UPDATE: Andrew, Eric and myself discuss all the Wizarding World developments on Episode 180 of MuggleCast. We recommend subscribing to the show through iTunes. If you're already subscribed, just simply update your feed. Other options include listening to the show in your browser live on MuggleCast.com or simply download it onto your computer: Direct Download | Low Bandwidth
At a press conference earlier this morning, Universal Studios confirmed that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will officially open in the Spring 2010. No specific date was given.
Names of the three main park rides are Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge. Flight of the Hippogriff will include interaction with Hagrid as you fly on a Hippogriff for training. Dragon Challenge will center on flying either a Hungarian Horntail or Chinese Fireball. Univeral's existing ride, Dueling Dragons, will be re-themed into Dragon Challenge.
Other attractions include Ollivander's Shop, Owl Post, Dervish and Banges, Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes, Zonko's and Filch Emporium.
A ton of artwork was revealed of virtually every part of the park, including a map.
VIDEO:
- Introduction video with Dan, Rupert, and Emma | YouTube Version
- Virtual map fly through | YouTube Version
HIGH RES ARTWORK:
- Beautiful map of entire area
- Zonkos
- Owlery
- Ollivanders
- Honeydukes
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- The Dragon Challenge
- Filch's Emporium
- The Exterior of Hogwarts
Press release announcing today's news - click here. The press release includes descriptions of each ride.
The presentation included a video introduction from Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson who all expressed their excitement about the park. Tom Felton was live at the event speaking with the creators.
Scenes for the theme park were filmed right after they finished filming Half-Blood Prince.
Don't forget that Infinitus 2010 will be taking place in Orlando, Florida, from July 15-18, 2010. Click here for more information.
Posted by Micah
09-15-2009 at 10:16 AM
|
Fan Comments |
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:26:20
wow, cannot wait til theme park. I am actually gonna go to florida this spring to visit my grandparents, i feel so lucky
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:26:28
Thanks so much for this update! Hopefully soon well have an opening date. Its good to have confirmation that itll be this spring, though. Cant wait to see the park, and all the attractions sound amazing.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:26:43
Looks awesome, cant till I go next august!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:28:44
OMG, this is going to be such an awesome theme park attraction. I am just looking for an excuse to go to Florida.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:28:44
wow, cant wait to go and see all of this for real, wondering when the next live podcast will be where they will discuss all of this?
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:35:03
Filchs emporium looks awesome!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:35:51
The dragon challenge... doesnt look very challenging! Is that the right pic?
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:36:33
Thanks so much guys, for all your coverage. I cant wait!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:46:13
Filchs Emporium looks almost like the room of requirement. And I agree with lhegarty that the dragon challenge doesnt look that great but ive been on that ride and that is probably just the entrance... it goes on through a huge building before you get to the actual ride. Thanks for the updates everyone!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 10:49:09
This.is.so.COOL!
Hogwart s looks absolutely awesome. Im gonna cry!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:01:38
QUIDDITCH PITCH!! THERE SHOULD BE ONE!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:02:08
Very nicely done Andrew and Micah! Got the info up within 2 hours of the announcement starting time. Emerson, these boys deserve a raise!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:14:25
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:19:42
Three words: Audio-Animatronic Snape.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:20:03
AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHH!!!!!!!!
IM SO EFFING EXCITED!!!!!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:24:06
OMGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Totally taking off from school,
and ditching my trip to Costa Rica!
Hogwarts, Ive waited so long to recieve my letter.
My 11th birthday was a letdown. My 20th will be amazing!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:29:32
It DOES look amazing BUT the only new ride is going to be "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey". The other two (Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge) are just two re-themed current coasters (Flying Unicorn and Duelling Dragons). Still, looks like a pretty thorough re-theme. Thoughts?
