Renowned actor and Golden Globe award-winner John Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, became immersed in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter during their visit to Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando on Sept. 5, 2010. After sipping Butterbeer at the Hog’s Head pub, Travolta and Preston stepped into Ollivanders wand shop – where [...]

Let’s start our photo update back in Jurassic Park. Guests can now meet a 10-week-old Triceratops in the Camp Jurassic area. The baby dinosaur moves and blinks her eyes. You can also sometimes see a doctor examining the dino in the Discovery Center. This new activity was designed by a couple of team members.

We were the first to tell you Banks Lee’s story in early June in an article entitled, “Are you too big to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey?”. This young man’s quest to lose enough weight to ride the new attraction in Universal’s Islands of Adventure made national headlines. Today he made his goal. [...]

Keith Cardin loves visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. He thinks it’s an awesome place for fans to visit, so much so, that he’s trying to raise money for a pair of financially-strapped hard-core Potter fans to win an all-expenses paid trip to Orlando and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. “Upon visiting the Wizarding World [...]

Two days after Disney announced it’s raising its theme park ticket prices, Universal Orlando announced most of their ticket prices are also going up on Aug. 7, 2010. A one day, one park ticket is going from $79 to $82, the same as at Disney. (Click here for Disney’s new prices.) Annual ticket price increases [...]

Wizards, witches and other magical creatures were in abundance last weekend at Universal Orlando, specifically the Royal Pacific Resort, at Infinitus 2010, a Harry Potter conference. The four-day event included many discussions about the books and movies and of course, a visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Most attendees came from out of [...]

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal’s Islands of Adventure is still very busy. Most mornings guests are lined up just to get into the new area. So it comes as no surprise that Universal has run out of some of their exclusive Wizarding World merchandise. But don’t despair, some brand new merchandise has shown up onsite.

More than three years ago, HPEF (Harry Potter Education Fanon) announced their 7th conference, Infinitus, would take place at the planned Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando in July 2010. After 37 months of planing, more than two thousand Harry Potter fans will converge on Lowes Royal Pacific Resort this Thursday, July 15 [...]

The Summer 2010 issue is now available. Subscribers should receive their copy and the issue should be available at Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books-A-Million book stores nationwide within the next few weeks. Here are some of the stories you’ll read in the latest issue: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter This most anticipated new [...]

During the three-day opening ceremonies for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we had a chance to interview most of the film stars, Universal creative designers and directors from the films who helped create the new area in Islands of Adventure. Here’s a wrap-up of all our video interviews. Some members of the press were [...]

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter had its official opening on Friday. Hardcore theme park and Harry Potter fans made it in after many hours of long lines through Islands of Adventure and CityWalk. The long lines continued the day after. It may be a while before it’s an easy walk into Hogsmeade. Opening day [...]

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter celebrated its grand opening on Friday, June 18, 2010 with help from some of the Harry Potter movie stars and thousands of excited fans – officially becoming the only place in the world where the adventures of Harry Potter come to life. In attendance were Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), [...]

The stars of the Harry Potter films helped begin a beautiful fireworks show above Hogwarts Castle in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The private event was the opening ceremony for events leading up to the grand opening on Friday morning, June 18, 2010. On stage were, above from left, [...]

If you’ve been swept up in all the Wizarding World excitement but you don’t know a butterbeer from a bludger, we’re here to help. Here are some key terms and facts you’ll discover in the new island of Islands of Adventure.

We heard the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure would be open all day for the first time, so we headed over around dinner time. This was the first night the new area was open to regular park guests. Before we get to the night shots, let’s look at some of the [...]

Nothing official has been announced by Universal, but rumors are spreading about which stars from the Harry Potter film series will be at the grand opening next Friday. Stars Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Oliver and James Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) already visited the Wizarding World in [...]

Universal was allowing regular park guests into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for a few hours again this morning. In fact, even though Islands of Adventure was supposed to open at 9 a.m. this morning, they started letting guests in at 8:45 a.m. Despite the fact that it’s the weekend, it didn’t seem overly [...]

All thrill rides have a height limit – “You must be this tall to ride” – and the brand new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure is no exception. You must be at least 48 inches tall to ride. But it’s not the mimimum height some guests are having [...]

For the past few days, some regular Islands of Adventure park guests have been allowed into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The previews started last week just guests staying at a Universal hotel, but each morning since Tuesday, a few non-hotel guests have been let in. Here’s the drill, at least for now. Starting [...]

Warning! If you like to experience new attractions for yourself without knowing much about them, and you’re planning a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, stop reading now. But if you want to know all about what guests will find in the new area of Universal’s Islands of Adventure, read on …