The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: London: Attractions

 

6 - Hogwarts Express

C-Ticket

Any Height

Guests travel from Platform 9 3/4 to Hogsmeade Station in this immersive transportation ride.

QUEUE:

Guests enter a recreation of King's Cross Station in London. They can pass under departure times, go near a snack stand, and see some Muggle luggage. Then, using advanced screen effects (even though it kind of looks fake while you're doing it,) guests vanish into the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Here, they arrive on Platform 9 3/4, where they pass the luggage of Harry, Ron, and Hermione before boarding the Hogwarts Express and sitting in a compartment, where they will be locked in.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

The ride begins by leaving the station, heading through London and seeing the Knight Bus. As they continue through the countryside, the trolley witch comes by, offering sweets. Then, they go into a tunnel. As they go past Malfoy Manor, guests see black fog approach them. Then, in a tunnel, a dementor comes down the hall, but it is shooed off by Harry with a patronus. Then, they see the forest, coming across the Weasley's flying car as they do. They see Hogwarts in the distance, where Hedwig flies by. They then pass through the Forbidden Forest and see Grawp. Finally, guests arrive at the station, being greeted by Hagrid.

POST-RIDE:

Guests get off the train and take a passage out of the Hogsmeade Station, which spits them out right near the gates of the village.

7 - Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

E-Ticket

Must be 42 in.

Inspired by the Gringotts heist sequence in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, guests board spinning mine carts in an adventure beneath the bank.

QUEUE:

Located in the back of Diagon Alley is the marble structure of Gringotts bank, topped by a fire-breathing Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon. Guests go in from the side and enter into the main lobby, where goblins are working with gems. They pass by Bogrod before going through several offices, seeing newspapers announcing Snape as the new Hogwarts Headmaster and Dumbledore's secrets being revealed by Rita Skeeter. They may also hear Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook in a nearby room, planning to break into the vaults.

PRE-SHOW:

Guests enter Bill Weasley's office, where they are greeted by Bogrod. He's assigned Bill to give them a tour of Gringotts before they open up an account there. However, neither him nor Bill notice keys being taken by something invisible as they speak to the guests.

After this, guests will board an elevator and go 7,000 kilometers beneath the Earth's surface. They will then walk through the caverns, moving by Harry's vault and Vault 713 (Nicholas Flamel's vault) as they go. They will soon pick up some 3D glasses before boarding their mine carts, which come from both sides.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

As the carts leave the station, they are about to follow Bill into a tunnel when the doors close behind him and an alarm comes off. Bill realizes that there has been a break-in, Suddenly, goblins arrive with Bellatrix Lestrange, who accuses the guests of breaking into her vault. She points the carts downwards and sends them down a hill, moving into a coaster section.

Luckily, guests reunite with Bill pretty quickly. However, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook appear on a separate mine carts near the Thief's Downfall waterfall. Then, security trolls come out of nowhere and pick up the vehicle. One of them is knocked in the groin by a mace, causing them to drop the cart into the abyss. Luckily, Bill saves the guests and places them back on track. Then, Harry, Ron, and Hermione appear near the dragon, announcing that they've found a Horcrux (Hufflepuff's Cup.)

The carts then go into a vault, where the wall breaks open and Nagini lunges at them. Bellatrix and Voldemort come in, asking the whereabouts of Harry Potter. Bellatrix then shoots them into a room filled with magma. Voldemort threatens to torture the guests, sending a giant fiendfyre at them. Luckily, Harry comes on the dragon and blows it away. With the villains fended off by the fire, a chain wraps around the mine carts and the dragon pulls it out. After that, they see Bill one more time as the dragon flies away, asking if they still want to open their account, noting how Gringotts is the "safest place on Earth."

POST-RIDE:

Guests get off their mine carts and get rid of their 3D glasses. They then follow a passage into Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, a gift shop selling merchandise and ride photos.

8 - Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry

E-Ticket

Must be 40 in.

Guests board a Ministry lift and join Harry, Ron, and Hermione on a quest to stop Dolores Umbridge in this next-generation thrill ride. This combines the technology used in Disney World's Tower of Terror attraction with the motion-based dark ride features in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and Transformers: The Ride-3D, although unlike those rides, it is not in 3D. It combines practical effects, animatronics, and screens though.

QUEUE:

Guests go inside a dilapidated muggle warehouse that has been abandoned. Here, they move through the storehouse before coming across floo chimneys. They enter through here and into the atrium of the British Ministry of Magic. In the back are office buildings as well as a giant poster, announcing the trial of Dolores Umbridge to be today.

Guests then head through many other rooms. This includes the auror's office, which contains a talking portrait of Mad-Eye Moody, the hallways, the hall of Ministers, which contains portraits of past Ministers of Magic like Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour (The Minister of Magic at this time is Kingsley Shacklebolt), and Umbridge's office, where guests meet Higgledy, a recently-freed house-elf who served Umbridge.

Then, guests will come to the lift station. Here, they will board one of many lifts and strap themselves in. Then, they will wait for their adventure to begin.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

The lifts move out of the loading station and into the inner network, where they see several lifts with Ministry members in it. They are ecstatic that Umbridge is on trial and can't wait to have her get served justice. Guests turn and see Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Higgledy in a lift, saying how they'll be going to the trial too. Suddenly, there is a clashing noise, and the lifts turn to see the lift carrying Umbridge opened up. A death Eater inside kills the aurors as Umbridge changes from an Azkaban prison dress to her pink cardigan, saying how she will "do what must be done for the greater good." She disappears into pink smoke, asking the death Eater to dispose of the guests first, which he obeys.

As the lift falls, they see the lift that the golden trio is in, which is also falling. Ron stops both lifts and realizes that Umbridge is after a time-turner (again, since she was caught trying to get it the first time.) Higgledy says that the guests can help and redirects them to the Ministry archives. Here, Harry. Ron, and Hermione duel with death Eaters while some ghosts laugh at them. One death eater notices the guests and sends them back with a spell.

This sends guests into the Department of Magical Creatures, which is in chaos with acromantulas, occamys, and swooping evils all around. Higgledy tries to stop Umbridge, but her former master puts her in chains. She then sends the guests down a floor, where an erumpent is running amok. It tosses the lifts up and then chases them out of the room. Following a flash, guests find that the beast has crashed through a wall, and the lift that the trio are in dangles nearby. As the erumpent begins to attack the lift, Harry, Ron, and Hermione apparate out of it.

Then, guests enter the Time Room of the Department of Mysteries, where Umbridge has found a broken time-turner and will repair it so she can travel back to Voldemort's time and stop Harry from defeating him. Although Higgledy says that she can't do it, Umbridge casts the spell anyways. However, this makes the room begins to fall apart, everything being lost to time. Umbridge blames the guests, but they get away, passing by Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they dodge pendulums and fight death eaters. They then come across Umbridge, who says how she will have order. However, Higgledy takes her wand and causes her to fall into a vortex, being grabbed by Higgledy, Harry, and Ron as she falls.

Then, as the Ministry comes back together, guests appear in the courtroom, where Umbridge stands before the Wizengamot. Here, Kingsley declares her guilty of her crimes and sentences her to life in Azkaban, changing her back into her prisoner dress. As the lift leaves the room, a camera takes the guests' picture. They then come across another lift, where Hermione and Higgledy have rounded up the death eaters and are happy that Umbridge is going to Azkaban, "where evil mistresses belong." They thank the ministry before the lifts go to the unload station.

POST-RIDE:

Guests exit the lift and go through another floo network, ending up in Grimmauld Place, where the gift shop Kreacher Features is.