details of the expansion planned for the
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
was leaked online unofficially,
and most of the information was about
a new ride that fans will get to go on,
which will be located in Gringotts bank,
one of the most iconic Harry Potter locations.
(Continued)
"...After the load platform, the two load channels merge to the south,
then bearing to the left and entering Scene 1: "Turntable."
In this scene, you'll face a brick wall, with two tunnel entrances,
to the left and right. But before you proceed, the track below the first
of the twin cars will drop from underneath that car.
The track will come to rest at a 40-degree angle.
Then, the track under the trailing car will begin to rise,
matching the 40-degree angle of the leading car.
At that point, the two cars will drop in tandem into a third tunnel,
below the tunnel on the right.
Basically, we've just ridden a teeter-totter-like vertical track switch,
attaching to the roller coaster track for our initial drop.
From there, we drop into Scene 2: "Dark Tunnel,"
a kinetic ride section with a small bunny hop and a hard right turn
before we hit a block brake in preparation for Scene 3: "Ledge."
The Gringotts ride won't be a traditional roller coaster.
There are 3D projection screens throughout the ride,
embedded in the rockwork of the tunnel walls, creating an illusion of open space,
within which we'll watch battles taking place.
The first is in the Ledge scene, where some concept art shows a battle
with wizards and giant-like creatures.
The plans detail a shaker table under the track,
and there's a waterfall effect at the end of the scene,
including a fogscreen and water spritzers.
There's a slight free drop and turn to the left as we proceed through the waterfall,
leading us into Scene 4: "Thief's Downfall." There are wind and heat effects,
Meanwhile, the ride's making a chicane-type turn to the left, then the right.
That leads us immediately into Scene 5: "Sirius Black's Vault."
We hit a fog blast before entering the vault, where we see illuminated treasure ahead.
The car makes a turn to the right, where the physical show scenery opens up a bit,
with a large vault area with a flat 3D projection screen along the far wall.
We then bear to the left, turning into Scene 6: "Ruins."
We're curving to the right through the rubble of what looks like a collapsed tunnel
in this scene, which leads us into Scene 7: "Chasm."
We're inside a large projection cone for this scene, which appears to involve Harry, Ron, Hermoine and… could it be? Voldemort? (The concept art I saw wasn't clear -
it almost never is.) I do see a heat curtain and cold-air blast noted in this scene, though.
From there, we launch into another dark tunnel (Scene 8), which banks up
and around to the left, taking us into Scene 9: "Passage," our finale,
where Harry and company bid us farewell before we return to the load/unload platform.
And yes, we do exit through a retail shop."
So what do you think? Is this new thrill ride worth going to,
or back to, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?