A new Harry Potter ride has been making insiders sick before its April 7 opening to the public at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park,
TMZ is reporting.
Universal Studio employees have been giving The Wizarding World of Harry Potter test rides, but the attraction has been making some of them throw up.
"The ride is supposed to be a carbon copy of the one that's already up and running at Universal in Orlando," said TMZ. "It takes thrill seekers on a 3D broom ride through Hogwarts Castle and other iconic locations from the book. Problem is ... something about the Hollywood ride is different and makes people hurl."
The
Orlando Sentinel reported, though, that Universal Orlando's Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride has developed its own reputation as "the king of motion-sickness rides," according to Scott Smith, University of South Carolina assistant hospitality professor.
One rider, Beth Whiteside, of Atlanta, told the Sentinel that she tried the Harry Potter Orlando ride when it opened in 2010 after taking Dramamine and threw up in a trash can and then again in the bathroom.
"It was really, really bad," Whiteside said to the newspaper "I ended up having to shut my eyes. I was still like, 'Oh, Lord, I'm not going to make it.'"
Harry Potter's stomping grounds at Universal Studios Hollywood will be less than one-third of the size of one built at the Universal Orlando, but the
Los Angeles Times said it's expected to draw big numbers.
"If the company's Harry Potter debut in Orlando is any indication, the Hollywood opening of the Wizarding World attraction should be massive," Nick Petrillo, an IBISWorld analyst told the Times.
Attendance at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando increased 20 percent with the opening of its Harry Potter-themed area in 2010, while revenues jumped 41 percent, said the Times.