Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic - General Discussion Thread

[Alicia]

Anyone know if there was a press event opening ceremony at the portal for the Wizarding World yesterday? I've seen the ones posted for Berk, SNW, and Monsters, but haven't found one for MoM.

They’re doing two a day. Dark Universe and Ministry are today.

 

[LP159]

Anyone know if there was a press event opening ceremony at the portal for the Wizarding World yesterday? I've seen the ones posted for Berk, SNW, and Monsters, but haven't found one for MoM.

I think it’ll likely be later today. Yesterday morning was Berk, yesterday afternoon Nintendo, this morning Dark Universe, so I’m guessing MoM will be later this afternoon.

 

[illumination]

Did anyone watch the Today Show this morning? They were on air for 3 hours live from Epic Universe. NBC really hitting that promotion!

Lots of footage in all the lands, on ride footage featuring the cast members. No huge new revelations but there was a lot of detail about the food menu items from the Chef who created them. Many of the dishes are a lot fancier than expected as far as ingredients and layers of flavor. And they showed a bunch of character interactions too.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Did anyone watch the Today Show this morning? They were on air for 3 hours live from Epic Universe. NBC really hitting that promotion!

Lots of footage in all the lands, on ride footage featuring the cast members. No huge new revelations but there was a lot of detail about the food menu items from the Chef who created them. Many of the dishes are a lot fancier than expected as far as ingredients and layers of flavor. And they showed a bunch of character interactions too.

Felt like a giant promotion for the HTTYD live action film as well lol

Surprised we didn't see much of Nintendo in terms of special guests.

 

[RFRees]

 

[saint.piss]

New HP house dropped.

 

[Mad Dog]

New HP house dropped.

and....that's why Warner had needed input

 

[highdefrex]

New HP house dropped.

“What’s your favorite classic Universal Monster?”

“Well, I’d have to go with zombies, obviously.”

 

[Mad Dog]

A 'Woodburyism' ........Akin to Yogi Berra or Casey Stengel....

 

[tyro]

I know it will get better over time, while the attraction is going through its teething. This is really going to create a problem if they are unwilling/ unable to dump the queue to give out express. I understand it from a parks ops side of things since 80% of the park is in that queue and if everyone has express no one does. It really really does make for a poor guest experience. I honestly do not know what the solution is besides VQ (but only with a better distribution system)

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I know it will get better over time, while the attraction is going through its teething. This is really going to create a problem if they are unwilling/ unable to dump the queue to give out express. I understand it from a parks ops side of things since 80% of the park is in that queue and if everyone has express no one does. It really really does make for a poor guest experience. I honestly do not know what the solution is besides VQ (but only with a better distribution system)

Hard truth is that it should probably still be a TM test & adjust ride and the guest opening should have been delayed until fall. I get that Uni didn’t want to delay the ride but this feels like Chapek opening Rise too soon — and Ministry is in worse shape than Rise was.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Sounds like this ride could really benefit from a *gasps* Virtual Line!

Freedom to choose to wait is only a beneficial concept if the majority of people waiting can actually ride it.

 

[kristenabelle]

Sounds like this ride could really benefit from a *gasps* Virtual Line!

Freedom to choose to wait is only a beneficial concept if the majority of people waiting can actually ride it.

Definitely not averse to a VQ, except one that gives few folks multiple rides and some folks zero rides. If they improve VQ to make it fairer and better, it could be a good option to help manage things for now

 

[mccgavin]

Freedom to choose to wait is only a beneficial concept if the majority of people waiting can actually ride it.

If people are willing to wait for it, let them. Many visitors are coming to the park specifically to experience BaTM. Giving them the option to go through a long wait to ride it is far better than giving them no option at all if they are in the unlucky group that can't secure a time. Not to mention, the app isn't reliable enough to properly handle an experience with this much demand.

I'm grateful to know I will be able to ride Ministry at least once on my trip.

 

[JustLikeMe]

I'm grateful to know I will be able to ride Ministry at least once on my trip.

I wouldn’t be so certain. It’s 2.15pm and no one has been able to ride it so far today.

 

[Clive]

I wouldn’t be so certain. It’s 2.15pm and no one has been able to ride it so far today.

That's fair enough, but using a virtual queue wouldn't change that reality.

Rotten luck, for sure.

 

[JustLikeMe]

That's fair enough, but using a virtual queue wouldn't change that reality.

Rotten luck, for sure.

Oh I agree, just pointing out that the lack of VQ doesn’t guarantee that you can ride as long as you’re willing to wait. We’ve spoken to a couple of people now who have spent an hour or more in the queue multiple times but haven’t managed a single ride.

I think that in terms of managing expectations it’s better to assume that you won’t get on Ministry when visiting the park for the time being, and viewing it as a bonus if you do.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

If people are willing to wait for it, let them. Many visitors are coming to the park specifically to experience BaTM. Giving them the option to go through a long wait to ride it is far better than giving them no option at all if they are in the unlucky group that can't secure a time. Not to mention, the app isn't reliable enough to properly handle an experience with this much demand.

I'm grateful to know I will be able to ride Ministry at least once on my trip.

I’d bet the calculus that determines what percentage of the park does/doesn’t get to ride is pretty much the same either way, though.

Let’s assume a 500 pph capacity over 6 hours of operation (50% uptime over the course of the day). That’s 3,000 people that can ride in a day, or ~15% of the total attendance (assuming a pretty conservative 20k given the park’s size).

If I were to say Virtual Line would exclude 75% of the park’s guests, people would be annoyed…but that’s actually better than the scenario above.

And in the VL equation, everyone who doesn’t get a pass has the entire day to do whatever they want elsewhere throughout the park. In the standby mode, you still cannot guarantee someone will ride, but are going to waste up to half (or more) of their day in the process.

I know it’s a dumb thing to worry about but I think social media sentiment and the optics they create play a huge role in park operations these days. So I’ve gotta do my part to make the case for Virtual Line whenever I can

 

[DarkMetroid567]

After all that — I did not care for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.

 

[Wesker69]

After all that — I did not care for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.

But the DeathEaters...