I posted about the new expansion for the Wizarding
World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, and now I am on to the Hogsmeade
side at Islands of Adventure. I have been looking forward to posting about The
Wizarding World since I am a huge Harry Potter fan, but thought it would be best
to hold off until I saw the new Diagon Alley expansion to post them back to
back. One misconception is that these areas are and entire stand alone Harry Potter theme park but
they actually aren’t…they are a section of two theme parks. I will warn you,
chances are this is going to be a long post! I have been to the Hogsmeade
section many times (about 8-9 actually), where I have only been to Diagon Alley
this past trip. So I am a lot more familiar with the Hogsmeade section and have
had time to notice a lot more!
This is an incredibly unique theme park experience as a
whole since The Wizarding World has two sections broken up between the two
theme parks. Diagon Alley is in the Universal Park while Hogsmeade is in
Islands of Adventure. I actually love that they did it this way because it adds
to the authenticity of the Harry Potter franchise since Diagon Alley and
Hogsmeade are not side by side, you would have to take the Hogwarts Express from
London where Diagon Alley is located to get to Hogwarts. And of course you can ride
the Hogwarts Express between the two areas from park to park (with a multi park
admission ticket), which is another completely unique experience never done
before in a theme park. I think separating the two sections just completely
added to the experience and it was certainly a smart move for Universal, as it disperses the crowds and helps them bring people into both of their theme
parks and increase the revenue in both parks instead of just the one.
Hogsmeade is the original section Universal Orlando opened
on June 18, 2010 and it was a huge success! Hogsmeade cost an estimated $200
Million to build and after only around something like 4 months it is reported the park made
that amount back! Getting the rights to the Harry Potter franchise within its
parks was one of the best decisions Universal has made because it has paid off
huge for them and has given them the cash flow to add other new attractions to
their parks. It is heavily rumored that Disney actually had tried to obtain the
rights, however they could not reach an agreement due to J.K Rowling’s demands since she
wanted to maintain final say on any of the park decisions and wanted things a
certain way to stay true to the series. Disney doesn't exactly relinquish control within their theme parks very easily.
Universal has done an amazing job with both of the Harry
Potter sections. The attention to detail is absolutely incredible and I would
say that the Harry Potter park areas are the best theming I have ever seen in a
theme park, even compared to anything currently at Disney (which I VERY rarely
will ever say because I am such a Disney addict)! When you walk through
Hogsmeade and up to Hogwarts castle located hear you are completely immersed.
Even someone who isn’t a Harry Potter fan (I know shockingly they exist - muggles!) would
appreciate how detailed Hogsmeade is. The Harry Potter fans will appreciate
all of the things in the windows and throughout the queue areas that only they
would notice. It is impossible either way to not be impressed.
Walking through Hogsmeade if you take the time you will find
a lot of the fine details throughout. You may want to keep your eyes opened even in
areas higher up in the shops and buildings. For example; if you are in the Three Broomsticks keep an eye on
the second floor for the shadows of house elves moving around. And when you are
walking around the streets keep your eye on the Owlery because every 15 minutes
an owl will come out of the clock. Throughout the shop windows you will also
find little often overlooked things. In the Three Broomsticks window you will
find pots and pans washing themselves, a Mandrake (screams included – so you
may want to wear your earmuffs ;P) in the window for Dogweed and Deathcap,
Hermione’s dress that she wore to the Yule ball in the Goblet of Fire is in the window
for Glandrags Wizard wear just to name a few!
You also want to be listening carefully as well when you are walking around for many of the sounds in the park. When walking through Hogsmeade you will hear the music from the movies. Such as the choir singing through the lineup for Dragon challenge
and so on. If you go into the washroom in Hogsmeade you will of course hear
Moaning Myrtle whining and complaining in the washrooms. Even in line for the
Forbidden Journey in Hogwarts keep a lookout for the door to the potions
classroom and if you listen carefully you will hear a female professor lecturing Neville
about how to properly perform a spell! It is all of the little details that
make the Wizarding World of Harry Potter truly amazing!
