort into making its line (which it calls the “Castle tour”) as diverting as possible. Universal was the pioneer in streamlining its queue process so guests always feel entertained (and stay mostly indoors) while they wait, and Forbidden Journey is the best design yet. The technology behind cracked oil-painting portraits that come alive and argue with each other may become commonplace in a few years, but right now, it’s something makes you wish you could stay in line rather than get on the ride.
3) Genius merchandising
Universal has created a host of souvenirs based off the Harry Potter world. It’s a stroke of marketing brilliance to make Butterbeer this summer’s must-try beverage — that you can only buy after paying for a ticket to the park. What else? Omnoculars, Golden Snitches, Sneakoscopes, and Hogwarts scarves, tees, pillows and patches in a full array of colors (for Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Griffyndor). Again, you have to come here to get any of it.
4) Stop-and-gawk architecture
Is there a straight edge anywhere? Chimneys slump, buildings sag. Yet it’s all waterproof and hurricane resistant. Kids will feel like they’re walking into a storybook, with nothing to break the illusion (even the bathrooms are “Public Conveniences). Architects, though, may spend a while just admiring how the designers were able to replicate the film version of Potter so convincingly while still weaving in mundane needs like electricity and air conditioning. The snow clings to the eaves, and even melts in spots, despite the brutality of the Florida sun. (Let’s hope it keeps its blinding hue after three or four summers.)
5) Spectacular details
In years of reporting on the industry, I haven’t seen a park in the United States as well-themed as Islands of Adventure, and Wizarding World is now its crown jewel. It really looks like it’s been there for centuries: mossy stone walls, the green streaks left by aging bronze pig statues, rust stains on a conservatory canopy over a ride queue — all of it totally fake and absolutely convincing, laid there by a human artist. The only park that comes close in frivolous detailing is Disney’s Tokyo DisneySea, but the Mouse hasn’t given us anything so elaborate Stateside.
What we don’t like so much.
1) The prices
The numbers don’t lie: $27 tee-shirts, more than $10 for a mug of Butterbeer, $6.25 for a serving of Pumpkin Juice, and over $30, including tax, for one of nearly two dozen wands. These souvenirs are awesome, but so is the hit your budget will take.
2) The ride is great. But doesn’t always make sense.
For all their lip service to “storytelling,” the ride creators forget that 4 minutes is not much time to pack in such a rangy adventure. It may take more than one ride to grasp the thread.
3) The ride can make you a little nauseated
Don’t ride twice in a row. Maybe it has something to do with syncing up the film portions and the ride vehicles, in which case it will be ironed out in a few months.
4) If you’re not crazy about Harry . . .
While you don’t need to be versed in Potteria to have fun, you’ll certainly get a lot more out of the gags and inside references if you come having read the books or seen some of the films. It’s a good thing they sell both of them at the gift shops
5) It’s a little, er, petite.
The narrow street of Hogsmeade is gorgeous but can be a crush. Two of the rides (Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge) are actually repurposed from rides that were at the park already. Other than that, there are only two stores and one restaurant (even if it does serve its own Scottish ale, Hog’s Head Brew). That leaves lots of room for future expansion. Then again, maybe a wish for more isn’t a drawback at all, but praise.