TheThemeParkGuy

At the time writing, a Universal Studios on-site-hotel room key buys you the privilege to enter The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the mornings from 8am-10am. That gave me a chance to get in and, luckily, the signature ride 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' was fully operational today!

So what is it about? It's the same movie/reality-hybrid as in the ingenious Spiderman ride, without the 3-D glasses. It is actually very similar; the difference is that your slowly forward-moving ride vehicle has you sat on a bench, attached to a giant robot arm, that swings you up in the air and enables totally free movement. Too much movement. While the ride was packed with well-done animatronics, great effects and surprises, the constant shaking on that no-escape-bench left me feeling motion-sick. Spiderman doesn't.

Is 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' the best ride in theme park history? Unfortunately not! It's not even the best Universal Studios ride - I consider Spiderman, Jurassic Park and The Mummy Ride all superior experiences. Harry Potter fans, though, will almost certainly be delighted by the attention to detail in the village and the long, elaborate and entertaining ride queue through the castle.

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'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' is a section within the existing Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park in Florida.

There will be a winterly-themed Potter-esque village boasting charmingly crooked Hogsmeade architecture and two overhauled 11-years-old roller coasters, but the true monster of a new theme park attraction awaits inside the castle:

I am really keen to see what the Universal Creative teams have conjured up with the Harry Potter signature attraction 'Forbidden Journey'! Press releases and official sources speak about 'robotic arms', 'revolutionary technology' and 'forever changing the theme park attraction experience'. If it is what I think it is - a pretty wild and random robot-arm powered flight through the digital Harry Potter world - it might well join the very best of today's top theme park attractions.

Universal Studios previously introduced amazing new technology and designs with 'Spiderman' and 'The Mummy Ride' and these are already 11 and 7 years old respectively. 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' will be open by June 18 at the latest. My hopes are as high as a broomstick can fly.

The photos below show the future Harry Potter castle under construction in Universal's Islands of Adventure in December 2008: