From the studio tour in London to the Ultimate Wizarding Experience in Japan, Harry Potter attractions have become an international invitation to fans as a way to immerse themselves into the magical world of the books and movies.
In fact, Universal Studios in Orlando, FL is now home to three different Harry Potter theme parks: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and Ministry of Magic.
Universal opened Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure in 2010, which is home to “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” a ride based on Hogwarts. Diagon Alley was opened in 2014, where you can make your way through the wizarding bank in the “Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts” ride.
However, the newest park, opened in 2025, is located in Universal’s new Epic Universe. A short trip through a tunnel that one could assume is supposed to simulate a time turner leads you to 1920s Paris. Which is where my frustration with the park begins.
I’m as big a Harry Potter fan as just about anyone who loves the series. And I was, understandably, incredibly excited to visit the new park when an opportunity arose. However, the park was a tad disappointing.
The French theme and writing is seemingly meant to express the journey to Paris in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The location in the movie is the centeral hub for dark wizarding activity and the new main base of Gellert Grindelwald.
It is also the location of Credence Barebone’s journey, an Obscurus that is *spoiler* revealed to be the son of Aberforth Dumbledore and, thus, the nephew of Albus Dumbledore. He heads to Paris to try to figure out his origin story and learn who his mother is. (As an aside: does anyone else think he looks like a younger Snape?)
Being that these are the main points of the movie, the city is presented to have a darker tone and atmosphere. Yet the park conveys the opposite. There is positivity and bright colors everywhere. Maybe that’s meant to make the park more enticing to potential visitors, but, in my opinion, it kind of defeats the point.
On top of that, everything is in French. Sure, we’re in Paris, French is the language, but what about translations for those of us who do not speak it? The only way to determine the store is a quick guess from the look of it and, if you’ve got the time to explore, the set up within. That makes it a bit difficult to shop.
And now for the ride: “Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.”
For some reason that is never disclosed, the Harry Potter park was going to close early on my trip. There were signs up, but they never said exactly what time. So, naturally, we went there first.
I’d imagine most other visitors had the same idea and, for argument’s sake, that may be why the wait was so long, but we ultimately had to wait three and a half hours just to ride an about three-minute ride. The wait was longer than the time it took for my party to drive to the park.
The entire line is inside the ministry (for the most part), which we get to by the fireplace floo network. Despite this being a cool factor, it is a flaw, in my opinion. We’re going from 1920s Paris to 1998 London — this is both a time jump and a teleportation. The floo network, as far as I know, is unable to travel through time and, though there’s no evidence either way here, doesn’t travel internationally. So, what? It just magically (pun not intended) worked exactly as we needed it to, even if unrealistic in the actual Potterverse?
Once you get past that little hiccup, you end up in the ministry. Which seems great. Until you realize that the rooms seem endless, especially for that wait time. And there’s not enough interaction, especially at the beginning, to really keep the visitors satisfied as they wait. While some rooms are interesting, they were often the smaller rooms that were passed through far too quickly to really catch everything that could have been engaging.
I will say, though, that there are a couple positives. First, once you’re in the ministry, the entire line is in the AC. Those who’ve been or who are native to Florida know that that is a big plus. Humidity plus heat does not equal a happy park visitor. And it was nice to see a few familiar faces along the way.
The ride itself, though far too short, was satisfying. The main idea is that Dolores Umbridge, with help from Yaxley and a couple other Death Eaters, is trying to escape her trial, obtain a Time Turner from the Time Room in the ministry, and go back to Voldemort’s reign. We (the riders) are enlisted to help stop her.
Just as you’d expect with any ride, the movements and thrill factor were just as exciting as the “show” on the screens.
It was a bit all over the place (though most of Harry Potter is to some degree, if we’re honest), but it gave the riders a look into multiple rooms of the ministry: the grand atrium, magical archives, Umbridge’s office, the time room (of course), and even the department of magical creatures (where we run into an Erumpent).
My favorite parts, though, which I was immensely happy to hear, were Umbridge’s “I will have order” and Harry’s “You must not tell lies, professor.” It can’t be a ride centered on Umbridge without those iconic lines, can it?
The trip wasn’t a complete letdown. The ride made it worth it and I left pleased because I was finally able to get my wand (Narcissa Malfoy’s, thank you very much. I wouldn’t be a true Slytherin if I didn’t get a Slytherin wand). I’d go again, and maybe explore a bit more than I did this first time. But I’m really hoping it won’t be another wait that takes up nearly half my day at the park.