As I mentioned earlier the Harry Potter areas are not
actually their own theme parks. So you will find Hogsmeade in the back corner
of the Islands of Adventure Park at Universal Orlando. As soon as you enter
Islands of Adventure it is impossible to miss Hogwarts directly across the
lake. And it really does look exactly like what you see in the movies with all
of the little details included. It is high up and uses the same forced perspective
(making a structure look much taller than it is by gradually making windows and
parts of the building smaller as you go up) used by Disney on Cinderella’s
castle to make it actually look much larger than it really is.
The other rides in Hogsmeade are re-themed attractions. Dragon Challenge (originally Dueling Dragons)
is two simultaneous roller coasters (The Chinese Fireball – originally fire and
the Hungarian Horntail – originally ice) that are intertwined with one another. As the name implies the two tracks are supposed to be two dragons dueling. The theme for
this roller coaster fit into the Harry Potter theming very easily. This is
definitely a thrill ride and it is an overall great roller coaster. The
third ride is Flight of the Hippogriff (originally the flying unicorn). Which is
a mild roller coaster (especially in comparison to all of the other coasters in
Universal Orlando). The story behind the coaster is that Hagrid is teaching
wizards to fly a Hippogriff and you are taking a test flight over the Forbidden
Forest and Hagrid’s Hut with some minor dips and turns along the way.
And of course newly added is the Hogwarts Express and was
technically added as part of Diagon Alley which you can ride between the two
parks. The wait time at the station in Hogsmeade over to London actually had a
shorter wait than the London station did when we were there this month. But it
is two different experiences each way. The views of the countryside and London
are the same but the events that happen along the way are different.
Of course there is a lot more to experience in Hogsmeade
besides just the rides as even the shops are an experience in themselves. Even
though there is no Ollivanders in Hogsmeade in the series an you will also find one in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. The one located in Hogsmeade is
portrayed as a “branch: of the original shop. In both shops visitors are chosen
in small groups to go into a back room and one guest in each group is picked to
have the wand “choose” them. After going through this experience you are given
the choice to then purchase your wand. Or anyone can purchase a souvenir wand
in the shop of course. When the wand is choosing the wizard there will be
special effects such as thunder and items in the shop moving. Additional shops are Honeydukes which naturally sells many
sweets including the famous Bertie Bott’s Every flavor beans, Chocolate Frogs,
many variations of unique candy, Pumpkin Juice, etc. .Over at Dervish and Bangs
you will find Quidditch supplies and magical items. Filch’s Emporium is the
general gift shop for souvenirs at the exit for the Forbidden Journey. In order
to keep with the authenticity of the stores (and meet J.K Rowling’s demands),
the shops are very small and therefore can get a little crowded. Also at the
Owl post next to Ollivanders wand shop you will find an actual post office
where you can mail letters and postcards, which will be delivered with an
authentic Hogsmeade postmark! In this shop you can also purchase stationary
items and owl related gifts…how fitting!
If you get hungry while you are visiting Hogsmeade I
recommend a meal at The Three Broomsticks, which is based on the Inn and Pub
from the series. I mentioned The Three Broomsticks earlier on in my post when I
told you too keep an eye on the second floor for some house elves shadows! I
generally love to go to the Three Broomsticks in the morning for breakfast
(although this could change with the addition of the Leaky Cauldron). In the
morning you will find options like pancakes, porridge, fruit, etc. Or if you
are looking for a meal later in the day they sell fish & chips, Shepherd’s
Pie, Rotisserie chicken, ribs and so on. And of course no visit is complete without
a delicious cup of Butter Beer!!!
Overall both sections of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter are amazing! If you are a fan this is an absolute must see! And even if you aren't (muggles...) then you will still enjoy both areas! If you want to see the inside of Hogwarts but do not want to actually go on the ride there is also a walk through queue that will take you through the elaborate queue areas or another variation of them.Universal has had so much success in the Orlando theme park that they recently opened a Hogsmeade area in their Osaka, Japan theme park (not quite as much is included as there is no Dragon Challenge) and they are currently building Hogsmeade in their Hollywood, California park opening in 2016.
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