 Harry Potter fans can ride the popular coaster, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at two different Universal parks, Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Japan with a future option opening at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2016. It’s clearly a popular ride and it just got even more popular in Japan with its new upgraded 3D status.
The Osaka Park unveiled its revamped Forbidden Journey coaster last Thursday, making it the first of the two existing Hogwarts Castle rides to play in 3D.
Harry Potter actors Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) and Katie Leung (Cho Chang) joined park president Glenn Gumpel during a ceremony Wednesday night at Universal Studios Japan. The duo was there to “enchant” the Hogwarts Castle with a special spell that turned the attraction into 3D.
With the crowd, who couldn’t help but cheer throughout the entire ceremony, Felton, Leung and Gumpel cast the “Expecto Patronum” spell towards Hogwarts Castle. Suddenly eagle, rabbit, weasel and stag Patronuses appeared on the walls of Hogwarts, followed by a special fireworks display and more cheers from the crowd.
Felton commented on the new ride in a statement saying, “It was always a great ride, now it’s even more immersive. I tried to grab the golden snitch several times.”
Katie added, “I tried to grab the snitch but it was unsuccessful. Coming face to face with the dragon and Dementor was terrifying.”
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal Studios Japan just one year ago. Already it has drawn in record crowds to the park, which is Universal’s most popular by attendance, with more than 11 million visitors a year.
This begs the question; will the ride at Universal Studios Hollywood also get an upgrade to 3D and what about the one at Islands of Adventure? Will it be even further upgraded to 4K 3D just like The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man? Unfortunately, Universal doesn’t seem to have any plans for the upgrade in the near future.
"We love Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey -- and so do our guests," a Universal Orlando spokesman said Thursday. "And that’s all there really is to say right now."
Stay tuned for any breaking news. In the meantime you can always find discounted Universal Orlando tickets right here on BestofOrlando.com.
Orlando, FL – 6/4/15
By: Jena Pugh | 
