Ride Review: Hogwarts Express (London to Hogsmeade)
we rate rides base on their relationship to the source material. lets take a look!
BY: V. RHODES
Hogsmeade to LONDON
HOGWARTS EXPRESS
BREAKDOWN OF OUR RANKING
AT THEFILMTRIPPER, WE FOCUS OUR RIDE RANKINGS ON HOW THE FILM OR source material HAS BEEN ADAPTED FOR A THEMED EXPERIENCE. Thats why ‘Overall interpretation’ is our most important category.
FAST FACTS
PARK: UNIVERSAL Studios / ISLAND’S OF ADVENTURE
PLACE: ORLANDO, FL
Coordinates: 28.4794°N 81.4703°W
OTHER LOCATIONS: none
OPENING DATE: July 8, 2014
Based on: The Harry Potter Books & Movies by JK Rowling
RIDE TYPE: PEOPLE MOVER / funicular
Manufacturer: doppelmayr garaventa group
DURATION: 4:01
THE WIZARDING WORLD
The Hogwarts Express in Orlando is a unique ride across all Universal theme parks. It runs between King’s Cross station in the London area of Universal Studios Florida and Hogsmeade station in Islands of Adventure. It provides a connection between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade which together makes up the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The best part: it is two rides in one! Whether you take the train from King’s Cross station or Hogsmead station, you will get a different experience. Much like the other experiences in the WWoHP, the ride really begins when you get in line. If you're already feeling immersed by the atmosphere of this theme park, then the queues and rides will blow you away!
OUR EXPERIENCE
Of course every child that grew up in the 2000’s is familiar with Harry Potter if not the books, then definitely the movies. If you, like me, have been obsessed since the age of seven then the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a bucket list trip!
There are so many unique experiences throughout the park that place you right in the middle of the films you love! The Universal Creative team left so many easter eggs for us superfans to find. But we will have to do a different post about that!
THE RIDE
Regardless of the station you start at, guests load into the train compartments the same way. Once inside, you’ll see lots of theming reminiscent of the movie. Including the blue padded seats, the black and white ink drawings of British architecture, and the lighting fixtures.
The compartment window is a large screen which gives the illusion of your adventure. When you first sit down there is a large brick wall, but as you leave the station that will change. The opaque cabin doors are also created with a cool lighting effect in mind. Small projectors shine on these doors, giving the illusion of people passing and the characters interacting with you.
LONDON to hogsmeade
The QUEUE - KING’S CROSS
If I had to choose which station is my favourite, it has to be King’s Cross. Not only is it an iconic English landmark, but the designers have created a flawless transition from muggle to magical world. Let’s get into it!
After moving through a traditional queue, you come across the big movie moment: getting onto the platform. Running through the wall between platforms 9 and 10 is one of the most iconic and recognizable scenes in the movie. Everyone knows what Platform 9 ¾ is!
The creative team at Universal has created a fantastic effect for this experience. By using a classic theme park illusions - Pepper's Ghost - it appears that the guests ahead of you in line are walking through the wall. Pepper’s Ghost is an optical illusion using light and angled glass to create a ghost-light effect to the viewers. You’ll be familiar with this effect from other theme park rides like Disney’s Haunted Mansion.
The only way to get a picture or video of you moving through the platform is to get a friend or Universal Cast Member (if it’s not a busy day) to take one. Because of the nature of the effect and how busy it always is, it's hard to set up a tripod and impossible to fim via selfie.
Once you move through the wall you are out on the platform. It’s open and bright and filled with some fun props! You immediately see a large pile of trunks, topped with Hedwig the owl in a cage. All the signage says “Platform 9 ¾” as well, and you move into a standard queue to get on the train.
THE RIDE - King’s Cross
On our journey from London to Hogsmeade to encounter some familiar faces, a dementor, a patronus, a jumping chocolate frog and a Ford Anglia (just to name a few). We won't spoil the whole ride for you, but we will break down all the references we spotted.
EASTER EGGS
Ride Easter Eggs - King’s Cross
FABRIC: The cabin seats are actually covered in the exact same fabric used in the movie.
OWL: That's no ordinary. The owl outside your window is carrying a letter!
BLACK SMOKE: You can see some black smoke trails in the distance from your window. These black smoke trails are typically associated with Death Eaters, the loyal supporters of Voldemort.
THE VOICES: If you think the voices of Harry, Ron and Hermione sound odd, there is a reason. Although all three actors reprised their iconic roles for the ride videos, only Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) lent his voice to the character for this ride.
GAMP’S LAW: Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration is a theory mentioned throughout the Harry Potter books, and is especially noted in the Deathly Hallows. The first of five laws state that food cannot be “made from thin air”, it needs to be summoned. As the trio pass by the cabin doors, Ron asks Hermione to conjure him up Pumpkin Pasties, and she names drop’s Gamp’s Law.
