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Disney purchasing Marvel – What will this mean for Islands of Adventure?

The Walt Disney Company announced today they’re acquiring Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in cash and stock. This means Disney will own rights to 5,000 Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Capt. America, The X-Men, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four and more. So what will this mean for the future of Universal Islands of Adventure and…

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Photo Update: Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal’s Islands of Adventure seems to be moving along well. It’s set to open in 2010, although Universal officials haven’t said if that means spring, summer or fall. I walked all around the park today checking out the progress. The top photo shows the entrance to the land….

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Stars in the Parks: Element Skate Team at Universal

Element Skateboard Team members (from left) Chad Muska, Chad Tim Tim, Bam Margera, Collin Provost and Mike Vallely signed autographs for fans on Aug. 3, 2009, at Element’s newest store located at CityWalk. They also had a chance to ride on The Incredible Hulk coaster at Islands of Adventure. Photos by Kevin Kolczynski, Universal Orlando…

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Possible names for Wizarding World of Harry Potter rides, restaurants, and more

The Internet has been buzzing over the past couple of days with the possibility of the discovery of a few names of various rides, shops, restaurants, and other elements to be included in Universal Orlando’s upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter addition to their Islands of Adventure theme park. A search on the Web site…

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Reports of a robocoaster coming to Harry Potter land

Today’s Orlando Sentinel front page story is on the future Wizarding World of Harry Potter land at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. After some digging and talking with people “in and around the project”, they’re reporting some details on the main ride that will be housed in Hogwart’s Castle: From orlandosentinel.com: The castle will also house…

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New Wizarding World artwork features Harry Potter as seen in the movies

This new Wizarding World of Harry Potter artwork has been released by Universal. It doesn’t give a lot of new information, but it confirms the new land, or at least some of it, will be based on the movie versions of the Harry Potter series and not just the books. Daniel Radcliffe and other actors…

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Summer 2009 Issue Now Available for Preview and Pre-Order

The Summer 2009 issue of Orlando Attractions Magazine is now available for preview and pre-order. It’s our first quarterly issue and the first of our new and improved editions featuring nearly 20% more pages, thicker paper, more high-quality photography, and more articles than ever before. Feature articles in this issue include: • COVER STORY: Hitch a…

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A look at models from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Thanks to a Twitter tip from Orlando Attractions friend Matt Pezzula (@matpez), we’re able to present these models of some of the buildings and features at the upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The pictures were downloaded from the public Picasa web album of danswingler, presumably art designer Daniel Swinger,…

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Wizarding World of Harry Potter Update – New Official Poll Asks What Scares You Most

A new poll has been added to the official Web site for Islands of Adventure’s upcoming “theme park within a theme park”, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This poll asks you to tell which Harry Potter item scares you the most. The choices are: The Whomping Willow A Hungarian Horntail An Acromantula A Dementor…