Universal’s new theme park, Epic Universe, opens to the public on 22 May 2025 with five new themed lands, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
Universal Orlando Resort opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in 2010. This highly themed land brought the Harry Potter book franchise to life. It also included two rides: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and the family ride, the Flight of the Hippogriff. Visitors could purchase an interactive wand at Olivander’s and, in real time, bring the world around them to life.
The opening marked a turning point for the resort in terms of the scale of investment, but also for results. Attendance grew significantly, and it was widely celebrated by the industry.
Four years later, the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley opened at Universal Studios Florida. Now guests could explore more characters and stories from the Harry Potter franchise by riding Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.
This is a dark ride coaster set in the wizarding bank. Guests can explore Diagon Alley, which includes multiple shops, F&B and live entertainment. Visitors can move between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade via the Hogwarts Express, an immersive train ride between parks. Now, the world building remains intact while moving between park gates.
For Universal, most guests were purchasing park-to-park tickets to experience this ride, too.
Hagrid’s Magical Creative Motorbike Adventure opened in Hogsmeade in 2019. The multi-launch family motorbike coaster travels through the landscape, riding a motorbike and sidecar. Guests come across all sorts of magical creatures. The ride was a technical challenge with seven launches and a drop and was an instant hit.
It is widely regarded by guests and the industry as one of the greatest coasters ever built.
Harry Potter at Epic Universe
With the opening of Universal Epic Universe, a third Wizarding World will be available to explore: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
This land combines two Potter IPs: the Fantastic Beasts and the original Harry Potter franchises. In the French wizarding area known as Place Cachée, Newt Scamander has just launched his Fantastic Beasts book. All of Paris is caught up in the excitement of these creatures. They are hidden all over the land, in shop windows and the streets.
The forced perception scale is very well done. It creates a grand open space with traditional French architecture and design, complete with a Sacre Coeur photo spot. But the more you look across the land, the more is revealed.
I spotted a plaque to Nicholas Flamel, the famed immortal alchemist from the first book, congratulating him on being the longest-serving gobstones player. There were old-fashioned posters for products we know from the Potter series like Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans – though it will test your French skills to translate!
Even the Metro Floo has nods to Paris’ Metro branding. Merchandise includes 1920s staff uniforms and a dedicated Metro-Floo range.
Guests can enjoy French cafe culture, sitting outside and watching the world go by with a butterbeer in hand (and wand in the other).
Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
There is one ride in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. Guests travel via Métro-Floo to the British Ministry of Magic in the 1990s to experience the land’s signature attraction: Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. Set after the conclusion of the book series, guests join characters Harry, Ron and Hermione for the trial of Dolores Umbridge.
The queue is vast and themed extensively. Guests enter the attraction through the Métro-floo. This is a special effect that transports guests away from the French Wizarding World to the British Ministry of Magic.
The reveal of the Ministry’s Atrium is impressive. It’s a cavernous, green-tiled space, with moving signage of Dolores Umbrage’s trial news and the announcement of Kingsley Shacklebolt as the new minister of magic.
Guests then wind through parts of the Ministry, including the Auror’s offices. Here, they can see all the evidence collected against Umbridge and also hear Mad Eye Moody discuss Ron and Harry as upcoming Aurors.
The queue continues through the workforce changing rooms where eagle eyed guests can spot the project’s creative team’s initials on the staff lockers, as well as the Department of Mysteries and a room showing a moving map of all parts of the Ministry with important notices (such as the toy broomsticks safety meeting was postponed).
Setting the scene
They end up in Umbridge’s office, where they meet her old house-elf, Higgledy, and learn they are about to go to Umbridge’s trial for her crimes against the wizarding world at the end of the original Harry Potter series.
There are interactive portraits of old Ministers for Magic that discuss the trial and death eaters still at large. Then, at the elevator station, guests can see the route and maps of elevators going all across the ministry before boarding their vehicle. It’s safe to say this attraction will have incredibly long lines upon opening. However, there is enough detail to entertain throughout.
