Universal has come under serious fire in recent years for relying too much on screen-based rides, with attractions like Skull Island: Reign of Kong and The Fast and the Furious: Supercharged, earning jeers from fans, who have long desired to see a return to thrilling, highly themed rides with practical effects, like The Mummy and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. And though it took several years, we have to say that Universal has finally given fans everything they have asked for with Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, an attraction that seamlessly blends story, theming, and some serious thrills!
The setup
Image: Universal
Like any good theme park attraction, there’s a bit of a story to this ride. Guests take on the role of students, who are attending a special Care of Magical Creatures class inside the Forbidden Forest. In order to get into the forest, guests will need to hop inside a special motorbike that has been enchanted with the help of one Arthur Weasley. And that’s where the fun begins.
The ride
Image: Universal
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure uses a simple conveyor belt system to load guests into specially made trains that resemble a motorbike and a sidecar. The motorcycle sits very high above the track, and allows guests to lean forward during the ride and grab the handlebars, just like as if they were riding their own motorbike. The sidecar, on the other hand, feels more like a traditional roller coaster car with a seat and a lap bar. And while the latter might sound a little boring, honestly both offer very thrilling experiences, with the motorbike only having a slight advantage due to the added height. But really, no matter which side you ride on, you’re going to have a truly awesome expereince.
Once guests are all loaded into their motorbike (which is a very quick process thanks to the omnimover-style conveyor belt system mentioned above) they will immediately embark on a thrilling journey through the Forbidden Forest that includes some truly breath-taking moments, including steep banks, seven incredible launch sections (the most for any ride in the world), a heart-stopping 17-foot vertical drop, and a section that takes guests backwards after shooting them 65 feet into the air at an insane 70 degree angle.
Image: Universal
In addition to all the thrills, the ride itself is very highly themed, with several animatronics and practical effects bringing characters like Hagrid and Fluffy, as well as creatures like Centaurs and Unicorns to life in a very realistic way. Guests will also be able to hear Hagrid talking to them during the ride thanks to an on-board speaker system. However, we’ll confess we didn’t hear a lot of what he was saying, since we were too busy screaming during the ride’s epic launches and drops.
So far, we’ve only been able to experience this attraction at night, but the details in not only the Hagrid animatronic, but also the magical creatures were on full display during our evening ride, which was definitely a plus, as we worried a little bit if the darkness would impair our experience a little bit. But after checking out some daytime ride videos, we feel confident in saying that this ride is actually a little BETTER at night, as the creatures are lit very well, and the darkness obscures the track just enough to enhance the thrills.
Is this the future of Universal attractions?
Image: Universal
Though Universal’s attractions have been getting some pretty poor reviews recently, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure gives us hope for the future. Not only is this ride one of the most thrilling in Orlando, but it is also very highly themed and uses some advanced animatronics to create some of the best practical effects we’ve seen in many years. Guests who are curious about this attraction can check out this onride video if they want to see these effects in action, but we’ll caution you aainst watching a video before you ride, as it is best to try and experience Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure knowing as little as possible so you can get the most out of this amazing new attraction.
Though the first day of this attraction’s opening was kind of rough, Universal will start offering Virtual Queue for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure beginning today, so if you can get to the park early and snag a return time as soon as you pass the turnstiles (you can’t reserve times from home like with Disney’s FastPass+), you definitely won’t be sorry! This attraction is truly an amazing thing to behold, and even though we waited 14 hours to experience it for the first time on opening day, the wait was totally worth it for what is (ostensibly) the most cutting edge roller coaster ever built at a Universal park.
Image: Universal
It may be a slightly controversial statement, but we feel confident in saying that Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is the best ride right now in Central Florida (sorry Avatar: Flight of Passage), and may just usher in a new era of thrilling, but highly-themed roller coasters. Or at least, that’s what we’re hoping for (Looking at you, secret Jurassic World roller coaster!)
