Ride Review – Wizard Academy

Found mainly in Fantawild Dreamland parks, Wizard Academy is the 2nd generation of the chain’s Spiderman technology dark ride and predecessor to Legend of Nüwa. The vehicles are the same, energetically twirling and weaving small groups of riders around 3D screens with a story to tell.

The story in this case is a little woolly. It appears that you’ve been invited to join this school of magic by an angry old wizard. As you traverse the layout he proceeds to throw all sorts of danger and misfortune at you, from giant creatures trying to smash you with clubs to fireballs that visibly incinerate other vehicles of fictional riders.
The issue I raised in my Nüwa review in that they tend to use a lot of slow motion shots to exaggerate 3D effects and try to get a reaction out of people is even more prevalent in this version, almost to the point of comedy.
Somehow as a total rookie you survive all this and are presented with a diploma for magic by the now slightly less angry wizard. So, are we friends now?

Wizard’s Academy is by no means a bad ride but I find the experience a little jarring, particularly having done clearly better versions of the technology (you can tell I’m not enthused by the lack of photos). I’m a million times more invested in Fantawild’s authentic mythology based attractions than, for want of a better description, ‘Harry Potter gone wrong’ narratives.
Here’s a handy list of where you can try to make more sense of it.