Trip Report - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Impressions

Trip Report - June 2015

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Hey everybody!  Justin here, back from sunny Orlando to sunny (for now) Central Illinois.  I had a blast on the trip, and thought I might type out my thoughts about it to, well, write something.

First off, a little background.  Originally Kevin and I were planning on going to Austin, TX so he could go to a nursing conference and I could lounge around and explore, but since he got a new job we had to scrap that plan.  After debating what to use our airline credit for, we happened upon a Flex Ticket deal through Seaworld.  Figuring this was a fantastic deal (~$1000 for hotel and full admission to Sea World, Aquatica, Universal Studios, Universal Islands of Adventure and Wet n Wild for 5 days!) we quickly booked the trip.

Protips

• The second full week of May is a FANTASTIC time to go to the parks.  Walked on to most everything most of the time.  The longest wait time I saw was 35 min.  Beware later on in May, as graduating children and college aged children will swarm the parks.
• If you must change flight plans, do so without canceling your current flight, the (BS) fee seems to be slightly lower. (CURSE YOU UNITED!)
• Flex Tickets are a fantastic deal.  They get you full access to the parks for 14 days after initial use, so if you're staying longer its an even better deal.

Okay, let's get onto what everybody wants to know about -  

THE FREAKING WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!

Obvious question first - Is it worth it? 

 

Second question - Why?

Okay, let's start off with the first park to be built - 

Hogsmeade in Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.

Hogsmeade, much like Diagon Alley, is located as far from the entrance to the main park as possible in the northeast corner (Screw you Universal!  Making me walk...).  It is home to The Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff, as well as tons of shops and a few restaurants.  Let's get the little ones out of the way first...

Flight of the Hippogriff | Times ridden - 1

It's a kiddie coaster, more or less.  Great for children or people normally averse to roller coasters (like Kevin).  You pass Hagrid's hut in the queue, and there's a bowing Hippogriff by the initial climb which I guess is neat, but all in all not entirely impressive.

Dragon Challenge | Times ridden - 1 (red)

Not my photo :(

By far the least themed ride in Hogsmeade, Dragon challenge to me is a reminder that "Oh yeah, this used to not be a Harry Potter area."  The Goblet of Fire and Triwizard Cup make an appearance in the queue, so I guess the idea is that it's like the first trial of the Triwizard Tournament?  Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to snap a photo of either of these things, as the wait was five (5!) minutes, so I just rushed through to the loading area.  I also feel like I have to say that the line area is long (like seriously, it took me around 10 minutes just to walk it all), and most of it is an uninteresting underground cave-like environment.  That said, it's a pretty solid hanging coaster, just not really a Harry Potter one.

The Forbidden Journey | Times ridden - 3

The crown jewel of Hogsmeade, and the ride that resides in the Hogwarts Castle pictured above, The Forbidden Journey makes up for the ill will Dragon Challenge brings and then some.  The theming in the queue is fantastic, and has you going through a mini tour of Hogwarts.  Here, have some pictures -

The entrance to Dumbledore's Office

Dumbledore's Office.  It's darkish so it's hard to get a good picture.  You can vaguely make him out on the balcony.

Side note:  There are two sections with talking pictures - one of which with the four Hogwarts founders.  Sadly, the rooms are incredibly dark and flash ruins the effect, so I couldn't get a good picture of them.

The story to the ride, such as it is, is that you are a group of muggles invited to tour Hogwarts and receive a lecture from Professor Binns, the allegedly boring Magical History Professor.  Since Harry, Ron and Hermione have no regard for rules whatsoever at this point (it doesn't really fit in any given timeframe, though the rest of Hogsmeade seems to be in Goblet of Fire) they conspire to get you to the Quidditch game instead.

The Classroom.  Harry, Ron and Hermione appear on the Balcony.

The Sorting Hat, who rattles off safety instructions near the loading area

The ride is a hybrid of a dark ride and a simulation, and there's lots of props mixed in with projector screens.  If you're looking for them you can spot the threads pretty easily, but it's hard not to get engrossed in the experience.  You're on a mechanical arm throughout, so expect to go sidewise and upside down.  Obviously, I enjoyed this ride.  It's a lot of fun, even if the plot is incomprehensible and just exists to take you to different setpieces.

Protips

• The ride cars themselves are in groups of 4 and are pretty tiny, though both outside seats are adjusted for riders with, *ahem,* "certain body dimensions."  Kevin and I fit in outside seats fine, but those who are very tall or have extremely broad shoulders beware.
• Single rider isn't particularly worth it for this ride - The queue is just too much fun to geek over, and you skip about 90% of it. Since the ride seats four at a time, you just end up waiting for odd numbers.  Add to that the fact that regular line people obviously get priority (a fact seemingly lost on a very angry woman in front of me) going through the regular line is the obvious better choice.

