Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

The attraction is housed within a replica of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry castle.

## Ride Details

### Area

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade

### Featured Characters

Harry PotterRon Weasley
Hermione Granger
Rubeus Hagrid
Albus Dumbledore
Draco Malfoy
Hungarian Horntail
Aragog
Acromantulas
Whomping Willow
Dementors

***Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey*** is a dark thrill ride located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade section of Islands of Adventure. It takes place inside a replica building of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and is the signature attraction of the area as a result. It opened with the rest of the area on June 18, 2010, and was a huge success, leading Universal to port the ride to Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood. The ride uses similar technology featured in *The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man* and *Transformers: The Ride*, and focuses on Harry, Ron, and Hermione taking guests on a tour through Hogwarts, running into several dangerous creatures along the way.

## History

Prior to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening at Universal Orlando Resort, The Walt Disney Company had previously attempted to adapt the property for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in 2004. These plans were later dropped due to Disney and Warner Bros. Entertainment having conflicting views on how to adapt the property for a theme park.

Three years later in 2007, rumors were spread about a new area set to partially replace The Lost Continent at Islands of Adventure. Universal confirmed these rumors later that year, and announced that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was coming to Universal Orlando Resort, with the headlining attraction being a dark ride set within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened on June 18, 2010, and included the launch of the aforementioned dark ride, titled *Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey*.

## Background

### Queue

The queue is based on the interior of Hogwarts, and features many characters welcoming the muggle guests to the school. This includes Albus Dumbledore in his office, Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the Sorting Hat. The latter gives ride safety instructions, as he is located not too far from the loading platforms.

### Ride Experience

Once riders are seated, Hermione begins to enchant their ride cars, while also using the Floo Powder network to teleport them outside of the castle. There, they meet up with Harry and Ron in their Quidditch gear, welcoming the riders. Hagrid then appears, asking if the riders have seen a dragon. Almost immediately, a Hungarian Horntail (the same species of dragon that Harry faced off with in *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, and one of the dragons from the now closed *Dragon Challenge*), begins to chase after the guests, Harry, and Ron. The riders then come face to face with an animatronic of the dragon, which breathes fire at them as they escape into the Forbidden Forest. Here they encounter several giant spiders known as Acromantulas, including Aragog from *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*. Hermione protects the riders from the spiders as they escape, but run into the Whomping Willow, also from the second film. The Willow swings its branches at the benches, sending the riders to the Quidditch arena, where they once again meet up with Harry and Ron. Dementors begin to fly around the field and chase the riders, who escape underneath the stands and end up in the Chamber of Secrets, where several dementors begin to fly around them. One attempts to steal a rider's soul, but it is stopped by Harry, who shouts "Leave them alone!" and casts a Patronus Charm to make the dementor flee. As Harry defeats the dementors, he and the riders then travel to the Great Hall, where several students and staff of Hogwarts are gathered. Professor Dumbledore congratulates the guests for helping Harry and his friends, and returns the guests and their enchanted benches to the loading station.

## Trivia

* Strangely, the Great Hall is not seen in the queue line, despite being one of the most iconic rooms of the Hogwarts castle.
* Most of the actors from the film franchise, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, and Robbie Coltrane reprise their roles as their respective characters for the ride.
* It's not made clear when the ride takes place in the franchise's timeline, but it presumably takes place sometime during *Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince*, as both Dumbledore and Aragog are alive, and Ron is playing on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.