{"id":357687,"date":"2025-04-08T17:03:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T21:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/attractionsmagazine.com\/?p=357687"},"modified":"2025-04-10T19:16:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T23:16:00","slug":"harry-potter-battle-ministry-universal-epic-universe-ride-review-wizarding-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/attractionsmagazine.com\/harry-potter-battle-ministry-universal-epic-universe-ride-review-wizarding-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Ride review | Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry at Epic Universe, unlike any other"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry \u2014 the ride inside the new Wizarding World at Universal Epic Universe \u2014 brings a whole new type of theme park ride to the world. It\u2019s similar to rides you\u2019ve most likely been on before, but plussed!<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Battle<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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When The Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened<\/a> in 2010 at Universal Islands of Adventure, the land made everyone\u2019s jaws drop, and it set a new standard for what theme park lands could be. The Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride also broke new ground with its robotic arms on a track ride system. This led to the creation of Universal Orlando\u2019s second Wizarding World, Diagon Alley, in 2014. This land brought even more details and realism, and the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringots ride once again wowed guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now The Wizarding World of Harry Potter \u2013 Ministry of Magic at Epic Universe once again tops those that came before it, both in the land and with its new ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The story and queue behind Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To set the story, you\u2019re using the M\u00e9tro-Floo to visit the British Ministry of Magic, as seen in the films, as everyone\u2019s favorite, most-hated villain, Dolores Umbridge, is undergoing trial for her crimes. When we say you\u2019re visiting the Ministry of Magic as seen in the films, that will seem like it\u2019s literally happening, as the main Ministry lobby looks just like its counterpart in the movies. It’s huge, beautiful, and breathtaking. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Harry
Photo by Attractions Magazine<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The rest of the queue isn\u2019t as large, but it\u2019s just as detailed. You\u2019ll pass through a locker room, walk by some talking portraits, and step into Umbridge’s office itself, where you\u2019ll meet Higgledy. She\u2019s Umbridge’s house-elf, or was, since Umbridge has been arrested. This very cool-looking animatronic will not only tell you about Umbridge, but also sing the praises of Hermione Granger. Then you\u2019re off to your elevator to go to Umbridge’s trial.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Higgledy
Photo courtesy of Universal<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The ride vehicle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As you know if you\u2019ve seen the “Harry Potter” films, the elevators in the Ministry not only go up and down, but also side to side. As such, your ride vehicle is a large version of an elevator with seats. It looks similar to the Tower of Terror ride vehicle over at Walt Disney World. But that\u2019s where the similarities end. Your elevator will start its journey going sideways. From there you\u2019ll go up and down and side to side very briskly. The drops are not large, but some are fast.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Universal<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The ride experience onboard Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t want to give too many spoilers, but with the help of a Death Eater, Umbridge escapes. She\u2019s headed to the Time Room to find a Time Turner so she can go back to when Voldemort was around, and it\u2019s up to you, with the help of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, to catch her. As you ride along, you\u2019ll see other elevators in front of you and different rooms and departments such as Ministry Archives and the Magical Creatures Department, where an escaped Erumpent (think giant rhino) gets loose and knocks your elevator around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before riding, we knew about seeing Higgledy in Dolores\u2019 office, but we didn\u2019t realize she\u2019d also play a large role in the ride. We loved seeing it, as we\u2019re always a fan of characters created just for the theme parks. Hermione and Higgledy play a much larger role in the ride than we expected. We are here for it. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Wizarding
Artwork courtesy of Universal<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As you ride along, not only are the movements fun and thrilling (and not nauseating) but what you\u2019re seeing is a technological spectacle. You\u2019re completely immersed in the ride. Besides being able to see the mechanics of some of the other elevators next to you at the beginning of the ride, there\u2019s nothing else that you can see that will take you out of the experience. Yes, there are screens, but they\u2019re so well incorporated that you sometimes can\u2019t tell they\u2019re screens. You\u2019ll also see lots of awesome-looking animatronics along the way, some you may even mistake for human actors. The Death Eaters are perfect for this since you can\u2019t see their faces. You\u2019ll also see the first-ever animatronics of Harry, Ron, and Hermione (they’re just screens in Universal’s other rides), plus Umbridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ride also includes some cool callbacks to the films, both in dialog and music. At the start of the ride, Umbridge\u2019s theme is playing and then in the Magical Creatures Department, the “Fantastic Beasts” theme plays and in the Time Room, the Time Turner theme plays.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The original trio isn’t back \u2014 but Imelda Staunton is<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If we were to nitpick, it would be the voices of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They\u2019re sound-alike performances \u2014 original actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, respectively, didn\u2019t reprise their roles for the ride \u2014 and we could tell. We must say, though, they sound better than the sound-alikes on previous “Potter” rides. They weren\u2019t perfect, but most riders probably won\u2019t be able to tell the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another voice that sounds a bit weird is the Death Eater working with Umbridge. He sounds more like an oaf than the cool-dude Death Eaters from the films. But those are small nitpicks on a first-class attraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will see actress Imelda Staunton return herself to play Dolores Umbridge, marking the first time she’s reprised the role since the movies ended 14 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Umbridge\"
Imelda Staunton filming new scenes as Dolores Umbridge on the set of Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.<\/em>
Photo courtesy of Universal<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We need to ride both Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment<\/a> to decide which is the best theme park ride at Epic Universe. Don\u2019t skip either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More Attractions Magazine stories:<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Monsters Unchained review<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Photos inside new Wizarding World<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Epic Universe ticket guide<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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