Wondrous, brilliant, out-of-this-world and, as Robbie Coltrane described the new Harry Potter park, “amazingly cool”, Diagon Alley, which has doubled the size of Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, opens on July 8.
And with a touch of magic around every corner, it has to be seen to be believed. The muggles from YourHols got a preview and here we bring you the Top 10 best things…
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts: The signature ride. A cross between a rollercoaster and a state-of-the-art 3D extravaganza. After being taken down in a lift, you race through a labyrinth of vaults – launched, dropped, shaken, twisted and turned as you encounter the wrath of Voldemort and a few scary surprises.
Hogwarts Express: The 168-seater steam train runs on a line linking the original Potter park Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. You’ll need a Universal two-park ticket to ride it. It whisks you through the Scottish and English countryside into a lookalike King’s Cross station and London streets. On the way you see Hagrid and Fred and George Weasley through the windows. And the shadowy figures of Harry, Ron and Hermione walk outside you compartment door. The muggle is YourHols’ Trisha.
Platform 9 3/4: Here’s where you can walk through the platform wall just like Harry. King’s Cross station, with its piles of luggage, is a replica of the real one in London (apart from the trains run on time), as is the Statue of Eros outside.
Red telephone box: Get the right number – OK, it’s 62442 or (M-A-G-I-C) – and you will receive a special message from the Ministry of Magic. It will be a case of how many people can you fit in a phone box! In Grimmauld Place, see the Knight Bus and have a chat with the conductor, if only to hear his dodgy Cockney accent. Look out for Kreacher the house elf peering through the windows of Sirius Black’s house.
Gringotts Bank: A 60ft fire-breathing dragon sits on top of the building. Inside, where you enter Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, 10 moving, talking goblins sit at their desks. Yes, the goblin on the left is our very own James! Look above to see 26,000 crystals in the main chandelier.
Gringotts Exhange: Here’s where you can change your muggle money for magic money. Hand over $10 or $20 notes and get magic money in return to spend in the park. As you might expect, there’s plenty of new and old Potter merchandise to buy.
Ollivanders: The wand shop where you can buy interactive wands, which come with a map. Find the brass plaques featuring a wand movement around the park, wave your wand and watch as you become a wizard – lights turn on, water flows, quills float into the air! Shout “Incendio” and a bird grows giant feet.
Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour: Hogsmeade introduced Butterbeer but Diagon Alley has gone one better with Butterbeer ice-cream for £3 a tub. New drinks include Tongue Tying Lemon Squash and Fishy Green Ale.
Leaky Cauldron: The main restaurant in Diagon Alley where you can tuck into English fare including fish and chips, bangers and mash and wash it down with Butterbeer.
Knockturn Alley: It’s scary in the daytime and even scarier at night. Spells make a bird burst and a skeleton imitate your movements while talking heads chat away. Borgin and Burkes is a dark magic shop with Death Eater masks and skulls and Voldemort pet snakes.
And the stars, including Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick), turned out in force for the preview night…
Want to go: Virgin Holidays offers seven nights room-only at the 3V Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, from Gatwick on November 17, from £599 per person, based on two adults and two children sharing. Includes car hire. Two-park bonus ticket giving 14 days unlimited access to both Universal parks costs £125 per adult, £115 per child. See www.virginholidays.co.uk or call 0844 557 3859.
For more information see www.UniversalOrlando.co.uk
