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Park News - (1/31/10) Orlando Parks News has posted some nice pictures of a few current projects under construction around Orlnado, as well as a look at rehabs taking place in Toon Lagoon on Ripsaw Falls and more.
    (1/20/10) Despite having three others write in to agree that it was unlikely that Universal would ever revive the old Triceratops Encounter attraction, I’ve also heard from a good source who says that is indeed what Universal is up to. If for no other reason, they want to be able to add some kind of attraction with a possible high capacity next to the Potter-verse to help control overflow traffic when the line for that ride hits 3-4 hours long... which it will on peak summer days.
    (12/18/09) You can see pictures from this year’s Grinchmas event at Orlando United.
    (7/15/09) OSHA has now gotten involved in the investigation around the accident where an employee was struck by the Dueling Dragons coaster only July 1st. You can read more at the Orlando Sentinel.

2010 - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - (2/8/10) Take a look at what’s been going on around Islands of Adventure lately in the latest update to RCPro, including a good look around the Wizarding World. Of course if you really want a unique look at the Potter-verse, then head over to Orlando United where they took a helicopter tour over the park this past week to get a really good look at everything. One sharp eyed reader has even spotted what looks like a covered up Buckbeak figure next to the coaster track before the lift hill on the Flying Hippogriff.
 Also rumors about a possible late March soft opening of the Wizarding World (ride or no ride) are still everywhere. Of course it is also quite interesting to see in writing under the terms of use for the Florida Resident 2-Day / 2-Park pass that your “Ticket expires 30 days after use or in full on March 19, 2010.”  I find it quite interesting that they would choose March 19th as a strange deadline for these tickets, don’t you think?
    On a related news item, we’ve been told from an insider that Dueling Dragons is slated to close down for it’s final transformation into Dragon’s Challenge at the end of February 26th.
    (2/5/10) First of all, if you haven’t seen it yet, we posted a link to the new Potter themed Superbowl commerical a couple of days ago over on the Universal Orlando page. Now that is out of the way, it’s construction update day!  Lots of new construction pictures can be found posted to Orlando Rocks, Orlando United and Orlando Parks News.
    (2/4/10) Universal Orlando launched an all new preview website for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter yesterday which has a very nice animated fly-through video of the entire land as well as details about pretty much everything now… except the Forbidden Journey ride itself.
    Meanwhile a new contest for schools was launched yesterday where the winning classroom will be awarded a trip to the Grand Opening. While the official word on the Grand Opening date itself is still “Spring 2010” the dates of the contest are a little more specific. The last day to submit to the contest is March 19th, and the public will then vote online to select a winner through to April 29th. Since we’re talking about such a large group of people to arrange transportation for, your likely looking at a couple more weeks to take care of all those details, so it looks like the official Grand Opening event wont take place until the second half of May.  That said… keep in mind the big attractions usually end up soft-opening several weeks ahead of time to ensure all the bugs are worked out before the official grand opening ever takes place.
    So what does this all mean for you? Well, if you were planning a trip to see the Potter-verse for Spring Break… don’t count on it. Based on the rumors going around and those dates above, I wouldn’t expect it to soft-open until late April at least, after the frantic Spring Break crowds have gone home.
    (2/1/10) Screamscape has been told that we can tentatively expect to see Dueling Dragon’s shut down for about 2-3 weeks just prior to the opening of the whole Wizarding World area. Of course, exactly when that will be has yet to be determined and depends a lot on just who you are asking. Another construction update can be found at Orlando Parks News this week.
    (1/29/10) A new bit of information came today from Universal where they talked about how everyone can visit Ollivanders and interact with a wandkeeper who will help you find the right wand for you by testing out a few in the shop first. Give each wand a little test wave and watch what happens until the wand with “the right fit is found”.
    Speaking of Harry Potter and that webcam map… you can print your own home version of the map from USA Today and then go to HarryPotter3D.com to see it yourself! You can also see a new construction update over at Orlando United.
    (1/28/10) For all your Harry Potter fans with a webcam, the Jan. 28th (Thursday) issue of USA Today will feature a special “Augmented Reality Map” of the Wizarding World that will come to life when placed in front of your web cam.
    (1/25/10) Tons of new pictures from the Potter-verse can be found at Orlando Parks News and Orlando United.