 The Hogwarts Express | Times Ridden - 6 (3 from Diagon to Hogsmeade, 3 from Hogsmeade to Diagon)

This guy gets his own section because it technically does not belong to either of the other areas.  In fact, it is located distinctly outside of them, if adjacent to them.  For those who don't know, The Hogwarts Express travels between the two areas, and you must have a ticket with admission to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure to ride it.

First off, the Universal side has much better theming than the Islands side.  The queue to the Islands side is basically generic forest -> generic castle -> generic platform.  The Universal side just knocks it out of the park (pun not intended).

I mean, look at that.  They went into painstaking detail to make it look as much like a British train station as possible.

There are even ads for products and London tourism.  While I sadly don't have a non-blurry picture, there is a snack shop selling British snacks inside.  That's dedication.

It's kind of hard to see, but if you look at the photo on the bottom you can see the illusion of people disappearing into platform 9¾.

Hedwig is not amused

So yeah, as you probably surmised, the reason I rode the train that many times was just because it's a relatively convenient way to travel between the parks (otherwise you have to exit out the front and walk around the lake).  Somewhat surprisingly, there is an actual "ride" aspect to the train as well.  While the train is moving, a short film plays out the "window," and Harry, Ron, and a bad Hermione impersonator occasionally pass by.  The events are fixed, but are different for each way.  From Diagon to Hogsmeade you see into Hagrid and the Enchanted Car, and have a dementor attack. From Hogsmeade to Diagon you see the Centaurs, Fred & George, the Knight Bus, and Moody (Curiously, since Diagon Alley seems to be set in Deathly Hallows timeframe).  I vastly preferred the trip to Diagon.

Protips

• DO NOT attempt to ride the train from a closing park within an hour of closing time.  Universal Studios generally stays open longer than Islands of Adventure, so you may get the bright idea to take the train instead of leaving the normal way.  Problem is, everybody else has that idea.  While the train can transport a ridiculous amount of people at the same time (probably around 150 at my estimate) it still took a long time, even though the crowds were relatively thin.

 Diagon Alley at Universal Studios

 

Diagon Alley at Universal Studios was completed in 2014 and holds one single attraction, but boy is it a doozy.

Escape from Gringotts | Times ridden - 5

 

LOOK AT THAT ENTRYWAY.  My blurry camera can't do it justice.  I assure you it is 1000x more pretty in person.  There are also a bunch of other things in the line, like moving newspaper clippings, a meeting with Bill Weasley (the red headed step child of a red headed family), a goblin giving safety instructions, and an elevator ala Haunted Mansion, but I didn't get any pictures of these.  Cut me some slack, it was my first day there, and I was so giddy I could hardly contain myself.

 

Anyway, Escape from Gringotts is one hell of a ride.  It's a roller coaster combined with a 3D simulation ride.  They load 24 people per group in two large 4x3 carts.  The 3D "Safety Goggles" are surprisingly comfortable, even over regular glasses.  Perhaps what is most unexpected about this ride is that it is apparently canon - you are prospective customers that just happen to be touring the bank while Harry, Ron and Hermione are breaking in.  The ride ends just like the book/film, with the trio making their escape from Gringotts on dragonback, though there is some new interaction with Voldemort and Bellatrix.

Protips

• The seats are significantly bigger than those of The Forbidden Journey, but I think the back row of each of the carts is modified for taller people.
• I encourage you to go through the main line at least once to see everything, but the Single Rider line is definitely worth it here.  Because of the way the queue is designed (meeting with Bill/Elevator), there are periods when nobody from the regular line is in the loading area.  During these times, they load from the Single Rider line instead, so even if you're in a group there's a good chance you'll end up together anyway.  Problem is, other people will eventually figure this out too, so even the single rider line can get kind of long.

Food/Drink

 

Obviously one of the first things I did when I arrived in Diagon Alley (after riding Escape from Gringotts twice :p) was get some Butterbeer.  It comes in three varieties -

• Hot - I'm sure it's delicious, but it was in the high eighties to mid nineties during our trip, so I couldn't even justify it FOR SCIENCE.  Sorry.
• Frozen - Kevin's favorite.  There is a large amount of foam on top that tastes very strongly of butterscotch, and the rest is a carmely tasting slushie.
• Regular/Cold - My favorite.  You still get the butterscotch foam, but you get a butterschotchy carbonated drink under it as well!

