If you’ve ever dreamed of catching the golden snitch in a rousing game of Quidditch, you just might get your chance this Spring. Universal and Warner Bros. just announced the projected opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a new theme park in Orlando, Florida that’s set to open in the Spring of 2010 as part of Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The park cost more than $250 million and brought back the original art and set directors to translate the movies into the theme park.
Experience Hogwarts
Visitors enter the park through the Hogsmeade station archway while a train whistle and plume of smoke sound the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. Daniel Radcliffe says Harry Potter fans will love the park. He said that when he was younger he would come out of movie theatres wishing he could experience the worlds on the screen. With the opening of Wizarding World, lucky Harry Potter fans will get that chance.
Two Roller Coasters
The park promises two roller coasters including one called Flight of the Hippogiff that simulates a training flight over Hogwarts on the irritable mythic beast. The castle itself will contain The Forbidden Journey, an attraction that Universal says will “use entirely new technology to bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life in ways never before experienced.”
Real Life Quidditch
Quidditch fans get a chance to participate in a simulated Triwizard Tournament and visit Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods to purchase their own remote-controlled Golden Snitch. Mischievous guests can pick up Sneakoscopes at Zonko’s joke shop and wizards in training can find their perfect wand at Ollivanders or visit The Owlery to send some air mail through The Owl Post. Honeydukes offers hungry visitors some edible souvenirs like Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor Beans. Thirsty travelers can visit Three Broomsticks for a sip of Butterbeer or fill hungry tummies with traditional British fare at the Hog’s Head.
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