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

[HHN Maddux]

I will say; I like Gringotts, and I like Transformers. They are energetic and engaging, filled with cool effects and fun motion experiences. Whenever I get off one of them, I leave almost ...surprised?, by how much fun I had? They are enjoyable attractions in a lot of ways, and so is Battle.

But the issue comes from missed potential, and from how much better similar experiences are in other nearby parks. Battle is not as good as Spider-Man or Forbidden Journey, and Unchained laps all of them by a mile. Why spend 120 minutes waiting in line for Battle when you can loop Unchained at a 15 minute wait at multiple points in your Epic day?

Gringotts, Transformers, and Battle are all solid rides, and are surprisingly enjoyable once you're back at unload, but they don't get me excited to ride. They are repetitive, and they have some logistics issues, and they just don't hit the bar set by attractions built way, wayyy before them.

While I do fully agree about there being missed potential with the ride system itself (the only time there even is a drop got toned down!), I do think this is probably the best of the three main HP rides, and I say that as someone who absolutely loves FJ! IMO great blending of screens and sets with scale, one of the best animatronics I've ever seen with that first Death Eater, and a fun ride profile.

Unchained still solos it every time though!

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I rank it above Gringotts and just BARELY below Forbidden Journey, but I’m also immune to motion sickness. FJ feels like a more physical and intentional experience in a way that BatM just didn’t hit. I’d definitely put Spidey and Monsters above all three Potter rides though.

And all three rides are great in their own right! But Ministry and Gringotts are both such strong “what ifs” in my mind, too. Ministry, especially, makes it obvious that they had greater ambitions for the ride system in a way that Gringotts and FJ don’t.

The first time I road it I was blown away. I don't know what you all are on about.

I was meanest to Ministry after my first ride hehe

 

[Skold]

This ride is awesome!

"Missed potential" is not a good reason to crap on a ride. Is there an attraction that could not have a little thing changed in hindsight? Did The Haunted Mansion, the greatest ride in existence, miss its "potential" by not having fog effects in the graveyard scene?

We're just sounding dumb at this point.

TL;DR just because an attraction doesn't have the exact thing that you were looking for does not mean it is not a good attraction. Deal.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I think it's justifiable to feel disappointed in a ride that builds itself up as something groundbreaking, and instead leaves you with a lot of the same tricks we've had for 20 years.

The ride has definite pacing and identity issues, and the ride clearly had a troubled development from multiple angles, both thematic and logistical. A good number of which reverberate to this day. Compared to well-rounded and fleshed-out experiences like FJ and Hagrids, or Rise and ToT over in Mousetown, this just didn't live up to me. This ride shows influence from most of those attractions, and they could've put those pieces together in a way to make them really stun, but it just never really came together for me unfortunately.

If you enjoy the ride, that's really great! I'm glad you were able to find something about it that resonated. I think it's a fine attraction, but I'll probably continue to skip it so long as it stays at more than a 25 minute wait.

 

[saint.piss]

I think it's justifiable to feel disappointed in a ride that builds itself up as something groundbreaking, and instead leaves you with a lot of the same tricks we've had for 20 years.

The ride has definite pacing and identity issues, and the ride clearly had a troubled development from multiple angles, both thematic and logistical. A good number of which reverberate to this day. Compared to well-rounded and fleshed-out experiences like FJ and Hagrids, or Rise and ToT over in Mousetown, this just didn't live up to me. This ride shows influence from most of those attractions, and they could've put those pieces together in a way to make them really stun, but it just never really came together for me unfortunately.

If you enjoy the ride, that's really great! I'm glad you were able to find something about it that resonated. I think it's a fine attraction, but I'll probably continue to skip it so long as it stays at more than a 25 minute wait.

I just don't understand what you're talking about. What pacing/identity issues? Also how was it obvious that this ride had a troubled development? I don't believe that at all and it just seems like you're pulling things out of nowhere. I respect your opinion but I really don't understand it. To me this ride feels more cohesive than the other HP rides.

 

[GA-MBIT]

Go ahead and ignore this one for now. Gonna be honest, I accidentally wrote another big essay I'm not super confident in, and it's like 4AM. I'll write it properly a little later!

 

[Clive]

This ride is awesome!

"Missed potential" is not a good reason to crap on a ride. Is there an attraction that could not have a little thing changed in hindsight? Did The Haunted Mansion, the greatest ride in existence, miss its "potential" by not having fog effects in the graveyard scene?

We're just sounding dumb at this point.

TL;DR just because an attraction doesn't have the exact thing that you were looking for does not mean it is not a good attraction. Deal.

I’m not sure the condescension is necessary… this is a discussion forum, and folks can discuss what they like or don’t like about a marquee attraction?

Missed potential is a reasonable criteria to consider up to a certain point, including “does this choice of ride system make sense?” and “does this satisfy the desire to go on an adventure in the Ministry?”

Haunted Mansion does accomplish a fog effect with its scrims and lighting, so I’m not sure what you’re implying there…

 

[AvoidTIMtation]

Personally... I think BATM is the best HP ride. It's the most dynamic and immersive of them all and it has the best storyline. I don't get the hate!