 

 

There is no soda at all served in the Wizarding World because Universal's contract with Coca-Cola doesn't extend to there Wizards don't drink soda.  This is an Otter's Fizzy, which is a weird combination of carbonated orange and cinnamon.  Not terrible, but definitely wouldn't be my first choice.

 

 

We ate at the Leaky Cauldron, and I forgot to take a picture of my Specialty Chicken Sandwich which was basically a spicy grilled barbecue which was delicious.  Kevin had the Fish and Chips, which he said was okay.  A British guy walked out saying it was the worst food he'd ever had, but that may have just been a side effect of being British.  Florians in Diagon Alley has the best ice cream as well.

 

The Hog's Head in Hogsmeade

 Events

 

Singers in Diagon Alley

Puppeteers in Diagon Alley

Every once and a while, special performances will go on.  I saw a musical group as well as a puppeteer performance of "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" (twice, I wonder if they do any of the others) in Diagon Alley during my time here.

 

There's also an acapella (with frogs) group that pops up in Hogsmeade.  I didn't listen to them for long, but they seemed pretty good.

 

Shops

 

The interior of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

 

There's a lot to see, and a lot to buy in the shops in the Wizarding World, perhaps most notably at Ollivanders, where they have a huge selection of different wands from primary characters (Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore, etc.), minor characters (most professors, Luna, etc.) to even relatively bit part characters (Cho Chang?) along with originals.

I got Hermione because I'm a nerd

The Map is the interesting part.  See, if you buy a special brand of wand only sold in the parks, you can use them to do "magic" ie - there's a sensor in them that, when waved in a certain way near certain parts of the park, will make something happen.  The map shows where this is possible.  It's really quite cool, and it's fun to watch people attempt to successfully cast a spell.

 

Zonko's, Honeydukes, and Weasley Wizard Wheezes sell Candy and practical joke products.

 

 

I bought a chocolate frog, because I love chocolate and am indifferent about frogs.

Which is Better?

  

So what would I say if someone has a gun to my head and asks me to choose which park to go to if only one is an option?  First, I would tell them to question their life choices.  Then, I would recommend Diagon Alley immediately.

 

Not only is Escape from Gringotts superior to any of Hogsmeade's offerings, but there is something else Diagon Alley is better at by a longshot - immersion.

 

Above are shots of the "front" of Diagon Alley.  There is actually a facade of buildings and you have to make your way through a small passageway to get there.  It actually feels like your stumbling into a hidden world.  The presence of Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge hurt Hogsmeade a lot when it comes to this, as the sight of coaster tracks immediately make you go "Oh, I'm in a theme park."  Diagon Alley has none of this, and is in fact completely enclosed.  You can't even see any other part of Universal Studios from within, so you can get completely immersed in the Harry Potter Experience. 

 

Me sad to leave Diagon Alley for the last time ;_;

Wow, that ended up really long...  Well, I'm gonna call it here for now.  I might talk about our hotel, Seaworld and the rest of the Universal Parks in the future, but for now I'll say this - If you have the means to travel to Universal Studios and are a Harry Potter fan, do so as soon as possible.  It's an experience not to be missed.  Of course, you could just plan a trip with me when I go whenever the Nintendo stuff opens too :p

 

So long until next time internet!

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae Demo Extended Thoughts

Nine years.  That's how long this game has been in development.  It's kind of crazy to think that I was bright eyed sophomore back when this game was announced as Final Fantasy Versus XIII along with the rest of the Fabula Crystalis nonsense, but here I am in the year of our lord 2015 writing my thoughts on the demo I played through over about 3 hours last night.  So without further ado, here is another overly long analysis that nobody asked for!

The Good

Production Values


Okay, lets get this out of the way first - Great Googley Moogley this game is pretty.  Then again, you probably already knew that. The draw distance is...  Well, there really is no draw distance.  You can see everything across the map.  The character models, even npcs, are incredibly detailed and fluidly animated.  Enemies run the gamut from mundane to impossibly huge, but all of them are imbued with enough fine detail that they are as intriguing as they are threatening.  And that summon, dear God.  It really sets a new bar for eye candy in Final Fantasy and really gaming in general.

 
And the music, it is f**king fantastic.  Just listen to the music during the summon.  The demo alone is full of tracks of that caliber, and the somber tune that plays at the title screen is still rolling around in my head.

