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

[Wesker69]

Currently waiting for my crepe and frozen butterbeer. The restaurant is very nice but sitting in this restaurant other than paintings (and obviously my order) there’s nothing that screams “Harry Potter” here. I’m starting to think this is just a consequence of moving away from the distinct style of Wizarding Britain. You could easily get the same quality in any other land you could build that’s set in Paris.

Sounds like Hunchback & Phantom need to take up residence! DARK UNIVERSE 2.0

 

[DrStarlander]

Agreed. The environment of MoM is insanely impressive, huge scale and ridiculously detailed, but I feel nothing for it. It lacks the creative spark of the other lands. Not a giant HP fan (but I like the rides well enough), so I’m not really one to peer into every window and read every poster on the wall, but Hogsmeade and Diagon are simply way more fun environments to be in imo.

It sounds like it may suffer the same issues as Star Wars Galaxy's Edge in that it's an impressive showcase of environmental design but it may not be emotionally resonant/relevant (because IP-wise like Batuu it's unfamiliar). Maybe it also lacks kinetic energy (which contributes so much charm to Main St. and New Orleans Square, in terms of comparable historic-urban lands).

Also, SWGE has the tension of the First Order and Resistance that provides some context to the land (though fewer SW fans care about this than the Empire/Rebellion). It gives some dramatic tension to the air. We may not start out invested in the place but we can fairly easily get that there's a conflict potentially worth investing in.

Does Place Cachee have any story for guests? I'm watching the POVs to see and I'm not getting that Grindelwald is on the loose and causing panic or something. The world seems to have a mellow-joyous vibe (students chitchatting guests, jazz music...).

Noticing how effective the Igor character is around Darkmoor, not just as a personality but with the kinetic energy of his lurching gait, maybe a couple of more disruptive/charismatic story-telling characters could help in Place Cachee.

Maybe if the land had a 1920s newspaper hawker, they could be overtly announcing what tension/peril exists (e.g., Warning that Grindelwald is gathering followers...).



To add more kinetic energy (and make up for an odd lack of vehicles in the city), maybe the newspaper hawker has a bicycle. Another way to add a wheeled vehicle of sorts is a merchant character that pushes a cart, repositioning throughout the land.


This could be a flower merchant but all the flowers are funeral lilies and she could be bemoaning the deaths due to Grindewald and the rise of his dark following.

All this foreboding character story-building could happen during the day and that could lead up to a nighttime battle between Grindelwald, his followers, and the Auroras during a nighttime street-show on the streets of Paris in which projection mapping on the buildings/streets could show fire and destruction, and bursts of colored light from cast spells.

The show could have a narrator and could draw a narrative line between the events in 1927 Paris and the 1990s Harry Potter era ("In the Wizarding World, no matter what era, from ages long ago to today, dark forces will seek power, and wizards of honor must fight...blah, blah") and we see Dumbledore projected on the buildings, and then we see James and Lily Potter, and then we see Harry, Hermione, and Ron...creating some rhyming "poetry" as George Lucas described it, and helping to reconcile the world's split-stories.

 

[12th Man]

Anyone know when/if Patisserie Matagot is going to open?

 

[boomerthom]

Snip

FWIW Galaxy’s Edge doesn’t do much for me either, outside of the area where the Falcon is parked. Lack of music is a huge issue in that land imo. Just for reference I think SNW is the best land they’ve ever done as an overall package (not counting ride quality, just the area’s visuals+audio+interactivity+kinetic energy). I think someone said that MoM feels akin to an Epcot pavilion, and I’d mostly agree. While MoM has a bit more style to it, it’s maybe a bit too realistic and plain (by theme park standards) to really make me feel much, even if they did an amazing job capturing that realism. Soundscape didn’t really do much for me compared to SNW’s stellar soundtrack or Dark Universe’s manor shenanigans, and Berk has way more kinetic energy with its attractions. My feelings on MoM can kinda be summed up as “yep, I bet that was expensive.”

Not that I have an issue with “realistic” lands in general - New Orleans Square at DL is dripping with atmosphere, and Africa/Asia at AK work for me (they still feel…adventurous?). Not sure what’s missing exactly with MoM, but it just doesn’t hit for whatever reason. Maybe it doesn’t feel “fun” enough on a macro level - while it has a lot of charm with the wands and such, you kinda have to squint to see it in many cases. Haven’t been there after dark, though.

