I guess Devin will be making a pilgrimage to Orlando in a few years....
Next to the Simpsons ride, this has been the worst-kept secret in Orlando -- rumors have been swirling around since late last year. You have to wonder how big Potter will remain over the next couple of years, what with the final book in July and only two more movies remaining after Order of the Phoenix this year. Then again, the Half-Blood Prince movie should be ready to go right around the time this rehab opens, so that'll help. And if you ask me, Harry Potter has become enough of a franchise to last beyond new product coming out -- new generations of kids are going to keep discovering it.
Quote:
| Universal Orlando has secured rights to the phenomenally successful Harry Potter stories and will build a themed area of rides, shops and restaurants called "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at Islands of Adventure. Universal, author J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios, which makes the Harry Potter movies, are making a worldwide announcement of the deal today. Universal expects to break ground late this summer and have "Wizarding World" open by late 2009.... ... Universal plans a 20-acre "Wizarding World," a little bigger than the average size of its themed "islands" at Islands of Adventure. Part would be carved away from what is now "The Lost Continent" island, and the rest would be land now used for employee parking and park support, outside the back fence. The new, "seventh island" would feature reconstructed and rethemed attractions, and all-new ones, Scott Trowbridge, vice president of Universal's Creative Studios, said in an interview. The Hogwarts castle and locations from Rowling's Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade village will be created as backdrops to attractions, shops and restaurants. Three-time Academy Award-winning production designer Stuart Craig, who designed sets for all the Harry Potter movies, leads the "Wizarding World" design team. Much of "The Lost Continent" island, including Universal's award-winning Mythos Restaurant, will be retained as a separate themed area, just smaller. The island is to remain open during construction as well. Some current "Lost Continent" attractions such as The Dueling Dragons roller coasters and The Flying Unicorn coaster ride likely would be adapted to fit the Harry Potter story. Trowbridge would not discuss specific attractions, but did say that Universal intended to "leverage some existing infrastructure." He said that would have to include far more than a new paint job and a new sign, because too much is at stake. |