The Characters

 

From left to Right - Gladio, Noctis, Ignis and Prompto

The four main characters of Final Fantasy XV have so far been called the "Boy Band of Final Fantasy," and while I'm not sure I like that label, I have to admit that they really do kind of look like one.  Thankfully, they don't act like one (Though I'm sure One Direction or someone of their ilk will conspire to make an RPG someday).  The names are kind of silly, but just from the demo I can tell that the characters are well fleshed out with complicated personalities.  Noctis, for example, looks like a stereotypical goth/emo teenager, but he's actually kind of goofy and has a good rapport with the other three.  The demo has me intrigued about the history, relationships and complexities of the characters and that, to me, is the mark of good design in a demo.

The Experience System

Final Fantasy XV has a new experience system that is akin to Dark Souls of all things.  You still gain experience after battles, but this experience needs to be "cashed in" by finding a campsite and setting up camp.  While this obviously gets rid of some of the instant gratification of old Final Fantasy games I feel like it will lead to a more concrete feeling of progression, especially since I'm guessing camping is going to be the method of saving in this game.

Varied Gameplay 
I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of gameplay experiences available in the demo.  While regular combat was obviously the bulk of the experience, there were a few sections that really broke the mold.  In particular, there is a stealth section where you have to track a behemoth to it's lair.  This proves incredibly tense, and creepy music and heavy fog serve to bolster the atmosphere; it's almost something out of a Silent Hill game.  If this is a sign that the development team is willing to take risks with sequences far removed from just walking around and battling (something FFXIII sorely lacked) it increases my anticipation for the full game even more.

The Mixed 

Combat



Okay, here's the big one.  Definitely the greatest departure from Final Fantasy norms and perhaps the biggest risk the developers are taking is in the combat system.  Combat in Final Fantasy XV is completely in realtime, with no ATB bars to speak of.  Noctis is the only playable character, and attacks with his phantom arsenal via a preset melee combo.  Weapons can be switched around to add variety in things like speed and range, but the nature of the combo remains largely the same - swing your opening weapon to get the first hit, do a flurry of hits with the second weapon, finish with the third.  Noctis' warp strike ability, which allows him to instantly teleport to a targeted enemy, is invaluable, as many enemies are quite mobile and difficult to hit with the first clunky hit of the melee combo otherwise.  Each weapon also has a skill attached that operates separately from the combo (think FF9), that vary in usefulness.  Combine the clunky combo with warp strike, mobile enemies and environmental things like trees, rocks, etc. and battles can get really messy really quickly.

That said, when things flow like they presumably should - Warp strike, combo, maybe an AoE skill for crowd control, kill enemy, warp strike or full thrust to the next; it does look and feel really cool and satisfying.  The hits themselves have a good feeling of weight to them, and taking down a huge group of enemies gives a great feeling of accomplishment.

The AI of your teammates is definitely serviceable, and I rarely found them getting into too much trouble on their own, but there was one thing that kind of frustrated me.  When Noctis' HP hits zero, the game pulls a Gears of War - you enter a critical state where are unable to do anything, get knocked down by a slight breeze, and any damage you take is subtracted from your total health which, if it hits zero, is game over.  In order to return to the land of competency, Noctis needs to be infused with a dose of Bro Love via a pat on the back from one of his party members.  Problem is, sometimes they seem utterly uninterested in doing so.  Once I hobbled directly in front of an idle Ignis for about 10 seconds, before Gladio decided to travel the entire length of the battle field to reach me and pat me on the back.

The Map System

There is no active mini map while traveling the overworld.  This is definitely a minor complaint, as the map is easily accessible and the waypoint system is servicable, but I also have one other minor complaint - when you enter a dungeon, there is no indicator.  While this is sometimes obvious (the cave) it sometimes isn't (Deadeye's Den), and I spent more time than I'm proud of wondering why my map looked drastically different than before.  Also, once I figured it out, I couldn't find any option to switch the dungeon map to the world map to see where the dungeon was located in relation to everything else.  A minor gripe to be sure and easily fixable, but that's why it's in this section

The Bad

Performance Issues

Many of you reading this have probably already heard about the performance issues that plague the demo, and I am sad to report that all of the reports are true.  The game engine frequently has trouble keeping up with itself, leading to frame drops, blurriness, screen tearing, weird glitches (all the I's in all my menus disappeared for a while) and a somewhat entertaining bug where battle AI occasionally doesn't trigger and you just beat up docile enemies.

Squeenix definitely has their work cut out for them if they want to have a smooth experience while maintaining the same degree of graphical fidelity, but I remain cautiously optimistic that all of this will be ironed out by the release date of who knows 20xx.