Flight of the Hippogriff is a junior roller coaster at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the many Universal theme parks. It is present at Universal Islands of Adventure in Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Beijing. Designed by Universal Creative, the first installation opened at Islands of Adventure on June 18, 2010. The new ride was a redesign of an existing roller coaster known as Flying Unicorn, which the park closed in 2008 to begin its transformation. The design change was implemented to fit the new Harry Potter-themed area that was being constructed at the park. Flight of the Hippogriff is a mild alternative to the area's more extreme rides such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Following a successful launch, identical versions of the roller coaster were installed at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood over the next several years, with the Beijing version opening with the park in 2021.
A vehicle ascending the lift hill on Flight of the Hippogriff. An animatronic Hippogriff can be seen in the background, to the left side of the lift hill.
Entrance to the attraction.
Hagrid's Hut at queue area of the attraction in Universal Studios Beijing
The Vekoma Junior Coaster is a model of steel roller coaster built by Vekoma. It is commonly referred to as a "roller skater" due to the roller skate shaped cars found on some of the installations, and is credited with greatly influencing the concept of the junior roller coaster, which is found at many theme parks today.
An example of a Vekoma Junior Coaster