If you (and your kids) love the Harry Potter books and movies as much as I do, then you’ve often imagined what it would be like to be transported from the Muggle world to the Wizarding World as you pass through the brick wall at King’s Cross Station and arrive at Platform 9 ¾ to board a train to Hogwarts. You’ve wondered what exchanging your Muggle money would be like at Gringotts, the wizard bank. And you’ve fantasized about walking through the streets of London, going in and out of wizard-worthy shops at Diagon Alley.
In your wildest dreams you’ve imagined what it would be like to actually step foot inside the magical world of Harry Potter (or HP for you younger readers) and all of the fictional places and settings that helped bring a book to life for millions of readers across the world. Now imagine a world in which you didn’t have rely on your imagination alone. What if your ultimate Harry Potter fan-experience was possible?
Good news fellow Harry Potter fans! Imagination has become real at the soon-to-be opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Slated to open Summer 2014, the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley will continue to immerse the most avid of Harry Potter fans in the ultimate fantasy experience.
It was a thrill for me to visit the new HP grounds before it opens this summer. I’d already visited Hogwarts – it opened in 2010 – and immediately fell in love with all of the HP nuances I’d remembered from the books and films. But even I, to this day an avid Harry Potter fan, was not prepared to have such an authentic experience as the one many will soon enjoy this summer.
I won’t give away too much just yet, but here are a few things to look forward to. This summer you’ll be able to enjoy an authentic British menu at the Leaky Cauldron. Fans will get to take a train, the one and only Hogwarts Express, departing from Platform 9 ¾ connecting both Harry Potter worlds (London and Hogsmeade). And for those adventure seekers like me, I can’t wait to help Harry, Ron and Hermione find a horcrux inside the vaults at Gringotts.
Stay tuned for more from my adventure at the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.
