just got back from Harry Potter!

[JohnnySharp2]

Great photos. Did you but any cool things from the sweet shop or merchandise stores?

 

[Trinitys Ghost]

I was fortunate to get in to Hogsmeade this past Saturday, and can provide a little additional insight into Forbidden Journey. It is similar to Spiderman in that you're passing through rooms/sets, and also watching HP and others in well done footage that places you in various scenarios.

As far as rooms with spiders and dementors, I can say without a doubt that I am an arachniphobe, but the spiders (and some are big) did not come close to the riders (whew!). Same with the dementors. I'd say the closest they get to you is 5 to 10 feet away - a safe enough distance to thrill or give you the heebie jeebies, but not close enough for you to touch them.

I thought the ride was very well done. Very smooth, very immersive, and not too scary. I witnessed quite a few young kids (tall enough to ride) that came out of FJ with grins on their faces.

 

[Trinitys Ghost]

Another tidbit for those who have very little to stash, but want to keep it with them as opposed to use the lockers. I wore "pants of many pockets" aka cargo pants the day I went, so what I had I carried with me. However, I had a paperback and sunglasses too. I was fortunate to have an off duty TM in front of me, and he confirmed the (little) pockets were somewhere in the ride seats. Once I got up to the load area, I noticed literal pockets in the seats where you would lean back. The pocket is around the size of a hard cover book, so only very small things (wallets, sunglasses, camera) will fit into it. You place your items in the pocket, push the cover to it closed and sit down.

As for the seat size, I tend to think of them as "adult sized lockers". Indeed, some may be squished into them, some may fit just fine and others, well, may not fit. I'm thankful to have been in the "just fine" category, but even if I had not fit, I would have been happy to just walk through the queue (haven't done that yet - did the single riders line).

 

[KerriK85]

Great photos. Did you but any cool things from the sweet shop or merchandise stores?

i got the scarf shown in the pictures, and yes i wore it around both parks

i almost bought a chocolate frog but changed my mind b.c it was $10. i go to universal all the time so i would save it for the next trip, and not spend all my money in this one

 

[Maleficent27]

As for the seat size, I tend to think of them as "adult sized lockers". Indeed, some may be squished into them, some may fit just fine and others, well, may not fit. I'm thankful to have been in the "just fine" category, but even if I had not fit, I would have been happy to just walk through the queue (haven't done that yet - did the single riders line).

How much of the queue does the single rider line cut off? We'll be there June 18, and if we don't fit the test seats, I don't know that I want to spend 5 hours or so in the regular line just to see Hogwarts. I'd been planning on going through single rider in that case, but I guess that won't show us much?

 

[Trinitys Ghost]

The single rider line goes to the left from right about where folks can stop and drop off items at lockers. (I believe the regular line goes straight ahead).
You end up left, up a flight of stairs and in to a decent sized room with portraits (I think one or two may be of the talking variety - so it isn't the portrait room seen on the Universal website). From there, you move forward to another room containing the sorting hat on a far side wall (who provides a short safety spiel). After that, you make a left and you're in the Great Hall where you load and disembark. It's a pretty short line, and yep, you miss a lot of the queue.

I figured as a local I would try the single rider line first just to get on the ride. I have family coming out in October, and will brave the regular line then to see the queue in its entirety.

I would recommend heading back in to the parks after June 18th, if you are at Universal for a few days. Aim for the morning and head to FJ first before anything else.

 

[DISNEY CRAZY 69]

thank you for your wonderful report and your photos are great...going in 01/11 and can not wait.

 

[FloraFauna]

I am claustrophobic, but not that bad that I can't ride Spiderman. I get a little nervous when the "walls" go up just before Spiderman takes off. I have never been on Mission Space, though. That one's a little too close for comfort.

Is Forbidden Journey closed in like Mission Space? I'm hoping the answer is no.

Thanks.

 

[Albytaps]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing

 

[csmommy]

OK, I can handle the "wimpy" version of Mission Space ~ DS & I love it, but not the "scary" version. Does this mean I cannot do FP? It is not the scary parts, but the spinning.

 

[Trinitys Ghost]

The seats are not fully enclosed, meaning you have a little room between one another (four per "bench"), and the seats are not enclosed in front of you. Think of Hulk or Dueling Dragons, but with a modest separation between yourself and the person next to you.

The movement of the kuka arm did not get me dizzy, and I think it did whip around (albeit not too quickly) a few times. They have cool air piped throughout the ride, and it is most noticeable in the area with the Dementors. I think that helps prevent nauseau (it's also done on Mission Space).

The one thing I wish they would recommend at the start of the ride is to not close your eyes. That is mentioned on Mission Space. I recall the one time I did not heed that warning...I made myself a bit dizzy.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

My concern is motion sickness and asthma.

I'm fine on Soarin' but can not stand the Star Wars ride. I also do OK on Spider Man.

The smoke/fog is my other concern. Is there a lot of it?

 

[simpson4]

We will be there on June 18th and my teenage daughter is very concerned about the size of the spiders. Does anyone have any feedback on this?

 

[phamton]

My concern is motion sickness and asthma.

I'm fine on Soarin' but can not stand the Star Wars ride. I also do OK on Spider Man.

The smoke/fog is my other concern. Is there a lot of it?

The smoke is not really smoke but CO2 so you should be fine with that.

