Harry Potter Theme Park Now Open!

It’s been eight years in the making but the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (at Universal Orlando) is now officially open! This twenty-acre expansion to the Universal Theme park has been a tightly guarded secret for much time now with it’s NBC co-owner dolling out snippets of park details on exclusive segments of the Today Show and The Apprentice. Two weeks ago they devoted thirty minutes of their primetime lineup to a behind-the-scenes exclusive and managed to reveal little more than what you could see in a sixty second commercial spot.  Still fans rallied to get a first glimpse at all the park had to offer and despite the minor chaos, first reviews report that it was worth the wait.

So what does the Wizarding World of Harry Potter have to offer? Everything a wizard (and muggle) could hope for.  From exclusive holly-and-phoenix-feather wands straight from Ollivander’s to a pint of butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks Pub (completely non-alcoholic and kid-friendly of course), readers can become completely immersed in one of our all time favorite fictional worlds.

According to an article published in the New York Times on Friday June 18, 2010, the senior executives at Universal are thrilled with the response (and should be grinning from ear-to-ear). Alice Norsworthy, Universal Orlando’s executive vice president for marketing, has already declared that Wizarding World — even before opening — had “established itself as the most spectacular themed environment in the world.” Not having experienced in person myself, I can’t whole-heartedly agree with that statement. But what I can predict that this is going to become a major tourist must-see for U.S. and international vacationers alike.

So you tell us? How likely are you to shell out some cold hard cash to become a wizard for a day?