    (1/21/10) An interesting article posted at Behind The Thrills claims to have uncovered the secret villain behind the story being told on the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. According to a still frame of video captures from the UK DVD, they believe that we may encounter the yet to be seen “Salazar Slytherin” character. Check it out and make up your own opinion.
    (1/20/10) Even more Potter-Verse construction pictures can be seen posted to Orlando Parks News. Meanwhile you’ll also want to check out this preview video of the Wizarding World that was given away on the DVD in a UK newspaper over this past weekend. Lots of new footage to see.

    (1/19/10) New construction pictures of the Wizarding World have been posted to Behind the Thrills and Orlando United this week. They have also posted a few pictures from the old Triceratops Encounter attraction area, where they claim that it looks like something may be getting ready to take place there as well. Somehow, I just can’t see them trying to bring back the Trikes… they were not a big draw in the first place, which is one of the major reasons they were shut down so quickly.
    (1/18/10) A few new pictures from the Wizarding World can be seen at Orlando United as well as at Orlando Parks News.
    (1/15/10) A ton of new pictures from the Potter-verse can be seen at Orlando Theme Parks News.
    (1/14/10) Another construction update from the Potter-verse this week posted to Orlando United.
    (1/11/10) A new construction update from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter can be seen this week at Amusement Insider.
    (1/8/10) A ton of new Harry Potter construction photos were posted to Orlando Park News this week. Also, I’ve been informed by the Zigmont Magic F/X people that they have removed the Harry Potter information that was once on their site. Seems someone spoke out of turn and thought that the information was “common knowledge”. (I think I hear Universal’s Legal Team calling…) That said, I have removed the link to their site from our earlier update.
    (1/7/10) I’d be surprised if this date holds true, but we’ve heard March 1st mentioned as a possible date to open the new Harry Potter ride. Considers that this is less than 2 months away… I just don’t see it happening until closer to April. That said… we have heard that the ride system inside Hogwarts Castle is installed and functional, however all of the scenery and special effects still need to be installed, programmed and tested extensively before we’ll see the ride open.
    While we’re talking about the ride itself… I think it’s time we start to find out a bit more about just what we can expect to take place inside. For starters… I’ve heard that your ride experience will begin and end with an interesting little effect that will transport you through the use of the Floo Network, a giant fireplace and green flames. 
    (1/4/10 - EDITED 1/8/10) ) It looks like there will be a special “snow” effect put into use within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This news bit, sent to us by “Allen W.”
was first discovered as a posting to the Zigmont Magic F/X website (link removed by request of Zigmont), but was later removed. In the various descriptions of snow effects there was a section labeled Universal Studios Theme Park which mentioned installing custom snow machines in December 2009 for the theme park, possibly for use in a “Coefficient of Friction Test for Harry Potter’s the Dark Arts Classroom.” 
    In other news Behind the Thrills has posted their NYE photo update which also has a ton of new construction pictures from the Wizarding World as well. Another reader has also sent in a link to a video construction update posted to YouTube as well that is worth checking out.
    (12/31/09) A couple of new construction updates have slid in just before the end of the year with the final construction updates for the Wizarding World this year. Check them out at Orlando Rocks and Orlando Park News.
    (12/30/09) A reader sent in a great shot of Hogwarts Castle where you can just really take in all the detail they’ve put into this massive structure.

    (12/29/09) Another construction update from the Wizarding World can be seen this week at Orlando United. You’ve got to love the “Please Respect The Spell Limits” sign at the entry of Hogsmeade.
    (12/28/09) New construction progress photos from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter can be seen at OrlandoParksNews this week.
    (12/23/09) All new construction pictures from the Wizarding World can be found at Orlando United and Orlando Park News. All I can say is “Wow!”.  The amount of detail going into all of the buildings is just staggering. We’re still months away from opening and things are really starting to look nice in there.
    (12/18/09) A bunch of new Wizarding World pictures can be seen at Orlando Park News and Orlando United this week.
    (12/15/09) All new Harry Potter construction photos can be found today at Orlando United and Orlando Rocks.
    (12/14/09) More Wizarding World construction photos can be found at the Orlando Parks News blog and over at BrianOrndorf.com.
    (12/11/09) For those interested, the new Harry Potter DVD features a segment that talks a bit about the Wizarding World, going into detail about many shops and buildings. However, they really don’t mention much at all about the dark ride itself.
