The Best Harry Potter Attraction Queues

Best Harry Potter Attraction QUEUES

Harry Potter almost singlehandedly thrusted Universal from close to Seaworld to be in the conversation with Disney. When Comcast acquired the theme park, they put even more money into the theme parks which catapulted them even higher. They have since made three separate lands in three separate theme parks at the Orlando resort. Each Harry Potter land comes with multiple attractions, with rides or shows, and all three have their own unique flavors to them. The queues started with Forbidden Journey and really set off the journey into better queues for all rides coming after. So how do they all stack up against each other?

Flight of the Hippogriff—This was a recycled attraction that they improved by providing a great view of Hogwarts castle, and an animatronic of a hippogriff on the ride. The queue is not a place where they added… With it being such an accessible younger kids attraction, which is a real missing spot in Universal’s lineup, this line can get very long. It is all out in the sun and not much effort was put into this.

Le Cirque Arcanus—This is the show in the newest land at Epic Universe. I love the facade on this attraction, it immediately brings your eyes to it, and is a fun magical piece of theming in the land. I like that the tent doesn’t look huge in the beginning but once you walk in, it has some queue inside and opens up to a large auditorium which is in Harry Potter fashion. The queue has some theming elements surrounding the walkways, but the outdoor portion is just a few down and backs in the back of the land.

Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure—This queue is the entire reason why I am writing this. I was in line when I thought of this topic, and I couldn’t wait to say my piece about it. This attraction is arguably the best on property and maybe the world with how strong the theming is. The queue is dreadful. I think the biggest problem is the capacity. The line barely moves, and once you enter the dragon egg room, and the tunnels, this line never ends. The dragon egg room is the worst room in any queue. It is way too many people smushed up next to each other with not much to look at. It also can get hot in that room as well, and it DOES NOT MOVE. If the wait time is 70 minutes, 45 of it is in this room. We almost went insane because there was a middle school group in this room yelling and clapping while it was hot and not moving very quickly.

The next three are the quality queues. When they were able to provide jaw dropping moments in each of these queues.

Escape From Gringotts—I like this queue a lot. It feels like a journey that you get to travel through different parts of the bank and enter the caves where the vaults are. It does a great job progressing. The bank section where you get to see all of the goblins is fantastic but it isn’t a long portion of the queue. Most of the wait is on those long hallways where some moving newspapers are on either side of you. It is a multi-level, fun queue with some great animatronics.

Forbidden Journey—The one that started the Harry Potter journey. This queue was a big catalyst in improving queues for the rest of the new rides that open up. I wish a huge great hall would be a waiting area, but the floating candles are delivered on the loading platform. This queue is stuffed full of details. The façade is the best front of any attraction. Getting to go inside Hogwarts delivers on some of the biggest wishes for the Harry Potter fans. I wouldn’t say I am a huge Harry Potter fan, but walking in Hogwarts still means something to me. I get to see some characters from the show. Here comes some NON Harry Potter fan lingo, I only got a 12/20 on Harry Potter trivia on my recent Royal Caribbean cruise. I love seeing Dumbledore’s office, the sherbert lemon staircase, the fountain that they pour the tears into to view memories. The mirror where Harry sees his parents, all the statues, the house cup tournament points, the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, the Gryffindor door lady, some magical paintings that show all sorts of things, even the safety video, and who could forget about the sorting hat at the end of the queue. The greenhouse is the one outdoor section of this queue, and it is sadly where you will spend most of the wait time. Lots of down and backs with no a/c. This is still a great queue and one of the strongest in the world.

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry—The newest Harry Potter ride on this list is a strong contender for the best in the world. I like the ride, but the queue is awesome. They even have a “Ministry Viewing” line just to look around. The floo powder and reveal inside the Ministry is the best reveal of any attraction queue around. It looks like you have stepped right into the movie. It is a short portion of the queue, if it is less than a 45-minute wait (which is all this ride is worth) then you just walk right through this section and enter deeper in the ministry. Seeing the green smoke on both sides of you as you walk into the ministry is so fun, and the statue in the center is a great prop. It is fantastic. The rest of the queue is a showcase of a blown budget by one moment. It has some animated maps, paintings, and a few animatronics but that moment of first walking into the ministry can’t be beat.