Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (The Queue…YES, it DOES require an ENTIRE blog of its own…)
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey begins as you enter the gates of Hogwarts, greeted by winged hogs standing atop fiber optic pillars beautifully displaying the name of the coming experience. Upon entering into the castle itself that is soaring overhead, you emerge into a dark corridor as an attendant greets you and gives you some instructions.
Special ‘Magical’ Rant: If you have any carry-on items of ANY kind, be aware they WILL have to be put into a locker that is located in a separate corridor just off to the right as soon as you enter Hogwarts. Don’t fight the attendant and for the love of humanity, do not think you know better than he/she does, because once you get on this ride, you’ll quickly realize exactly why those carry-ons are not permitted. The lockers are free too, so just shut up and do it. If you can’t tell, Universal was having problems with belligerent guests who think they know better trying to take their stuff with them only to be stopped later on and faced with the decision of putting their items in a PAY locker just off to the side, or forfeiting their place in line and returning to the entrance to stow their belongings and wait all over again. It was annoying to listen to, it held up the line and the guests almost always become mad and demanding when they are **gasp** stopped before entering the ride after being warned by: A. Video B. Signage C. The attendant at the entrance to the Castle and D. The attendant inside the castle. That’s four layers of warning! Take the hint, just don’t do it. And if you plan on trying to, know this: Universal has a zero tolerance policy about violating this rule (as well they should), so you can scream, cuss, fuss, fling insults and call everyone and their house elf a “Floppy-wanded dementor-bogart”, but you’re still going to put that stuff in a locker if you want to ride. PERIOD. Just saying. 🙂
Okay, where were we…ah yes… this attendant will direct you to one of two paths (she’s a Divination major no doubt):
1. The regular queue: Go here if you: A. Don’t want to be split up as a group B. Wish to experience the entire castle and/or story C.If you have small children who are easily scared (note the height requirement though! A lot parents make the mistake of thinking that their child can ride anything as long as they come along, do not make this mistake! It will only end in tears for your child and frustration for you and everyone else in your party because if your child does not meet the height requirement of 48 inches that is posted throughout the entrance, queue, in the park maps and at information kiosks, they WILL NOT RIDE. Again, do your worst, they’re still not getting on, and you’ll just end up looking like a hot, tired, defeated jerk. Plus, you’ll hold up the line, which Universal, nor the people who actually DID follow the instructions, appreciate. Again, JUST DON’T DO IT.)
I recommend using the “stand-by” line for your first-ever trip on the Forbidden Journey. It establishes the story, allows you to see the castle in all of its wonder and properly builds the anticipation of what is to come. The “single rider” line on the other hand is for repeat rides on the Forbidden Journey, featuring a VERY abbreviated tour of Hogwarts and effectively dumping you directly into the Room of Requirement loading dock where you’ll board the flying benches, which is perfect for quick “flights” through Hogwarts.
Proceeding through the stand-by entrance, you’ll emerge outdoors in a conifer garden. As a landscaping lover, I was really thrilled and a bit bewildered by the fact that Universal was able to bring typically cold-weather conifers to Orlando and plant them around the grounds both there in the queue and around Hogsmeade. I was not able to get close enough to determine if they were real or not (I am assuming they’re real, because if they’re fake, then somebody should get an award for fake-tree-awesomeness), but the effect was enchanting nonetheless. Proceeding through this garden area you emerge into the greenhouses of Hogwarts. I can see what Universal was trying to do here with the greenhouse queue, but it just falls flat on every level. They should have had animatronic Mandrake roots that pop up and scream at guests periodically, plants that playfully snap at guests or spit water at them, etc. This greenhouse had the ability to be a truly wondrous, interactive queue that would have added exponentially to the magic of Hogwarts. Instead, it is nothing more than a glass-topped outdoor space with an uphill queue that turns into Hogwarts.
Don’t fret though, for this turn into Hogwarts is where the magic really begins…
Entering into a vaulted-ceiling hallway complete with cathedral windows glowing with the looming twilight outside, you pass tall bronze statues
of the famous Hogwarts’ foes: Salazaar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor, flanking the astonishingly beautiful bronze, glass and gem-filled Point counter for the houses. Proceeding forward, you reach the Phoenix statue entrance to Headmaster Dumbledore’s office. Hanging a left past it, you emerge into the Headmaster’s office. This is truly a spectacular room, at the back, the room is filled with all of Dumbledore’s favorite mechanical and magical tch0chkes (sp?) including the coveted Pensieve. Opposite of these items is the main event of the room, Dumbledore’s desk, complete with tall vaulted ceilings, hanging armillary sphere and even Dumbledore himself.
Yes, I meant that last bit. Dumbledore really does appear on the balcony overlooking his office, using the same projection technology Universal first employed on DISASTER! , the famed wizard greets the guests of Hogwarts welcoming the first tour of ‘muggles’ (potter-talk for non-magical folk) into the castle. He tells you that you will be heading into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom for a ‘rousing’ 4 hour lecture on the history of Hogwarts. Okay, so…I gotta break for a minute to tell you about this projection of Dumbledore. While infinitely better than a simple video shown on a TV or screen, this effect is presented multiple times throughout the experience and I simply have to say that it is just not done that well. Although, again, a huge improvement over the norm, the projection is very obvious even to the casual eye and in some places even the refracting glass was visible (eek!). However, the biggest problem with this arose when you ventured beyond this room and into the classroom, at which point the queue design allowed for you, the viewer, to realize the 2-dimensional nature of the projection which ran in a continuous loop. I don’t know what they did differently between this and DISASTER! but the disaster effect is dazzling and neat, this version….not so much.