    Meanwhile Orlando United has a good look over at the Potter-verse this week, but looking at the buildings lit up after dark. Plus a good idea as to what the new white roofed structure next to the castle may be for.
    (12/8/09) Construction update’s for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter have been added to Orlando United and Orlando Rocks.  The appearance of some odd white roof structure near what is expected to be the castle’s queue area has causes some concern, as it looks very out of place with the themeing of the rest of the area.
    (12/2/09) Orlando United has posted new construction pictures from the Wizarding World this week.
    (12/1/09) The official GradBash website confirms that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be open for the event which takes place on April 23, 24 and 30th. Of course I seem to recall them promoting the Hollywood Rockit for last year’s GradBash as well, as we know that didn’t happen. Still... it is a good sign that things may be moving ahead very quickly if all goes well. Of course... they only promise that guests will be able to step into the Wizarding World... they don’t say a word about riding the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.
    (11/30/09) New construction pictures from the Wizarding World can be found this week at Orlando United.
    (11/23/09) Some new construction pictures from the Wizarding World can be found this week at Orlando Rocks.
    (11/17/09) A few new construction pictures from the Wizarding World have been added to Orlando United this week.
    (11/13/09) New construction pictures of Hogwarts’ clocktower going up, a better look at the Hogwarts Express and more have been posted to Orlando United and Coaster101.
    (11/9/09) A new construction update from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has been added to Orlando Rocks. Meanwhile you can also sneak a peek at the top of the Hogwarts Express which has been brought in as well over at Orlando United.
    (11/2/09) New construction updates from the Potter-verse can be found at Orlando Rocks, Orlando United and RCPro this week.
    (10/30/09) A Screamscape source tells us that the Wizarding World was used as the setting of a television shoot for an episode of the Celebrity Apprentice earlier this week. Two of the celebs were brought into the park to take part in some sort of Harry Potter themed task, and will be aired during the season to help promote the new themed land at the theme park on NBC.
    (10/28/09) The latest construction update has been posted to Orlando United, this time you can now see some of the colors being added to the buildings and landscape around the Wizarding World.
    (10/19/09) Some good aerial construction footage of the Wizarding World has been added to the News 13 website. It’s kind of neat to see just how big the ride building is compared to the small front section that is currently being transformed into Hogwarts castle. You can also see that large new building (maintenance?) building put up behind the Flying Unicorn. If you want to see some detailed shots from the ground, check out the new update at Orlando Rocks.
    (10/16/09) I don’t know if this will happen or not, but I’ve heard talk about creating some kind of Harry Potter themed nighttime show for the park’s central lake that would involve pyro, lasers, and huge projection effects. You can also see a few more construction pictures here.
    (10/14/09) New pictures from the Wizaridng World can be seen at Orlando United and the queue for Dueling Dragons has been altered so that guests now enter and exit through the ride’s exit area, bypassing the main castle area entirely. While we’re talking about Dueling Dragon’s, it seems that it may work like for this some time, as the only real way to allow the work in the queue to begin without closing down the ride entirely. The plan is to keep the ride’s downtime to a minimum, so I wouldn’t count on seeing the queue again until they close the ride and rebrand it in 2010 as Dragon Challenge. From what I’ve heard, one of the items that will be done at the very end when the close the ride, will be to redecorate the trains themselves, as new fiberglass wheel covers and a decorative front piece will replace the current Red / Blue Dragon pieces. There is also a very interesting rumor claiming that some kind of audio system could be added to the train as well, which would be great if it holds true. Anyone know more?
    (9/16/09) The big Wizarding World of Harry Potter announcement came today and Universal pulled back the curtains to show off all kinds of new details about every little building and shop from the Potter-Verse that will appear in the Wizarding World. They also named off the new names for existing attractions that will be rethemed, such as Dueling Dragons will now become Dragon Challenge, themed to the famous TriWizard Tournament. The former Flying Unicorn will now become Flight of the Hippogriff, themed as a training course in the care of Magical Animals. Of course the one bit of information we all really wanted to know about was the ride going into Hogwarts Castle, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Of course, this is where the details were few and far between... as they are still holding the cards for this one very close to the vest right now.