 

[Timchat2]

The design team seemed to be aware of MoM coming off as "realistic" since they took the more subdued version of Paris seen in the Fantastic Beasts films:



And added quite a few elements that feel straight out of the more fanciful Diagon Alley to make a more inviting environment:

 

[Alicia]

The design team seemed to be aware of MoM coming off as "realistic" since they took the more subdued version of Paris seen in the Fantastic Beasts films:

View attachment 26644

And added quite a few elements that feel straight out of the more fanciful Diagon Alley to make a more inviting environment:

View attachment 26645

Theme park-ification lol

 

[Timchat2]

The design team probably also figured that the Fantastic Beasts films wouldn't have a significant fanbase expecting the find environments exactly like they look in the movies, so they had all the more room to focus on making an appealing place to visit.

In a way its like how Flight of Passage at DAK can be enjoyed as a fantastic flight around an alien world even if you don't know your Jake Sullys from your Neytiris in Avatar. MoM can be experienced as a pleasant, whimsical version of Paris without any knowledge of the Fantastic Beasts or even Harry Potter.

 

[TheGentTrent]

Good point. The problem with VQ seems like it would come from the feel-bad aspect of the lottery...and that other people are getting more for their money because they're lucky (or they know tricks).

Maybe every regular guest should get 10 Priority Points and they can spend them to get access on...their priority attractions.

Fore example:

• Ministry of Magic: cost 10 points
• Mine Cart Madness and Monsters Unchained: cost 6 points
• Curse of the Werewolf, Hiccups Winged Gliders: cost 4 points
• Fyre Drill, Dragon Racers, Yoshi, Carousel: cost 2 points

(I'm just making these up, not reviewing data. But the idea would be that each point is valued at roughly about saving 15 minutes in queue.)

So, while people would still request to spend their points on MoM and get denied (that is, lose the lottery for capacity), they at least get to spend their points breezing onto other attractions instead, so it doesn't feel as outright unfair. And some people will forgo requesting to go on MoM at all because they decide they'd rather use their priority points on other rides, so they avoid the disappointment of losing the lottery altogether. Fewer people trying to win that lottery will boost the % of winners among those trying.

(Just an idea from someone thousands of miles away who doesn't totally understand or get to use these systems often but hears a lot of complaints.)

My man out here trying to bring back the A-E ticket model.

 

[DrStarlander]

My man out here trying to bring back the A-E ticket model.

Ha, kind of. I think it's fair to compare my proposal to the Disney tickets model but what I'm suggesting is different in some important ways. The Disney tickets could be purchased individually (not part of my proposal) and they could be purchased in value books in which you'd get a selection of levels (A-E). You could "overpay" (use an 'E' ticket for an 'A' attraction) which is inefficient (not a dynamic of my proposal), or you could combine lower tickets (use a 'D', 'B', and 'A' ticket to create an 'E' ticket)...which is not exactly what's going on in my proposal, but indirectly the same function in terms of the ability to "spend big" on the most desired attractions. [Edit strike-through, per posts below of former cast member providing firsthand account that despite online info, this was not allowed.]

The key difference is that as far as I recall (and correct me if someone knows otherwise) the Disney ticket system did not "make change" when you overspent, so if you wanted to go on all-A tickets you couldn't exploit the full value of the tickets in your book. Rather, you'd use higher level tickets than necessary and not "get change." In my proposal, you are free to use all 10 point on 5 "A ticket" attractions, so to speak. The points are a more flexible/fungible currency.

So there's some overlap, and some conceptual similarity, but some differences too. And of course, the medium (paper tickets vs. app) is different.

One unique benefit of my proposed system -- that I'm not sure happened at Disney Parks (don't remember) -- is that if you use points to go on an attraction and the ride breaks down, it could automatically put the points back on your app account to spend elsewhere. It could even put bonus compensatory points on there if it knows you waited in line a long time pre-breakdown. For example, you check in at 3:00 and wait 3 hours of on-again/off-again break downs before they dump the queue, it could not only give you back your points, it could give you some bonus points to compensate for your wasted time.

When Space Mountain broke down back during tickets, I don't recall if they gave you a ticket back when they dumped the line. I'm assuming they did refund guests but I doubt they provided a fair/calculated compensatory bonus the way current technology allows...guests probably went to cast members or customer service and pleaded their case to get compensatory benefits, a waste of guest's time and labor cost.

