During the mid-2000s, Universal Orlando was heavily criticised for installing few major attractions and allowing Disney to widen its lead in the Florida theme park market. Then, in May 2007, came an astonishing announcement – the company had secured the rights to the Harry Potterstories, and would build a new themed area consisting of rides, shops and restaurants known as “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Islands of Adventure. Universal knew that it needed a spectacular attraction to headline the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – one that would have the same impact on the public that The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man had had when Islands of Adventure first opened.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey would play that role. From an early stage, Universal hoped to recreate the experience of flying, a central element of the Potter stories. By the time the Wizarding World was officially announced, it had already found the answer. Dynamic Structures – which had supplied the track for Spider-Man – was showing off a unique new ride concept that combined a RoboCoaster (a new type of simulator based on the same technology as robotic arms used in manufacturing and designed by German company KUKA) with a seating unit from roller coaster manufacturer Vekoma, and mounted them onto a track. Universal was impressed enough by the system to sign an exclusive deal with Dynamic Structures. Just as with Spider-Man, Forbidden Journey would combine physical sets and video projections to bring Harry Potter’s world to life.
The RoboCoaster system would be used to create the illusion of flight, in another technological leap forward from the Enhanced Motion Vehicles used by Spider-Man. The ride’s plot revolves around guests, in the role of “muggles” (non-wizards), being invited to tour Hogwarts, and escaping a boring presentation on the school’s history with the aid of Harry, Ron and Hermione. After riders board their “enhanted benches”, they are “enchanted” by Hermione, sending them flying off to the castle’s astronomy tower. From there, they go on an adventure that takes in the pit of the Acromantulas (the enormous spiders seen in the movies), an encounter with a dragon, a close shave with the Whomping Willow, a Quidditch match and a battle with eerie dementors.
The queue line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is designed to be an attraction in itself, winding through the interior of Hogwarts Castle and recreating well-known areas such as Dumbledore’s office, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and the Gryffindor common room There are a number of fascinating special effects employed by Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and many hidden secrets tucked away in the ride’s queue. Here are some to look out for as you navigate Hogwarts and soar through the skies.
12. The moving portraits
Image: Freddo, Wikipedia (license)
The queue line features “moving portraits”, just like those seen in the movies. This was achieved by embedding large television screens into the walls, surrounded by frames, and covered with transparent materials to create the illusion of brush strokes. Look closely at the moving portraits of the four founders of Hogwarts (Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff). Each is holding an object that Lord Voldemort stole from them to create his evil Horcruxes.
11. Right there with you
Image: Jeff Kern , Wikipedia (license)
A second special effect enables lifelike projections of Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione to appear in the rooms with guests. This makes use of the Musion Eyeliner system, a proprietary high definition projection system that was created and patented by Uwe Maass. Similar to the “Pepper’s Ghost” effect employed in the ballroom scene in Disney’s Haunted Mansion, it sees a thin metalized film being placed at an angle of 45 degrees towards the audience. Hidden below this is a projector, which projects onto the film, creating the illusion that the character is actually physically present in three dimensions.
10. Mandrakes
Image: Jeff Kern, Flickr (license)
Mandrakes, the screaming plants seen in the movies, can be spotted in static form in the greenhouse section of the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey queue (elsewhere, a moving version can be seen in the shop window of the Dogweed and Deathcap store).
9. A useless book
In the Gryffindor common room, look out for the Dark Arts Defence: Basics for Beginners book, sitting on a stack of volumes in the corner. Professor Umbridge assigns the book to the class in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as a way of preventing them from learning anything useful.
8. Neville’s lesson
Don’t rush past the Potions classroom door as you race through the queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – you’ll miss hearing a professor providing instructions to Neville Longbottom.
7. The enchanted benches
Image: Theme Park GC, Wikipedia (license)
The ride’s four-seater “enchanted benches” are each mounted on a robotic arm, which in turn are mounted on a busbar track.
6. The Hungarian Horntail
Image: Warner BrosAfter seeing a Hungarian Horntail dragon flying on screen, you’ll then swoop into a physical set that recreates the bridge that leads to Hogwarts. There, you’ll encounter an animatronic version of the dragon which will blow “fire” at you. In reality, this is a mixture of fog effects and flickering lights
5. The Acromantulas pit
Do you feel a little damp in the Acromantulas pit? Water effects are used here to create the senstation of being spat on by the creatures.
4. The Whomping Willow
Image: Warner Bros
After Hermione rescues you from the Acromantulas, your bench is sent off into the path of the Whomping Willow. The single branch that comes crashing down towards you is actually attached to another Kuka robotic arm.
3. The dementors
Image: Warner Bros
The huge dementors are all physical models. The final one attempts to such your soul out from inside you, in an effect that sometimes works, and sometimes doesn’t. The “Dementor’s Kiss” effect is achieved by snapping a quick photo of the riders and projecting it onto a fog screen.
2. An individual experience
On Spider-Man, the vehicles stop in front of individual projection screens. However, there was a danger that taking the same approach would chronically limit the capacity of the Harry Potter ride, and potentially enable riders to catch a glimpse of neighboring benches. The solution was to abandon the Spider-Man approach, and instead employ multiple parabolic screens. These move along in unison with the robotic arms, so that each group of riders has a screen to themselves (but the ride vehicles never stop moving). Each projection section of the ride is equipped with a huge turntable, carrying three of the gigantic screens. These are large enough that riders cannot see the edges, enabling them to seamlessly fly off into the physical sets at the end of each video section. The ride’s track follows a simple, slow path alongside the screens, but the extreme movements of the robotic arms convince guests that they are swooping through the skies with Harry and his friends.
1. The flying effect
Notice how well the movements of the robotic arm are synchronized with the on-screen action. The creators of the ride first produced a computer animation of what they wanted riders to see, then used that data to determine the movement of the final animation. The data was even programmed into the live action cameras and flying rigs used to record the movie, to get the precise movements required.
