The ride will get you up close and personal with Hagrid’s three headed mutt Fluffy, Cornish pixies, unicorns and the blast-ended skrewt, who features in the books but is seen here for the first time. “It features advanced animatronics that makes it a family coaster that everyone can enjoy.” “It’s a combination of thrills and stories,” says Blumenstein. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is billed as a “story coaster.” It features the voice of Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) who narrates your ride on his motorbike or in the attached sidecar as it serpentines through the enchanted woods. Unless an owl carrying a letter shows up at your house anytime soon, this is as close as you can get to being at Hogwarts. and the Potter films’ production designer, Stuart Craig, and art director, Alan Gilmore to bring a film-set-worthy backdrop to the ride as well as the theming for the all-important line.

“It starts fast and gets faster,” says Gary Blumenstein, creative director for Universal Creative. And that’s going to make many parkgoers - and legions of Potterheads - very happy. Its dips, speed and thrills will have you believing in Arthur Weasley’s dubious powers to make an old Triumph motorbike and sidecar fly. So, yay! Fans were thrilled to learn that the newest addition to the park, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, is a true, fast, wind-in-your-cape outdoor coaster. Which is fun, but … well, not quite the same as blasting through the ether in real time. The first, award-winning Harry Potter ride, Forbidden Journey, uses a robotic arm to swivel the rider seats through a dark ride, while Escape from Gringotts has short bursts of a fairly tame coaster that blends in with 3D effects around you. The much anticipated new ride at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando opens June 13, and will bring long lines of Muggles to experience its sights, thrills and pretty awesome animatronics all in one long, sweeping roller coaster.Īs of late, Universal and Disney have been steering toward computer graphic imaging rides where the rider is actually stationary or moving slowly but projected into a virtual reality via surrounding projections. No wonder JK Rowling’s Harry Potter behemoth franchise at Universal Orlando keeps on rolling - literally.

Wizard schools, Quidditch, butterbeer and mythical creatures that blast fire from their rear ends - it’s a plot just begging to belong in a theme park.

Hagrid motorbike ride