HolyCoast: Wizarding World of Harry Potter Coming to Universal Studios Los Angeles
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Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Coming to Universal Studios Los Angeles

I must admit, I'm a fan of the Harry Potter franchise and once they finally get this built I'll probably have to go have a look:
After defeating Voldemort and his Death Eaters in seven bestselling books and eight hit movies, Harry Potter is taking on perhaps his greatest challenge yet: boosting the Los Angeles economy.

Universal Studios on Tuesday took the wraps off plans to build a Southern California version of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which drove a 68% increase in attendance at its Orlando theme park during the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2010.

Ron Meyer, Universal's president, said his company would spend "several hundred million dollars" to create the attraction, which is expected to include a re-creation of Hogwarts Castle along with Potter-themed rides, shops and restaurants.
This attraction has been very popular at the Florida theme park, and given the interest in the Potter books and movies, it makes sense to bring it to LA. It probably won't open for another five years, but I'm guessing it will be tremendously popular when it does.

2 comments:

Sam L. said...

Will 5 years be 3 or 4 years too late?

Rick Moore said...

I don't think so. I think this franchise will have some staying power. Universal had an "ET" ride and "Back to the Future" ride, but those movies became outdated after a time and they've since redone those attractions as something else. The Potter books will continue to be popular with kids, and the movies will probably be played at least annually on TV.