Here is the place where i truly wanted to go...a place for harry potter fans which is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This is actually a theme park that has the exact same replica of places in the movie for instance the school where Harry and his friends attended which is Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and many more.The following shows about the theme park that i've taken from wikipedia
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area spanning two theme parks in the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA.
The first phase was officially announced for Islands of Adventureon May 31, 2007,[ and after a two-and-a-half-year construction period, the area officially opened to the public on June 18, 2010.The area's flagship attraction isHarry Potter and the Forbidden Journey which exists within a re-creation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It takes riders on a journey through Harry Potter's wizarding world. Other attractions include Dragon Challenge, a pair of inverted roller coasters, and Flight of the Hippogriff, a family roller coaster. The area also features a re-creation of Hogsmeade containing many gift shops and restaurants from theseries of Harry Potter booksincluding Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes, Ollivanders, Zonko's Joke Shop, The Three Broomsticks and The Hog's Head.
The second phase was initially announced on December 6, 2011, as a significant expansion of the existing Wizarding World of Harry Potter. On May 8, 2013, it was officially announced that a substantial portion of phase two would be constructed in the adjacentUniversal Studios Florida theme park with a replica of the Hogwarts Express taking guests between the two lands. This area's flagship attraction will be a roller coaster themed around the Gringotts Wizarding Bank. The remaining attractions will be themed around London and Diagon Alley. The second phase is expected to open in 2014.
Phase 1: Islands of Adventure[edit source]
Construction of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter began seven months after the official announcement, in January 2008. By July, theFlying Unicorn and Enchanted Oak Tavern were closed. The Flying Unicorn then began an almost two-year refurbishment which transformed it into the Flight of the Hippogriff. The Enchanted Oak Tavern was later demolished. A bridge was built to connect The Lost Continent with Jurassic Park allowing guests to avoid the construction zone that was to be the Wizarding World. Construction progressed with the Hogwarts castle slowly taking shape. By September 2008, the Dueling Dragons entrance was moved to Jurassic Park to make room for construction of Hogsmeade. One month later, the old entrance was demolished. By September 2009, the top shell of Hogwarts castle was completed. On September 15, an announcement was made as to what exactly was going to be included in the Wizarding World. In early 2010, Universal increased the marketing of the area which included newspaper advertisements, billboards and television commercials. The Dueling Dragons were closed for some maintenance before being transformed into the Dragon Challenge.[23] Construction was complete by June 1, 2010 when the area began soft openings.[3]
The opening celebrations.
A soft opening weekend was held for the media and reserved guests, starting on May 28, 2010. The park had two opening ceremonies that took place on June 16 and on June 18, 2010. The first opening was reserved for the cast and crew of the Harry Potter films, J.K. Rowling (author of thenovels), Universal Orlando Resort officials, as well as representatives from the media. The ceremony, which was produced by Universal Orlando Events Production in conjunction with Thinkwell Group,[24]concluded with a fireworks display and a performance by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, led by John Williams (composer of the music for the first three films). On June 18, the second ceremony occurred which officially opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to the public. Universal Orlando representative Bill Davis introduced the area to the audience along with actors from the films including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Warwick Davis,Matthew Lewis and James and Oliver Phelps. The NBC Today show[25] and The Weather Channel broadcast segments live from the park.[26][27][28]
Phase 2: Universal Studios Florida[edit source]
The opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter saw attendance at Islands of Adventure rise by as much as 36% in 2010. According to Jason Garcia of theOrlando Sentinel, this saw resort executives pondering "when to expand Wizarding World and how to keep business balanced between Islands and Universal Studios Florida".[29] In April 2011, Brady MacDonald of the Los Angeles Times speculated that an expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter would see attractions such as Diagon Alley and a Gringotts-themed dark ride replace Islands of Adventure's Lost Continent themed area.[30]
On December 6, 2011, Universal Parks & Resorts announced that they would be expanding The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The expansion was described as "significant" by officials; however, no further details were released at the time.[31][32]The announcement came just four days after Universal Studios Florida announced that they would be closing their Jaws ride on January 2, 2012.[33] On January 25, 2012, the Los Angeles Times stated that Universal Studios Florida's Jaws ride would be the site of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion. The aforementioned attractions would be complemented by a replica of the Hogwarts Express to transit guests between the two parks.[34]
Demolition of the Jaws ride and the surrounding Amity area began almost immediately after its closure.[35][36] After the site was levelled, work began on land reclamation as well as the construction of a series of buildings including a large show building.[37][38][39]
Further details about the expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter were announced on May 8, 2013. Officials confirmed that the expansion would predominantly be set in the adjacent Universal Studios Florida theme park and would feature attractions themed after Diagon Alley and London. The rumored Hogwarts Express connection between the two parks was also confirmed. Phase two of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is expected to open in 2014.[40][41][42][43]
Rides
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter currently has three rides, all based in Islands of Adventure. An additional two rides will open with phase two in 2014.
