Wondering when you might be able to start rounding up your muggles for a trip to the new Harry Potter Theme Park? According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal Orlando is now selling vacation packages for its highly anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction beginning as soon as May 28th of this year.
“The May 28 travel date was set to help consumers with vacation planning and does not represent the opening date for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort. Universal has announced that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will open in Spring 2010. Specific opening information will come as soon as it is available.”
The new Harry Potter attraction is not its own theme park, but rather a themed area within Universal’s existing “Islands of Adventure.” As some avid Harry Potter fans have noted, though the environments are all new, two of the Harry Potter rides have been “repurposed” from existing rides at Universal. The old “Flying Unicorn” ride has been transformed into a kid-friendly “Flight of the Hippogriff”, while the former “Dueling Dragons” ride is now called “Dragon Challenge” and simulates the Triwizard Tournament.
That said, Universal’s flashtastic Harry Potter website pulls out all the stops, including interviews with Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, both of whom show no shortage of enthusiasm for the level of realism the park promises to bring fans. Likewise, the site includes a pretty awesome augmented reality map for anxious fans to explore and plenty of gawk-worthy images of Hogwart’s Castle and other beloved Harry Potter landmarks.
Whether you’re a huge Harry Potter fan or just another muggle who likes long lines and screaming children, packages for the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter start at just $285. Besides, how can you put a price on finally finding out how what Butterbeer tastes like?
