Wizarding World of Harry Potter Blog

Slightly Off Topic - Halloween Horror Nights @ Universal Studios

Since we're short on news about the construction at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I figured I'd throw a little general Universal news your way.

Recently, I received a survey from Universal. One of those "What do you think about this?" type deals. One of the surveys had to do with the upcoming 2008 Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.

The questions were very telling. First, they listed a number of urban legends and asked me to tell them whether or not I had heard of them. Some of them were familiar (gators in the NYC sewers, the pet dog that was a rat, etc.). Others weren't familiar at all (some random guy's body is found in the vat of a brewing company - big deal). What was more interesting were the ones not included such as the vanishing hitchhiker and the gas station backseat murderer. And no babysitting legends to be found. Say what?

So, it appears that Universal is going for an urban legends theme this year.

Meh.

They also asked whether I found supernatural thrills or gore more scary (supernatural, of course - gore is shock fare, not true horror).

Then, they followed up with a number of questions on directors. Whether or not I was familiar with them. Some of the names given were Steven Spielberg, Sam Raimi, Alfred Hitchcock, George Romero, Wes Craven, M. Night Shamaylan, Ridley Scott and Rob Zombie.

The last part of the survey dealt with prices. Let me just tell you: Universal Horror Night prices are freakin' ridiculous. $40 for entry with an extra $30-60 for Express? Are you kidding me???

Construction on Hogwarts Castle Has Begun

Jim Hill at Jim Hill Media has just posted that construction on Hogwarts Castle has begun!!

Bits of steel structure are beginning to appear above the green fence of annoyance, as I like to call it.

If you want to see the very beginning of Hogwarts and are in the Universal area, you'll find it just beside the Flying Unicorn ride (soon to be the Flying Hippogriff). And if you ride the Flying Unicorn, you can actually get a bit of a bird's eye view of the construction site. Good luck!

Geeks of Doom Give Ideas for Harry Potter Theme Park

A bit old, but this is a fun little article in which the website, Geeks of Doom, gives some fun ideas for what they'd put in a Harry Potter Theme Park.

And, being that they're geeks, they have a good handle on what would be, at the very least, fun.

Imagine: A Harry Potter Holiday at Universal's Islands of Adventure

Take a look at this photo:

Remember what a big deal Christmas was at Hogwarts?

Now imagine getting to experience it first hand. A Christmas feast at the great hall. Carolers in the streets of Hogsmeade. Wizardly decorations light up the Wizarding World as you get to take part of it.

What could Universal possibly have up its sleeve for Christmas? For years, Universal has tried to compete with Disney as Disney's Christmas season eclipses all. And while I highly suspect that Disney will remain tops for some years to come, I do think that Christmas at Hogwarts will at least provide enough reason for some to leave the Mouse House for a bit and visit Universal.

Could there possibly be a ticketed event in this? Time will tell, but I for one would love to be able to truly experience Christmas at Hogwarts, wouldn't you?

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Open on December 1st, 2009?

Apparently, the new word on the "street" is that Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be opening on December 1st, 2009.

While this may excite Potter fans, as usual, Jim Hill Media has given us a clue about why it might not be THAT exciting.

According to Jim's sources, the Harry Potter aspect of Islands of Adventure does appear to be opening to the public on December 1st of 2009. However, only Hogwarts and Hogsmeade Village will open with this Phase One opening. Phase Two will open in 2010 with the Forbidden Forest and the much talked about Flying Car attraction make its debut.

Personally, I'd like to see an all-inclusive opening since we all know this is such a big deal to Potter fans. I suspect that many fans will make a show at the opening and it will be a disappointment to some of those fans to learn that they won't be able to see the entire Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Construction Photos

Universal Ignited has published a few photos they have taken of the construction from the Flying Unicorn.

Looks about the same as it did mid-December when I glimpsed through the cracks of the big green fence. I took a bit of video and may eventually load it up, but don't get too excited. It's a lot of dirt and green fence at this point.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

If you haven't been keeping up, then perhaps you don't know that Universal is set to debut "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at their Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida.

 

Details at this point are scarce, but this blog is going to do all it can do to keep up with every little tidbit, rumor and truth to come out of Orlando.

 

This past December, I snuck a peek inside Islands of Adventure and can tell you there's little more to see than green fence and, between the cracks (yes, I did my best to see what I could), there's only mud and bulldozers. There's a lot of work to be done, Muggles.

 

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