Riders load in a two-row ride vehicle elevator, with seats spaced out to have good visibility no matter where you sit. The ride then moves sideways, taking off. Once airborne, riders see Harry and his friends in their lift heading towards the trial.
Umbridge then breaks free with the support of the death eaters in search of the Ministry’s supply of time-turners, and the battle begins. With the help of a very likeable Higgledy, the house elf, the team dodge death eaters and various creatures.
This helps tie the two IPs together, as the magical creatures that Newt Scamander had in 1920s Paris are the same species as those in the Department of Magical Creatures. This reinforces to guests that this is the same world and environment, just 60 years later.
A unique ride system
The ride utilises a world-first lift ride system. This allows the vehicle to travel forwards, backwards and up and down at great speed. The ride system is combined with special effects, high-resolution screens, clever projection mapping and multiple animatronics.
Similarly to The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman at Universal Studios Florida, the vehicle moved to give the sensation. Yet combined with project mapping and effects, we felt we were scaling and falling much greater heights.
The press group were the very first guests to ever ride Battle at the Ministry. The reaction from our elevator was that it was the best attraction in the park. It was a continuation of a story guests know and love, but experiencing it in a new and exciting way. The scale of the show building and queue was remarkable, all adding to the belief that we had travelled out of the park via floo powder.
See also: All 11 rides at Universal Epic Universe
Interactive wand experiences
Universal Orlando Resort recently launched its second-generation wand technology that works across all three wizarding worlds. The new wands have haptics and light tech. They can also be linked to the app to gamify spells and collect points for your house. There is a daily house cup, and whichever house is the winner will be shown in the nighttime spectacular CineSational: Symphonic Spectacular.
In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic at Universal Epic Universe, guests can shop for their wand at Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magique, designed by wandmaker Cosme Acajor. Her wands are artisan, and unlike Olivander, she believes the Witch and Wizard choose the wand.
Guests can cast spells and interact with various beasts across the Paris-themed land. We waved our wand at a Niffler in a shop window. The miniature animatronic’s head followed our wand tip with great intensity! The next generation of interactive experiences is much more advanced, by tracking the wand itself.
There is roaming entertainment throughout the land, including students from international wizarding schools and a 1920s jazz band with a magical creature member!
Tent of Le Cirque Arcanus is a live show in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Ministry of Magic. It centres around the circus from the second Fantastic Beasts film. Ringmaster Skender has stolen Newt Scamander’s suitcase, full of magical creatures, to bring beasts back to his show. We follow Gwenlyn, a circus employee who rescues the creatures.
The show mixes live performance, technical effects, screens and large-scale puppetry in a unique way, and there is a major wow moment.
The puppetry was impressive, with several large beasts, animated eyes and facial features and high-quality screens and effects.
Harry Potter F&B at Epic Universe
Hungry guests can dine at three locations throughout the Wizarding World, Ministry of Magic.
For authentic French dining in a relaxed atmosphere, Café L’air De La Sirène serves French baked goods, sandwiches, wines, and Butterbeer Crepes.
For heartier food, Le Goblet Noir serves us bigger plates. The small inn is themed as a dark wizard hangout, and eagle-eyed fans will see the home of alchemist Nicolas Flamel on the way to the Inn. This part of the land included an interactive painting with real-time animation as it talked and interacted with guests.
Bar Moonshine is an American-themed wizarding bar inside Place Cachée. The walls showcase US Quidditch teams and other American paraphernalia. It serves snacks and drinks.
For confectionary and French candies, guests can explore K. Rammelle (see what they did there?), where they can find all sorts of enchanted sweet treats, including gummy snails.
Overall, Universal Creative has brought to life another separate but connected world in the Harry Potter universe. It’s distinctly different from the other two worlds with its European flair and cast of new magical creatures. Yet, it still brings the familiar characters to an incredibly impressive and technical ride.