Entrance of Dragon Challenge
Dragon Challenge is a roller coaster which features two distinct tracks built to overlap and intertwine with each other. The ride was formerly in operation since the park's 1999 opening under the name Dueling Dragons. The physical coaster is exactly the same, with some new decor.[44] The attraction was renamed in homage to the first task of theTriwizard Tournament where Harry and the other contestants are to each duel with a dragon, depicted in chapter 20 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[45] The two sides of the coaster have been renamed "Hungarian Horntail" and "Chinese Fireball",[44] after two of the dragon breeds which appear in the book. It is the only chasing inverted roller coaster in the world. The queue for this ride features many Harry Potter relics, including the Goblet of Fire and the Triwizard Cup. In addition, the hike to the ride features the flying car featured in the second film, as well as Hagrid's hut.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a new attraction inside the replica of Hogwarts Castle, simulating a tour of the castle and its surrounding grounds. Visitors initially walk through the castle, interacting with various characters and props from thePotter series,[46] including a speech from Dumbledore, and directions from Harry, Hermione and Ron, before boarding a "magical bench" (controlled with a KUKA robotic arm system[47]). Throughout the ride, guests are taken around the outside of the castle, using a combination of simulated flight as well as encountering realistic animatronic versions of the Whomping Willow, a horde of dementors, giant spiders, the Hungarian Horntail Dragon, and a Quidditch match.[48]
Entrance of Flight of the Hippogriff
Flight of the Hippogriff is a steel roller coaster designed for families, located adjacent from "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey". The ride opened in 2000 as the Flying Unicorn.[49] Similar to the Dragon Challenge, this ride was re-themed prior to the opening of the Wizarding World. The roller coaster's back-story is that Hogwarts' Care of Magical Creatures professor Hagrid is teaching young wizards to fly on a Hippogriff (as Harry does in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) by using a wicker replica of the creature. A re-creation of Hagrid's Hut is passed on the way for a lesson from Hagrid himself on how to properly approach a hippogriff.[50][51]
Two rides are known to be under construction for phase two of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A roller coaster themed to the Gringotts Wizarding Bank will be located in Universal Studios Florida while a working recreation of the Hogwarts Express will connect the two theme parks.[40][52]
Dining, shopping and other attractions
Other than the main rides, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is also home to gift shops, restaurants and other tourist attractions. Several of these are re-creations of locations in the Harry Potter books while others have been created specifically for the park. A recreation of Hogsmeade exists in Islands of Adventure with a recreation of Diagon Alley currently under construction at Universal Studios Florida.
Inside Ollivanders wand shop
In the book series, Ollivanders wand shop is located in Diagon Alley, not Hogsmeade; however, installations of the shop are present in both areas of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Hogsmeade attraction re-created the shop asOllivanders, portraying it as a branch of the original where Harry purchases his wand inHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(known in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). Unlike other shops in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, visitors are admitted in groups of 20 to experience the premise from the Potter series, that "the wand chooses the wizard". Similar to the first film, the wand keeper and a selected guest test a variety of wands until the right one is found. Effects include flowers drying out, or a thunder storm erupting inside the shop. After experiencing the attraction, souvenir wands can be purchased.[53]
Hogsmeade]
A re-creation of the Hogwarts Express locomotive greets guests when entering Hogsmeade.
A re-creation of the Hogwarts Express lies at the entry to Hogsmeade. The re-creation features "billowing steam and an iconic whistle" and is accompanied by the conductor of the train. In the Potter series the Hogwarts Express is the train used to transport students from London to Hogwarts. The Owl Post is a working post office (where postcards and letters will be delivered with an authentic Hogsmeade postmark) that also sells stationery, writing implements, stamps, and owl-related gifts.
The Three Broomsticks, based on the inn and pub from the Potter series, offers a variety of food and beverage items from the Harry Potter universe including butterbeer, pumpkin juice, strawberry-peanut butter ice cream (as seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), chocolate cauldron cakes in addition to a menu composed of traditional British fare (Shepherd's pie, fish and chips, etc.). The pub features many hidden references to the book, namely house elves and ghosts that roam the rafters.[54][55] Butterbeer, which can be purchased with a souvenir mug, is offered as a non-alcoholic beverage and comes in both regular and frozen forms, found at the beginning of Hogsmeade fresh off the tap from the butterbeer cart. Similarly, The Hog's Head is based on the pub from the Potter seriesowned by Aberforth Dumbledore.[54][55] Honeydukes is a sweet shop, based onHoneydukes Sweetshop in the Potter series. The shop sells many items from theHarry Potter universe including Chocolate Frogs, Acid Pops, exploding bonbons, Cauldron Cakes, treacle fudge, Fizzing Whizzbees, Pepper Imps, and Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.[56]
The exterior of Honeydukes Sweetshop
Various Harry Potter merchandise items can be purchased from three different gift shops in Hogsmeade. Dervish and Banges is a store selling magical items, as well as Quidditch supplies, Hogwarts clothing, and other merchandise. The store is based onDervish and Banges in the Potter series.Zonko's is a toy and joke store, based onZonko's Joke Shop in the Potter series.]The third shop is Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods. It is a general gift shop (named for Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch) offering Hogwarts souvenirs (such as clothing and stationery), replicas of props from the Potter films, and other toys and souvenirs. The shop is at the exit to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and is where guests can obtain photos of their ride experience.[59]
