Opening in the, frustratingly vague, Spring 2010 and costing over a 1/4 billion dollars, the Wizarding World of Harry Potterexhibit at Universal’s Islands of Adventure is the most highly anticipated theme park destination in recent history.
Planned attractions include:
Dragon Challenge: Based on the Dragon event in the Triwizard Tournament
Flight of the Hippogriff: A laid back roller coaster for families
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: Taking visitors through the places and scenes inspired by the Harry Potter books
Ollivanders Interactive Experience: Wandkeeper will help a want “Choose YOU!!!” Obviously, you’ll have to buy it right away.
Of course, most of the fun will be in exploring the familiar environments and buying up every wand, cauldron, robe and imitation candy you can get your hands on. Personally, I’m hopping for a butter beer that’s an actual beer (Ed. Damn! New updates make it seem that no alcoholic butter beer will be served.)
Some familiar locations will be:
Hogsmeade Village: A recreation of the entire village as a shopping/dining area
Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods: A toy store
Dervish and Bangs: Another toy store in Hogsmeade Village
Honeydukes: A candy store
Zonko’s: A joke store that’s bound to be very popular
The Three Broomsticks: A restaurant
The Owlery: A styled waiting area
Hogwarts Castle: A recreation of the iconic castle that will house the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” attraction
Photo of the Hogsmeade Vilage Construction from MuggleNet
Other rumors include word of a “Frog Choir” singing throughout the day and the leaked information on Harry Potter Vacation Packages that begin on May 28, 2010! So keep that in mind as a possible opening date.
The following is taken from an introduction that I wrote for my brother’s photography series “Wallpaper Dreams“, after our trip to Ukraine for the first time in over ten years. Visit the project website for more images. All photos by Eugen Sakhnenko.
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