It’s a rare kid these days who hasn’t dreamed, at some point, of receiving an admissions letter to the Hogwarts School. As of Friday, families will be able to take their little wizard or witch to visit the fictional school, and the town that surrounds it, at Universal Orlando’s new “Wizarding World of Harry Potter.” You can’t actually send your kids to school there, but according to the AP’s sneak peek of the resort, it’s the next best thing.
If you watched the “making of” special on NBC, you and the kids are probably already chomping at the bit to visit the mini-park at Islands of Adventure. It strives to replicate the world of the “Harry Potter” as closely as possible to the films and books and, for the most part, it seems to succeed. This effort is particularly successful in what AP calls, ”a perfect reproduction of the imposing, many-spired castle where Harry and his magician friends are students.”
There’s also a reproduction of Hogsmeade with shops and an Owl Post where guests can stamp mail with a genuine Hogsmeade postmark. The park has only three roller coasters, but they sound awfully cool. The first, and most hyped, is “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” which combines the sensation of flying with a series of encounters from various key sequences in the books and movies. ”Flight of the Hippogriff” and “Dragon Challenge” are both older roller coasters that have been redone for the “Harry Potter” theme.
Basically, this park seems to be more about the experience than it is about lots of rides and attractions. But, admission is included with the Islands of Adventure entrance fee, so go, wander, shop, enjoy some butter beer (apparently it tastes like cream soda) and imagine, just for a moment, that magic is real.
