Problems with the Harry Potter Ride

[damo]

We were stuck at the whomping willow...upside down...we called 911

Bwahahaha!!! Can't believe someone actually did that!

 

[yaytezIOA]

Don't tease us like that. There are people that may actually believe that.

Well it did happen....someone was stuck right at that part. The only problem is that FJ doesn't go upside down.
In all seriousness, the ride goes up and down, just like all rides. We were stuck for 45 minutes on It's a Small World, so I want some of that "special magic" the guy above had. Have you ever been stuck on IASW? THE HORROR...the horror

 

[DorianDonP]

I went to the park in February with my gf and the ride stopped working about halfway in. It was actually kind of creepy/fun in an unintentional way but it rebooted after about 30 seconds. I'd imagine there will be some technical difficulties with the ride for awhile.

 

[DorianDonP]

Oh and of course at Disney, nothing ever goes wrong, the rides are always working perfectly, the huge crowds magically open up like Moses' parting of the Red Sea everywhere we walk. I walk into every restaurant where I'm always immediately seated in the best seat. The food is always perfect. The CMs are always smiling and have ALWAYS known how to answer every single question I've ever asked. Even one time when I was just testing one to see, she was probably only about 19 years old, and I quizzed her on quantum physics and the latest theory by Steven Hawking, and she answered every question perfectly.

I have never encountered any rude, offensive or rowdy teenagers. All the guests standing in line have never smelled of BO, and always smell like roses. And on top of everything else, I always find about 14 or 15 $100 dollar bills laying on the ground on my way out so I never have to pay for anything either. I'm just lucky that way I guess.

In my time visiting both Universal and Disney I haven't noticed either park having any issues more noticeable than the other.

 

[kessieann]

My daughter and I got stuck on Space Ship Earth at Epcot at the end of the ride where it goes down backwards. After an hour they turned on the lights and we all had to get out and go down the stairs. Imagine the CM trying to help us Pooh Sized people out of the car when gravity is working against you. It was not a graceful exit to say the least. It was however, kinda cool to see the inside "guts" of the ride with the lights on.

 

[MIChessGuy]

I've been going to WDW and Universal for decades and cannot remember very many "stuck" rides of any real duration. Haunted Mansion often has a hesitation or two, but last time I think it was because some misbehaving guest got caught on a security camera. Spaceship Earth is similar; that one and HM are subject to hiccups when a wheelchair guest gets off/on. But it's always 2 or 3 minutes, tops. I have never been walked off any ride, anywhere. Even FJ was working fine last month when I managed to get past the fat police.

Once I did get a break when HM got stuck for a couple of minutes in the banquet room. It let me take in all the amazing details of that very large scene, and there's a lot of them!

Oops, I just remembered that last August, before the TMs rejected me, we had been stuck in the FJ queue for maybe 20 minutes inside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. But technically we weren't "on" the ride yet. I suppose it must have been pretty annoying for the stuck riders, if any.

 

[Mandyjg20]

Oh and of course at Disney, nothing ever goes wrong, the rides are always working perfectly, the huge crowds magically open up like Moses' parting of the Red Sea everywhere we walk. I walk into every restaurant where I'm always immediately seated in the best seat. The food is always perfect. The CMs are always smiling and have ALWAYS known how to answer every single question I've ever asked. Even one time when I was just testing one to see, she was probably only about 19 years old, and I quizzed her on quantum physics and the latest theory by Steven Hawking, and she answered every question perfectly.

I have never encountered any rude, offensive or rowdy teenagers. All the guests standing in line have never smelled of BO, and always smell like roses. And on top of everything else, I always find about 14 or 15 $100 dollar bills laying on the ground on my way out so I never have to pay for anything either. I'm just lucky that way I guess.

Wow can I join you next time!! hahaa

 

[HelenParr]

I am interested in the likelihood of FJ having a slowage or stoppage from an expectation standpoint. I fully agree anything can break at any time, I have expectations based on my anectodal experiences, which vary, as in:

A. It's usually working but anything can go down at any time,
B. It's hit or miss, or
C. It seems to be broken a lot.

As an example of C, remember the days when Test Track seemed to be down more than it worked. During that time when folks asked me: "hey, how's Test Track, we are wondering whether to ride?" I told them: "great, but it's broken a lot."

I give FJ an A on the list, based on this highly scientific scoring process. I've apparently been super lucky thumbsup2) in the multiple trips over to IoA, I've only encountered minimal stoppages on FJ, and none while on the ride. I also learned to love the beer cart in the queue. That's just pure genius on a hot day.

