The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies w ...

theme park near Los Angeles. The area is themed to the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at ...

'' media franchise, adapting elements from the

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

and novels by

J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

. The attraction—the second ''Harry Potter''-themed area to exist at a Universal resort—was designed by

Universal Creative Universal Creative designs and creates themed attractions, rides, and resorts, for Universal Parks & Resorts. Its divisions include master planning, creative development, design, engineering, project management, and research and development. The ...

from an exclusive

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

with

Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. After the successful debut of a similarly themed area at

Universal Orlando Resort Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply Universal, formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Pa ...

Universal Parks & Resorts Universal Parks & Resorts, also known as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme par ...

announced the construction of a second Wizarding World of Harry Potter on December 6, 2011. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood officially began operation on April 7, 2016. This attraction suspended operations on March 14, 2020 on grounds of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Background

Previous Universal ''Harry Potter'' attractions

A ''Harry Potter'' themed attraction at a Universal Studios park or a Disney park was rumored in 2003. However, the rights to the Harry Potter franchise had been acquired by Warner Bros., which denied all rumors. In January 2007,

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reported a rumor from a "highly credible source" that the

Universal's Islands of Adventure Universal's Islands of Adventure (also known as Islands of Adventure or IOA), originally called Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an ...

park's

Lost Continent Lost lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during pre-history, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. Legends of lost lands often originated as scholarly or scientific theor ...

area at

was going to be re-themed "to the stories and characters of one of the most popular children's franchises". Other sources followed up in the next few days with unofficial confirmation that the new area would involve ''Harry Potter''. On May 31, 2007, Universal, in partnership with Warner Bros., officially announced that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would be added to Islands of Adventure. After a -year construction period, the area officially opened to the public on June 18, 2010. This resulted in attendance at the park jumping approximately 50% in its first year of operation. On July 8, 2014, Universal opened an expansion to the Wizarding World at

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...

, Diagon Alley, which was placed in the former Amity Island area of the park. This expansion also included the new ride experience: The Hogwarts Express, in which a train travels between the two Universal Florida Parks, from the Hogsmeade area to Kings Cross Station (right outside of the entrance to Diagon Alley). A week later, on July 15, 2014, Universal opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Japan. Hogwarts Under Construction

Rumors and official announcement

On December 1, 2011, the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' reported a rumor from "people familiar with the matter" that

was going to add its version of Islands of Adventure's Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The report also detailed the possibility that

would open additional Harry Potter-themed areas at

Universal Studios Singapore Universal Studios Singapore (abbreviation: USS) is a theme park located within the Resorts World Sentosa at Sentosa, Singapore. It features 28 rides, shows, and attractions in seven themed zones. It is one of the six Universal Studios theme ...

and

Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of ...

as well as a location in Spain. This report was widely relayed by other media sources. On December 6, 2011, Universal Studios Hollywood announced the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal Parks & Resorts executives Tom Williams and Ron Meyer were accompanied by Warner Bros. executives, the

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

as well as

James and Oliver Phelps James Andrew Eric Phelps and Oliver Martyn John Phelps (born 25 February 1986) are English actors and identical twin brothers. They are known for playing Fred and George Weasley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series from 2001 to 2011 and hav ...

who played the

Weasley twins Fred and George Weasley are fictional characters in the ''Harry Potter'' book series written by J. K. Rowling. The characters are the identical twin brothers of the Weasley family, making them the older brothers to Ron and Ginny and friends ...

in the films. The announcement came with very few details of what would be built, however, it did confirm that the

Gibson Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a production of ''Jesus Christ ...

would be demolished and a re-creation of

Hogwarts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry () is a fictional Scotland, Scottish boarding school of Magic in Harry Potter, magic for students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the first six books in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Pot ...

and

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a motion-based dark ride located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-themed areas of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida; Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California; Universal S ...

would be constructed. The last show at the Gibson Amphitheatre was held on September 6, 2013, prior to its closure and subsequent demolition. On April 23, 2013,

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primar ...

made the final step by receiving a unanimous vote in approval of the 25-year expansion by the county Board of Supervisors. This $1.6 billion expansion is expected to greatly boost tourism and the local entertainment industry. It will also create 30,000 jobs during the time of construction. On December 8, 2015, it was announced that the park will open on April 7, 2016. The announcement featured actress

Evanna Lynch Evanna Patricia Lynch (born 16 August 1991) is an Irish actress and activist. She is best known for portraying Luna Lovegood in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. Born in County Louth, Ireland, Lynch made her film debut in ''Harry Potter and t ...

, who played Luna Lovegood in the ''Harry Potter'' films. However, the soft opening was on March 31, 2016.

Attractions

Similar to the Wizarding World in Japan, this one never featured the

Dragon Challenge Dragon Challenge (known as Dueling Dragons from 1999 to 2010) was a pair of intertwined, inverted roller coasters in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. The ri ...

coaster like Islands of Adventure once had, but does include

and Flight of the Hippogriff, along with Ollivander's Wand Shop Show, and the Frog Choir and Triwizard Spirit Rally. Wands purchased from Ollivander's Wand Shop can be used to do "magic", using sensors that track down the wands. While performing different "spells" from the Harry Potter universe, fans can produce different reactions, such as unlocking a cabinet, opening a box of candy (Chocolate Frogs), and forcing a ruler to lower itself. The table below show the different attractions across the park.

Dining and shopping

* The Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head Pub *Ollivander's Wand Shop *Owl Post *Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment *Gladrags Wizardwear *Dervish and Banges *Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods *Honeydukes *Zonko's

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios Hollywood Harry Potter in amusement parks Licensed-properties at Universal Parks & Resorts 2016 establishments in California