Diagon Alley Now Open At Universal Studios Florida #UniversalStudios

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley Now Open At Universal Orlando Resort

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES… 
THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER – DIAGON ALLEY NOW OPEN 
AT UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT

The Most Spectacularly-Themed, Highly-Anticipated Theme Park Experience of the Year Rolls Out 
the Red Carpet to Officially Welcome its First Guests

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 8, 2014) – It’s the day millions of people around the world have been waiting for…

This morning, Universal Orlando Resort officially opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida.   Confetti, fireworks and a red carpet lined with dozens of cheering Diagon Alley team members welcomed thousands of excited guests as they entered the all-new spectacularly-themed land for the very first time.   

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley brings even more of Harry Potter’s adventures to life at Universal Orlando Resort.   This fully-immersive area expands upon the global phenomenon launched by Universal Orlando when it opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure in 2010.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley is filled with incredible entertainment experiences for the whole family.  You arrive aboard the Hogwarts Express, which takes guests on a journey between the two lands of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and are transported into a spectacularly themed environment. The new area includes incredible shops with windows full of magical surprises, authentic food and beverages, a towering dragon that breathes fire and Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, a new attraction unlike any other that takes you on a mind-blowing ride through the Gringotts vaults – pulling you into an incredible adventure.

More details about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley and available vacation packages can be found at www.UniversalOrlando.com/wizardingworld.

About the Harry Potter Series 
Harry Potter continues to be a global phenomenon. Each of the seven books by author J.K. Rowling has broken sales records, with the series to date having sold over 450 million copies worldwide and translated into 77 languages.  The Harry Potter films, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, have grossed more than $7.7 billion to date worldwide at the box office, making Harry Potter the largest-grossing film franchise in history.

About Universal Orlando Resort Vacation like you mean it at Universal Orlando Resort – where every heart pounding, jaw-dropping, goose-bumping second counts.  It is the only place where you can turn spending time with your family into spending time as a family.  Together, you can soar above Hogwarts with Harry Potter, swing above the streets with Spider-Man, become a Minion in the hilarious and heartwarming Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride, and join Optimus Prime in the fight to save mankind on the new mega-attraction, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D.  And now, you can step into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.

Universal Orlando Resort is home to two incredible theme parks: Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure; four magnificently themed on-site hotels:  Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and the newest addition, Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort; and Universal CityWalk - a nighttime entertainment complex featuring a collection of nightclubs, restaurants and shops.  And located just minutes from Universal Orlando Resort is Wet n’ Wild, Orlando’s premier waterpark.

Universal Orlando Resort is part of NBCUniversal, a Comcast company.  Follow Universal Orlando Resort on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment is a global leader in all forms of entertainment and their related businesses across all current and emerging media and platforms.  A Time Warner Company, the fully integrated, broad-based studio is home to one of the most successful collections of brands in the world and stands at the forefront of every aspect of the entertainment industry from feature film, television and home entertainment production and worldwide distribution to DVD, digital distribution, animation, comic books, video games, product and brand licensing, international cinemas and broadcasting.

HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR.
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One of the most memorable and exciting experiences from the Harry Potter series will come to life at Universal Orlando Resort this summer. Imagine:

• Being transported from the Muggle world to the wizarding world as you pass through the brick wall at
 King’s Cross Station to arrive at Platform 9 ¾

• Watching in amazement as the Hogwarts Express pulls into the station – its billowing steam and authentic
 whistle beckoning you to hop aboard

• Sitting in one of the train’s cabins with your family and friends and actually riding the Hogwarts Express –
just as your favorite characters did in the Harry Potter films

• Looking outside your cabin window and enjoying a scenic, breathtaking journey through the British
 countryside as you encounter magical creatures, some of your favorite Harry Potter characters…and even
 Dementors…

Since the very first Harry Potter film, every fan has dreamed of taking the same classic journey Harry Potter did
 aboard the Hogwarts Express. And this summer – they will get to live it.

 Universal Orlando revealed never-before-released details about the Hogwarts Express experience that will
 debut as part of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley – the all-new, magnificently themed land
 opening this summer. The train will connect the new land in Universal Studios Florida with The Wizarding World
 of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure – allowing guests with park-to-park admission to enjoy a real journey aboard the iconic locomotive.

 Never before has this been done – creating an actual train ride experience to connect two spectacularly themed
 environments. The Hogwarts Express experience combines powerful storytelling, live special effects, lifelike
 animation and state-of-the-art technology to take riders on the journey of a lifetime. Guests will enjoy two
 completely different experiences depending on whether they’re traveling to Hogsmeade or London.

 Once seated in the cabin, guests will be able to look out their windows as an incredibly authentic and magical
 adventure unfolds before them. They’ll see Hagrid come alongside the train on his flying motorbike, Buckbeak the Hippogriff swoop gracefully over the black lake, the Weasley twins on brooms and up to their usual antics, the
 Knight Bus swerving through London traffic – and other special moments and surprises.

Universal’s Creative team has been working closely with Warner Bros., Stuart Craig and the production team from the Harry Potter films to create a sensational Hogwarts Express experience that the entire family can enjoy. The Creative team has gone to great lengths to ensure the experience is true to the books and films. Everything about the train is authentic – from the paint and the materials used to build it….all the way down to the whistle.

This post is written by Sarah Coulsey. She is a Wife, and Mother of two boys living in New England. This post may contain affiliate links.