Harry Potter & The Battle at the Ministry - Reviews, Photos & Media

[HandsomePete]

Also not a clapper, but I just assumed it tied into the studios/movie theme and the TMs initiated it as like a round of applause at the end of a film.

Or maybe I’ve completely overthought it and people just like to clap.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I've definitely clapped occasionally, one part as just a way to relieve some of that pent up adrenaline after a great ride, and part to show some appreciate to the TM's. I don't think too much about it.

I also don't take one RV not clapping as anything to gleam reception from. There are much better metrics out there haha. I just think it was potentially poor behavior from the TM.

 

[simon]

Proper POV with all of effects working including pendulum!

 

[simon]

New rhino fog effect on nose has been activated as of today, still waiting on vent fog effect on top of rhino to be fixed.

 

[LanSolo]

Is the drop ever going to come back or is it just a lost cause at this point? Really like the ride already but that would just put it over the top in my opinion if it comes back.

 

[illumination]

Proper POV with all of effects working including pendulum!

This was excellent! They must have used an ultra wide angle camera, I saw many things I haven't seen in any other POV video.

Looks like the drop is still just a screen effect. I hope the physical balcony railing comes back. Can't they move it along with the screen even if the ride vehicle has a smaller drop than it used to?

 

[simon]

This was excellent! They must have used an ultra wide angle camera, I saw many things I haven't seen in any other POV video.

Looks like the drop is still just a screen effect. I hope the physical balcony railing comes back. Can't they move it along with the screen even if the ride vehicle has a smaller drop than it used to?

Yeah, I do love wide-angle and vertical POVs so I can spot more of detailed stuff like backstage lighting, effects.

 

[CaretakerBajaBlast]

After my fifth ride on Ministry yesterday, I think I’m ready to say that I just don’t think this ride is very good. It is a purely emotionless experience for me, and that’s from someone who lived and breathed Potter for my entire youth and young adulthood. Technical aspects can be wonderful, but they should be tools for conveying emotion above all else.

I genuinely don’t think Ministry has a soul.

There’s just something so “fake” about it. The weird manipulated voices coupled with stilted performances (the projection faces are downright garish and never should have been implemented), all the interesting story moments are just one big room with a neat figure and the fact that the overall storytelling is a bottom of the barrel narrative that screams “what else can we possibly do with this version of Potter?”

Is it better than Gringotts? I’d say so. But even comparing to its neighbor Paris attraction, Cirque, Ministry just feels empty. Whether or not you have affection for Fantastic Beasts, there’s a genuine sense of wonder and magic to the critters over there- the puppeteering, the effects, stage and sound design all make something that resonates with people. The thunderous applause leaving that theater vs the dead silence returning to load on Ministry was noticeable.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I do honestly really love that lil' cleaner guy though.

 

[simon]

After my fifth ride on Ministry yesterday, I think I’m ready to say that I just don’t think this ride is very good. It is a purely emotionless experience for me, and that’s from someone who lived and breathed Potter for my entire youth and young adulthood. Technical aspects can be wonderful, but they should be tools for conveying emotion above all else.

I genuinely don’t think Ministry has a soul.

There’s just something so “fake” about it. The weird manipulated voices coupled with stilted performances (the projection faces are downright garish and never should have been implemented), the fact that all the interesting story moments are just one big room with a neat figure and the fact that the overall storytelling is a bottom of the barrel narrative that screams “what else can we possibly do with this version of Potter?”

Is it better than Gringotts? I’d say so. But even comparing to its neighbor Paris attraction, Cirque, Ministry just feels empty. Whether or not you have affection for Fantastic Beasts, there’s a genuine sense of wonder and magic to the critters over there- the puppeteering, the effects, stage and sound design all make something that resonates with people. The thunderous applause leaving that theater vs the dead silence returning to load on Ministry was noticeable.

"I genuinely don’t think Ministry has a soul" Exactly.

That's how I felt throughout the ride and the soundstage for this ride is the biggest and tallest we've seen, pretty sure even more than Rise and indi, but they only utilized 35% of their showroom and 75% is just hollow black wall. And this feels minimal effort for the space and scale of the budget they got provided. Honestly I feel like they put too much budget into q line instead of focusing the actual ride. But for Monster, when I ride it, I feel genuine passion, interest and care throughout the experience. I see severe efforts to utilize space and effects, technology much effective and creative as possible within budget allows. I feel like Gregory's unchained team were humble and genuinely tried their best while the designers in ministry were being kind of snobbish and overestimated themselves. That's why I appreciate Monster even though it's not a perfect ride.

