Well, THAT was interesting.
I was on what might have been the last cart to embark on the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts 3-D ride at Universal Studios Orlando this early morning of April 24, 2018, during the early park admission hour for resort guests and APs such as myself.
At the first scene, where Belatrix LaStrange (apologies if I’m mispelling the name) triggers the change from standard tour of the bank to wild ride with the HP gang, the carts lowered from hroizontal to an angled position for the short drop — then stayed there for more than 5 minutes. The film ended, the lights soon came on, and a recorded British voice began the first of four of five repeats to warn us that the ride would begin immediately. These recorded alerts were interspersed twice with the live, U.S.-accented voice of Rose, not as easy to hear over the occasional sound effects echoing through the chamber. The second message from Rose was easier for me to make out, perhaps because my random cartmates had stopped chattering as loudly: the carts would return to an upright position soon.
We had time to look around the chamber, many risking taking out their phones to snap selfies. I craned around to note the second cart was empty — as this was perhaps 8:20 a.m., they loaded only the first carts to prevent delaying the cycle, I would guess.
I also had time to admire the length of the drop while we hung on the precipice — something difficult to gauge during the darkness and effects of the ride — and other tricks of the tarde, such as the mirrorlike panels on the floor, angled precisely to reflect the brick walls and imply greater depth. (I say I am afraid of heights, as that is the standard phobia, but I think it’s really more a dread of depths. I was too wrapped up in looking around and chatting with my cartmates to time the stoppage, but it seemed to be at least 5 minutes we remained suspended.
Sure enough, as Rose had predicted, the carts slowly and gently rose to horizontal again. We speculated the scene might replay once they turned off the lights. But no: within a minute, the carts angled down again, lights on, and we all screamed (at least, many voices joined mine) as the carts dropped down and through to the next 3-D scene.
This began the process to safely return us to the end of the ride: cycle through each scene, stopping at the frozen screens and experiencing some (not all, I believe) of the preprogrammed rumbles and twitches, lights on, then advancing to the next.
One young lady in the front row told us the last time she was on a ride that stopped, they gave her group “gold tickets” to ride again. A man behind me was ready to haggle with guest services to try to wrangle a free HP wand out of them. (I don’t think he attempted it.)
At the end, with the exit and entry queues in sight, we still had to wait for the calm and professional attendants to clear the empty sets of carts in front of us. When we were close enough to hear her, one attendant apologized for our experience, and said we’d get “two Express Passes” to ride Gringotts at another time, and were welcome to wait now to reride it — but they were not sure how long it would take for the ride to resume.
Once we got to the bins where they collected the 3-D glasses and handed out the receipt-like (not at all golden) Express Passes, there was no mention of giving two to each of us. Many riders were resort guests, of course, and declined the offer because their room tickets act as EPs all day, for all rides. As a lowly AP, I took one. I could probably have requested more, as the attendants simply asked, “How many?” And counted out what we requested.
As I tend to use the single rider line once they open it, I might not use the EP at that same ride. Having read the text, it states, “Valid at all Universal Express locations” among other details. (As there is no single ride line for the Hogwarts Express train, perhaps I’ll use it there.
I then retrieved my bag from the free lockers before my time expired, and asked at the Leaky Cauldron restaurant if I could activate my souvenir Coca-Cola Freestlye cup there. The very nice attendant apologized and said the HP land does not offer those types of beverages, so doesn’t activate the cups. She looked up the closest venue on a list and sent me off in the direction of Richter Burger Co.
I eventually slogged all the way back to the entrance, to Beverly Hills Boulangerie, which was actually open at this early hour, and quiet enough for me to write this report.
Now, as the park as opened to all, I shall wander back toward the soft-opened Fast & Furious Supercharged, which had staff outside at the early park opening, but told me they’d not open the queue until regular park time.
I was on what might have been the last cart to embark on the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts 3-D ride at Universal Studios Orlando this early morning of April 24, 2018, during the early park admission hour for resort guests and APs such as myself.
At the first scene, where Belatrix LaStrange (apologies if I’m mispelling the name) triggers the change from standard tour of the bank to wild ride with the HP gang, the carts lowered from hroizontal to an angled position for the short drop — then stayed there for more than 5 minutes. The film ended, the lights soon came on, and a recorded British voice began the first of four of five repeats to warn us that the ride would begin immediately. These recorded alerts were interspersed twice with the live, U.S.-accented voice of Rose, not as easy to hear over the occasional sound effects echoing through the chamber. The second message from Rose was easier for me to make out, perhaps because my random cartmates had stopped chattering as loudly: the carts would return to an upright position soon.
We had time to look around the chamber, many risking taking out their phones to snap selfies. I craned around to note the second cart was empty — as this was perhaps 8:20 a.m., they loaded only the first carts to prevent delaying the cycle, I would guess.
I also had time to admire the length of the drop while we hung on the precipice — something difficult to gauge during the darkness and effects of the ride — and other tricks of the tarde, such as the mirrorlike panels on the floor, angled precisely to reflect the brick walls and imply greater depth. (I say I am afraid of heights, as that is the standard phobia, but I think it’s really more a dread of depths. I was too wrapped up in looking around and chatting with my cartmates to time the stoppage, but it seemed to be at least 5 minutes we remained suspended.
Sure enough, as Rose had predicted, the carts slowly and gently rose to horizontal again. We speculated the scene might replay once they turned off the lights. But no: within a minute, the carts angled down again, lights on, and we all screamed (at least, many voices joined mine) as the carts dropped down and through to the next 3-D scene.
This began the process to safely return us to the end of the ride: cycle through each scene, stopping at the frozen screens and experiencing some (not all, I believe) of the preprogrammed rumbles and twitches, lights on, then advancing to the next.
One young lady in the front row told us the last time she was on a ride that stopped, they gave her group “gold tickets” to ride again. A man behind me was ready to haggle with guest services to try to wrangle a free HP wand out of them. (I don’t think he attempted it.)
At the end, with the exit and entry queues in sight, we still had to wait for the calm and professional attendants to clear the empty sets of carts in front of us. When we were close enough to hear her, one attendant apologized for our experience, and said we’d get “two Express Passes” to ride Gringotts at another time, and were welcome to wait now to reride it — but they were not sure how long it would take for the ride to resume.
Once we got to the bins where they collected the 3-D glasses and handed out the receipt-like (not at all golden) Express Passes, there was no mention of giving two to each of us. Many riders were resort guests, of course, and declined the offer because their room tickets act as EPs all day, for all rides. As a lowly AP, I took one. I could probably have requested more, as the attendants simply asked, “How many?” And counted out what we requested.
As I tend to use the single rider line once they open it, I might not use the EP at that same ride. Having read the text, it states, “Valid at all Universal Express locations” among other details. (As there is no single ride line for the Hogwarts Express train, perhaps I’ll use it there.
I then retrieved my bag from the free lockers before my time expired, and asked at the Leaky Cauldron restaurant if I could activate my souvenir Coca-Cola Freestlye cup there. The very nice attendant apologized and said the HP land does not offer those types of beverages, so doesn’t activate the cups. She looked up the closest venue on a list and sent me off in the direction of Richter Burger Co.
I eventually slogged all the way back to the entrance, to Beverly Hills Boulangerie, which was actually open at this early hour, and quiet enough for me to write this report.
Now, as the park as opened to all, I shall wander back toward the soft-opened Fast & Furious Supercharged, which had staff outside at the early park opening, but told me they’d not open the queue until regular park time.
