Universal's first Wizarding World recreated the village of Hogsmeade in Orlando's Islands of Adventure theme park. The new Diagon Alley stands behind a London-themed facade next door in Universal Studios Florida, recreating the iconic setting from the Harry Potter books and films with two new rides, a new restaurant, and several elaborately themed stores.
The highlight of the new land is Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, a 3D, indoor roller coaster ride through the vaults of Gringotts Bank, where you will be caught in the middle as Harry, Ron and Hermione battle trolls, dragons and dark wizards, including Bellatrix Lestrange and even Voldemort himself. As with the original Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride in Islands of Adventure, the queue will be as much an attraction as the ride itself. You'll start your experience by walking through the Great Hall of Gringotts Bank, watching the animatronic Goblin tellers at work, before meeting with Bill Weasley and getting the opportunity to open your own Gringotts account. Then it's down the elevators to the underground vaults, where you will board your ride vehicle for the rest of the thrill-ride adventure.
Speaking of Gringotts, Universal's issuing special "Wizarding Bank Notes" for sale that you can use as money inside the Wizarding World, as well as elsewhere in the Universal Orlando Resort. And you'll have plenty of opportunities to spend in Diagon Alley, of course. In addition to a new, larger Ollivander's wand shop, Diagon Alley will feature a full-scale Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke shop, and for the Slytherins in your family, there will be a Borgin and Burkes, selling all kinds of dark magic supplies. One of the merchandise highlights will be new, next-generation interactive wands that you can use to trigger special effects in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.
Diagon Alley's big restaurant will be The Leaky Cauldron, serving traditional British pub food, including Bangers and Mash, Toad in the Hole, Fisherman's Pie and a Plougman's Lunch. There will be Butterbeer to drink, as well as some new beverages, including Fishy Green Ale and Gillywater. If you're a fan of Univeral's Butterbeer, you'll also want to visit Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour, which will serve Butterbeer ice cream, as well as many other unique flavors, including Earl Grey and Lavender, Clotted Cream, and Chocolate Chili.
Want more? Go to Diagon Alley's Carkitt Market to watch performances by the wizarding band Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees, as well as live stage performances of "The Tale of the Three Brothers" and "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" from Tales of Beetle the Bard.
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— The Legend (@coastercrew) June 9, 2014Diagon Alley and the Hogsmeade Village of the original Wizarding World over in Islands of Adventure will be connected by a new ride, The Hogwarts Express. Created to look identical to the train from the Harry Potter movies, both outside and inside, the Hogwarts Express will shuttle visitors between Kings Cross Station, located next to Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida, and the a new Hogsmeade Station in Islands of Adventure. You will need a park-to-park ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express. (That's Universal's version of a Disney park-hopper.) A one park per day ticket won't allow you to get on the Hogwarts Express ride.
While on board the Hogwarts Express, video-screen "windows" will show your journey through the English countryside and Scottish highlands. Watch out for runaway Chocolate Frogs and even Demontors. You'll find those on the Hogwarts Express, too, which will offer a different storyline in each direction between the two parks.
So how you do get in? Theme Park Insider will be there for the special media preview of Diagon Alley on June 18 and 19. We're expecting the land to be open to the public after that, though there's a chance that the land might be available on a limited, soft-open basis before the 18th. If you're a Universal Orlando annual passholder, or already planning a visit to the park before the 18th, give it a go and see if you can get in. If you do, be sure to post your photos and trip report to the Universal Studios Florida page on ThemeParkInsider.com.
When the original Wizarding World opened in 2010, fans lined up for nearly a mile, creating an eight-hour wait to get into the new land. To keep that from happening again, Universal's set up a new timed-entry system for Diagon Alley. Like Disney's old Fastpass system, you'll need to get return tickets with an assigned visit time from machines Universal has set up near the Men in Black ride, inside Universal Studios Florida. That's going to be the only way to get into Diagon Alley. Remember, even if you're riding the Hogwarts Express over from Islands of Adventure, that drops you off outside Diagon Alley, You'll still need a return time ticket to get into the new land. We're expecting these return times to be claimed quickly, so if you want to visit Diagon Alley, be sure to get your return ticket first thing in the morning after the park opens.
Universal Orlando hotel guests also can get early access to the Wizarding World as part of their stay in one of the resort's on-site hotels, which might make the extra cost worth the investment this summer.
If you want to see more from Diagon Alley, join us online at ThemeParkInsider.com on June 18 and 19, when we'll have complete coverage of the new land, the rides, and all the celebrity appearances from the Harry Potter movie stars who'll be attending the opening ceremonies. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates as we get ready for the opening of Diagon Alley.
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Jon in Denver CO
I would imagine that once you're in DA, they can't kick you out. Most guests that are staying for multiple days or who have already experienced the other park attractions will "camp out" for the day in Diagon Alley -- or at least, that's what I would do!
There is a section of the overflow crowd procedures that if the land is closed due to capacity, there is a special waiting section at both train stations where they will put you. You can either go back on the train or wait for the land to reopen again.
It will also be interesting to see how they handle HHN. My thought is that they may close entry to Diagon Alley from USF but they could keep it open for people coming on the train from IOA.
DA will be closed for HHN. There's no good way to keep the pathway in front of London open while restricting access into DA from people riding over on the Hogwarts Express.
Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) showed up for pre-event photo ops in May 2010, but not for the June press event. J.K. Rowling was at the celebrity opening ceremony, but did not do a press conference.
Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) has done a promo video for Diagon Alley and was at the Japan announcement event, so I'd include her on the possibility list for next week, too. Domhnall Gleeson is in the Gringotts preshow as Bill Weasley, so I'd put him on the list of possibles, too.
I'd love to see Helena Bonham Carter, since she appears in the ride as Bellatrix, as well as Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort). But I'd be surprised if either were there.
And if Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith were to show up, my life would be complete. :^)
And yes, to the four anonymous posters who are wise to Universal's nefarious scheme, the train is indeed an upcharge attraction and yes, a very expensive one at that. :(
If they do open at the same time, by the time I've done the ride, (that being the first go-to after arrival, of course), would there be any time left in the early opening window to try to make it to IOA to do the Forbidden Journey? Would it even be possible to fit both in that first hour? Then maybe return to Diagon Alley before the masses arrive? Naturally, my priority would be Diagon Alley having done IOA, but I'm just curious.
Many thanks for all your very useful information.
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Now people won't have to wait in a line for their entire visit to the park! They can enjoy other attractions and come back at a certain time. And assuming they will be doing crowd control like before, the lines inside of the park shouldn't be ridiculous even on the most popular days.
Any bets on how late the park will stay open on opening day?