On May 31 Warner Bros Entertainment and Universal Orlando Resort announced that they will be teaming up to create a Harry Potter theme park.
In a statement the two said ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ would be built within Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort.
The ‘fully immersive, theme park within a theme park’ will feature some of the most iconic locations found in JK Rowling’s best-selling books and the Warner Bros films, including Hogsmeade village, the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts Castle.
Expected to open in late 2009, the park will include interactive attractions and experiential shops and restaurants where visitors will be able to ‘sample fare from the wizarding world’s best known establishments’.
It will also debut a state-of-the-art attraction bringing Harry Potter characters and stories to life ‘in an exciting way that guests have never before experienced’.
Warner Bros president and chief operating officer, Alan Horn, added: ‘We have a profound sense of responsibility for the Harry Potter franchise at Warner Bros. Bringing the magic of JK Rowling’s written word to the motion picture screen was the first step in expanding this amazing and imaginative world.
‘JK Rowling’s six Harry Potter books have sold more than 325m copies worldwide, while the four Warner Bros films have grossed $3.5bn. The fifth film in the series will be released on July 13 and the seventh and final book on July 21.
Report by Chitra Mogul