 

[WheelCEO]

hoping to go in july

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

First off, it was all so amazing! i actually attended the day nbc was there, and they were everywhere we were, so i may get on this special tomorrow, cant wait to watch!

forbidden journey now!
me and my husband both got pulled to the side, i got to ride he didnt. he is on the larger side, me i have a large chest in the ddd's and i just made it. (i got pulled aside 3 times b/c they didnt believe the other workers were doing their jobs- THANKS UNIVERSAL!) my husband actually witnessed a fight at the "denied access" exit. this is no chicken exit, everyone that went through these doors were denied! a man bought the package and was not allowed to ride because of his broad shoulders. he was a skinny man, so this was so shocking! he demanded a manager because he spent all the money solely for the ride.

-spoiler-
i can understand the reasoning though. if you are afraid of small spaces, you will not like this ride! the entire ride is up against you. the dragon is huge! the spiders are right on you, the tree is gigantic, the dementors are in your face, and you even come face to face with a wall of webs. i panicked a few times since i hate spiders and skeletons. even the screens with the fake scenes are right there on you.

-over-

if you want to participate in olivanders, it aint happening unless you are a child! this is more for the children! they like to only pick kids to participate, but it is still fun to watch

i had butterbeer!

i think it is good for one time during the day. it was more good when i had it, but it made me full and not feel all that great in the heat. it also had a taste that is good in the moment, but too much you wont care for it. it tastes just like cream soda.

the actors are good at their jobs! i bought a scarf over there and the actors constantly came over to me asking if i just enrolled, and things like that. they are so much fun. i also had random people in the parks approaching me cheering me on for gryffindor!

keep an eye on the window across from the line from olivanders. there are instruments in this window, and every once in a while you will hear yelling and papers are flying everywhere! so cool!

i ate breakfast at three broomsticks. it was huge! me and my husband actually shared the breakfast. keep an eye on the walls, there are shadows that magically appear on occasion.

right by here is the bathroom, and yes moaning myrtle can be heard! it is so faint though. they have the new hand dryers that you put your hands inside of, and everyone kept turning them on for the 10 minutes i just stood in their waiting, and i can hardly hear her.

im sure there is more, so feel free to ask anything!

I hate to say this, but I'm really getting disappointed from what I'm reading. My DH is not fat but he is broad shouldered, 6 ft, with muscular arms, chest, etc. They should adjust some of these seats now. Maybe we can complain about it. Not letting some poor guy ride that isn't even that big that spent all of his money to go there is really not right.

 

[damo]

I hate to say this, but I'm really getting disappointed from what I'm reading. My DH is not fat but he is broad shouldered, 6 ft, with muscular arms, chest, etc. They should adjust some of these seats now. Maybe we can complain about it. Not letting some poor guy ride that isn't even that big that spent all of his money to go there is really not right.

We saw lots of big men riding and women. People that we thought wouldn't be able to ride based on things said here on the boards had no issues. You can't accommodate everyone on every ride. People with other issues can't ride either and they spent their money to get there too. Should people with motion sickness complain that they should slow the ride down? Should people with neck and back issues complain that they should not have the vehicle move around? You can not make everyone happy. A lot more people will get to ride this ride than what has been made out to be on this board. I sat outside the exit for about an hour and saw all types of body types and ages come out happy as can be. I did not see one person come out unhappy. I am not saying that it doesn't happen but the rate of it happening is a lot less than people on the boards who haven't even been there seem to think.

 

[tedmundson]

We saw lots of big men riding and women. People that we thought wouldn't be able to ride based on things said here on the boards had no issues. You can't accommodate everyone on every ride. People with other issues can't ride either and they spent their money to get there too. Should people with motion sickness complain that they should slow the ride down? Should people with neck and back issues complain that they should not have the vehicle move around? You can not make everyone happy. A lot more people will get to ride this ride than what has been made out to be on this board. I sat outside the exit for about an hour and saw all types of body types and ages come out happy as can be. I did not see one person come out unhappy. I am not saying that it doesn't happen but the rate of it happening is a lot less than people on the boards who haven't even been there seem to think.

Thanks for the information. I will admit that concern over this issue has motivated me to work harder to lose some weight, so it probably was a positive. However, your post does help to lessen the concern. I might even have a butterbeer to celebrate.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

We saw lots of big men riding and women. People that we thought wouldn't be able to ride based on things said here on the boards had no issues. You can't accommodate everyone on every ride. People with other issues can't ride either and they spent their money to get there too. Should people with motion sickness complain that they should slow the ride down? Should people with neck and back issues complain that they should not have the vehicle move around? You can not make everyone happy. A lot more people will get to ride this ride than what has been made out to be on this board. I sat outside the exit for about an hour and saw all types of body types and ages come out happy as can be. I did not see one person come out unhappy. I am not saying that it doesn't happen but the rate of it happening is a lot less than people on the boards who haven't even been there seem to think.

Ok. My DH is not that big and it seemed from posts that many were being denied. I guess I was getting caught up in some of the posts. There is another thread related just to this and it seemed like many could not ride, but thanks for the info. Just in case it is that way, possibly US may read the reviews and make some changes.

 

[KerriK85]

sorry if im adding to the discouragement


1- i think you may just think it is an extreme number of non riders b.c those are the ones complaining, and you dont hear from every person that rides, so im sure the riding number is higher than denied riders. just like accidents, you may hear about them a lot but how many people were on the road that day? i hope that is a good comparison lol

2- i dont think you can check the exit b.c it is the same exit for the riders and non riders. my husband waited for me inside the building and we both exited through the store together. i think the chicken exit is the same as the ride exit? my husband isnt here i cant ask him :/