I finally made to back to Universal Studios after about 20 years and all the new stuff didn't disappoint. I loved the theming of the new areas, specifically for The Simpsons and Super Nintendo World. While I wasn't too thrilled with The Simpsons ride as it felt like a Back to the Future ride reskin, I did enjoy the Apu animation in the queue and going into the Kwik E Mart.
The Super Nintendo World area was much of the same, where the theming and music were awesome and the Mario Kart ride being generally fun. The main negative I had was that it didn't feel like it was fast enough, even on the Rainbow Road. The initial effect almost had me, but it wore off just as fast. Aside from that, Bowser's Castle was even more impressive than the outdoor area. With the length of that line, it made sense but the designers also took the opportunity to go all out on the theming to make you feel like you were in his castle
Finally, visiting the Hogwarts area felt on par with Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland. Walking in from either entrance (the Studio Tour or Fast & Furious sides) feels like an instantaneous teleportation into the Harry Potter universe. From the visuals, to the music and even the train, you feel like you're on Diagon Alley going to the Hogwarts castle. Between the two main rides of Flight of the Hippogriff and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, I liked the latter more. While initially it feels like Soarin' Around the World at California Adventure, it takes that concept further by combining the same screen technology with real world elements inside the castle. On my 2nd time time on the ride, I got curious about how they were doing the car movements. While I know we as the guest are not supposed to see it, I did catch a glimpse of the arm holding the seats and it looked very much like the animus from Assassin's Creed which I thought was very cool. Flight of the Hippogriff is a pretty easy going roller coaster with twists and turns but no loops and pretty measured pace so not scary for new roller coaster riders but also providing good entertainment for fans of Harry Pottter. The best comparison I can make is Sierra Sidewinder at Knott's Berry Farm without the rotating cars.
As always, here are my photos from the visit with the video at the end, including all photos and videos...
