Holy Gringotts, Harry Potter!

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

HOLY GRINGOTTS, HARRY POTTER. This past week we have received inside looks to the new Harry Potter section of Universal Orlando. Last year we received Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, towering over our heads with wizardry delight. Now this year, we have Diagon Alley complete with Knockturn Alley. For those of you who don’t know, Diagon Alley is where Harry bought his items needed for Hogwarts.  Knockturn Alley is the darker part of Diagon Alley, which Harry stumbled into by way of Floo powder.

Here’s what has been revealed to us so far:

6. Interactive Wands

Wait a minute, couldn’t you already buy your own wand at Ollivander’s? Yes you could and still can. However, throughout Diagon Alley (and Hogsmeade as well) there are tiles with various markings on them. When you purchase an interactive wand ($45) at Ollivander’s, you may approach one of these tiles, recite the spell etched into them, and make the symbol with your wand. After you do this, something in a store front will be activated. For example, there is a tile with the marking and spell Repairo located in front of an opening. Using the wand, create the symbol, and chant the spell. Within minutes, you’ll see a suit if armor repair itself.

5. The Small Things

Sometimes the smallest things create the largest effects and this is no exception for Diagon Alley.  There are a slew of interactive talking shrunken heads that can be found on the Knight Bus and within Knockturn Alley. There are posters of a screaming Sirius Black and haunting Bellatrix Lestrange draped throughout the parks. Even Kreacher leers at you from the Grimmauld Place and the cast members speak in English accents.

There’s even a carriage that moves on its own, as if a thestral is tied to it, and impatiently waiting. In the Kings Cross train station, an animatronic of Hedwig watches you as you board the Hogwarts Express. Just before you see her, there’s a bell cart where if you peer through it, you’ll see people run through the wall of Platform 9 ¾. It’s the little things in this new section that add magic to the atmosphere and cause smiles to bloom.

4. Gringotts

Gringotts plays a huge role in Diagon Alley. Not only does it feature the new 3D spinning roller coaster, Escape from Gringotts, but it’s also the centerpiece of the new section complete with a fire breathing dragon.  Gringotts also houses Bank Notes which you can exchange with an interactive goblin not too far from the establishment.  The Bank Notes are wizard money that can be used in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

3. Restaurants

Diagon Alley has a Leaky Cauldron restaurant which looks dead on like the Leaky Cauldron on both the outside and inside. It features English foods like bangers and mash, fish and chips, and scotch eggs, though you can get sandwiches and salads there. Diagon Alley also features Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor, where there are tons of flavors inspired by English staples such as Earl Grey Tea, Orange Marmalade, and even Butterbeer. There’s also little snack stops to purchase drinks and other edibles. One of these stops is Eternelle’s Elixirs which allows customers to combine qualities such as ‘immortality’, ‘luck’, and many others to create a special, drinkable elixir. The combinations are endless and allow the guest to get creative in hopes of receiving something delicious. Another little stop is Fountain of Fair Fortune which serves both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks like Butter Beer and Amstel Light.

2. Stores

The shops sell Harry Potter merchandise from Death Eater shirts to pranks from the Weasleys’ shop. Oh yes, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes is there for all your tricking needs and it looks fabulous.  There’s also Borgin and Burkes found in Knockturn Alley, complete with all your Voldemort alliance gear.  Other shops scattered throughout the area are Magical Menagerie, Madam Malkin’s, Scribbulus, and Wiseacre’s Quality Quidditch. These stores sell a variety of objects ranging from clothing to Quidditch items.

1. The Hogwarts Express

In Hogsmeade, there was a stationary Hogwarts Express where you could take pictures. Now, you get to ride it. That’s right, you get the board the Hogwarts Express and make your journey to Hogwarts or Diagon Alley. The train ride is as magical as the books themselves. Climbing into the train, you seat yourself in a cabin, and wait for the whistle to sound your departure. When it does so, the windows will turn to screens showing fantastic images of the Harry Potter world. Even your cabin interior windows feature talking shadows of the famous trio we’ve come to know and love.

The new addition also offers entertainment from a band of witches crooning out mystical tunes and even a puppet show of “The Tale of Three Brothers” from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So far the park has only opened for the press and has had a soft opening for the public. The park will open to everyone on July 8^th.

If you had enough money, what would you do first?