Harry Potter & The Battle at the Ministry - Reviews, Photos & Media

[Rhian]

There are no indications of AI here.

Let's not confuse AI with CGI.

So I did some digging because I thought it was stated somewhere in one of the first reveals early on regarding that when Universal was talking about all the new technology being used on the ride. On here I found a post by tomfoolery mentioning was done via CG, in which case I got not problem admitting I was mistaken. Didn’t mean to pull anyone in the wrong direction there, my apologies!

 

[SpatulaShack]

Got to ride Ministry 4 times on my most recent trip.

It really is a wonderful ride let down by (what I perceive to be) a broken / defective show element (the removal of the "drop").

That isn't to say the ride vehicle isn't dynamic throughout the rest of the ride though. I actually was surprised by the little "bounce" moments in the RV as it lifts you up and down in short but rapid bursts during the elevator sequences. I understand the "fuller drop" during the Magical Creatures segment was removed but I don't understand why they don't just replace that with another rapid " short bounce" down to give it some "oomph". Right now the screen drops but there is essentially no downward motion of the vehicle.

We know it's possible to reprofile that scene to give it some more punch because it exists elsewhere on the ride. It just blatantly feels like something is missing there now.

 

[illumination]

Got to ride Ministry 4 times on my most recent trip.

It really is a wonderful ride let down by (what I perceive to be) a broken / defective show element (the removal of the "drop").

That isn't to say the ride vehicle isn't dynamic throughout the rest of the ride though. I actually was surprised by the little "bounce" moments in the RV as it lifts you up and down in short but rapid bursts during the elevator sequences. I understand the "fuller drop" during the Magical Creatures segment was removed but I don't understand why they don't just replace that with another rapid " short bounce" down to give it some "oomph". Right now the screen drops but there is essentially no downward motion of the vehicle.

We know it's possible to reprofile that scene to give it some more punch because it exists elsewhere on the ride. It just blatantly feels like something is missing there now.

Also can't they still do the physical moving balcony railing prop, to match the motion on the screen? I don't understand why they removed that just because of the ride vehicle movement changing.

 

[RFRees]

Anyone know what's going on with it? Today (10/8) it's been at a 240 wait time the entire day, with signs posted that it'll be closing early (we saw those signs from when we entered at 9am). The Team Member at the entrance seemed to suggest it was just inflated demand, but I have a hard time believing that considering Mario is currently at 70, Monsters at 20, and Stardust at 20.

 

[Mad Dog]

Anyone know what's going on with it? Today (10/8) it's been at a 240 wait time the entire day, with signs posted that it'll be closing early (we saw those signs from when we entered at 9am). The Team Member at the entrance seemed to suggest it was just inflated demand, but I have a hard time believing that considering Mario is currently at 70, Monsters at 20, and Stardust at 20.

It's had real high waits for the past week or two. Lines weren't bad for a couple weeks before that. It seems inconsistent still.

 

[SpatulaShack]

Also can't they still do the physical moving balcony railing prop, to match the motion on the screen? I don't understand why they removed that just because of the ride vehicle movement changing.

Yeah it really is the one-two punch of the railing prop not operating AND the ride vehicle not moving swiftly that absolutely kills this scene. There is no indication whatsoever that you're meant to be falling except for the visuals on the screen. I hope they're still working on some kind of solution. If it's really the sensors that were causing the downtime (due to rider feet not staying firmly on the floor during the original launch programming) then those sensors should be readjusted and vehicle yaw / pitch should return with the dropping balcony.

 

[Jones14]

I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Ministry’s equivalent of Rise’s Cannons, a really cool effect that was the source of X percentage of the ride’s downtime and thus, not worth the headache in the (hopefully) short term to fix.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

TP has some new info out on Ministry...

How Not to Wait 254 Minutes for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry | TouringPlans.com Blog

We've been testing Touring Plans at Epic Universe since they opened last May, and the one thing that kept tripping us up

touringplans.com

1. The opening time isn’t really 10 am.
2. Ride downtime was huge and is always unpredictable. Downtime has improved with the sensor adjustments Epic has made to the whole “keep your feet flat the entire ride” glitch.
3. Epic posted waits are consistently way, way off for this attraction. Like hours off.

 

[RFRees]

TP has some new info out on Ministry...

How Not to Wait 254 Minutes for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry | TouringPlans.com Blog

We've been testing Touring Plans at Epic Universe since they opened last May, and the one thing that kept tripping us up

touringplans.com

Great tips. Looks like the best method is to arrive very early before park entry and head straight to MoM.

 

[BBPH]

One tip we found really helpful, this ride is so visually distracting it doesn’t matter whether you sit with your group or not, so the single rider line is a great option.

It usually opens around 10am, so if you hang back slightly from the main rush and then join the standby queue, keep an eye on the sign inside the Ministry main hall. As soon as it switches to “open,” speak to a team member, and you’ll likely walk straight onto the ride. We did this twice and managed to ride five times over two days with hardly any queueing!

 

[OLSinFLA]

I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Ministry’s equivalent of Rise’s Cannons, a really cool effect that was the source of X percentage of the ride’s downtime and thus, not worth the headache in the (hopefully) short term to fix.

Disneyland, however, fix thiers

 

[Clive]

Disneyland, however, fix thiers

I mean, in fairness, it took quite a while. I wouldn't be surprised if they're quietly working on a fix that will be deployed once it's ready and reasonably reliable.

 

[Cwoolboy]

In this attraction, we enter the Paris Metro Floo, which deposits us into the Ministry of Magic months or years after the Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of Lord Voldemort (It's unclear the date, if I had to guess I'd say it's 1998 or 1999.). This is accomplished via a very cool effect which utilizes a tunnel, green light, and fog. We have arrived on a very special day: The trial of Dolores Umbridge. The whole wizarding world is in celebration, and everyone (even muggles) have been invited to attend.

The magical elevators from the films will ferry us to the trial, but along the way, Death Eaters attack and free Dolores Umbridge. She has one goal, find a time turner and use it to go back to the rule of Lord Voldemort. It's up to Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Umbridge's much maligned house-elf Higgeldy, and us to stop Umbridge and bring her back to face justice. The queue for this attraction is one of the best in the world (but not the best in the park).

The queue is elaborately themed and downright labyrinthine as you wind your way through various areas of the Ministry. It just goes and goes and goes and goes. Right when you think you're getting near the end, SURPRISE, there's another room. The ride vehicles resemble more ornate versions of the elevators from Tower of Terror. This alone might be enough to get some sweating.

No need to fear, Tower of Terror, this is not. There are no real drops, and the ride experience resembles more of a cross between Transformers and Escape from Gringotts. There are several motion simulator portions, scenes, dark ride show scenes, and the ride vehicle can whip and spin riders around with a good deal of force as well as simulate rapid rising motion and sudden acceleration. This ride feel enormous, and the dark ride show scenes are easily the most impressive parts with large set pieces, spacious rooms, and life-like animatronics that react to other animatronics, events on-screen, and riders. For example, there are Death Eater animatronics that often wind up targeting and attacking riders. Out of all the rides I went on, this is the one I consider the best.