Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic (Epic Universe)

[Suchomimus]

The details are still being added in.

 

[saint.piss]

Some concept art of the original proposed Fantastic Beasts VR ride. It would've followed the FB characters going after a loose Obscurus in Paris.

Concept Design — Juliana Ouyang

www.julianaouyang.com

 

[ReelJustice]

Some concept art of the original proposed Fantastic Beasts VR ride. It would've followed the FB characters going after a loose Obscurus in Paris.

dang, I want it

 

[Ryuniversal]

Some concept art of the original proposed Fantastic Beasts VR ride. It would've followed the FB characters going after a loose Obscurus in Paris.

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Concept Design — Juliana Ouyang

www.julianaouyang.com

Wouldn’t u want to go the flight of passage ride system and not vr?

 

[Viator]

Wouldn’t u want to go the flight of passage ride system and not vr?

There had been rumors of a broomstick attraction for years, even before Epic I believe there had been previous rumors of Universal exploring and developing what-if's regarding the potential use of VR in a way that would've been of some capacity.

 

[Ryuniversal]

There had been rumors of a broomstick attraction for years, even before Epic I believe there had been previous rumors of Universal exploring and developing what-if's regarding the potential use of VR in a way that would've been of some capacity.

I don’t like the idea of vr idk I want more like sorin or flight of passage

 

[DrStarlander]

I'll be honest, I didn't watch the Fantastic Beasts movies too closely, they were complicated and...a bit slow to me. But, I do recall there's an exciting scene where they travel from New York to Paris in a flying carriage that gets attacked by Dementors (do I have that right?).

I thought that the carriage ride through a storm could be a cool ride. If they build a Wizarding New York in the fourth theme park (next to Epic) they could have the carriage ride drop you off at the French Ministry in Epic.

 

[bdubsCEO]

I'll be honest, I didn't watch the Fantastic Beasts movies too closely, they were complicated and...a bit slow to me. But, I do recall there's an exciting scene where they travel from New York to Paris in a flying carriage that gets attacked by Dementors (do I have that right?).

I thought that the carriage ride through a storm could be a cool ride. If they build a Wizarding New York in the fourth theme park (next to Epic) they could have the carriage ride drop you off at the French Ministry in Epic.

Speculation about a fourth gate before Epic is open is wild but if they could make that work with IOA or USF I’d love it

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Wouldn’t u want to go the flight of passage ride system and not vr?

Because some folks in UC really loved VR for a time.

 

[TheUniC6]

There had been rumors of a broomstick attraction for years, even before Epic I believe there had been previous rumors of Universal exploring and developing what-if's regarding the potential use of VR in a way that would've been of some capacity.

Ah, the old FFL replacement rumors. IIRC, the reason why this VR concept was scrapped was due to some other pop up VR Potter experience beating Universal to the punch.

If Wizarding France got an expansion attraction, maybe they would go with some smaller scale dark ride or walkthrough style attraction. IDK if they would go with FB considering how that died out popularity wise, but maybe they could pull from the reboot HBO Max series if that takes off when the time comes.

 

[Eckert]

I think VR + strapped onto a broomstick + on a platform that lifts off the ground and moves sounds like an awesome ride idea. The biggest challenge would be the naturally slow operation that involves preparing guests to put on VR headsets properly.

 

[Mad Dog]

Glad it was skipped for Studios. The park is already out of balance with too many similar experiences. Plus it supposedly had very low capacity projections.

 

[TheUniC6]

Glad it was skipped for Studios. The park is already out of balance with too many similar experiences. Plus it supposedly had very low capacity projections.

I think another reason for this getting the ax was due to Universal having concerns on how a VR only ride would age.

 

[Tobias]

I think VR + strapped onto a broomstick + on a platform that lifts off the ground and moves sounds like an awesome ride idea. The biggest challenge would be the naturally slow operation that involves preparing guests to put on VR headsets properly.

Glad it was skipped for Studios. The park is already out of balance with too many similar experiences. Plus it supposedly had very low capacity projections.

Per the plans of the ride, they did account for general low capacity of VR by having a bunch of rooms/bays to send guests into. However, that probably generated another issue...the attraction would require a whole army of TM's to operate, way more than your normal attraction. All for an experience which may or may not have worked.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I don’t like the idea of vr idk I want more like sorin or flight of passage

vr made me dizzy.

I think VR + strapped onto a broomstick + on a platform that lifts off the ground and moves sounds like an awesome ride idea. The biggest challenge would be the naturally slow operation that involves preparing guests to put on VR headsets properly.

like the Twilight the movie ride

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

Ah, the old FFL replacement rumors. IIRC, the reason why this VR concept was scrapped was due to some other pop up VR Potter experience beating Universal to the punch.

If Wizarding France got an expansion attraction, maybe they would go with some smaller scale dark ride or walkthrough style attraction. IDK if they would go with FB considering how that died out popularity wise, but maybe they could pull from the reboot HBO Max series if that takes off when the time comes.

I think VR + strapped onto a broomstick + on a platform that lifts off the ground and moves sounds like an awesome ride idea. The biggest challenge would be the naturally slow operation that involves preparing guests to put on VR headsets properly.

Per the plans of the ride, they did account for general low capacity of VR by having a bunch of rooms/bays to send guests into. However, that probably generated another issue...the attraction would require a whole army of TM's to operate, way more than your normal attraction. All for an experience which may or may not have worked.

This is all correct. WB licensed and sold the VR broomstick tech alongside a Void-like VR experience at their NYC Harry Potter store for a little under 2 years before removing both attractions. Having been able to do both before they closed, i can confirm that the Hogwarts walkthrough was literally EXACTLY like Dreamscape and Void's VR walkthrough sequences that last about 30 minutes while the broomstick VR was something completely new that i had never experienced before (until Dreamscape took close to the same tech and did How to Train Your Dragon).

It consisted of 15 minutes flying around the Hogwarts Castle grounds before 15 minutes of flying alongside Hagrid's Motorbike to protect Harry a la Battle of the 7 Potters flight sequence over London in Deathly Hallows.

The pod consisted of 8 'bike seats' with foot stirrups and a faux broom handle that resembled the Nimbus 2000 shape and wood-grain. In front of each seat were 3 gryoscopic fans that simulated flight movement and speed while you were in VR so you actually felt the air rush past you dynamically as you flew; If you slowed down, the air slowed down, etc. The goggles themselves are much like the Lionsgate video above that Lucky posted where they hung from the ceiling but would clip into helmets you wore pre-loading. You had a wand holster off to the right hand side that you would be told to pick up during the Death Eater sequence where you pull your arm back and then forward to fire bursts at enemies while you flew. It was a little complicated but you would get the hang of the flying in the first 15 and then the fighting with the wands wasn't as complicated in the latter 15.

In my head, they'd have to redo how the pods were built and construct more linear bays a la Avatar FoP to get more people in there and really make the capacity work, but this was New York city with very little space internally, so they were making do with what they could. If this were universal, i could see 30 person lines of 'seats' for 10-15 minute flight sequences being VERY popular. Hopefully it's revisited in the future, because VR tech has never been better imo and it would take a while for that style of tech and ride to be considered "outdated" or otherwise "uninteresting." If anyone has played Hogwarts Legacy and they've gotten a thrill flying around the Hogwarts castle grounds, imagine that in HQ real-time VR with simulated airflow and you got it. It was truly something to behold.