GAcoaster

Press release from Universal Orlando:

 

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER – DIAGON ALLEY IS COMING TO UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT

 

‘London’ and Diagon Alley Will Come to Life at Universal Orlando in 2014 World’s First Centrally Themed, Multi-Park Experience

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 8, 2013) – Building on the global phenomenon that is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando Resort and Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced an expansion of historic proportion with the entirely new themed environment, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley. 

 

Scheduled to open in 2014, the world’s first centrally themed, multi-park experience expands The Wizarding World of Harry Potter across both Universal Orlando theme parks and allows Universal’s creative team to bring an unparalleled vision to this unique project. The new area will bring to life some of the experiences and places found in and around London in the Harry Potter books and films, offering brand-new adventures for fans and theme park guests from around the world. 

 

Diagon Alley and ‘London’ will be located within the Universal Studios Florida theme park, which is adjacent to Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, where guests now experience Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. The new area within Universal Studios will be just as expansive, immersive and authentic as the existing themed environment. 

 

And – just like in the books and films – guests will be able to travel between ‘London’ and Hogsmeade aboard the Hogwarts Express. 

Work on the new area is already underway. When complete, it will feature shops, a restaurant and an innovative, marquee attraction based on Gringotts bank – all directly inspired by the fiction and films. 

 

More details on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley will be released over time.

 

To bring Diagon Alley and ‘London’ to life, Universal’s creative team is working closely with Warner Bros. and the production design team from the Harry Potter films – just as it did for Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

 

"I'm so pleased that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has proved so popular to date, and I'm sure that the attention to detail in creating the new Diagon Alley area will make this an even better experience," said J.K. Rowling.

 

“We are continuing the journey and adding an entirely new level of adventure,” said Tom Williams, Chairman of Universal Parks & Resorts. “And we are bringing the same drive, commitment, enthusiasm and innovation to this project as we did to the first.”

 

“We are thrilled to offer the legions of fans the opportunity to embark on this new journey and experience Diagon Alley as it was brought to life in the books and films,” said Brad Globe, president, Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

 

“Our vision is to create two amazing theme park experiences that combine into one, complete, magical journey,” said Alice Norsworthy, executive vice president, marketing and sales for Universal Orlando Resort.

 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade opened at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in June 2010 as a fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment - bringing to life the bestselling books by J.K. Rowling and the blockbuster feature films from Warner Bros. Since that time, it has become a global phenomenon, entertaining millions of people from around the world.

 

Visitors to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter are swept into the adventures of Harry Potter. They can tour Hogwarts castle, shop in Hogsmeade and dine at the Three Broomsticks. They can soar above Hogwarts with Harry, be chosen by a wand at Ollivanders, sample Butterbeer and much more.

 

 

Hey Everyone-

Just wanted to let you all know we are about to upgrade to the latest version of the forum software from our provider. We should be seeing the upgrade in the next day or two depending on their schedule, and when the upgrade occurs it may mean the forums are briefly closed while the new software is installed. Once the installation is complete there may be a brief period where our logo disappears or looks odd, so please excuse any weirdness that occurs.

We are looking forward to the upgrade since it will give us a couple of new features as well as working better for smart phones!

I find it interesting that in EVERY park there are mysteries including the big parks like Disneyland and Disney World, even though those parks have been so well documented over the years with millions of pictures and devotees.

I just came across an interesting article about a "lost turret" that was part of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland which was only recently rediscovered when the new Fantasy Faire area was built. Read about it and see pictures here. Apparently it was obscured by trees for so long people just forgot about it and while all of the other parts of the castle have been updated, the turret still has the color scheme of 40 years ago.

Here's a couple of pictures to show how/why it was lost for so long:

I just noticed on Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Facebook page that they are now selling 'Memberships' rather than Season Passes.




I'm glad to see they are really trying to offer tiered passes with better benefits for those willing to pay. This is something that nearly every other chain does, and Six Flags has been missing the boat by not doing this all along.

From Reuters:

Apollo, Six Flags explore SeaWorld buyout: sources


SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, which is exploring a sale, has attracted early buyout interest from private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) and amusement park operator Six Flags Entertainment Corp (SIX.N), according to three people familiar with the matter.


Orlando, Florida-based SeaWorld, controlled by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX.N), filed for an initial public offering in December but is also in talks with potential buyers in what is known as a "dual track" process, Reuters reported previously.Apollo, which got into the resort and leisure business with its $262 million acquisition of Great Wolf Resorts in 2012, and Six Flags, the largest regional theme park operator in the world, are among several potentially interested parties, according to the sources.

The process is largely limited to a small group of industry players that have experience in the sector, one source said.

A deal could value SeaWorld, known for its killer whale mascot Shamu, at about $4 billion, based on the financials of its publicly listed peers, such as Six Flags and Cedar Fair LP (FUN.N).

Blackstone acquired SeaWorld from beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (ABI.BR) for $2.3 billion in December 2009, according to Blackstone's website.

Blackstone and Apollo declined to comment, while Six Flags was not immediately available. The sources asked not to be named because the process is not public.

A public offering for SeaWorld remained the more likely route since it would come at a time when shares for amusement park operators are trading at healthy levels, one source said.

Established operators in the U.S. theme park industry host about 315 million visitors per year and have proven resilient in a weak economy as parents still turn to them for family vacations.


SeaWorld owns 11 theme parks, including those with the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place brands, and cares for more than 67,000 animals.

This is interesting and not unexpected since both Six Flags and Apollo explored the purchase of Cedar Fair as well. I just feel like the SeaWorld parks are a bad fit for Six Flags, but if Apollo just lets SeaWorld do what they do, that could owrk and they could leverage their ownership of Great Wolf.

I still think there may be other interested parties.