MUSIC: The playful music playing when you first start the ride was originally featured in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Akzaban (2004) and was composed by John Williams. But throughout the ride you get an array of familiar Harry Potter score, including the very familiar “Hegwig’s Theme”
DEMENTORS: Like in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Akzaban (2004) dementors board your train. You can see the icy cold hand on your cabin door.
THE STAG: When Harry uses the spell ‘Expeco Patronum’, you can see a faint stag chasing off the dementors. Which is the form that Harry’s dementor takes.
TROLLY: “Anything off the Trolly, Dears?” has become a very iconic and quotable line from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). The trolly witch shows up and askes of the trio would like anything.
CHOCOLATE FROGS: As Ron says in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), “Oh, that's rotten luck. They've only got one good jump in them to begin with.”. You can see the outline of the chocolate frog on your cabin doors.
HAGRID'S MOTORBIKE: Hagrid (the Hogwarts Game’s Keeper) flies by the main widow in the motorbike that used to belong to Serious Black. This is the motorbike that Hagrid uses to bring Harry to the Dursley’s in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). It is also the motorbike Hagrid flies when they take Harry to the burrow in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010). It is even shooting ‘dragon fire’ like in the book! As of 2019, the newest WWoHP ride is ‘Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure’, which actually lets you ride his iconic motorbike!
FLYING CAR: Yes, even the Blue Ford Anglia makes an appearance on this journey. The car is flying outside your window before retreating to the Forbidden Forest.
FIRST YEARS: You can hear Hagrid’s voice asking the first year to follow him. In the books and movies, Hagrid leads the first year students across the Black Lake in boats to the castle.
QUEUE Easter Eggs - King’s Cross
DIVINE MAGIC: Upon entering King’s Cross in WWoHP you’ll see a big advertisement for “Divine Magic by Lima Carneiro” with the words “Make a Little Magic…”. This is a replica of the poster in the subway from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009). Dumbledore is standing in front of it when he goes to collect Harry. The difference is that in the movie, the caption reads “Tonight Make a Little Magic with Your Man…”
HEDWIG: When you enter onto Platform 9 ¾, there is a pile of trunks in the centre. As you go around to the front of them you will see an animatronic snowy owl in a cage. We know that this owl is in fact Hedwig because the cage sits on top of Harry’s school trunk.
HP TRUNK: A lot of people tend to miss this detail because they are distracted by Hedwig. But if you look at the trunk that Hedwig’s cage is sitting on, you’ll see it bears the initials HP. This is Harry Potter’s trunk!
REcommendation + TIPS
WOULD WE RECOMMEND?
Absolutely! If it is in your budget to do a Park to Park pass, then I would very much recommend this attraction!
WHICH SIDE SHOULD I DO:
If you can only do one train ride, I would absolutely recommend starting at King’s Cross station! Doing the London to Hogsmeade trip is, in my opinion, a more magical experience. Not only is there the added queue event of walking through platform 9 ¾, but seeing the dementor on the train is a really great effect. As the ride is different in both directions, you’ll have a great time doing both. But for us, we have to recommend London to Hogsmede as the better choice. If you still need more, we did a break down of them both.
The biggest downfall with this attraction is that it’s technically an up-charge to ride it. As the Hogwarts express acts as a transport between the two parks, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, you will need a Park to Park pass. (This is the equivalent to a Disney Park Hopper pass). As a ‘one park one day’ ticket to Universal Studios is roughly $109 per adult, a ‘two park one day pass’ is about $164.
As my family is really big into both Disney and Harry Potter, our trips to Florida primarily focus on the four Disney parks, then we get a ‘two park one day’ Universal pass and just do all the Harry Potter stuff in one day. If you are going to be spending more than one day at universal studios, you can always do one day as a ‘park to park’ day and focus on the WWoHP for DAY 1. Then, DAY 2 and DAY 3 get two ‘one day’ tickets and do the rest then non Harry Potter attractions from each part separately.
KIDS, GRANDPARENTS, ACCESSIBILITY:
DO IT! If you are a Harry Potter fan this is a must-do attraction. Especially if you have little ones who love Harry Potter. ‘Journey to Hogwarts’ and ‘Escape from Gringotts’ are both fantastic rides, but there is a height requirement for those. Any kiddos who are looking for that same level of immersiveness into this world will love the Hogwarts Express.
This is also a great ride if you're traveling with grandparents or people with disabilities. Unlike other rides where the accessible area has a slightly different viewing experience, the accessibility compartment gives everyone an equal experience. There is only one accessible compartment per ride, so you may need to wait for it to be free.
MOTION SICKNESS:
When traveling from London-Hogsmeade, take a seat on the bench to the right, that way you’ll be facing forward as the train moves. Likewise, when traveling from Hogsmeade-London, take a seat on the left.
HAVE YOU RIDDEN THIS RIDE? IS IT YOUR FAVOURITE? Let us know in the comments!
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