Sorry for the delay guys. It was a super long wait that probably totaled like seven and a half hours. I left right after the ride and I was super tired so I fell asleep. The ride was awesome! Whether you're able to brave the grueling wait depends on how much of a HP fan you are and whether you care if you lose an entire day to the ride. At the very least, most of the wait time is either inside with an AC or under an awning with fans/shade. I made the most of it by streaming the Germany and Brazil match on my iPad, which made for some fun times with the neighbors in line.
Inside Gringotts were some really cool props and videos setting up the ride. I particularly liked to stare at the giant glittering chandelier balls lol. The animatronics on the goblins seemed smooth and lifelike after spending years staring at the marionette-like movements on rides like The Mummy.
The ride itself was a pleasant surprise. I didn't really know much going in so it was cool to see how it combined the sort of cart-in-front-of-screen effects like Spider Man/Transformers with more dynamic roller coaster maneuvers like in The Mummy. I thought it was cool how it could both simulate the feeling of falling on-screen as well as actually drop you. There was a drop in the dark that was like 40ft, which was one of the more thrilling things.
The CG stuff was cool and detailed. I was worried when the ride stopped at one point because I thought they were lowering the intensity just to deliver plot and dialogue, but then some crazy stuff would come out of nowhere and crank the thrills back up. I was surprised how much they threw water on us and used heat to simulate the presence of the dragon's fire breath. And best of all with the screens was that they didn't make me feel nauseous! Most of the heavy shaking was in the dark rather than in front of a screen so it didn't throw my senses out of whack like the other Harry Potter ride.
All in all, it was a fantastic ride! The wait was brutal and, realistically, no ride is actually "worth" that long a wait, but that doesn't detract from the experience of the ride itself, which has easily become one of my favorites!
