Diagon Alley is a fictional shopping district in

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

's ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' franchise. The location first appeared in the 1997 novel ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who disco ...

''. It is featured in multiple video games, as well a 2001 board game. A real-world version the district was constructed at

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...

in 2014.

Background

Several places have been rumored to be the inspiration of Diagon Alley, including Gandy Street in

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York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, and Victoria Street in

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. J. K. Rowling has dispelled these rumors, stating, "I had no idea how many different streets were claiming to be 'the inspiration' for Diagon Alley, but this is the first time I’ve seen Knockturn Alley! Neither was based on any real place." Others, such as former head of marketing for York's tourist body Paul Whiting have stated the film producers went to York for inspiration.

Appearances

Diagon Alley was first featured in ''

''. It is also a location in video game adaptations such as '' Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery'', '' Harry Potter: Magic Awakened'', and '' Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4''.

The Lego Group Lego A/S, also known as the Lego Group, is a Danish construction toy production company based in Billund. It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking ABS plastic and rubber bricks. The Lego Group has also built severa ...

released a Diagon Alley themed

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

set in 2020 and another in 2025. A Diagon Alley board game was released in 2001.

Real-world adaptations

Several fan adaptions of Diagon Alley have been made. Some notable examples include a pop up Diagon Alley in Sykesville, Maryland, a Diagon Alley-themed Christmas display in

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, and a pop-up Diagon Alley in the

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. A rebuilt version of the original Diagon Alley set is currently in the Warner Bros. Leavesden Studio Tour.

Universal Studios Florida

A real-world version of Diagon Alley was unveiled at

in 2014. The attraction was estimated to cost Universal approximately 400 million dollars. In the week preceding the announcement of the attraction, ''

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'' was used to promote the ''Harry Potter'' franchise and Universal Resorts. After the release of Diagon Alley,

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

moved his show to Universal. Fallon brought Pitbull and

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as guest stars for the episodes filmed at Universal. The creation of Diagon Alley was achieved by dismantling a ''Jaws'' attraction. There are several restaurant and retail locations relating to the ''Harry Potter'' universe in Diagon Alley, alongside the Escape from Gringotts ride. There is also an adaptation of the

Hogwarts Express The Hogwarts Express is an broad gauge cable railway, people mover, and attraction within the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida, United States. The route runs between Hogsmeade station in the Islands of Adventure theme park and Kin ...

that takes people between

Hogsmeade The '' Wizarding World'' contains numerous settings for the events in the novels, films and other media of the ''Harry Potter'' and the ''Fantastic Beasts'' series. These locations are divided into four main categories: residences, education, ...

(which is in

Universal Islands of Adventure Universal Islands of Adventure, often shortened to Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, United States. It originally opened as Universal Studios Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, along with Universal CityWalk, ...

) and Diagon Alley.

Reception and legacy

Before the release of ''

Hogwarts Legacy ''Hogwarts Legacy'' is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label. It is part of the Wizarding World franchise, taking place a century prior to the ''Harry ...

'', some media outlets speculated that Diagon Alley could be a visitable place in the game, but considered it unlikely. After the release of the game, several advocated for the inclusion of Diagon Alley in any potential sequel.

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

ranked the 2025 Diagon Alley Lego set as the 11th best ''Harry Potter'' Lego set of all time. Patrick Cavanaugh, writing for ComicBook.com, criticized the size of the set but described the set as a "detailed and delightful display." Sophie Brown, writing for ''

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'', rated the Diagon Alley board game as a 4/5. Scott Reintgen described the first time Harry Potter goes to Diagon Alley in the film version of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as his favorite scene in the movie. Charlie Lyne, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', compared the same scene to "getting a massive nostalgia cuddle from your mind." The dragon at the end of Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florda has been described as noticeable. Bonnie Wright described Universal Studios Florda's Diagon Alley as "more detailed than on the set". Carly Caramanna, writing for ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'', praised the food and drink options at Universal Florda's Diagon Alley. Others praised the Escape from Gringotts ride.

References