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:36:03
Why do I know that if I ever get to fly there Ill spend waaayyy too much money on HP stuff? xD
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:38:37
OMG!!! Im so excited right now!!! THIS IS CRAZY!! I KNOW WHERE I"M GOING FOR SPRING BREAK!!!!! Im so overwhelmed now...Ive got class in 30 minutes, but I really want to watch and look at all this stuff!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:40:46
Know what ya mean Spanishpanic. However I do not seeing anyone else having an more amazing time there as my son will. He will be 6 next summer and still believes Hogwarts is real and awating his letter. Perhaps Universal could make the tickets look like the school letter for children. hehe that would be amazing as well!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:45:59
I LOVE the video with the trio and ALL the pictures of the shops and the rides look AMAZING!!!! Im seriously hyperventilating right now! I love how they made it look just like the movie and I love the Filchs emporium store. Its such a cool name for a gift shop considering Filch confiscated so much stuff over the years. Ive got to start saving my money now, because Im going to want to buy everything I can get my hands on!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:47:44
Ishi 32 - Yes, that one I am looking most forward to as it will be "Filchs Emporium of Confiscated Goods is full of Ministry of Magic and magical creatures merchandise, Omnioculars, and even remote control Golden Snitches"
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 11:53:38
Dizzyshar, I dont belive a 6 year old can really grasp the full blown awesomeness of Harry Potter. At least not as much as a person whose been waiting 9 years.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 12:18:39
I love the artwork and videos! I cant wait!!! :)
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 12:22:52
I cant wait! What i dont get is that is the Harry potter world only going to be for a week??? Or years and years or what?
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 12:43:35
Im extremely relieved that they didnt base the owlery on the one in the 4th movie. And spring 2010 is... way sooner than we thought right? Clrenn, I think the Infinitus convention is a week long, the Harry Potter world will probably be there for at least a few years :)
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 12:46:13
I am SOOOO there. I can hardly wait for this attraction to open. It is going to be so much fun to be able to walk through the gates of Hogwarts!!
Dizzyshar, that is a brilliant idea with the tickets looking like the original letters. Snapealicious, you are absolutely right. The true star of the series should have shrine as well lol. WB: I hope you are listening!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 12:53:03
Sure he can, and he will enjoy it more cause he will think it will all be real.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 13:15:19
Excuse me, dizzshar, not trying to pick a fight. But it will all be real.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 13:23:21
this is so awesome but i cant go there until maybe after 3 to 5 years?? i dont know.. ugh.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 13:30:12
Ill be definitely going there! Cant wait, I just hope theyll do it right =) Especially Hogwarts...
Too bad the theme parks not in Europe though :P Thnx very much for all the materials ;)
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 14:03:59
So cool. So glad I live in Florida. But for those of you who were hoping for Harry Potter themed tickets, you arent going to be buying tickets for the wizarding world. Because its a theme park within a theme park, youll buy tickets to get into Islands of Adventure, and then you can go straight to the Harry Potter area. And as for the picture of the dragon challenge, that was only the entrance. The actual ride has been there for years and was called Duelling Dragons. You can check it out on youtube to get an idea of what the ride will be like. All theyre doing is re-theming it to make it more "Hary Potter-ish".
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 14:20:35
ARTWORK LOOKS GORGEOUS! MAP IS STUNNING!
I AM BREATHLESS RIGHT NOW.
SO EXCITED.
THIS JUST CANT HAPPEN ANY SOONER.
I SWEAR THIS IS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE
the only thing that could make it better if it was all real..hogwarts and all. D:
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 14:37:02
OMG! I am sooooooo excited. I swear Im nearly 30 and I feel like a little kid right now. The husband and I are going no matter what next year!!! YEAY!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 14:39:05
Does anyone have a feeling this is going to be lame?
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 15:05:08
AHHH! AWESOME!! I cant wait! My family is planning to go for spring break or next summer, and I hope we dont have to wait that long. I AM SO EXCITED!! It looks awesome!! I love the idea of Filchs Emporium!! I am going to save up 400 bucks and spend it ALL! (370 more to go, LOL.) WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 15:24:35
Well, I guess its now official - no Feast in the Great Hall. That was the one thing I said years ago that I would look forward to "if a theme park were ever to do a Harry Potter section". Since the Hogwarts Castle is directly across the lagoon from the main entrance, it will give the park a real "weenie" for the first time, as it will be right dead ahead as one walks through the Port of Entry.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 15:31:05
Does this mean we can get a custom wand at Ollivaders? I really want to taste all the food it has, like butterbeer and chocolate frogs. I also want to get a remote control snitch. I can already imagine that everything will be sold out within a week after release.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 15:40:09
WeasleyTwin: I was wondering about the wands too. I was wondering if you could like tell them what you want and you could buy it, but you probably just have to look at what they have and buy from that, if you buy wands there at all.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 15:42:57
yay new mugglecast... that was quick!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 15:43:24
darn! tickets are gonna sell out in like a second.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 17:43:52
Oh My God!!!! I CANT WAIT!! =) =) =)
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 17:46:36
mugglecast!!!!!!! but what on earth is Filchs Emporium?
