Harry Potter Land
JA
September 27
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is yet another cab off the rank from Harry Potter Inc, the lucrative global industry around J.K. Rowling’s phenomenally successful series.
Last week, it was officially announced that Universal would add a Harry Potter theme park to its Islands of Adventure site in Orlando, to open in 2010. The company was able to snag the rights from Warner Bros after a brief tussle with Disney, and the ‘theme park within a theme park’ concept will cost, at a guess, upwards of $265 million for 20 acres.
Apparently, punters will enter through an archway denoting Hogsmeade station. According to the Guardian, ‘the goal is to make the experience immersive, so nothing outside is visible after guests pass [through].’ Rides will include a high-speed roller coaster based on the Triwizard Tournament called the Dragon Challenge, as well as its kiddy counterpart, Flight of the Hippogriff, and a simulated Quidditch game.
The shops and streets will be designed by set directors from the films, including Stuart Craig and Alan Gilmore. They’ve already revealed that there will be a Zonko’s joke shop and an Ollivander’s, where young wizards can getting fitted out for wands, as well as a Honeydukes spruiking chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans and a restaurant called the Three Broomsticks (a Butterbeer recipe is in the works as we speak).
J.K. Rowling has apparently been closely consulted about most of the details, so Universal can put a nice big tick in their ‘true to the author’s vision’ box, and the reaction online has largely been ecstatic. Perhaps I’m just too cynical, but this seems to be yet another example of literary merchandising taken to the extreme, in the same vein as the countless number of Twilight and Harry Potter spin-offs and tie-ins already clogging up the bookshelves. As Lloyd de Vries wrote, ‘it’s part of the business philosophy that if you are lucky enough to make money as fast as bills can be printed, keep milking it and try to make more’. I should note however that de Vries did get utterly canned in the comments thread by enthusiastic fans, so if Potterland gets you stupefied with excitement, then have a look at these artist’s impressions of what the park will look like, courtesy of the Telegraph.
Artist's impression of Harry Potter theme park, image courtesy of Barcroft Media
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Comments
28 Sep 09 at 12:54
Sounds awesome, I'm so there. Jess, I'm booking two tickets to Orlando, you can update your blog about literary merchandising while I check out the rollercoasters.
The money goes to J.K. Rowling anyway so it's all for a good cause...
...30 Sep 09 at 9:25
No worries Richardo, I won't let my cynicism get in the way of wizarding enjoyment. Although I'd say that the bulk of the money probably goes to Universal.
...30 Sep 09 at 13:27
That gives me even greater comfort
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