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I’ve just had the privilege of sitting in with a web cast for Universal Studios Orlando Wizarding World of Harry Potter in which it was announced by Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) that the theme park will open in Spring 2010. The web cast also included Universal Art Director Mark Woodbury, art director Alan Gilmore, and Show Producer Paul Aurio.

The park will consist of 20 acres of shops, dining, and rides!  It will be a totally immersive Harry Potter environment that is faithful to the films.  Entry to the park is made through an arch way, seen here.
Other things the park will include are:

- 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
- Honeydukes is next door and full of treats like Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans
- The Three Broomsticks and adjacent Hog’s Head pub will feature traditional British fare and drinks including Butterbeer and pumpkin juice
- Across from the Three Broomsticks is The Owlery, where owls roost and await their next delivery
- The Owl Post sends letters with a certified Hogsmeade postmark and sells official stamps from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
- Ollivanders wand shop is an incredible interactive experience where the wand chooses the wizard
- Completing Hogsmeade is Dervish and Banges, the magical instruments and equipment shop featuring Quidditch equipment, Triwizard apparel, Spectrespecs and Remembralls
- The first attraction, Dragon Challenge, features a twin high-speed roller coaster with many iconic elements from the Triwizard Tournament
- Next is Flight of the Hippogriff, a family coaster simulating a Hippogriff training flight over the grounds of Hogwarts castle
- Located in Hogwarts castle, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a thrilling new state-of-the-art attraction that uses entirely new technology to bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life in ways never before experienced
- Before exiting back into Hogsmeade, Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods is full of Ministry of Magic and magical creatures merchandise, Omnioculars, and even remote control Golden Snitches

See photos of some of the concept art of the park here!

J.K. Rowling said of the park, “The plans I’ve seen look incredibly exciting, and I don’t think fans of the books or films will be disappointed.”

The experience at Olivander’s will include many ‘dusty wand boxes’ with an interactive environment where ‘the wand chooses you’.

When Tom Felton was asked what the he and the rest of the Potter cast were most looking forward to at the park, he said first and foremost the food and drink.  The prop food and drink used on set aren’t quite up to snuff, apparently, so they’re really looking forward to drinking some real butterbeer!  And they’re also looking forward to being the the real village and the buildings instead of just the fronts of buildings that are used on the set. Tom is especially looking forward to just walking through the park. He also spoke of how, after finishing up Half-Blood Prince, he and other cast members had to do some possible motion capture work in which they were told to stand certain ways, face certain ways, but were never told (unfortunately) what exactly what the work was for.

As far as getting J.K. Rowling’s stamp of approval for everything within the park, Woodbury stated that it was a totally collaborative effort.

The memorabilia that you’ll be able to buy include all the food, candy, gadgets that are found in the Potter books!

Video!!

UPDATE: I’ve added MORE photos – this time in high-res – that include some I hadn’t loaded up before, right here!  See them here! Plus, the video of the web cast!

A huge thanks to Universal Studios Orlando for inviting Harry Potter’s Page to this fabulous event!

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