No plans yet for Spring Break? Students choosing between Cancun, Panama Beach and the Caribbean may want to add another less sexy, but widely anticipated option to their list — The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a new Harry Potter theme park, which is scheduled to open in spring 2010 at Universal Studios in Florida.
It goes without saying that the Harry Potter series has been a dazzling success. As of June 2008, the book series had sold more than 400 million copies worldwide and had been translated into 67 languages. But J.K. Rowling did more than write great novels — she created a brand that has inspired countless retail merchandise, movies and now an entire theme park.
However unlikely it may be for the Harry Potter series, the popularity of books can fade over time. Therefore, according to junior Mike Walker, Tufts' Quidditch captain, the creation of a Harry Potter theme park — an actual place that fans can visit — serves to cement Harry Potter's place in our pop culture.
"I think [the theme park] is a cool idea," Walker said. "It presents Harry Potter as a cultural consciousness, and [confirms] that it's more than just a fad."
The plans for the theme park were unveiled by Universal in September. The Wizarding World will be located on a 20-acre property within Universal's Island of Adventures and may cost, according to observers' estimates, around $265 million dollars to build. Official estimates have not been released.
According to the British newspaper the Daily Mail, visitors will enter The Wizarding World through the station archway of Hogsmeade, the all-wizard village near Hogwarts, which the novel's students frequent on the weekends. Hogsmeade visitors can browse through stores like Zonko's Joke Shop, the Quidditch-equipment and magical-instrument selling Dervish & Banges and Honeydukes, a sweet shop that sells magical candies like Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans. After loading up on sweets, guests can head to the Three Broomsticks to sample butterbeer, or they can send a letter from the Owl Post with a Hogsmeade postmark.
One point of departure from the books is the inclusion in Hogsmeade of Ollivander's Wand Shop, which in the book series is located in Diagon Alley in London. Die-hard fans upset by Universal's failure to stay true to the books will probably be more forgiving when they learn that, as in the book, at The Wizarding World's Ollivander's, wands will choose their wizards, not the other way around.
Once guests have explored Hogsmeade, they can move on to the Hogwarts Castle, which features architecture primarily inspired by the Harry Potter movies. The focal point of the castle is purportedly the ride "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey," which takes guests through a variety of rooms within the castle.
The park will include two other rides: Flight of the Hippogriff, a "family" roller coaster and "Dragon Challenge," a "high-speed" coaster inspired by the Triwizard Tournament.
Junior Molly Newman, the head of the Harry Potter Society at Tufts, says that her club is very excited about the opening of the park.
Newman is a self-professed "huge, mega-dorky fan" who has loved Harry Potter since she was nine years old. Her affinity for the series led her to write and record wizard rock songs and to push for the recognition of the Harry Potter Society as an official Tufts club, a goal that she achieved this April. The Harry Potter Society planned last Thursday's Wizard Rock show and will host a Yule Ball this December.
Newman said that she loved Harry Potter as a child because it introduced her to a "fantastical world." As an adult, Newman said that she is increasingly beginning to appreciate Harry Potter because the messages in the book transcend the wizard world.
"There are so many themes — like themes of good and evil or about family, that can apply to us," Newman said. "When you think about how werewolves are discriminated against, those are direct parallels with other types of discrimination like racism or sexism."
Though Newman does not have any concrete plans to visit the theme park, she said that she will definitely make a trip to Orlando as soon as she can after the park is completed.
Freshman Alyssa Wohl is another member of the Harry Potter Society looking forward to the opening of the amusement park. Though Wohl has been a fan of Harry Potter since the sixth grade, she said that she tried to limit the amount of Harry Potter "stuff" that she brought with her when she moved into her dorm in August.
"I only brought book six because I didn't want to scare off my roommate," Wohl said.
Once at Tufts, however, Wohl decided to satisfy her passion for Harry Potter by joining the Harry Potter Society. She helps the club plan and coordinate the events it sponsors.
Wohl is curious to see how Universal will interpret the magical elements of Harry Potter's world.
"I want to try butterbeer. I want to know what they think butterbeer tastes like," Wohl said. "I want to see what they're going to do with Ollivander's Wand shop, and I don't know if they're going to make the Hogwarts staircases move or not."
If getting to Orlando was as cheap or easy as hopping on a broomstick or teleporting, Newman said that her club would have loved to organize a group trip. But, with limited resources, this appears unlikely, though she said that some members are planning trips individually.
One such club member is sophomore Auriana Jimenez, a Florida native who has been eagerly anticipating the theme park since it was announced that one was in the works. In fact, given her relative proximity to Orlando, Jimenez plans to be there on the park's opening day.
"I will be there the day that the park opens," Jimenez said. "I will miss class, fly home, drive three hours and be there at eight in the morning."
Jimenez said that she is most looking forward to tasting a butterbeer and seeing how Universal has interpreted the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
"[The Great Hall of Hogwarts] is beautiful in the movies and I'm excited to see it in real life," Jimenez said.
