Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is the latest attraction at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort. It’s also the best ride in the entire Wizarding World so far, and that’s saying something. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure is anchored by Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a motion-based dark ride set in Hogwarts castle that allows you to ride a broom around the grounds, while the thrilling, dark ride/coaster hybrid Escape from Gringotts at Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley (in the neighboring Universal Studios Florida theme park) puts you on a crash course throughout the underground bank. Both of these rides are fun, immersive, and practically ambitious—they combine elements of other kinds of traditional rides (dark ride, roller coaster, 3D-projection) to offer a bounty of surprises. But Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure goes one better, combining the soaring thrills of a death-defying outdoor roller coaster with the tactile, practical effects of a great dark ride to create a smooth, exciting, and heart-racing experience unlike any other.

The Story

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park. It’s in the location that previously housed the dual roller coaster Dragon Challenge (which itself was formerly Dueling Dragons before the arrival of the Wizarding World). As it’s set adjacent to Flight of the Hippogriff and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the ride takes place near and deep inside the Forbidden Forest from the Harry Potter book and film series. As you enter the queue, you wind around towering trees (1,200 actual trees were planted for the attraction) and Hagrid’s Hut to stumble upon ruins which appear to have been abandoned for centuries. It’s here that Hagrid has set up his base of operations for groundskeeping at Hogwarts, which includes the care (and taming) of a number of magical creatures.

You, the rider, are a student at Hogwarts taking Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures class, and as you get deeper and deeper into the indoor portion of the queue, you’re surrounded by illustrations, figures, and specimens relating to a number of creatures from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter universe, from dragon eggs to nifflers.

Once you get to the actual ride, you hop inside one of Hagrid’s enchanted motorbikes and soar through the Forbidden Forest, encountering Hagrid himself, brought to life in stunning detail as an animatronic figure.

The Ride

As a rider, you’re offered two options in the ride vehicle—you can ride on the motorbike or in the side car. The motorbike sits higher up and allows you to stretch out your arms on the handles, while the sidecar is lower to the ground and more compact. The vehicles come complete with working lights (tip: ride the attraction at night if you can—it really brings out the attention to detail) and a speaker. Indeed, the speaker serves to drive home the “story coaster” aspect of the ride, as you hear Hagrid speak to you as you’re zooming through the forest and encountering troubles, and music swells to add even greater tension to the twists and turns.

And indeed the twists and turns are aplenty. Roller coaster enthusiasts will be pleased to know Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure delivers serious thrills. It features the most launches of any roller coaster in the world at seven in total, boasts a 17-foot vertical drop, and catapults riders 65 feet into the air at a 70 degree angle before immediately dropping backwards.

This coaster moves fast, but I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the entire experience is. There are a number of points at which the ride slows down so you can take in an animatronic Hagrid or come face to face with Fluffy, then it zips back into high gear again all without throwing you for a loop.

Final Thoughts

It’s this blend of adrenaline-pumping roller coaster action and seriously immersive dark ride features that makes Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure unique, and it’s why it stands tall as the crowning achievement for the Wizarding World Orlando attraction team thus far. Granted, if fast and twisty roller coasters aren’t your speed you may still find Gringotts or even Forbidden Journey more palatable, and the Hogwarts Express ride remains an absolute delight. But in terms of a complete, satisfying, wholly unique experience that also delivers as a bona fide roller coaster, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is tops.

Look for much more on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and Universal Orlando Resort on Collider soon. The attraction opens to the public on June 13th.