Wizarding World of Harry Potter set to open this spring at Islands of Adventure

(the wand picks the wizard...for a cost!)

Don't underestimate this. I vaguely recall reading that the MagiQuest guys are involved in some way in the new land. We did MQ in the Smokies this summer, and had a *total* blast. It was a lot of fun, and well worth the $100 or so it cost the four of us for a couple hours' diversion.

Plus, your wands "remember" what you've accomplished, so if you visit next year, or visit another MQ location, you can pick up with more advanced quests, etc.

It is only one new attraction, but so is the new Fantasyland refurb that has all the Disneyphiles drooling on their shirts.

I was wondering if they were retheming...
As I read the descriptions of the Rides, I was thinking, "another Dueling Dragons? And another family coaster like the Unicorn? This sounds just like the Lost Continent sec... oh."

I wonder what will happen to the awesome Poseidon show and the great Mythos restaurant... Subsumed by Potter-Mania as well?

Talonstruck said: I also wonder if they will have Jelly beans that taste like snot.

Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans are made by Jelly Belly. You can already purchase them. At Halloween last year an office prankster (who'll remain unnamed) put a bowl of them in our office kitchen next to a bag of regular Jelly Bellys. It was fun to watch people's reactions...I mean you can image the reaction when we ate them! (phew!...almost blew my cover!)

Brian Noble said: Don't underestimate this.

I'm not underestimating it at all. I've heard nothing but good things about MagiQuest. I was merely pointing out that what is being touted as an attraction isn't one that's likely included with the cost of admission (not to mention one that the park has made it difficult for parents to say "no" to).

Lord Gonchar said:
Wow, I've never felt more out of touch than reading this press release and subsequent comments.

I suppose once I finally make it back to IOA, I'll have to watch the movies real quick beforehand so I have some point of reference for what I'm experiencing.

Watching the movies isn't the problem. Its staying awake through them. ;)

~Rob Willi

True. The only one I paid to see in theatres was the first and I fell asleep somewhere in that loooooong, booooooring Quidditch match. The rest I eventually saw on cable.

^^But, if it is done well, the add-on price simply won't matter. And, it might be done well. This is the sort of thing that the Rat does exceptionally well, and lots of people take advantage of it without everyone else feeling too offended. For example, the Princess Makeover gig.

The HP movies progressively get better with each new movie, imho. There are only two more to go, based on the last book, btw. Read my movie review of the latest movie here.

Geshko, Lost Continent will still be there, although much smaller. Poseidon's Fury and the stunt show will still be there, I believe.

Looks like I better get serious about saving money for a Florida vacation now. I have family and my best friend living down there, so I won't need a hotel, so there's a big plus.

I does sound a little disappointing though. I could have sworn that their was gong to be a few more new rides in the new area as well, like a Hogwarts Express train ride, which in the plans, was to go in a small area behind Dueling Dragons in a former employee parking area.

Skip the movies and read the books, honestly I dont know if you can really follow the plot well without reading first starting with film 4. At that point there is so much story to condense that they only hint and nod to plot points that readers get but make no sense to non readers. They are very quick reads, exciting and worth the time. Then wait a few weeks and watch the films (dont immediately watch the films otherwise youll be disgusted with how much they took out.)

But they are movies, touchdown. They have to take stuff out to make the story fit into the two or three hours that they have to tell the story. Many people say that they don't like the movies because of this, but one has to understand that it couldn't be any other way. There are a few exceptions, of course. They could have offered a little more, and I can't figure out why they changed the ending of the latest movie.

The last book was so long that the film makers are going to split the movie into two parts, thankfully. It seems like it would have been very difficult to get such a large book into one three-hour movie. It still won't be like the book, but I don't think that I would want it to.

I know that, and thats why I suggested the waiting period, you see a few weeks after reading the material its not as fresh in your mind which allows you to appreciate the movies for what they are instead of constantly discovering the things they left out.

If I dozed during the first part of the first movie, I have a fear I would pass out before I barely broke the spine of the book.

I've only been through the first two books, but they make a lot more sense and have a lot more detail than the movies. I think the films are really entertaining though. Each one is darker than the last. I dig that.

It really is a remarkable literary series. My wife is (was) a children's librarian and she reads practically everything that comes out for the YA market. She made me read the first one, and I got hooked.

As much as I kind of don't like admitting it, I rather enjoyed reading through the Harry Potter books, although I can't say I'm crazy about the movies. They really are great reads (although yes, ridemcoaster, the beginning of the first book could be considered a bit boring) that will have you reading long past when you intended to quit. You don't want to put the books down, especially as the series goes on. The story does get darker, and there is more there for adults than kids as it goes on, which is another big plus.

Darn, now I'll have to go back and read through the series again after talking about it. :)

For those of you who don't mind "virtual spoilers", pics and video from Orlando news: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/attractions/universal/091509_harry_potter_virtual_map

Wow, that doesn't actually spoil anything. In fact, other than a season (not a date) for opening, this is about as much of a non-announcement as possible. And what's funny is I asked their PR people if I could view the Webcast this morning, for which they responded no but would get the press release to me right away (perhaps they're paying by the bit?).

Here's the Webcast they felt was too important to let too many people see it live. (Note the social media fail... you can't embed it.)

What the hell kind of cheap slip covers were they sitting on , anyway? :)

That webcast is somewhat satisfying for those of us who want to know more about the look of the place and how it all fits together. Universal always does a great job of re-constructing movie sets for us to visit, and we can hope the atmosphere there comes close to the stunning renderings they've been providing. (do they ever?)

I was talking to a friend who is otherwise well versed, but like a few of you here has managed, somehow, to remain "Potter-free". His concern for the Wizarding World was that it will be small, uninteresting, and feature only one new attraction, so, really, how much time are you gonna want to spend? I told him to grab a couple of books and get with it!

I imagine one of the team's greatest challenges was to get this right, and they're about to come face to face with a terrifying audience. There are, dare I say, millions of Potter-philes who already "know" everything about this neighborhood before they walk in, and will know immediately when something is wrong or out of place. It's these folks that will cause the park to raise the standard even higher than usual, hopefully with good results.

Some of us will be happy with a quick tour of the street and a couple of spins. There are also plenty of visitors who will care less about the rides, new or old, but will be thrilled just to be part of the beloved story and will be happy to sit there all day, wand and Butterbeer in hand.

I've never read the books and I've seen a handful of the movies. I'm not a fan by any means but this looks pretty spectacular and I'm not sure what people were expecting if this looks disappointing in any way. If the atmosphere is half as immersive and detailed as the mockups suggest, then this is surely going to be one of the most impressive themed areas any park has pulled off. A lot will hinge on how good the new E-ticket is as far as my own personal interests but it looks like at this point they're ready to knock this one out of the park.