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, MCA 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 Universal Islands of Adventure opened in addition to Universal CityWalk, a shopping promenade and nightlife district that incorporates a variety of themed hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. A third park, 30-acre (12 ha) water park Universal Volcano Bay, was added in 2017, and a fourth theme park, Universal Epic Universe, is scheduled to open in 2025.
Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX), formerly Universal Parks & Resorts, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.
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 Universal Islands of Adventure in 1999, and Universal 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, Universal Epic Universe, is expected in 2025.
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 four Universal parks around the world – Universal Islands of Adventure in Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood in California, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Beijing. The first installation opened at Islands of Adventure in Universal Orlando on June 18, 2010. Subsequent installations opened in 2014 (Japan), 2016 (Hollywood), and 2021 (Beijing).
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area spanning three theme parks—Universal 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, in partnership with Warner Bros. Entertainment under an exclusive license agreement. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was well received and significantly boosted attendance at the resort.
This article details the appearance of Harry Potter theming in amusement parks. In the late 1990s, Universal Destinations & Experiences 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, Universal Studios Japan and 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.
Thinkwell Group is an experience design and production agency that was founded in 2001 with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. In 2022, TAIT acquired Thinkwell Group.
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 is themed to Gringotts Wizarding Bank, as depicted in the Harry Potter films, and became the flagship attraction for the expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley 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.
A Celebration of Harry Potter was an annual three-day weekend event held on the last weekend of January at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure theme parks at Universal Orlando Resort. The event was a celebration of the fandom of the Harry Potter books, authored by J. K. Rowling, and the Wizarding World franchise, including the Harry Potter film series and Fantastic Beasts film series. Universal Parks & Resorts collaborated with Warner Bros. Entertainment, who owns the franchise, and Scholastic, publishers of the book series in the United States. The inaugural event took place on the weekend of January 24–26, 2014, and the final event on the weekend of January 26–28, 2018.
Warner Bros. Studio Tours are a pair of public attractions owned and run by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
The Wizarding World is a fantasy media franchise and shared fictional universe centred on the Harry Potter novel series by J. K. Rowling. A series of films have been in production since 2000, and in that time eleven films have been produced—eight are adaptations of the Harry Potter novels and three are part of the Fantastic Beasts series. The films are owned and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series has collectively grossed over $9.6 billion at the global box office, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film franchise of all time.
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Brands and Experiences is one of Warner Bros. Discovery's major business segments and divisions. It was founded in September 2018.
Universal Epic Universe is an upcoming theme park under construction in Orlando, Florida. Scheduled to open in 2025, Epic Universe will be the third theme park and fourth park overall to open at Universal Orlando. The park is part of a larger 750-acre (300 ha) development and will feature five themed areas named Celestial Park, Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