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 18:54:49
@i_am_hermione Well, if I was to hazard a guess, Filchs Emporium is likely a small shop that sells more miscellaneous items that wouldnt quite fit in the other shops in Hogsmeade. Judging by the little items tucked away everywhere, it looks like it is making use of the fact that Filch confiscates stuff from students.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 19:07:01
Yay New MUGGLECAST!! Filchs emporium looks like a gift shop. Clearly Filch would acquire/confiscate a lot of interesting artifacts over the years, so it makes sense. I love the idea!! It looks like there will be A LOT of places to buy stuff which is AWESOME!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 19:28:50
OMG this looks freaking SWEET!!!! I want to go soooooo bad!! I really wnat to buy stuff from Filchs Imporium and Ollivanders!! My own wand...YAY! I gotta start saving so I can buy tons of stuff there cuz I know Ill want everything...
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 20:00:05
OK...think I am now in need of a life change at age 48--a Theme Park Character for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter sounds like a really good career change, hm? Yeah. I can just see it "Professor Valkyrie" (me!) could wander around the Park as a Hogwarts teacher of...Rune Studies? Magical Creatures? (have to think about it) and interacting with the "muggles"...cool. I wanna go now. Got it all figured out. Can sneak out....catch a train...
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 20:41:02
OH MY GOD! Is all I have to say. My life is now complete.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 21:11:10
Wouldnt it be funny if they made the passengers on Flight of the Hipporgriff bow to it before it took off?! Then the guy at the controls comes over the PA and says: Hey you! In the green shirt, you didnt show the required respect. He wont take off until you do!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 21:19:13
AHH! Omgsh! I hope I get to go for spring break! XD
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 21:23:57
I still want a picture of me flying on a hippogriff overlayed into the scene from OOTP. Ill stand in line for that! The kids can go do Barney while Mom goes nuts in HP World! Hogwarts invitations with our names on them for tickets, or even better...you just type your name in and the thing prints them off 5x7 size and you can frame them...Do you think Universal scours the sites whenever there is an announcement for our reactions and then ideas to add? I really hope so.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 21:42:54
I am going to be there opening weekend, whenever it is!!
Does anyone else think that there better be a buffet of the most delicious food on the planet in the Great Hall??
I am so excited!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 22:02:06
looks awesome! cant wait!
was kind of hoping for a virtual knight bus ride though, or something to do with quidditch. who knows, they might add more. =)
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-15 22:31:06
Im so excited for this! My brother works for Airtran Airways and i can fly to Florida for free and get discount admission and discount hotel rooms! Im so going!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-16 08:13:07
im gonna die of excitement! this has been my ultimate dream since i was a kid!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-16 13:21:59
I hope its better then it looks. :)
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-16 16:10:05
i am officially going to psst MY PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-16 17:33:50
I have no I idea why, but when they showed Hogwarts on the map, I started crying. I guess I am really emotional today.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-19 04:22:36
They do seem to be forgetting that a lot of HP fans are from the UK, and if we grew up with the books we are currently at Uni and slowly digging ourselves into deeper debt... fun :)
Apparently the cheapest flights out there are
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-19 08:25:08
On the other hand, Universal is in the same city as the 3rd largest University in the US, as well e as a handful of private and community colleges, making them neighbors to a nice audience of the age group who grew up with HP.
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-19 11:49:11
|
Posted by: - Posted on: 2009-09-22 01:36:54
Its times like these where Im extremely happy and grateful to be residing in Orlando, Florida. My house is just about ten minutes away from Universal Studios, and I work extremely close to the park. :) Im planning on getting myself an annual pass before February of next year, so that I can visit the Harry Potter-land whenever I want. I cant wait!
|
| You must be logged in to post your comment. |
| |
|
|
Loading...
.jpg "LEGO Harry Potter"){kind=small}