I will say, one way my proposed system does mimic the Disney tickets model is in allowing day-to-day roll-over. Back in the day, if you didn't use your Disney attraction tickets, you just brought them back on another visit. My proposal allows the same: if you don't spend your points, they can stay on your account and you can use them on a future visit. The benefit of this is that you could (pay admission) and come for a "vibe visit" (eat, shop) and not go on attractions and come again (pay admission) and be super-powered to go on attractions. This allows choice and texture to how people enjoy the park. But it also means that if you go on a day when all the big attractions are broken down, you are not as "out of luck" (and complaining online) because you'll get to use the points on another visit. Small comfort to tourists from afar, I realize, but it will mitigate some bad feelings.

In general, the theme park industry has put too much risk on guests by raising prices and having such a "swingy" product (one "great" day the park is empty and all attractions are running, another "terrible" day the park is packed and few rides are running). Consumers respond more to negative experiences than positive, so they could have four great days and one terrible day, and be reluctant to return...out of fear of having another terrible day. A currency system as I'm proposing aims to mitigate this so visiting a theme park feels less unfair, and less risky.

 

[BigRed98]

It looks like they opened Battle at the Ministry early this morning as the app is currently showing a 35 min wait.

 

[etherealyear]

Can anyone who rode ministry during previews and again in the past few days confirm the rumors that the ride profile has changed (drops removed?) I rode May 5th and it would be a bummer if those moments were removed recently.

 

[Mike S]

Can anyone who rode ministry during previews and again in the past few days confirm the rumors that the ride profile has changed (drops removed?) I rode May 5th and it would be a bummer if those moments were removed recently.

My brother has and he confirmed it to me.

 

[Alicia]

the drop is baked into the ride layout, it can’t be cut, but the motion profile for tilt/yaw/roll has been tweaked to (allegedly) reduce motion sickness

 

[Evan]

the drop is baked into the ride layout, it can’t be cut, but the motion profile for tilt/yaw/roll has been tweaked to (allegedly) reduce motion sickness

Spoiler

Wait they turned off the moving railing? Or what?

 

[Alicia]

Spoiler

Wait they turned off the moving railing? Or what?

That and the sight blocking door after final scene are locked, assuming temporarily, likely to reduce ride faults and improve uptime during opening week.

My guess is various moving scenic elements or doors that could set off safety sensors are disabled for now is all.

 

[Mike S]

That and the sight blocking door after final scene are locked, assuming temporarily, likely to reduce ride faults and improve uptime during opening week.

My guess is various moving scenic elements or doors that could set off safety sensors are disabled for now is all.

I knew something was off with that final scene lol

 

[OLSinFLA]

Ha, kind of. I think it's fair to compare my proposal to the Disney tickets model but what I'm suggesting is different in some important ways. The Disney tickets could be purchased individually (not part of my proposal) and they could be purchased in value books in which you'd get a selection of levels (A-E). You could "overpay" (use an 'E' ticket for an 'A' attraction) which is inefficient (not a dynamic of my proposal), or you could combine lower tickets (use a 'D', 'B', and 'A' ticket to create an 'E' ticket)...which is not exactly what's going on in my proposal, but indirectly the same function in terms of the ability to "spend big" on the most desired attractions.

The key difference is that as far as I recall (and correct me if someone knows otherwise) the Disney ticket system did not "make change" when you overspent, so if you wanted to go on all-A tickets you couldn't exploit the full value of the tickets in your book. Rather, you'd use higher level tickets than necessary and not "get change." In my proposal, you are free to use all 10 point on 5 "A ticket" attractions, so to speak. The points are a more flexible/fungible currency.

So there's some overlap, and some conceptual similarity, but some differences too. And of course, the medium (paper tickets vs. app) is different.

One unique benefit of my proposed system -- that I'm not sure happened at Disney Parks (don't remember) -- is that if you use points to go on an attraction and the ride breaks down, it could automatically put the points back on your app account to spend elsewhere. It could even put bonus compensatory points on there if it knows you waited in line a long time pre-breakdown. For example, you check in at 3:00 and wait 3 hours of on-again/off-again break downs before they dump the queue, it could not only give you back your points, it could give you some bonus points to compensate for your wasted time.

When Space Mountain broke down back during tickets, I don't recall if they gave you a ticket back when they dumped the line. I'm assuming they did refund guests but I doubt they provided a fair/calculated compensatory bonus the way current technology allows...guests probably went to cast members or customer service and pleaded their case to get compensatory benefits, a waste of guest's time and labor cost.

