The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic at Universal Epic Universe offers a perfect metaphor for the current state of the Harry Potter franchise. It conjures a mix of emotions, reminding fans why they fell in love with these stories while also leaving them perplexed by questions.
Universal’s original The Wizarding World of Harry Potter land, which opened at Islands of Adventure in 2010, made Universal Destinations & Experiences what it is today. Before then, private equity firm Blackstone owned half of the Universal Orlando Resort, and Universal fought with SeaWorld for second place in the Orlando market, far behind leader Walt Disney World. Its Hollywood theme park was an afterthought behind its production stages, CityWalk shopping mall, and Universal Amphitheater. There was a park in Japan, but another company owned it. Then Harry Potter changed everything.
With Potter bringing record attendance and revenue to Universal Orlando, Universal was able to buy out its partners in Orlando and Japan and expand its Hollywood theme park, even tearing down Universal Amphitheater to build a west-coast installation of The Wizarding World land. A second Orlando Potter land followed, in 2014 – perhaps not coincidentally featuring a statue of a goblin standing atop a pile of gold. Hmmm….
So absolutely no one expected Universal to build a third theme park in Orlando without including yet another Harry Potter land. In this one, we get Universal’s finest Potter-themed attraction yet, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.
Yet this ride stands within a land that marks a change in direction for Universal. Set in 1920s Paris, this land no longer represents an iconic fantastic space beloved by all wannabe wizards and witches, such as Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley before it. Yes, Universal Creative has done its typical superb job of designing and decorating this land. Every inch feels like Paris, minus the smell of urine and cigarettes. But it’s still Paris, complete with the Sacré Coeur standing above it. Am in the Wizarding World here, or EPCOT?
And while we are asking questions, why is the land set in Paris in the 1920s when the ride is set back in the UK in the late 1990s, following the action of the seventh Potter book? It feels like Universal had planned to theme this entire experience to the Fantastic Beasts prequel film series, only to bail when that series bombed in theaters. So we got the Ministry of Magic ride that long had been rumored for a Diagon Alley expansion slapped onto a 1920s wizarding Paris land that remained for the vibes… and likely the lack of any obvious, better location from the OG series in which to set a Harry Potter land.
Mixed feelings are on brand for Potter these days, as fans’ once undying love for the franchise is tested by the public behavior of its creator. J.K. Rowling’s ongoing social media attacks against the idea of trans women have turned many former Potterheads against The Wizarding World. It’s a bit puzzling that a cis woman who writes under androgenous and male pen names (e.g. Robert Galbraith), from almost exclusively male points of view, would have a strong aversion to nontraditional gender identity, but here we are. I mean, it’s not like the Harry Potter franchise depicts an “othered” people who once faced a choice whether to hide their identities in order to escape persecution or anything, right?
Still, Rowling did not design this land nor this ride. Universal Creative did. And they crushed it.
Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry finally gives fans the next generation of the motion base experience that Universal established with its The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man in 1999. Themed to the omnidirectional lifts (elevators) that had fans salivating for a theme park ride when they first appeared in the Potter movies, Battle at the Ministry’s ride vehicles whisk, drop and throw you into the action after Delores Umbridge escapes custody on her way to trial. It's up to Harry, Ron, Hermione – and of course, you – to stop Umbridge from getting a time turner and dragging us all back to the time of Voldemort for a do-over.
Yet it's the queue that might have fans talking most about this experience. You access the Ministry via the Floo Network, which apparently has time-travel capability here, as well. It’s a delightful effect, achieved simply with blasts of fog and green lights, but it sells the illusion.
And then you walk out into the Ministry lobby, straight from the Potter films. Universal learned from its work on Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and leaves the space open here, allowing fans to take their time for selfies and videos before proceeding into the defined queue behind the photo ops. There also is a single-rider option marked here, though that is not going to be factor until Universal finds a way to increase this ride’s capacity and uptime.
Ah, those mixed emotions again. It’s the best Potter ride ever, with the worst uptime. Granted, every major new Potter ride has experienced uptime challenges upon debut. It’s the nature of the tech-pushing work that Universal has done with these attractions. From balancing a massive swinging pendulum to coordinating the timing of multiple moving platforms with precise media playback and practical theatrical effects, there’s more for Battle at the Ministry technology to do here than perhaps on any other theme park attraction in the world. And yes, that includes Disney’s Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, which – if you might remember – encountered its share of uptime headaches upon its debut, as well.
