Snoops reveal Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park secrets
Some industrious Internet snooping through public records has revealed the names of several rides, restaurants and shops at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the theme-park-within-a-theme-park that Universal Studios Orlando has sought to keep secret.
Theme park fansite IOA Central turned up a series of trademarks related to the new Harry Potter theme park — filed by Warner Bros. in May — during a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.
The most intriguing find: The large ride under construction at the back of the Florida theme park will be called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Universal Studios describes the ride as a state-of-the-art attraction that will “bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life.”
Two other existing rides will be re-themed to fit into the Wizarding World:
* The Flying Unicorn kiddie coaster becomes the Flight of the Hippogriff
* The twin-tracked Dueling Dragons steel coaster becomes Dragon Challenge
While a few details of the 20-acre land have been revealed — including the themed areas of Hogsmeade Village and the Forbidden Forest as well as a walk-through Hogwarts Castle — the trademark search divulged the names of previously secret restaurants and retail shops.
Among the restaurants:
* Three Broomsticks
* Magic Neep
* Butterbeer
Among the stores:
* Dervish and Banges
* Zonko’s
* Owl Post
* Ollivanders
* Honeydukes
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is scheduled to open in 2010 at Islands of Adventure theme park, part of the Universal Studios Orlando resort.
Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland. Follow Funland on Twitter and Facebook.
— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff writer
Image: Universal Studios Orlando
4 Comments on “Snoops reveal Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park secrets”
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July 31st, 2009 at 1:10 pm
This is exciting news for Orlando and is sure to be a big hit.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:42 am
Interesting finds by the IOA fansite. It wil be interesting to see what IOA create from the Lost Continent land where the Dueling Dragons and the Flying Unicorn currently exist.
I heard that the brand new ride will be some sort of ‘robocoaster’ - whatever that is!?
August 20th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I have found it a little overwhelming at times to find accurate and up to date Universal Orlando theme park information, especially about tickets. Some sites seem official and authorized, but not sure about all of them. My cousin booked from this place and seemed ok with it: Universal Orlando. Appreciate any feedback anyone might have regarding future trips to Orlando. Thanks!
January 21st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
I am a huge HP fan and consider myself very lucky to happen to live in Orlando. I will go to it the opening day, for sure. I think it will definitely be a great success.