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