Proceeding through another stone archway/corridor, you enter into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. If you need a reference point as to what this looks like, watch either the Chamber of Secrets or the Prisoner of Azkaban, both of which feature this room prominently, because this part of the queue is quite literally a PERFECT replica of that room. Truly. If you are at all familiar with that space, you will be astounded. And, like the previous room, there is another use of the projection effect on the balcony overlooking the classroom, only this time, it’s the infamous trio of Ron, Harry and Hermoine. (The effect is just a poorly done here as well, but I’ll leave it be.) They inform you, rather comically, that they have a better idea for the muggle visitors than sitting around and listening to a four hour lecture. Their idea? Go to a Quidditch match! As they have planned it, Hermoine will use a rather unique spell she discovered (after all, and as the ride states over and over again, she IS the brightest witch of her age), to enchant regular, everyday Hogwarts benches, turning them into magical, flying benches for you to join in the fun!
Hint: If you would like, and are okay with letting people proceed before you in line, you should know that there are actually several versions of this speech the trio give, all with slightly different interactions and a different spell that Hermoine casts over the heads of the muggle guests in the 
queue. It’s kind of fun to see all of the different effects and interactions, if you are willing to wait!
From here, you turn out of the classroom and into a narrow corridor. It is here that you meet the Fat Lady, guardian of the entrance to Gryffindor tower. Her part, played by the always wonderful Dawn French, is perfect. Complete with the classic ‘breaking the glass’ bit from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It is truly one of the most fun bits of the queue and because of the same mind-blowing technique used to bring the moving-portraits to life in the stairwell, she seems to be completely painted onto the entrance way (I call it that, because technically that is what it is, even though in the queue it is, disappointingly, nothing more than a prop standing off to the side) with many guests not realizing that she is watching them as they pass until, suddenly, she awakens and ushers you into the Gryffindor common room in between bouts of ghastly opera that she believes she is entertaining you with. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the entire queue and was definitely the funniest with multiple guests laughing as they passed.
It is at this point that you enter a disappointing space in the queue: the Gryffindor common room. I don’t know if the designers had to make sacrifices due to space or if someone just wasn’t thinking things through that day in the design meeting, but this room is a failure on multiple levels. Entering the common room, you emerged into a tall, open space with an archway in front of you that is covered n three different moving portraits and through which you are able to clearly see the rest of the queue which here becomes just a long, straight line to the Room of Requirement. As you look around the room and more specifically in the right hand corner, the aesthetic of the Gryffindor common room
becomes far more evident with the recognizable tapestries, radio, fireplace and steps leading to the dormitories visible from the queue. Sadly, opposite this display, the room is quite literally a blank, stone, wall. This is where the immersion of the rest of the castle falls apart a bit and for the first time in the queue you are able to recognize that you are about to board a ride. However, all is not lost, as the moving portraits here, once again, are the saving grace. They consist of three different, former wizards, a lady, a student and an older gentleman, who inform you about the restrictions of the ride, how to board the ride vehicle, what is and what is not permitted on the ride, and exactly what these ‘flying benches’ will be doing. They are funny, creative and surprisingly informative with their speeches sparking some questions and concerns from the guests who later asked the attendant standing underneath these portraits/the archway before proceeding through the rest of the line.
Warning: It is at this point that anyone the attendants might suspect of being “of unusual body proportions” to sit down in a test-seat of the moving benches and make sure they are able to ride. Now, don’t assume anything! Because, although you may fight into the seat itself, the attendants MUST be able to lower the shoulder harness and ‘click it down’ 3 TIMES. If it clicks down only once or twice, despite their best efforts to make you fit, you WILL be asked to forfeit your place in line. Sound unfair? Well, in a way, it is…and Universal understands that it is…which is why they ask EVERYONE to test the seats at the entrance to the ride FIRST before getting in line. Ultimately, if the attendant cannot get the bar down 3 clicks, you are not going to ride. End of story. Again, cuss, fuss, sling mud, cast charms, do your worst, you’re not getting on and you’d be surprised how many people get insanely agitated by this despite Universal’s continued warnings and opportunities to test the seat. My advice? Know thyself. If you’re a fatty, really tall or really buff, don’t fool yourself into thinking you can get away with it. Avoid the wait, avoid the embarrassment and just test the seat to make sure (remember! 3 clicks!). Now, some good news: Universal is actively working with KUKA, the makers of the ride vehicle, to ‘fix’ the seats so that, in the future, only one click is needed, effectively allowing pretty much anyone who wants to ride the ability to do so. BUT, that is WAY in the future (at least a year from now. AT LEAST. So plan your trip accordingly if you think your size might be a problem).
From this testing area, the queue makes its final leg up to the Sorting Hat, which is an insanely cool and fun animatronic that rhymes to you the requirements to ride once again, just for good measure. Guests were going crazy about this thing and for good reason! It is truly one of the most believable and spectacular animatronics I have ever seen (and that is including Obama/Jack Sparrow from Magic Kingdom). Turning past him, you are sorted into groups of 4 and ushered into the Room of Requirement which is a really neat space featuring the candle ceiling effect seen on the Dragon Challenge and walls of glass mirrors, just like in the films. The entire rooms functions as a giant optical effect to hid the immense ride system through theming, and, if I may say so, it is done PERFECTLY. From here, things move quickly so stay alert, as you are immediately ushered onto a moving conveyor belt and assigned to a bench where you sit down and the attendants close the harnesses for you. It all happens very quickly and once you’re on the belt, if you get scared or no longer want to ride, then tough luck, because at this point, there’s only one way out…
What happens on the ride itself? Come back this Saturday to find out as I post the final review of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: The Forbidden Journey!
WWoHP: Review Part I
WWoHP: Review Part II
WWoHP: Review Part IV
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The Rogue Imagineer 