Theme park and attraction news, rumors and videos.
Harry Potter is easily one of the largest worldwide fandoms to exist. Since the inception of the series, books, artwork, films and parks have sprung up. Universal Orlando aims to continue its hold as the epicenter of magic with a major new roller coaster coming next year. This photo report, with shots provided by our contributor, @bioreconstruct on Twitter, oversees the current construction going on at the Wizarding World.
Attraction locker rental locations throughout Universal Orlando Resort are getting a revamp to offer guests a better experience.
Universal Orlando has taken one of its most popular attractions and quietly made it even better by bringing upgraded projections with sharper visuals and new animation to Islands of Adventure’s Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. [Read more…]
In a webcast on Sept. 15, 2009, Universal Orlando revealed a few more details about the upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion of their Islands of Adventure theme park.
The Wizarding World has been announced to be opening in Spring 2010.
The formerly-rumored attraction names were confirmed to be true and the following details and concept art were shown.
Virtual computer-generated fly-through of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and interviews with actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson:
At the entrance of Hogsmeade, billowing steam and an iconic whistle signal the arrival of the Hogwarts Express into Hogsmeade station.
Across the way is Zonko’s, a joke shop with a collection of tricks and jokes, including Extendable Ears, Boxing Telescopes and Sneakoscopes. [Read 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 for the United States Patent and Trademark Office reveals that back in May, Warner Bros. filed for several trademarks that are likely related to the new “theme park within a theme park”.
Some of the trademarked names are familiar: Three Broomsticks, Butterbeer, Ollivanders, Honeydukes, and Zonko’s. Those were all choices (some being winners) of past official polls for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Beyond those, six more trademarks may point to other areas of the Wizarding World and could even be the names of the attractions within it:
– Most notably, the name “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” is filed under “Entertainment services in the nature of an amusement park ride.” It may be safe to assume that this will be the name of the large new ride that is being constructed in the back of the park.
– Likewise, listed under the same category are “Flight of the Hippogriff” and “Dragon Challenge,” which are likely going to be the new names for the existing Flying Unicorn and Dueling Dragons rides.
– Four other trademark names are also listed. “Owl Post” and “Dervish and Banges” are categorized as retail stores. “Hogsmeade Village” is listed as “Entertainment services in the nature of an amusement park attraction, namely, a themed area.” “Magic Neep” is categorized under “Restaurant services, namely, providing of food and beverages for consumption.”
– Finally, on the same day that all of these were filed, a mark intended for use on clothing was filed featuring an Harry Potter “HP” logo along with a “stylized wing ball” better known to Potter fans as a Golden Snitch. While “Golden Snitch” has had many trademarks filed for in the past few years, this is one appears to be related to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter simply because its filing date is the same as the rest of the words. Perhaps we’ll see this graphic appearing on apparel inside the theme park.
It must be noted that while all of these words have been filed as trademarks, it doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily going to be used inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There is no reason why further marks could not be filed for in the future. But it is certainly possible that next year we will have a chance to ride something called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
(Credit to Orlando United for first posting the word list)