Owned and operated by goblins, Gringotts is the Federal Reserve of the wizarding economy, and the scene of memorable sequences from the first and final Potter installments. It's known for its toppling column facade, chandelier-adorned lobby, bottomless caverns...and the heart-stopping rail carts running through them. The theme park adaptation is the centerpiece of Diagon Alley, and the the ultimate expression of the "virtual reality" rides Universal has been refining since IOA opened. Like Forbidden Journey at IOA, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts incorporates a substantial part of the overall experience into its elaborate queue, which (like Hogwarts Castle) even non-riders should experience as an attraction in of itself. You enter through the bank’s lobby, where you’re critically appraised by glowering animatronic goblins. Your path takes you to a "security checkpoint" where your photo will be taken (to be purchased afterwards as an identity lanyard in the gift shop, natch), and past animated newspapers and office windows where the scenario is set up.

Unlike Forbidden Journey, Gringotts doesn't rush you through its queue, but allows you to experience two full pre-shows before approaching the ride vehicles. In the first, goblin banker Blordak and Bill Weasley (Ron's curse-breaking big brother, played by Domhnall Gleeson in the best Musion hologram yet) prepare you for an introductory tour of the underground vaults. Then you're off for a convincing simulated nine-mile plunge into the earth aboard an "elevator" with a bouncing floor and ceiling projections. All this is before you pick up your 3-D glasses (identical to those at Transformers) and ascend a spiral staircase into the stalactite-festooned boarding cave where your vault cart awaits.

Also unlike Forbidden Journey, and indeed all the Wizarding World, Gringotts is not set in a nebulous "moment frozen in time" where incidents from various stories simultaneously coexist. Instead, visitors enter the bank at the exact moment that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook have arrived to liberate the Hufflepuff Cup Horcrux from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. Only in this retelling of Deathly Hallows Part 2's iconic action scene, you (as Muggles opening new bank accounts) are ingeniously integrated into the action. Familiar film moments featuring the vaults' guardian dragon play out in the ride's background, as (in scenes that could have been taking place just off camera) Bellatrix and Voldemort appear to menace you with snakes and sinister spells, before the heroic trio pauses their quest to save your hapless posteriors. The storytelling, which is much more coherent than Forbidden Journey's collage approach, may disorient scholars of Potter canon, but it's an intelligent way to allow fans to relive a favorite adventure without merely recapitulating the plot.

Gringotts’ ornately industrial ride vehicles consist of two-car trains, each holding 24 people in rows of four. The ride merges Mummy's indoor launched roller coaster aspects, with Spider-Man's seamless integration of high-resolution 3-D film (the finale dome completely surrounds your car) and massive sculptural sets (some of the rockwork inside is six stories tall), while adding a few new tricks like independently rotating cars and motion simulator bases built into the track.

The result is a ride that, though it doesn't break completely new ground like Forbidden Journey and Spider-Man did, combines favorite innovations from its predecessors in an exhilarating new way. It isn't quite the perfect attraction some might be anticipating. The visuals are sometimes murky, and the dialogue difficult to discern. And it's slightly disappointing that no animatronic figures, moving set-pieces, or actual pyrotechnics appear in the ride, though you will get spritzed with water, blasted with warm air, and sprayed with fog -- this is Universal, after all. Finally, though Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes reprised their screen roles, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson did not return. Harry and pals' CGI stand-ins look ok, as they are never seen up close, but Hermione's voice double is dreadful (an error even more apparent aboard the Hogwarts Express).

Nitpicks aside, whether Escape from Gringotts is THE greatest themed thrill ride of all time, or merely ONE of the greatest, can be happily debated by park fans until the next great leap forward comes along.