 

[LUVIOA]

From reading a lot of other peoples experiences, i would have to say that FJ is often temporarily not working periodically throughout any day due to motion sick guests losing their lunch This would not of course excuse the long outtages but will cause a lot of stoppages.

 

[IdesOmarch]

In my time visiting both Universal and Disney I haven't noticed either park having any issues more noticeable than the other.

Sorry if I sounded snarky, but that was really my point. Going to any park you could encounter any type of these problems. They all have rides that may be down, there always may be some loser, smelly guests, or what not, it just kind of drives me crazy when someone makes out like their favorite park never has any issues, when in fact any and all parks have issues in these areas, just the nature of the beast. I remember driving 6 hours to 6-Flags in TExas when I was a kid, to ride a particular ride only to find it down for the 2 days on my visit, disappointing yes, but also could happen anywhere.

 

[Timmy Boy]

I've been stuck on Soarin, on the boarding level, for about 5 minutes. Most boring breakdown ever. We didn't even lift up or anything. I've also been evacuated from Everest's main lift hill. That was actually really fun! I stopped on FJ twice in the same ride, both times in the 3rd carousel.

FJ can stop for a number of reasons. The problem is, since everything moves in sync with each other, one vehicle stopping causes the entire ride to stop moving.

 

[Spideyfreak]

Been lurking for a while, figured I can contribute.

Timmy Boy, you hit the nail on the head. Forbidden Journey operates much like Haunted Mansion. If one car stops, they all stop, except here the whole show stops because it needs to stay in sync with the vehicles.

It's obvious that they thought about wheelchairs, hence the alternate load area. Sometimes though, it's people not getting on in time.


On one of my rides, somebody in the car ahead of me was not able to secure his restraint and they unlocked it, told him he would not be able to ride, and asked him to step off the belt for a moment. Somehow he couldn't grasp the concept that the belt was moving and he was running out of platform. That's when the TM pushed their kill pack initiating Ride Stop.

Wouldn't it be easier to have just a Station Stop feature like the other rides? Well, sure. After all, you could stop the vehicles that are only in the station and the ride would be relatively unaffected. But for Forbidden Journey the intervals and show timing are so close it's just easier to stop everything and then reset and restart.


The other thing that sometimes happens is a failure to "tag" the vehicle. This was told to me by a TM working there:

The last person who checks your restraints has a magnetic key or "tag" in their hand. After they make sure the vehicle is secured they hold the key to a sensor at the top corner of the vehicle, causing two green lights to appear on the car. (You can see their reflection in the mirror on the wall.) This basically tells the vehicle that it is secure and can move past the load area into the ride. Sometimes the vehicle doesn't detect the key, so when it gets to the end of the belt, it causes a Ride Stop.

Then sometimes the ride stops because it just screws up. Spider-man did it all the time back in the day.

 

[Harry Potter]

In opening week 2010, I rode FJ 27 times, including 14 times on the first full day I was there on Monday June 14th I think (I did go to IOA as soon as I stepped off the plane, well 90 minutes after, on Sunday 13th, but FJ was not operable that day), and I got stuck maybe three times, all on the same day.

Once, I got stuck underneath the Whomping Willow, which as others have pointed out, it is not a pleasant experience. I could feel the loose change and my BlackBerry slipping out of my shorts pocket, yet I didn't want to take my hands off the restraints bars anyway to stop them.

Other times, I got stuck in the Chamber of Secrets, which is also quite dodgy to be stuck in, as the ride vehicle kind of tilts drastically to the side, which leaves you with the sensation as if you are going to fall out sideways, especially if you're in the end seat.

Generally, though, I got through the opening week riding so much with minimal problems. I am visiting again in May/June this year, with of course FJ being my main reason for staying onsite at IOA. I would be very disheartened to learn that they still haven't sorted out the relibaility glitches.

 

[Timmy Boy]

Been lurking for a while, figured I can contribute.


It's obvious that they thought about wheelchairs, hence the alternate load area. Sometimes though, it's people not getting on in time..

You can tell that Universal learned from Rockit that they needed a lot more belt space, hence the 20-30 seconds of moving sideways on the belt before anything happens.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

The FJ belt also moves a LOT faster than the Rockit belt.

 

[tink20]

In opening week 2010, I rode FJ 27 times, including 14 times on the first full day I was there on Monday June 14th I think (I did go to IOA as soon as I stepped off the plane, well 90 minutes after, on Sunday 13th, but FJ was not operable that day), and I got stuck maybe three times, all on the same day.

