Is the Hogwarts Express ride different?

The Hogwarts Express is a first-of-its-kind ride that links multiple geographical locations in one themed experience. The train not only provides transportation from park to park but also presents two different “stories” for passengers to enjoy on their routes.



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Travel between King's Cross Station in the London area of Universal Studios Florida and Hogsmeade™ Station in Universal's Islands of Adventure, Each way is a different experience.

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The main reason is this is the only way to make sure you see absolutely everything that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has to offer. The other main reason we think the Hogwarts Express is worth it is that it's a convenient way to travel between the two parks and you can enjoy a different experience both ways.

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Attractions. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has four rides. Three rides opened in 2010 as part of phase one, while two additional rides opened in phase two in 2014.

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However, the ride is not a roller coaster but a scenic dark ride. The experience includes a flight around Hogwarts castle, an encounter with the Whomping Willow and a horde of Dementors, and a Quidditch match.

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Both trains face the same direction and will not turn around. The “train” is connected to a cable that pulls the engine and passenger cars down the specially designed track. The above diagram from Wikipedia shows how a funicular works. Both trains are connected to the same cable loop.

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Can you ride the Hogwarts Express multiple times? Yes! As long as you carry a park-to-park ticket, you can go back and forth as many times as you wish between the parks.

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How scary is the Hogwarts Express? We rate the Hogwarts Express one out of five Dementors in terms of fear factor. With a smooth ride and a mostly passive experience, the attraction really is designed for the whole family.

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We learned from a Universal employee that it takes 35 minutes to leave Diagon Alley, exit the park, enter Islands of Adventure and walk to Hogwarts. So if the wait is 40 minutes for the Hogwarts Express (and your kids can handle the hike) don't take the train. You'll save time just walking around.

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Definitely beats walking if there is little to no wait for the train, but the lines can get long, so it's actually faster to walk from park to park than to wait in this line if it's long. I'm not a die hard Harry Potter fan.

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Yes, there are. Some people are comfortable changing in their cabins, but others change in the bathrooms. It is a long journey, so there are toilets, definitely.

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How long was the train ride to Hogwarts? It was about nine hours. If memory serves it left London shortly before noon and didn't arrive at Hogwarts in Scotland until shortly after nightfall.

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Hogwarts™ Castle Walk You can walk through Hogwarts™ castle without riding the ride attraction. Fully enjoy the world of Harry Potter™ including “Moving Portrait Corridor” and “The Portrait of the Fat Lady” like Harry Potter™ and his friends did! *Please ask crew members about the operation hours.

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The Hogwarts Express ride is actually a one-way transportation element bringing guests from one park to the other. So, you could travel from Universal Studios to the Islands of Adventure or the other way around.

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But it moves around so much. I am not a coaster person, but I would rather ride a coaster than ride this again. It is also really dark and scary. Not appropriate for kids at all, which is fine since they probably wouldn't be tall enough to ride this anyway.

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You love Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, but you know it will knock you down for the rest of the day. Plan your day around it! Make sure whatever ride triggers your motion sickness the most is the final attraction of your day.

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Universal removed the coaster to make room for their new Harry Potter attraction. But over the years, I feel like they got rid of it because it was getting outdated, hard to keep up, and they had a lot of reported injuries. Also, they removed the dueling aspect of it after awhile, so it lost it's appeal.

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The Ride. Because of its relatively low top speed (50 mph), its lack of inverting elements (which turn passengers upside down on those coasters that have them), and other factors, the Hagrid ride is considered a “family” coaster.

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Diagon Alley Touring Tips Hogsmeade opened with three rides and Ollivanders; now it has four rides plus the wand shop. Diagon Alley has another upsized Ollivanders and only two rides, one of which, Hogwarts Express, it shares with Hogsmeade in IOA.

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