Guest of the business convention, The Orlando International Pow Wow, were able to visit the finished Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.
We have new photos and facts about the theme park!
• It’s tight quarters inside Ollivanders. We had 25 adults in our grouping; I would not have wanted to be in there with 30 grown-ups. We experienced some special effects that demonstrated how a wand chooses its master, including magically rattling drawers. It’s part one-person show, part retail opportunity. Guests will exit through Owl Post, where more wands are for sale.
• I was pleasantly surprised by the pricing on the items. It was in the usual theme park range. Sure, you could beat it at a retail outlet, but you’re not going to see this merch at your local Target. You’ll be able to pick up a Golden Snitch for .95, a Ravenclaw (baseball) hat for .95, striped school ties for .95, a Hedwig plush/puppet for .95 and a nice selection of Potter-based trading pins for between .95 and .99. Wands were marked as .95 but I heard there were some that are more expensive. The biggest ticket I noticed were Hogwarts robes for .95.
• If the menu board at Three Broomsticks is to be believed, the pleasant pricing extends to butterbeer, available for .99 (.99 for frozen version). Remember, a Coke runs .75 at Universal — although there are no sodas sold in Wizarding World.
• The revamped versions of Flight of the Unicorn and Dueling Dragons coasters — to be called Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge once Harry moves in — were up and running with new queues. Hippogriff's refurb is a bit more dramatic with a nice view of Hagrid’s Hut in the queue. The trains are now wicker-fronted and riders are told to bow before the Hippogriff, which is cleverly hidden from the queue but impressively obvious once the ride begins. Dragon Challenge sports theming from the Triwizard Tournament, including the Triwizard Cup. Most of the Dueling Dragons look is gone inside. It’s a little lighter and even less curvy than before. The loading area is more open as well. Outside is one of the flying cars actually used in the Potter films.
• We experienced a few animatronic moments, including a croaking chocolate frog in the window of Honeydukes (oversized, of course. No little ones were in stock), the grunting hog’s head in the Hog’s Head Tavern and a monsters book (caged) in Dervish & Banges.
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