But if you get a flawless ride, oh man, is it worth the wait. Imelda Staunton reprises her role as Umbridge here, for which she is not only depicted in screen media but also as an animatronic, as well. We also get what appear to be convincing digital creations of actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who spend most of the action in another omnidirectional lift, facing us. Harry and Ron appear in animatronic form for the first time on this attraction as well, though it might be best if you do not spend too much time looking at Ron. (But isn’t that his lot in this whole world, anyway?)
The other attraction the Ministry of Magic land is Le Cirque Arcanus. This one is set in the 1920s Paris of the rest of the land. Ringmaster Skender has beef with Fantastic Beasts hero Newt Scamander, who has liberated (stolen?) the magical beasts from Skender’s circus. So Skender has stolen (liberated?) Scamander’s suitcase, which Fantastic Beasts fans (both of you) will know as the enchanted container where all of the magical beasts that Scamander obtains live in magically expansive habitats.
A squib assistant opens this Pandora’s box, allowing the show to develop beyond its cute circus-themed opening act with dancers and a bubble artist. The stage lift effect to depict the opening suitcase is stunning, as are the stage effects that follow to bring the magical creatures into our world through puppetry and media.
The Chekov’s gun in this production is, as one might guess, a wand. But this one come equipped with a bell that allows even a non-magician to control a magical creature. And our assistant does this to grand effect, delivering the message that the real magic lies in knowledge and compassion and not the cruelty of brute force.
But Next shows up (via media) with a banishment spell for Skender anyway. Hey, it’s the circus. Ya gotta give the audience what it wants.
Want even more? Pay $85 for a second-generation interactive wand and spend as much time as you please entertaining yourself at the many wand-triggered interactions that Universal has installed in this land. Or chat up some of the Beauxbatons, Ilvermorny or Hogwarts students who roam the land, inviting wand-wielding fans to join them on interactive adventures. (And gently suggesting that you might want to obtain one of these wands if you do not yet have one, of course.)
When it is time to eat, the Café L’Air De La Sirène may be your best bet here, serving Quiche Lorraine, Salad Niçoise, Jambon Buerre, Boeuf Bourguignon, and more, including what has become the land’s iconic treat – a Butterbeer crepe.
The sample size I ate was delightful… and more than enough. If you spend $20 for a full-sized, prepare to share it. For a different vibe, head across the street and down the alley to find the rather hidden Le Gobelet Noir, which offers more French bistro staples, including Coq Au Vin, in a dark (duh) and intimate setting. It's the type of mysterious, secret place where, well, no one asks any questions.
Let's continue our tour of Epic Universe with my reviews of its other lands:
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Great article. I had no idea JK wasn't involved in the new land.
I think you nailed it with your call out of JK, Robert. Good on you for speaking up.
I think this was an Epic Fail creating a Paris land. Other than the Ministry ride, which will remain the best Potter ride, if not best ride in the states, for a long while and keep insane lines and people coming, the rest of the land is dare I say, Boring! Unlike Hogsmead or Diagon Alley, I never saw people in tears walking into the land. The emotional connection people have to the story is NOT there. It was the land I spent the least amount of time in on my 2 Epic full days. It was definitely not as crowded as any other land. The theming, while impressive, is just boring, the restaurants are boring, the shops and merch are boring, minus a few cute creatures.
Also, what is with Bar Moonshine? There are no carts (on my visits) to grab drinks (adult) and the have this tiny, tiny little corner Ice cream stand line to grab a beverage. The bartenders, while doing a great job being funny and engaging, just make it so inefficient. People were ditching the line after 20 minutes to not miss the circus, and the line had like 6 people in it.
As a different location, they could have figured out a way to use Port keys, or Apperate and actually had multiple mini lands that fans want to visit. I haven't bothered to give enough thought to it. Who wants to visit Harry Potter land and go to Paris? I hope the expansion gets you out of Paris and somewhere nostalgic and worth visiting!
So I do wish JK was involved, would have been a much, much better land. I also agree with Bryn, it's so overblown with her and the "controversy". If she was so controversial the lands wouldn't be as popular as they are, or the movies still, or creating a new series, which I am not really excited for.
This land gives me mixed feelings. It's not quite the WOW you get the first time you beheld Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. It's more like the chill vibe of EPCOT's France pavilion. The more I stayed in it, the better I liked it though. The food at Cafe L'Air de la Sirene was fantastic. I tried the Quiche Lorraine, the French Onion Soup and the Butterbeer Crepe and they were all stellar! I also love the little details in the bathrooms that make it feel older. Notice that all the bathrooms in Epic have Dyson Air Blade hand dryers except those in Place Cachee? Or the water tanks on the wall way above the toilets like what was standard back then?