 

[LanSolo]

After my fifth ride on Ministry yesterday, I think I’m ready to say that I just don’t think this ride is very good. It is a purely emotionless experience for me, and that’s from someone who lived and breathed Potter for my entire youth and young adulthood. Technical aspects can be wonderful, but they should be tools for conveying emotion above all else.

I genuinely don’t think Ministry has a soul.

There’s just something so “fake” about it. The weird manipulated voices coupled with stilted performances (the projection faces are downright garish and never should have been implemented), all the interesting story moments are just one big room with a neat figure and the fact that the overall storytelling is a bottom of the barrel narrative that screams “what else can we possibly do with this version of Potter?”

Is it better than Gringotts? I’d say so. But even comparing to its neighbor Paris attraction, Cirque, Ministry just feels empty. Whether or not you have affection for Fantastic Beasts, there’s a genuine sense of wonder and magic to the critters over there- the puppeteering, the effects, stage and sound design all make something that resonates with people. The thunderous applause leaving that theater vs the dead silence returning to load on Ministry was noticeable.

I genuinely do not understand this take at all. It's almost as if people are purposefully seeking to dislike this ride for whatever reason. Like I'm sorry but on what planet does Cirque resonate more with the general public than Ministry? Most people from what I have seen (myself included) leave Cirque pretty unsatisfied or even confused. If you just happen to like Cirque more than the ride that's okay, but that is not the more common opinion no matter what way you want to put it. That is just denial. At least for me the only ride at Epic that I have seen "thunderous applause" for when it's over, is probably Stardust. I've had clapping once on Ministry and nothing on Monsters, Mario Kart, DK, etc. That doesn't dictate a good attraction from bad.

If you don't like the ride that's fine, I'm not the biggest fan of Monsters to be quite honest (too many moments of looking at backstage areas is unacceptable for me, and I find the movement quite boring) but I just don't get the constant trying to downplay it. Like more so than any other ride except for maybe Mario Kart. Maybe part of it is some people no longer like Potter because of JK Rowling I don't know. But whether you like it or not, for many people, this is a top 5 if not top 3 dark ride in the world. Maybe I am just more grateful that we just got two brand new dark rides; but if were nitpicking and saying it's too "fake" is the biggest critique that just doesn't make any sense. I could genuinely say that about every other ride at Epic in some capacity.

 

[CaretakerBajaBlast]

I genuinely do not understand this take at all. It's almost as if people are purposefully seeking to dislike this ride for whatever reason. Like I'm sorry but on what planet does Cirque resonate more with the general public than Ministry? Most people from what I have seen (myself included) leave Cirque pretty unsatisfied or even confused. If you just happen to like Cirque more than the ride that's okay, but that is not the more common opinion no matter what way you want to put it. That is just denial. At least for me the only ride at Epic that I have seen "thunderous applause" for when it's over, is probably Stardust. I've had clapping once on Ministry and nothing on Monsters, Mario Kart, DK, etc. That doesn't dictate a good attraction from bad.

If you don't like the ride that's fine, I'm not the biggest fan of Monsters to be quite honest (too many moments of looking at backstage areas is unacceptable for me, and I find the movement quite boring) but I just don't get the constant trying to downplay it. Like more so than any other ride except for maybe Mario Kart. Maybe part of it is some people no longer like Potter because of JK Rowling I don't know. But whether you like it or not, for many people, this is a top 5 if not top 3 dark ride in the world. Maybe I am just more grateful that we just got two brand new dark rides; but if were nitpicking and saying it's too "fake" is the biggest critique that just doesn't make any sense. I could genuinely say that about every other ride at Epic in some capacity.

I think it’s important not to let analysis and critical opinion get under your skin when you’re on a public forum like this. I’m talking about my personal experience after having multiple chances to ride, and why it does not resonate whatsoever with me. I also never claimed to speak for the general public nor make my personal subjective on Cirque common fact, this is just what I witnessed on my personal visits.

If you think I’ve got it out for Potter despite still having Hagrid’s and Forbidden Journey in my top 15 attractions, I can’t help you there. There’s no attempt to downplay the ride in some sort of contrarian context, I clearly detailed reasonings why the attraction feels less than optimal for me.

