And we will start today with the a location that you won't find if you visit the original Wizarding World at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando. Well, at least, you won't find it any more.
Zonko's Joke Shop opened in Orlando with the rest of Hogsmeade village in June 2010, only to close in 2014 to make way for an expansion of the Honeydukes sweet shop next door. (We will take a look at Honeydukes next week.)
In the Harry Potter books, Zonko's was a favorite of mischievous Hogwarts students looking to buy dungbombs, nose-biting teacups, and other tricks to cause mischief back at school after a Hogsmeade trip. Needless to say, the store was a favorite of Fred and George Weasley, who considered buying its site for a second location of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after Zonko's closed during the Second Wizarding War.
Inside Universal Orlando's version of Zonko's you found a rather cramped store, filled to the rafters with gags, tricks, and toys from the books or at least inspired by the mischief of the Weasley twins and other fun-loving Hogwarts students.
Look up in those rafters, as you step through the transition into Honeydukes next door, and you can see several Extendable Ears, listening in on the customers below.
The outer windows promoted many of these items, including Puking Pastilles candy, with animated displays. Today, many of these animated windows throughout the Wizarding World are interactive, and can be triggered by casting spells with Universal's interactive souvenir wands.
Zonko's remains open in the Universal Studios Japan version of the Wizarding World, but visitors to Orlando looking for a joke shop instead need to visit Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida, which effectively replaced Zonko's in 2014.
Coming up on the "Road to the Wizarding World Hollywood":
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