    They did release a couple of new videos showing off details about most of the land however, which looks to be quite impressive. You’ll see the Hogwarts Express, visit Zonko’s where you can buy odd tricks and gags like Extendable Ears and Sneakoscopes. Drop into Honeydukes and try out Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor Beans. Visit the Three Boomsticks and Hog’s Head to take a sip of Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice. Across the way is the Owlery where you can mail an official letter postmarked and stamped from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Care to become a wizard yourself? Then visit Ollivanders shop... where the wands choose the wizards! Other shops include Dervish and Banges (get your Quidditch and Triwizard gear here) or stop into Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods on your way out of Hogwarts. Check out all the new concept artwork released over on the right sidebar!


    (7/27/09) Orlando United has posted some new information about the names of the various attractions, stores, items and eateries in the Wizarding World. For starters the they claim that the new ride will be called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The search through the trademark database also confirmed Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge as the new names for Flying Unicorn and Dueling Dragons.
    (7/13/09) The big rumored news however is what I’ve been expecting to be announced… and that a custom built MagiQuest system will be brought into the park. Not only in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but from what I’ve been told little things will be added all throughout the park’s other lands that will react to the magic wands purchased by guests. You’ll only have to look out for little “lightning bolt” symbols here and there to tell you where to aim your wand.
    (7/6/09) The Orlando Sentinel has reported a few new items about the Wizarding World this week, along with a nice new aerial shot of a building under construction. The plans filed with the city do confirm that Hogwarts will be 150 feet tall.
    (7/5/09) In an interview with Emma Watson (Hermione) on the BBC Friday night she mentioned a little tid-bit about the new ride at Islands of Adventure. When asked if the film’s cast was involved with the ride or not she replied, “Actually we were, we filmed a scene for one of the rides an it’s going to be like interactive and we are going to talk to you and stuff.”
    Of course this fits along with the report earlier this year that had a bunch of still photos being down of the cast riding brooms in front of a green-screen room for a camera unit that I believe was mounted to a mechanical arm so they could capture the movement information to replicate it into the ride itself. Of course all that information about the shoot was taken down lickety-split… and I even got a call from the UK company responsible for it asking me to take down my link about it at the time.
    Right now I can only assume it’s a matter of time… maybe days… before Universal pops the cork and unveils the details about this hush-hush ride they’ve been working on. A perfect time would be to do it around the release date of the newest film on July 15th.
    Universal has also updated the official preview site of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, complete with a new front poster that shows Harry (wand at the ready) standing before Hogwarts castle.
    (5/18/09) I’m not sure how true this is, but we’ve heard from a reader that at one point an animatronic Hog’s Head was being designed with the goal of placing it outside the Hog’s Head Inn building in the Wizarding World. They also tell us that we may also encounter a cage containing the “Monster Book of Monsters” book inside of it, which is another animatronic item that can growl and snap at people as they pass by.
    (5/14/09) The official Wizarding World of Harry Potter site has added a new interesting poll this week. As in the past, we believe that the poll is hinting about possible things we may get the experience in the Wizarding World, and in this case, I think they may be hinting about what could be seen in the land’s impressive dark ride.
    The poll asks you which one of the following would scare you the most: The Whomping Willow (living tree), the Hungarian Horntail dragon, Acromantula (giant talking spider), a Dementor or a Basilisk (giant reptile). Too bad they don’t have an “All of the above” option, since I’m hoping we see them all along the way. Rigth now the Dementor is ahead with about 45% of the vote followed by a neck and neck race between the Acromantula and Basilisk.
    (3/29/09) Will my long time rumor claiming that guests will be able to buy their own ‘wand’ that will interact with the Wizarding World come true?  Could be… because the latest online poll at the preview website asks you what “What kind of wand would you prefer to own?” The choices are: A personalized Ollivanders wand that chooses you, a hero replica wand or a villain replica wand. To date, neither Universal or Creative Kingdoms is talking…
    (2/9/09) I’ve got a little bit of new info about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to share today. Hogwarts has been tasked with the goal of being far more detailed and impressive looking than Disney’s castle down the road. As far as the “world” itself, I’ve been told that they are planning lots of street astmosphere entertainment, such as building in a system of special effects to allow for ‘wizard duels’ to take place in the streets. Universal is also working with their chefs to come up with lots of new and unique foot items inspired from the books, which will apparently include “butterbeer”. According to a report from someone who claims to have actually tasted a test version of it, the final version may taste a little bit like root beer. While I know everyone is dying to know more about the major ride inside Hogwarts (which will include an extensively themed and long indoor queue like Spiderman and Dueling Dragons), I’ve been told that Universal is planning on holding back on that information until late 2009.