 

[simon]

I think it’s important not to let analysis and critical opinion get under your skin when you’re on a public forum like this. I’m talking about my personal experience after having multiple chances to ride, and why it does not resonate whatsoever with me. I also never claimed to speak for the general public nor make my personal subjective on Cirque common fact, this is just what I witnessed on my personal visits.

If you think I’ve got it out for Potter despite still having Hagrid’s and Forbidden Journey in my top 15 attractions, I can’t help you there. There’s no attempt to downplay the ride in some sort of contrarian context, I clearly detailed reasonings why the attraction feels less than optimal for me.

yup if people aren't comfortable with criticism from opposing views and only applaud & positive on experiences, then why does the forum and discussion exist? There will be no improvement without honest and diverse criticism from lots of different viewpoints.

 

[UNIrd]

Yes, yes. Please avoid this soulless ride at all costs so I can enjoy one of most awe-inspiring attractions I've ever experienced with a lower wait time.

 

[CaretakerBajaBlast]

Yes, yes. Please avoid this soulless ride at all costs so I can enjoy one of most awe-inspiring attractions I've ever experienced with a lower wait time.

Considering it was at 15 to 30 minutes for about four hours yesterday, I don’t think you have to worry too much.

 

[UNIrd]

Considering it was at 15 to 30 minutes for about four hours yesterday, I don’t think you have to worry too much.

I know. Between that finally having reasonable waits and Monsters Unchained consistently at the lowest, run me my AP!

 

[LanSolo]

I know. Between that finally having reasonable waits and Monsters Unchained consistently at the lowest, run me my AP!

Can't argue with that.

 

[bagphrases]

I visited in June and had a terrible experience on Ministry between the vehicle breaking down mid-ride and some truly OBNOXIOUS guest behavior which soured me on the whole thing. I went back this weekend and got the full experience and it kind of rules when it's all functional. It's not as good as Monsters IMO but it's leagues better than Gringotts and it's a little more punchy and fun than Forbidden Journey. It doesn't quite reach the heights of Rise of the Resistance but it's in the same tier for me.

 

[Rhian]

Yes, yes. Please avoid this soulless ride at all costs so I can enjoy one of most awe-inspiring attractions I've ever experienced with a lower wait time.

Two things can be true.

I agree the ride has visually amazing scenes which are top-tier in effects and scale. To expand a bit, there’s tons of movies and television shows that are visual spectacles but with minimal offering in substance.

Not that I think this was the particular point raised, but the ride’s use of AI for the trio’s likeness and voices can come across as mildly soulless because of the inherent nature of AI. It’s an interpretation of an actor’s portrayal of a character which can add to that level of “fakeness.”

Personally I think the ending is somewhat rushed followed by what feels like a long silently awkward ride back to the station. However I give it leniency because returning from the fragmented concept of time and space is hard to fit into a ride succinctly when you only have a few minutes.

 

[CaretakerBajaBlast]

Two things can be true.

I agree the ride has visually amazing scenes which are top-tier in effects and scale. To expand a bit, there’s tons of movies and television shows that are visual spectacles but with minimal offering in substance.

Not that I think this was the particular point raised, but the ride’s use of AI for the trio’s likeness and voices can come across as mildly soulless because of the inherent nature of AI. It’s an interpretation of an actor’s portrayal of a character which can add to that level of “fakeness.”

Personally I think the ending is somewhat rushed followed by what feels like a long silently awkward ride back to the station. However I give it leniency because returning from the fragmented concept of time and space is hard to fit into a ride succinctly when you only have a few minutes.

I didn’t want to outright touch the sticky AI subject, but that’s definitely the biggest contributing factor to the “stilted performances” comment. If you’re not sensitive to it I think that helps with the experience a lot, but I imagine there’s a fair few of us out there who have an ear for digital manipulation by now and the Potter voices aren’t up to snuff. It’s strange that we mastered the art of resurrecting performances all the way back in the 90’s with Rod Serling and they couldn’t get the trio right.

This is (again) especially exacerbated for me with my complete disdain for the projection faces. When Kingsley has a perfect face and Umbridge, Ron and Harry all look like a cooked CRT, it kills all of my personal sense of immersion in what should be key story moments. This isn’t picking on Universal, the projection tech just doesn’t work imo. Disney tried it and reverted back to animated figures for good reason.