The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open on June 18th!

by Scott Carmichael on



As promised, Universal Orlando just revealed the highly anticipated opening date for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – June 18th 2010.

The opening date announcement also revealed some more information on the biggest secret in theme park rides – Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This ride is described as the “first-ever combination of advanced robotic ride system technology with innovative, immersive filmmaking”

Sounds impressive, and according to Universal, this is part ride, part robot – which certainly makes it sound like the kind of ride I could really enjoy.

Our friend Jason Cochran from Walletpop sat down with Mark Woodbury, President of Universal Creative, who is the lead brain in charge of developing Universal’s attractions for an interview. The interview is a “must read” for any Harry Potter fans, as it explains in detail how the theme park experience will be – which is as close as you can get to it until June 18th.

Grand opening date of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to be revealed next week!

by Scott Carmichael on

March 25th is a date many Harry Potter fans around the world have been waiting for – on that day, Universal Orlando will reveal the opening date of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The park has slowly been revealing its secrets, but the opening date was the one big detail they kept from us.

As you can see from the picture above – 12 PM EST is when you’ll want to have your browser at the Universal Orlando Harry Potter site. In the meantime, that site is a fantastic place to get a sneak preview of what you’ll find once the doors open.

Though the Wizarding World may not be open yet, watch the clip below for 13 ways to save money at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, brought to you by Jason Cochran and WalletPop.

Universal Orlando resort reveals its first Wizarding World of Harry Potter vacation package

by Scott Carmichael on

Even though the exact opening date has not been revealed, Universal Orlando just revealed its first Wizarding World of Harry Potter vacation package.

Starting at $645 per adult ($1,548 for a family of four), guests can enjoy the new resort with the following benefits:

  • Four-night accommodations at one of Universal’s three on-site AAA Four Diamond hotels: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, HardRock Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort
  • Three days admission to Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme parks (park-to-park not included)
  • Complimentary Universal Express access to bypass the regular lines at select theme park rides and attractions (a $70 value per person, per day)
  • Early park admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
  • Traditional British breakfast at the Three Broomsticks
  • Commemorative ticket for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
  • Good for travel beginning May 28, 2010

Notice that last line? This obviously gives a bit of a hint as to the opening date, but Universal is quick to point out that the date was only set to help consumers plan their vacation, and that it does not represent the opening date. The current time frame is still “Spring 2010”.

To learn more about the available vacation package options, head on over to the Universal Orlando web site.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter reveals more with its new website

by Scott Carmichael on

Harry Potter fans are going to love this – Universal Orlando just opened the doors to the new website for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Up till now, we didn’t have that many details to work with, other than a few glimpses of Hogwarts (and a teaser video clip for during the Super Bowl).

Thanks to the new site, a huge amount of new details are coming to light – the site describes the shopping, dining and of course, several of the new attractions. Click on the “flying tour” in the top left for a fantastic overview of what to expect in this magical new world.

The site also offers daily news updates (in a true to the movies newspaper layout) as well as a nifty Owl Post service which lets you mail postcards to your friends. Click here for the newly updated Wizarding World of Harry Potter website.

Universal Orlando’s top secret Harry Potter Super Bowl ad reveals more mysteries

by Scott Carmichael on

Last week, we let you take yourself on a tour of some of the attractions at the upcoming “Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. If you want to see even more of what this new park has to offer, check out the video above, courtesy of our friends over at WalletPop.

The ad is set to air on Sunday February 7th. In the clip, you see everything you’d expect from a Potter themed ad – broomsticks, dragons, Hogwarts and of course – a roller coaster! Daniel Radcliffe himself makes an appearance, which clearly means Universal put quite a bit of effort into making this a worthy Super Bowl spot.

Head on over to the WalletPop article for more juicy speculation (including a rumored robot-coaster ride).