    (5/12/08) I’ve heard a little more dirt about the ride system itself. For starters, we know about all we really need to know about the Kuka robot arms that will be providing the brute strength for the ride system. Riders will be seated in a long “bench” of seats, rumored to hold six at a time, and mounted to the business end of a KR 1000 Titan model Kuka arm. The Titan arm is rated to toss around payloads of 1,000 kg (2,200 pounds or 1.1 Tons!) with great ease. Then the Kuka arms will be mounted to one of twelve mobile base units that will scoot around a track system that is said to look fairly similar to the track system used on The Adventure’s of Spider-Man. Ironically enough, you can see a great picture of Spider-Man’s track system posted to American Scenic.
    In other Harry Potter news, one of our readers has mentioned a few things that apparently author JK Rowling has mentioned in interviews about the Universal project. In addition to mentioning that there would also be a ride for young children to enjoy in the area, she also mentioned that there would be two state of the art rides in the land, one of which being the new ride system based on the Kuka robot arm. She did give a rough name for one attraction though… something along the lines of Hogwart’s Introduction To Magic that would be some kind of demonstration showing off the effects of various different magic spells.

2010 / 2011 - Toon Lagoon Theater - Survey - (10/20/09) I’ve been sent a bit more information about Universal’s latest entertainment survey I briefly touched upon last week. Given the name of some of the website pages, it seems that all of these new show concepts are being tossed about for a new production in the Toon Lagoon Theater. According to different sources, the list of licensed shows they are now asking detailed questions about include: American Graffiti, American Pie, America’s Got Talent, Animal House, Austin Powers, Fame, Ferris Buellers’ Day Off, Groundhog Day and Revenge of the Nerds. Almost all of them sound like very strange concepts for musical / comedy theme park shows, due to some serious adult humor as the theme for most of them, so watering them down for theme park audiences seems pointless. (I mean, can you imagine American Pie live on stage? I mean I can… it would be more like Halloween’s PG-13 rated Bill & Ted show, but not something that would run daily for the general public!)  As I expected, many have felt the surveys seemed to leading them to make opinions about two shows in particular however… Fame and America’s Got Talent, both of which seem poised to allow Universal to make their own version of an American Idol style show.
   My take?  Fame is a lame idea… I don’t even get why they are remaking the film, but I can see America’s Got Talent working if done right. However of all the concepts, I think an Austin Powers show would be the best, since it allows for some tongue in cheek humor that will pass the theme park censors, by using jokes that will go over the kids heads while making the adults smiles. Plus it’s got to have Dr. Evil in it, visual gags-a plenty, fart jokes, great costumes, an excuse to throw in silly musical dance numbers at the drop of a hat… and Sharks with Lasers on their heads! Oh… and Mr. Bigglesworth! It’s got to have Mr. Bigglesworth, otherwise he might get upset… “and when Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset... people DIE! “
    (10/7/09) I've got to admit, Universal’s latest online survey I got in the mail is a little weird. After asking you questions about certain movies you may have seen, they then ask you how you feel about some of these titles being picked for use as a possible future theme park show.  Not too unusual, until you hear the movies they asked about: Revenge of the Nerds, Groudhog Day and Animal House... not the kinds of films I could ever seen being turned into a future theme park show. If that wasn't enough... at the end of the survey you get RickRolled... automatically linked to a YouTube clip playing Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."  Oh... the horror... talk about being kicked to the curb.

2011 to 2014 - Island Refurbishment - Rumor - (10/16/09) Once the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens next year, Universal’s next step for Islands of Adventure may be to begin a series of “refresh and refurbishment” projects to the rest of the Islands over the next couple of years. With the success of the light up panels on the Rockit coaster, there is now a plan in place to go back and add green lighting to the Hulk trains as was promised way back when the park was first announced. If the rumors about audio being added to Dragon’s Challenge are true, I would count on seeing it added to Hulk as well. There is also a rumored plan to “upgrade” Spiderman, by adding a new scene or two by replacing a couple of scenes that don’t work as well as the rest. Seuss may just get repainted, possibly some new scenic elements, and there has been talk about adding a new attraction to the Jurassic Park area for years. What about the remains of Lost Continent? I think we could see something happen here as well, though would it be an expansion of Potter’s Wizarding World or something brand new?