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This report is the first of three chronicling a trip taken by representatives of top Harry Potter web-sites to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Universal Studios, Orlando, FL. What we have witnessed has been awesome and what can be said in all three reports will be very exciting to read, no doubt.

Soft opening prior to the grand opening has been confirmed by Universal representative, no specific dates are known at this time. So if you will try to get inside the park prior the grand opening you might have the chance to do it.

Right as of now there are no details of any kind about the Grand opening as far as who will be there, what it would be like, are Daniel Radcliffe and the rest of the crew will appear or not. we are very excited and curious what will actually happen on that date.

So now lets get to the meat and potatoes of this super exciting post.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Ride-Attraction.

The fan-site heads met with Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative team(and grand overseer of the project). He took our questions and described very enthusiastically what the long-awaited ride would be like, as well as what the park experience was going to be.Mr. Woodbury noted that when it comes to rides, Universal likes to do things that nobody’s ever done before. In General Universal are trying to be the most innovative place in the Theme Park Universe. According to Mr. Woodbury, the Wizarding World and its main attraction (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) is going to “transform the theme park experience as you know it.”

Mr. Woodbury then spoke at length about the Forbidden Journey itself, and here is what he had to say. The Forbidden Journey ride is going to be an excursion into the world of Harry Potter – bringing with it “all of the chaos of his world”. It’s a new story, a new adventure where the guests, as Muggles, are invited to witness the goings-on of Harry, Ron and Hermione as they experience an adventure that takes them through many of the vast locations across Harry′s world. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey will be a “360 degree filmatic experience” with the biggest in special effects by which he means physical effects of all. Other rides at Universal, such as Twister or The Mummy which utilize real flames or wind that you can feel the heat of, wouldn’t begin to describe the sorts of physical effects Mr. Woodbury hints at. We asked Mr. Woodbury about fire, smoke, steam, as examples of physical effects, and he very seriously stated that there would be “all those, more, more, and more on top of that.”

Once you step inside the castle where the ride itself is housed, you are welcomed by Dumbledore and soon acquainted with Harry, Ron and Hermione, who scheme to escape a particularly boring lecture of Professor Binns’ and ask you to meet them in the Room of Requirement. The ride begins in the Room of Requirement, and takes you to a Quidditch match, which features Ron, Harry and Draco (presumably all playing Quidditch at the same time). You witness Quidditch first-hand, from next to Harry, once again while the ride is utilizing never-before-existant technology to make the environment real.

Also mentioned about the ride journey itself is an encounter with Dementors, the Whomping Willow, and a ride on the Floo Network thanks to Hermione.

An important element of the attraction is the actual Que (that seems like will take anywhere between an hour to two and a half hours). During the que you will get to see most of the places where you dreamed about. More about the Que later on However, the queue for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Ride is so interactive that there is extra space in the queue to stay and watch a certain event happening in a particular part of the castle, as well as an opportunity to tour the castle without actually riding the ride.

You enter through the gates of Hogwarts with the winged boars (exact replicas of the movie) with Hogwarts Castle domineering above you. Looking up, you can see the towers and the bridge that make the movie images so beautiful. Entering the castle, the queue (and your journey) begins in the dungeons. Here there is a scary statue of the One-Eyed Witch and the Mirror of Erised, stowed away. You then travel upwards and outside, through the greenhouses of Hogwarts. After that you will join Dumbledore again in his office.

Now here comes the Future . Dumbledore will be a Hologram projected with lasers, Total Recall style. Dubledore looks and sounds REAL like he IS in the room with you.

Imminently after that you will arrive at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom , where the encounter with Harry and friend will occur. They offer to meet you in the Room of Requirement. It is a great introduction and leads you even further into the castle.

Next up is the portrait Gallery-A very tall room, on the walls is filled with portraits of the founding fathers of Hogwarts. The portraits actually move and skip between pictures. It is the same technology used with Professor Dumbledore. But it is absolutely astounding to watch. It is clever, and well-synced. It is J.K. Rowling’s books brought to life.

All of the chambers in the castle, whether you go through the express queue, the regular cue or are just looking around, are so richly detailed and accurately aged that it’s hard not to count as a ride in itself. Meeting the Fat Lady and getting to read the latest posts on the board of the Gryffindor Common Room are among the simple delights this castle has to offer.
After you journey through the Castle you enter the last chamber before the entry to the ride.

In this room there are Three portraits that explain about the ride, argue between themselves and kinda introduce you to the ride.
Prior to leaving, we saw the final character you meet before getting on the ride (in the Room of Requirement): The Sorting Hat. He speaks and gives one final warning about safety and physical conditions that may prevent the ride from being enjoyable.

After we exited the final chamber you will enter “Filches Emporium of Confiscated Goods” the merchandise in this shop should be breath taking widgets and tricks.

J.K. Rowling apparently was involved in every major decision as to how the ride and the Castle feel look smell etc.

This report, once again, is the first of three that will be released in conjunction with details that Universal wishes to share in a specific time-frame.

To sum this report up it does seem that “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey″ is one step ahead of any amjor attraction built and will be the standard years to come

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