Countdown to Potterverse!

With the opening date being hotly speculated by theme park fans everywhere, the hysteria of the ‘world’s first’ rollercoaster ride hosted within the huge scale Hogwarts castle, the final films in the franchise nearing completion and the intricate attention to detail justified by the many millions of photographs taken over its construction period, Islands Of Adventure’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter looks set to stun the theme park universe when it opens as an area in late Spring 2010.

The first ‘real’ development taking place at the park since its opening some 10 years ago, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was announced in early 2007 when the Universal company obtained the Harry Potter franchise’s rights to create an astonishing ‘theme park within a park’.

Since groundbreaking later on in the same year, discussion to the area’s unveiling has simply grown and grown to a phenomenal scale, with hungry fans fed with media, official and unofficial, shining a magical light on the huge development kicking off IOA’s second decade.

Nearing completion, the area as shown by construction photos looks and feels fantastic, with the rethemeing and renaming of several of Islands of Adventure’s classic attractions. Name changes include raved thrill rollercoaster ‘Dueling Dragons’ conversion to ‘Dragon Challenge’, kiddies coaster ‘Flying Unicorn’ into ‘Flight of the Hippogriff’ and the majority of the Lost Continent area being switched to the Potter theme.
Several photos have recently been released showing off the area’s ‘Hogwarts Express’ train replica and the completed exteriors of ‘Hagrid’s Hut’ and ‘Hogsmeade Village’ sets.
Coastermob are proud to show off some original photographs showcasing the Wizarding World’s contents from the area’s perimeter, taken back in October 2009. This small collection of photos, although very out of date, really do give viewers a taste of what will happen when the Harry potter area opens and lets fans have a little wander around the Wizarding World!
Here’s to Spring 2010, let it be magic.