I definitely don't hate the ride.. I thought it was fun, but I disagree on it being the most immersive. yes it's definitely the most advanced but a lot of times it didn't feel to me like i was actually *in* the action, unlike Forbidden Journey (or Spiderman, or Transformers, etc.). I am also much more of a *theme park attraction* fan than a Harry Potter fan, so that also affects how i felt about it because I didn't see any of the Potter movies that involved Dolores Umbridge or the Ministry of Magic

 

[Eckert]

Saw the big clock pendulum move for the first time yesterday. WOW!

 

[sonoma15]

The first time I road it I was blown away. I don't know what you all are on about.

It still blows me away everytime. Truly an incredible ride IMO. Its definitely the most immersive ride I've ever been on, those LED screens just look like im looking at reality to me.

Pro tip: Enjoying a Lobe Blaster from Bar Moonshine before riding makes it even better.

 

[simon]

Saw the big clock pendulum move for the first time yesterday. WOW!

I need pov asap Was it felt like it would hit the vehicle?

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Pro tip: Enjoying a Lobe Blaster from Bar Moonshine before riding makes it even better.

Tip from the impatient: Grab a drink from Bar Zenith before entering Paris and avoid the CF that is Bar Moonshine!

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I definitely don't hate the ride.. I thought it was fun, but I disagree on it being the most immersive. yes it's definitely the most advanced but a lot of times it didn't feel to me like i was actually *in* the action, unlike Forbidden Journey (or Spiderman, or Transformers, etc.). I am also much more of a *theme park attraction* fan than a Harry Potter fan, so that also affects how i felt about it because I didn't see any of the Potter movies that involved Dolores Umbridge or the Ministry of Magic

Yeah, the immersion isn’t there for me. I love the tilework but it gets rather monotonous on the ride itself (kinda like Toy Story Mania and WEB Slingers never really changing their backgrounds) and I can’t agree more how much it feels like we’re just watching the action rather than being a part of it, despite what the script says.

Actually, does anyone know what it is we’re doing in the context of the ride? Higgledy says “they can help us!” and thanks us for our help at the end, and Umbridge says “this is YOUR fault!!”, but like…. what did we do? That still confuses me.

 

[DrStarlander]

it feels like we’re just watching the action rather than being a part of it

This is totally personal preference, but I'm so sick of "being part of the story" in theme park attractions. If the attractions were actual LARPing and we had agency, maybe that would be cool. But these modern-era passive attractions where they ask for our help and we do nothing but stare at whatever the ride vehicle is pointing us at, and then they thank us at the end? Not for me. It's patronizing and it gets old hearing that over and over during in a theme park day.

If it's passive, I'd rather it just be a (moving) fly on the wall and not supposedly be part of the story. Now...if there's a real Choose Your Own Adventure style dark-ride, with choice and consequentiality, I'm game!

 

[Jones14]

For me, the sequences where we’re looking at characters standing in a solitary elevator as they shout exposition at us completely kills the pacing, and outside of the Death Eaters, none of the animatronics feel like they’re used or staged in the most effective way.

It’s certainly an ambitious ride, but to me it’s a bunch of cool stuff that ultimately amounts to less than the sum of its parts.

 

[Skipper Justin]

This also doesn’t matter but I really hate they get to keep using the likeness of Daniel and Emma. There is a zero percent they would have ever approved to be in this especially with the stuff with Rowling. I get why Universal did though.

 

[boomerthom]

FJ and Ministry are both significantly above Gringotts to me, which I find kinda mid. Prolly a space issue, but using a spinning coaster ride system and then having the ride spend half its runtime sitting motionless in front of screens is always underwhelming to me (not to mention the vast majority of the track being flat), even if there are some fun moments like the tilting track and ending launch.

FJ vs. Ministry is tricky. FJ is a bit more rough and tumble imo, with a more thrilling motion profile and spooky moments, but weaker theming, rough-looking screens for 2025, and a story that's just noise. Ministry isn't as thrilling, but the theming of basically everything you're able to see is near flawless imo, and the story is more coherent. Gun to my head I'd prolly take FJ because I really enjoy getting tossed around by heavy machinery, but it's not to take anything away from Ministry. For context, I wouldn't put either FJ or Ministry over Unchained or Spidey.

The vertical motion of Ministry maybe could have been pushed a bit further imo. At least the initial bouncing after leaving the station is pretty good and often gets a gasp or two out of riders, and there's a very small drop during the Erumpet chase screen. Haven't heard if the "drop" past the physical balcony setpiece was restored, but none of the three times I rode in May really gave much of sensation at that moment. Not entirely sure what the RV is capable of, but a handful of short but impactful RotR-level drops could help it stand out more. It often just feels like an oversized SCOOP, though a surprisingly nimble one with how quick it whips through some of the scene transitions despite just being a big ol' box. The size of the sets, the death eater AAs, and clarity of the screens (though the Erumpet chase looked slightly blurry to me) are the main reasons to ride it imo.

For me, the sequences where we’re looking at characters standing in a solitary elevator as they shout exposition at us completely kills the pacing, and outside of the Death Eaters, none of the animatronics feel like they’re used or staged in the most effective way.

It’s certainly an ambitious ride, but to me it’s a bunch of cool stuff that ultimately amounts to less than the sum of its parts.

And yeah, the ride opening with four back-to-back scenes that are extremely similar in both motion and theming is certainly a choice someone made. Unchained just shows you so much more in the same amount of time.