Universal Announces a New Roller Coaster for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Art courtesy of Universal Studios Travel News Universal Studios
Last week Universal announced the latest addition to Universal Orlando Resort, and fans of a certain groundskeeper should get excited. Visitors to the Hogsmeade portion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, will be able to strap themselves into Hagrid’s motorcycle and take off on a thrilling new adventure with the June 13 opening of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Universal promises that the themed coaster will let guests see “some of the wizarding world’s rarest magical creatures.”
The steel coaster, which is being manufactured by the Swiss amusement company Intamin, will be on the site of the former Dragon Challenge coaster, which closed in 2017. That pair of coasters predated Universal’s Harry Potter area, and never quite fit in with those highly themed surroundings. With its motorcycle-style ride vehicles and rumors of audio-animatronic versions of some fantastic Potter beasts, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure sounds like a better fit for the fastidiously detailed Wizarding World.
The Motorbike Adventure will be the latest in Wizarding World’s roster of thrill rides, joining the child-friendly Flight of the Hippogriff as the second roller coaster in Hogsmeade. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a frantic flight through the land’s iconic castle, can also be ridden in Hogsmeade. At Diagon Alley, next door at Universal Studios Florida, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts takes guests on an electrifying coaster-style journey through Gringotts Bank. Gringotts and Forbidden Journey are both world-class attractions that raised the bar for themed entertainment; Paste doesn’t expect Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure to shoot for that level of immersion, but given Universal’s excellent track record with Harry Potter, it should still be an amazing experience.
Universal will be releasing more information about the ride at an event in March, just a few months before its mid-June launch. Expect to learn specifics at that point.