Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a 541-acre (219 ha) theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. Following the opening of Universal Studios Florida in 1990, NBCUniversal moved forward with plans to expand from a single park into a large resort hoping to compete with Walt Disney World. In 1999, a second theme park called Islands of Adventure opened in addition to CityWalk, a shopping promenade and nightlife district that incorporates a variety of themed hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. A 30-acre (12 ha) themed water park, Volcano Bay, was added in 2017, and a fourth upcoming theme park, Epic Universe, is scheduled to open in Summer 2025.
Universal Islands of Adventure, originally called Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and later Universal's Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an expansion that converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort. The resort's slogan Vacation Like You Mean It was introduced in 2013.
Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and other aspects of the entertainment industry. Universal Studios Florida was the first of three theme parks to open at Universal Orlando Resort, joined later by Islands of Adventure in 1999 and Volcano Bay in 2017. In 2019, it ranked eleventh in the world – sixth in North America – for overall attendance among amusement parks with approximately 10.9 million visitors. A fourth park, Epic Universe, is expected in summer 2025. It is expected to be the largest Universal park in the United States.
The Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience at Warner Bros. Movie World in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia was a walk-through attraction which featured several recreations of sets from the Harry Potter movies. The original attraction opened on 26 December 2001, themed to the first movie while a second version opened one year later to coincide with the second movie. The Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience closed in 2003 and was replaced by The Official Matrix Exhibit.
Universal Creative is the division of Universal Destinations & Experiences responsible for designing, developing, engineering and producing themed attractions, rides, and resorts. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida the company operates at Universal Parks & Resorts locations around the world in the United States, Singapore, Japan and China.
Flight of the Hippogriff is a junior roller coaster at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the many Universal theme parks. It is present at Universal Islands of Adventure in Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Beijing. Designed by Universal Creative, the first installation opened at Islands of Adventure on June 18, 2010. The new ride was a redesign of an existing roller coaster known as Flying Unicorn, which the park closed in 2008 to begin its transformation. The design change was implemented to fit the new Harry Potter-themed area that was being constructed at the park. Flight of the Hippogriff is a mild alternative to the area's more extreme rides such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Following a successful launch, identical versions of the roller coaster were installed at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood over the next several years, with the Beijing version opening with the park in 2021.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a motion-based dark ride located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-themed areas of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida; Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California; Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan; and Universal Studios Beijing in Beijing, China. The ride takes guests through scenes and environments in and around Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series of books and films. Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, described the ride as an in-depth look at the world of Harry Potter, which utilizes never-before-seen technology which transforms "the theme park experience as you know it". The ride first opened at Islands of Adventure with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on June 18, 2010; subsequent versions opened at Universal Studios Japan on July 15, 2014, at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 7, 2016, and at Universal Studios Beijing on September 20, 2021.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area spanning three theme parks—Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida and the upcoming Universal Epic Universe—at the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. The area is themed to the Harry Potter media franchise, adapting elements from the film series and novels by J. K. Rowling. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was designed by Universal Creative from an exclusive license with Warner Bros. Entertainment.
This article details the appearance of Harry Potter theming in amusement parks. In the late 1990s, Universal Parks & Resorts began discussing the possibility of purchasing the license for Harry Potter to create and theme amusement park rides. As Time Warner owns the license, a small walkthrough attraction was constructed at Warner Bros. Movie World called the Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience in 2001. This attraction was removed two years later. In 2010, Universal Islands of Adventure park opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Similar attractions have also opened in Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan and are planned for Universal Studios Beijing.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park near Los Angeles. The area is themed to the Harry Potter media franchise, adapting elements from the film series and novels by J.K. Rowling. The attraction—the second Harry Potter-themed area to exist at a Universal resort—was designed by Universal Creative from an exclusive license with Warner Bros. Entertainment.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a chain of themed areas at Universal Destinations & Experiences based on the Harry Potter media franchise, adapting elements from the Warner Bros.' film series and original novels by J. K. Rowling. The areas were designed by Universal Creative from an exclusive license with Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is an indoor steel roller coaster designed by Universal Creative and built by Intamin at Universal Studios Florida, a theme park located within the Universal Orlando Resort. Similar to dark rides, the roller coaster utilizes special effects in a controlled-lighting environment and also employs motion-based 3-D projection of both animation and live-action sequences to enhance the experience. The ride, which is themed to the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, became the flagship attraction for the expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter when it opened on July 8, 2014.
Thierry Jean-Andre Coup is the Chief Experiential Futurist at JOCOUP Creative. Coup began his career working in the film industry, performing set design and visual effects. He moved into theme park design in the early 1990s when Walt Disney Parks and Resorts offered him a position with Walt Disney Imagineering. In 1995, he transferred over to Universal Creative and led projects such as The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Transformers: The Ride, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley and Super Nintendo World.
The Hogwarts Express is an 1,800 mm broad gauge cable railway, people mover, and attraction within the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida, United States. The route runs 676 meters (2,218 ft) between Hogsmeade station in the Islands of Adventure theme park and King's Cross station in the London area of the Universal Studios Florida theme park. It provides a connection between the Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade areas which, together, form The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, based on the Harry Potter film series.
Warner Bros. Studio Tours are a pair of public attractions owned and run by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Universal Studios Beijing is a Universal theme park in Beijing that opened on September 20, 2021 as part of Universal Beijing Resort. Invited-only test operation started on September 1, 2021. The park would become the fifth Universal Studios-branded theme park in the world, the seventh Universal-built park overall, and the third in Asia, after Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Singapore. However, it would also be the third Universal-built park in Asia to include Sesame Street as one of its licensed properties.
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is a multiple-launch steel roller coaster located in the Hogsmeade section of Universal Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando. Manufactured by Intamin, the $300-million attraction opened to the public on June 13, 2019. The partially-enclosed motorbike coaster operates both indoor and outdoor, and it is the sixth Harry Potter-themed attraction created for the resort. Universal marketed the ride as "a highly-themed roller coaster" that focuses on "a different corner of the wizarding world".
Dragon Challenge, formerly named Dueling Dragons (1999–2010), was a pair of intertwined inverted roller coasters in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland, the ride was a dueling roller coaster featuring two tracks – one side was called Chinese Fireball and the other Hungarian Horntail – that were themed as two chasing dragons. Its layout involved two trains sharing adjacent lift hills, with each traversing unique courses. Trains on the Chinese Fireball track reached a maximum speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), while trains on the Hungarian Horntail reached 55 mph (89 km/h). Both tracks featured five inversions and an identical ride duration of 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
