Islands of Adventure: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Hogwarts Castle at Islands of AdventureOrlando, Florida: It takes just a few steps before your imagination takes you from Central Florida into the pages of the popular book series by JK Rowling. As you pass through the gates of Hogsmeade, your journey takes you through the village on the way to Hogwarts with plenty of thrills and excitement along the way.

Enter through the gates into Hogsmeade and you are whisked away to the magical place. Off to your right sits the Hogwarts Express, fresh from delivering this years class of wizards. As you travel deeper into the village you begin to encounter shops and restraraunts inspired by the book.

The first of the rides you will encounter is the Dragon Challenge. Hop aboard one of two coasters, Hungarian Horntail or Chinese Fireball, to embark and partake in the Triwizard Tournament. Originally opened is 1999 as the Dueling Dragons, the roller coaster was re-themed to follow the story of Harry Potter. The dueling steel inverted coasters feature five inversions and three near misses while cruising along at 60 miles per hour.

The next major attraction you will come across is Ollivanders wand shop. While it is not really a ride or show, it is definitely a shop you don’t want to miss. Here you will have the opportunity to purchase you very own magic wand like those found in the movies. And just like the shop from the show, you will get to experience first hand that the wand chooses the wizard. Because of this unique experience, they only allow 20 guests to enter the shop at one time.

As you leave the village, you begin to enter the Forbidden Forest. It is here where you will find the next ride, the Flight of the Hippogriff. Following the instruction of Hagrid, you will embark on a test flight aboard the Hippogriff. The flight will take you soaring above the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid’s hut while reaching speeds of almost 30 miles per hour. The roller coaster was originally opened in 2000 as the Magical Unicorn and was later renamed in conjunction with the opening of the Harry Potter attraction.

Finally you have reached Hogwarts Castle, home of the lands premiere attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. From the time you pass through the castle gates, you are deep inside the story. Pass through many of the popular places from the movies, including the Headmaster’s Office, Defense Against the Black Arts classroom, Gryffindor common room and many more sets from the films. Then it is on to the actual ride. Board an enchanted bench and begin their journey through Hogwarts. Along the way, riders will witness a Quidditch match, out run a dragon, escape from spiders in the Forbidden Forest, try to avoid the Whomping Willow then come face to face with the power of Voldermort in the Chamber of Secrets. The ride opened in 2010 with the opening of the world and features state of the art rides systems combined with special effects, theater projections and audio-animatronics to create a one of a kind attraction.

In addition to rides and attractions, the village is filled with shops and restraraunts that are inspired by the movies. The shops located in the village are:
  • Dervish and Banges: magical supplies, Quidditch gear, Hogwarts school uniforms and more.
  • Filchs Emporium of Confiscated Goods: clothing, toys and movie replicas.
  • Honeydukes: Candy store featuring favorites from the movie including chocolate frogs, every flavor beans, exploding bonbons and more.
  • Zonko’s: toy and gag gift store.

To curb your appetite, Hogsmeade offers the following eateries:

  • Three Broomsticks: restaurant serving fish and chips, turkey legs, shepherd’s pie and more English style meals.
  • Hog’s Head: pub serving butterbeer and other beverages.

The newest addition to Islands of Adventure, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened to the public in June 2010. The cast of the movies as well as the author of the books attended the opening ceremony, introducing the general public to the magical world of Harry Potter and his friends. Since then, thousands of visitors flock to the attraction each and every day.

Click on the photo above for more pictures of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

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