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'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' Ride Malfunctions; Is Voldemort to Blame?

Where: Universal Studios [map], Orlando, FL, United States
July 26, 2010 at 8:41 AM | by | Comments (0)


Hogwarts at sunset. This is where the Forbidden Journey ride is housed

This weekend, all was not so magical at the Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure theme park when the newest and most anticipated ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, malfunctioned and stopped on Friday night, leaving 138 riders briefly trapped.

The ride, an experience coaster within Hogwarts Castle at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, only opened to the public a little more than a month ago. According to CBS4 in South Florida, the ride suffered a technical glitch, and when the ride stopped, a rider even panicked and called 911. All riders were quickly evacuated without injuries and the ride resumed regular operations Saturday morning.

Here's our two cents on the story: we've been on the ride twice and the reports about how riders were "stuck upside-down" can't be true. The ride is not a typical roller coaster; you aren't on a track that goes upside down. Each set of four seats swings around to encounter Dementors, giant spiders, a lively Quidditch match and more, but they don't go upside down.

What's more is that we remember seeing the lit-up emergency exits during the ride. When everything is pretty black inside there and regulations state that the emergency exits have to be well-lit and clearly marked, they're kind of hard to miss, so we doubt we would have been too worried. That said, we wouldn't have wanted the aforementioned Dementors stuck in our face for longer than a second, because the ride is pretty scary, especially if you know the Harry Potter stories.

Now let's just hope that Voldemort isn't behind this and that it doesn't happen again.

For more on the Wizarding World, check out our Survival Guide to the park, a look at the Forbidden Journey ride, or all our stories from the park's opening weekend.

[Photos: Jaunted]

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