One thing I hated in this land was Le Cirque Arcanue's preshow area. After the queue they cram everyone in like cattle. I had to hold my son up the entire time so he could see what was going on. It's kind of hard to imagine that they couldn't come up with a more elegant solution to this situation.
Anyways, I loved the exchange students and the jazz band and I'm looking forward to doing the wand stuff when I go back on June 13. I really hope that dead end on the right gets a new attraction there soon. This land feels incomplete.
I think this has been a common theme from the WWoHP lands that are ALL short on rides. If not for the holdovers from Lost Continent, the original Hogsmeade area would have just had 1 actual ride to go with the wand interactions, Olivander's show and the rotating shows in the small stage near the HPFJ entrance. Diagon Alley lowered the bar for attractions even more with the Hogwart's Express (though I guess you could count this as 2 rides since it's a different show in each direction), Gringott's, wand interactions, expanded Olivander's showrooms, and another outdoor stage with rotating shows. MoM lowers the bar even more with just a single actual ride with the obligatory wand interactions, and an actual indoor show (though it doesn't rotate performances). There are no additional rides, no wand show, and nothing else aside from the additional street characters/performers. While I think guests can find plenty of stuff to occupy their time in MoM even if they don't want to buy a wand (it's almost as much fun to watch other people do the wand interactions as it is to do them yourself), I think for guests who don't have a strong connection with HP, this land is going to feel extremely thin on stuff to do. I know UC doesn't want to put in any sort of stock ride or flat ride (though something like Danse Macabre from Efteling might work here), because it would ruin the high level of immersion they have been able to create across all of the WWoHP lands. However, given how thin the overall attraction lineup is across Epic Universe and the conceit of the park with its portals, if the BotM line is actually reasonable (120 mins or less), guests will likely be spending the least amount of time in this portal compared to the rest of the park.
Having seen the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Hollywood a few weeks ago and not knowing anything about the story, the plot of the new Harry Potter ride as described in the article shares quite a few similarities to the plot of the play written by J.K. Rowling. Coincidence?
Nice point made on how this was clearly meant to be Fantastic Beasts and had to be reworked so amazing it fits as well as it does.
Calling JK Rowling a "cis woman" on a website about Theme Parks, Jesus. Plus a whole paragraph about trans propaganda. Im surprised but not in a good way.
What´s next?: Some low-key & half-baked post about feminism or enforced DEI?
"If you didnt support The Little Mermaid its because you are a racisit and a mysoginist".
I have been visiting this website for many years. I love this website but there is a reason politics are usually off the table in these type of wbesites.
@Enrique - I think Robert was just trying to make a point about the IP, which used to be perceived as "evergreen" despite the failure of Fantastic Beasts, and the controversy's stirred by Rowling that has definitely upset and turned off fans of her work. Personally, I don't care about a creator's political, social, or other views on the world, if they produce great work, I'll support it - blackballing is so misguided anyway because it typically hurts everyone except for the person you're targeting. HP has definitely taken a hit because of Rowling's statements and views, so I think it's a worthwhile detail to bring up when evaluating this new land, though I think the Fantastic Beasts pivot is far more interesting of a detail, and it would be great to get some UC folks on the record about the development timeline of this portal.
I agree that Robert was a bit heavy-handed here, but it's just a minor distraction to an otherwise strong review of the portal. I'd also say that since there's only 1 ride and 1 show here, there's an overall lack of substance to this land contained elsewhere in Epic. While the architecture appears incredible, it's difficult to capture that in words, so a slight aside into a political discourse is understandable.
MrTorrance - Universal had to come up with something different, but also something that would not take away from the current cash cow. I think it's brilliant, and there is always room for expansion. There is an open plot of land in the back right corner of the land.
Epic already has the plans laid out for the future. "CityWalk", parking structure, and second park (maybe another water park) arriving in the next 10 years.
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J K Rowling has just been proved to be on the right side of history in the UK as the Supreme Court has in essence ruled that her defence of the hard-won equal rights that women have fought for decades to achieve should not be compromised by men identifying as women. She has been falsely accused of persecuting genuine trans people, who are still protected under UK law. But women-only spaces are now clearly defined in the UK. THis was never about trans people whom she has consistently defended but rather about those predatory men who used badly crafted laws (or rather the bad interperataion of laws) to take advantage of vulnerable women.
I expect better from you to be honest Robert.