EDIT: I will say, one way my proposed system does mimic the Disney tickets model is in allowing day-to-day roll-over. Back in the day, if you didn't use your Disney attraction tickets, you just brought them back on another visit. My proposal allows the same: if you don't spend your points, they can stay on your account and you can use them on a future visit. The benefit of this is that you could (pay admission) and come for a "vibe visit" (eat, shop) and not go on attractions and come again (pay admission) and be super-powered to go on attractions. This allows choice and texture to how people enjoy the park. But it also means that if you go on a day when all the big attractions are broken down, you are not as "out of luck" (and complaining online) because you'll get to use the points on another visit. Small comfort to tourists from afar, I realize, but it will mitigate some bad feelings.

In general, the theme park industry has put too much risk on guests by raising prices and having such a "swingy" product (one "great" day the park is empty and all attractions are running, another "terrible" day the park is packed and few rides are running). Consumers respond more to negative experiences than positive, so they could have four great days and one terrible day, and be reluctant to return...out of fear of having another terrible day. A currency system as I'm proposing aims to mitigate this so visiting a theme park feels less unfair, and less risky.

Having been a Disney employee during the time of tickets, you could not combine tickets for an upgrade. An "E" ticket attraction required an E ticket, period. Just so ya know

 

[DrStarlander]

Having been a Disney employee during the time of tickets, you could not combine tickets for an upgrade. An "E" ticket attraction required an E ticket, period. Just so ya know

Interesting. I was young during tickets and my memory is unreliable, but I bolstered that with some research including this WDW Magazine article: WDW Magazine

Key quote: "Here’s something many people who didn’t actually use the Disney attraction ticket system don’t often know: Guests could mix and match tickets! If you had multiple A, B, C, and D tickets but no E tickets, for example, you could use multiple tickets to total the value of the ticket you need."

Another article (Article) says: "You were allowed to “bundle” tickets, even from several books, to get on other rides; bundling before bundling was cool! For example, if you wanted to get on a “C” ticket ride, you could trade in two “A” tickets."

And here is a paragraph from Wikipedia: "The coupons had a face value for use on rides, with an "A" ticket worth $0.10, "B" $0.15, "C" $0.25, "D" $0.50, and "E", $0.85. This meant one could ride any ride if the ticket or a combination of tickets met or exceeded the value of that ride, so one could overpay an "A" ticket ride with a "B" ticket or higher, or present an "A", "C", and "D" ticket together instead of an "E" ticket."

I'm totally aware any/all these sources could be incorrect, I respect your first-hand experience, but I wonder why anyone remembers/reports this dynamic if it never happened?

EDIT: Given a former cast member @OLSinFLA reports this was not allowed, I struck remarks about this in my original post above.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Interesting. I was young during tickets and my memory is unreliable, but I bolstered that with some research including this WDW Magazine article: WDW Magazine

Key quote: "Here’s something many people who didn’t actually use the Disney attraction ticket system don’t often know: Guests could mix and match tickets! If you had multiple A, B, C, and D tickets but no E tickets, for example, you could use multiple tickets to total the value of the ticket you need."

Another article (Article) says: "You were allowed to “bundle” tickets, even from several books, to get on other rides; bundling before bundling was cool! For example, if you wanted to get on a “C” ticket ride, you could trade in two “A” tickets."

And here is a paragraph from Wikipedia: "The coupons had a face value for use on rides, with an "A" ticket worth $0.10, "B" $0.15, "C" $0.25, "D" $0.50, and "E", $0.85. This meant one could ride any ride if the ticket or a combination of tickets met or exceeded the value of that ride, so one could overpay an "A" ticket ride with a "B" ticket or higher, or present an "A", "C", and "D" ticket together instead of an "E" ticket."

I'm totally aware any/all these sources could be incorrect, I respect your first-hand experience, but I wonder why anyone remembers/reports this dynamic if it never happened?

Trust me, it wasn't't allowed. I worked Jungle Cruise and Pirates, both E ticket attractions. In fact the whole idea of tickets was to force people to use them on A, B,C and D attractions thereby reducing stress on E tickets. Wickepia is notorious for incorrect info and others are just about as reliable as the sources that state Epic Universe is 750 acres.

I worked these attractions. Bundling was not allowed by policy. If you did it, you could count on at least a written warning if caught.

 

[illumination]

I really hope the physical moving balcony railing comes back one day. That was a cool effect that really completed the illusion.