How fast can Harrys firebolt go?

Answer 1

At the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section in Universal Studios Island of Adventures in Florida, there are three rides. The flagship ride is called Harry Potter & The Forbidden Journey, and is located inside Hogwarts Castle. It is a simulation ride, combining a moving seat with videos of the movie cast talking to you as you explore the castle, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch Pitch and more. There are also physical sets that your seat moves through. This is not a scary or fast ride; it is a simulation ride, ie your chair moves around more or less in one spot and you are shown a video of flying through the air to give the impression of movement. Along the line outside, you will also be able to explore Hogwarts Castle to a certain extent.

The other rides are more traditional rollercoasters. The Flight Of The Hippogriff is a "family-friendly" rollercoaster, but it's not a kiddy ride, it does whip round corners at a fair pace. The good thing about this ride is that, if you're willing to risk getting your camera out, you get some fantastic views of Hogsmeade (sit on the left) and Hogwarts Castle (sit on the right) from higher up, angles which you can't see from the ground.

The final ride is the Dragon Challenge, a leftover from the previous Merlin-themed area of the park which was formerly called Duelling Dragons, and has now been conveniently retooled to fit in with the Harry Potter theme as part of the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament. This is the fastest and scariest ride of the three, and technically, this is actually two rides - the Duelling Dragons motif had two intertwining but different tracks, which have now been renamed after two of the dragons in the Harry Potter series, the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail. It's worth going on both, as they are two completely different rides.

My personal tips? Get to the WWHP as soon as you get into the park, and preferably arrive at 9am (or 8am if you're staying in one of the Universal hotels) on the dot. Although when I was there, the queue for the Forbidden Journey was pretty short, I walked past room for hundreds of guests to queue before they even get into the castle (where you at least have the entertainment of the talking portraits or looking at Dumbledore's office). And you can't use the Express Pass on this ride either (you can on the other two), so there is no choice but to get in line. The ride itself is pretty enjoyable, and the acting in the videos (which feature Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, and Emma, Dan, Rupert and Tom as Hermione, Harry, Ron and Draco) is very good. But if I had stood in line for two or three hours - and that clearly happens, judging by the amount of queue space before you get on - I would have been disappointed. Maybe it's just me, but I like a proper rollercoaster after a long queue :)

And speaking of proper rollercoasters, if the line for the Dragon Challenge is very long too and you only want to do it once, in my opinion the Hungarian Horntail, or blue track, is much better than the Chinese Fireball, or red/orange track. Just saying :)

Answer 2

Harry's Firebolt can go 250mph