Once, I got stuck underneath the Whomping Willow, which as others have pointed out, it is not a pleasant experience. I could feel the loose change and my BlackBerry slipping out of my shorts pocket, yet I didn't want to take my hands off the restraints bars anyway to stop them.

Other times, I got stuck in the Chamber of Secrets, which is also quite dodgy to be stuck in, as the ride vehicle kind of tilts drastically to the side, which leaves you with the sensation as if you are going to fall out sideways, especially if you're in the end seat.

Generally, though, I got through the opening week riding so much with minimal problems. I am visiting again in May/June this year, with of course FJ being my main reason for staying onsite at IOA. I would be very disheartened to learn that they still haven't sorted out the relibaility glitches.

When you got stuck in the unpleasant spots, how long were you stuck like that? I want to prepare DS, if something like that happens, I wouldn't want him to freak out. Would I be able to tell him what's going on? (I read on other threads, that you can't really see each other that good)
We've never been, so don't know what to expect, TIA!

 

[Spideyfreak]

^ I've been stopped on it several times. The TMs are pretty good at keeping you informed. If it stops, there is an automated spiel telling every one to stay seated. From my experience, if it's going to be more than a few minutes, controls will turn the work lights on and make a personal announcement over the PA. Whenever the ride is about to restart you'll hear another automated spiel.

I've only ever been stopped for no more than 10 minutes.

 

[c3363]

We were lucky enough to not gets stuck on any rides at Universal Studios or IOA. From what I saw, the cast members were vigilant about checking seat belts. My sister is always ultra paranoid about her harness being too loose on upside down coaster due to some previous bad experiences. They even tightened it down more for her on dragon challenge which was very thoughtful.

We have been stuck on test track in Disney for over 45 minutes. Someone in my group got tired of waiting and attempted to get out (we were stopped for a long time with no information). Apparently they can watch you on the ride because they announced on a loudspeaker "stay seated" as soon as someone looked like they might try to get up. Also, the last time we visited Disney a few years ago I was with a young child and while riding the tower of terror, they started the ride before several people even had their seat belts fastened. Lots of people were panicking. They used to be a lot more careful about seat belt checks. That was just an accident waiting to happen.

We've been stuck on rides many times at a local six flags. Including once on Batman (floorless upside-down coaster). The break mechanism broke down and we came shooting down the final hill before stopping extremely and painfully short. Luckily we stopped in time to avoid the train in front of us that was waiting to go into the landing. It took about 30 minutes for the ride attendants to get to us and another hour before they got to our seat to manually release the harness (we were in the last seat of the train). They laid planks out over the tracks and we had to walk down the length of the track a good 30+ feet in the air. We were lucky on that one. At least the train stopped. Then we had to sign a release in order to leave the area once we got off. They gave us a one time use fast pass to go back on. Like we were going to do that again! It ended up being closed for the rest of the week.

 

[Harry Potter]

I just wanted to share this video of Forbidden Journey that I found on YouTube today.

It shows amazing detail of the FJ roboarm vehicles during a ride breakdown.

Especially at 2.31 onwards you get an amazing close up of the 4-wheel drive system which runs in between paralell tracks. I have never seen anything so exposed before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRogCGoKSjU

And at 3.05 you get a clear view of the entrance to the disabled station, which is obviously accessed by a switchtrack. Incidentally, the bit in the ride when Dumbledore says 'tuck your elbows in' followed by a plume of smoke, is obviously designed to hide anybody seeing the disabled riders' entrance.

 

[Harry Potter]

When you got stuck in the unpleasant spots, how long were you stuck like that? I want to prepare DS, if something like that happens, I wouldn't want him to freak out. Would I be able to tell him what's going on? (I read on other threads, that you can't really see each other that good)
We've never been, so don't know what to expect, TIA!

Well, underneath the Whomping Willow, imagine laying on your back, with your feet higher than your head. It is the WORST place (possibly only bad place) to get stuck on this ride, so part of the uncomfortableness comes from the fury of knowing you are the ONLY people in the whole ride to be in that position. If the delay only lasts for a few minutes then it's hardly too much of a bother. After all, the restraints aren't going to suddenly come loose. There's no chance of that happening. 0%. So just roll your eyes and comfort your son a little, and before you know it, the ride will be moving again. However, it is the possibility of an evacuation from that position that scares me, as I am a big sufferer of vertigo. But don't let me scare you, Forbidden Journey is unquestionably the finest theme park attraction in the world, and I cannot foresee a time in the near future when that statement will be proven wrong. You have to ride it!!! Just bear in mind that it is extremely new technology and it seems IOA are still trying to gain the maximum from it!