ORLANDO, Fla.,None — After years of hype, the day Harry Potter fans across the world had been waiting for arrived when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened to visitors at Universal Orlando on June 18, 2010.
HARRY GREETS FANS! Video | Images AERIALS OF OPENING: Raw Video | See Images WHAT'S THE COST? The Real Cost Of Attraction GRAND OPENING: Fans Enjoy Wizarding World POTTER FANS WAITING: Raw Video | See Images VIDEO REPORT: Harry Potter Attraction Opens SHARE: Upload Your Photos/Videos From Park INSIDE WIZARDING WORLD: WFTV Takes Tour
Long lines of crazed Harry Potter fans from all over the world rushed into Universal Orlando to be among the first to enter The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The attraction opened around 9:30am, but thousands of fans arrived way before that; many fans even camped out along I-4 overnight.
Potteropens061810-21 Potteropens061810-21 AERIALS OF OPENING: Video | Pics POTTER FANS WAITING: Video | Pics Skywitness 9 HD flew over Universal Studios just as the park was opening and there were long lines of excited fans. Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder said the park does not divulge attendance figures, but he said 5,000 people were waiting to get in before the park even opened Friday morning.
Schroder said that despite the large numbers of fans, "it looks as if we will be able to accommodate everyone who wants to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter within our regular hours." The park normally closes at 10:00pm.
But that wasn't the case. Several Universal guests called the WFTV newsroom Friday night, complaining that the park wasn't prepared to handle the enormous number of people who showed up. Universal officials said they were able to get everyone still in line two hours before closing into the park.
Universal refused to release any information about the number of people who were waiting outside at one time or were inside the park.
The attraction is being called the biggest thing to hit Central Florida in years, and Friday, people from all over the world, who have waited years for this day, poured into Orlando.
The park was admitting guests to the 20-acre Wizarding World area in waves, so it did not appear overcrowded from the inside. But the line to enter the Wizarding World snaked all the way through Universal's Islands of Adventure park, where the Harry Potter area is located, to the Universal entrance at City Walk, according to Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com.
"It's absolutely jampacked," said Niles in a phone interview. "The entire Islands of Adventure theme park and City Walk are just one long queue to get into Harry Potter. The number of people here for this is clearly in the tens of thousands. These are passionate fans."
Raw Potter With Fans 11 Raw Potter With Fans 11 HARRY GREETS FANS! Video | Images POTTER OPENS! Fans Enjoy Wizarding World The people WFTV talked to Friday said it was well worth the wait.
"Was it everything you thought it would be and more?" WFTV reporter Daralene Jones asked a visitor.
"Oh, totally it's like nothing you could have ever done in your life! No words, it's awesome!" she replied. "I think it was actually seeing the cast actually involved in it."
It's an attraction that fans are saying is so realistic they feel like they are on the Harry Potter movie set.
Around 9:30am, Daniel Radcliffe (who plays Harry Potter), along with the rest of the movie cast, performed a little magic and pulled the curtain, opening the entrance of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to thousands of fans. Radcliffe was joined at the opening by Warwick Davis (who plays Filius Flitwick), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore).
"What Universal Orlando has done with Harry Potter is really, really fantastic," Radcliffe said at the opening ceremony. "We're all kind of very grateful that the next part of the Harry Potter legacy has been so well-done and so well-made."
Some of those fans had waited overnight, even a few days, to be the first inside. WFTV followed two groups inside, one local and one who flew from Massachusetts to be there for the grand opening. WFTV reporter Daralene Jones waited in line with them to enter Hogwart's castle and, surprisingly, it was only about a ten-minute wait.
Harry Potter Grand Opening - Universal Press Photo - BLURB - 061710 GO INSIDE: WFTV Takes Tour POTTER VIP EVENT: Raw Video | Images POTTER PLANE: Pics Of AirTran's Plane FORBIDDEN JOURNEY: Details | Peek VIRTUAL TOUR: Images | Watch Video One lucky visitor even got to hop on one of the rides with Daniel Radcilffe, the man who plays Harry Potter.
The lines were long even for butter beer. Some visitors were waiting 30 minutes to try the tasty treat.
Inside Hogwarts Castle, the fictional school where Harry Potter and his magician friends go to school, there is magic everywhere. Besides butter beer and pumpkin juice, Hogwarts Express gives you the illusion that you are flying.
The park's marquee ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, is filled with special effects as it takes guests on a flight through Harry's life, including encounters with Dementors and a dragon, and projections of characters from the film like Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts.
"The Forbidden Journey is really a new master in theme park history. It's breaking new ground as far as ride experience," said Thierry Coup, Harry Potter designer.
The park also has two roller coasters, Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge, as well as themed stores like Honeydukes confectionary and Ollivander's Wand Shop.
It is also expected to give Universal a boost in attendance. Last year, Islands of Adventure was ranked 16th in the world, with just over four million visitors. The powerhouse of theme parks, Disney World, still has the number one park in the world with its Magic Kingdom.
"The castle is quite bigger than the Disney one, which is quite cool," said Rupert Grint, actor who plays Ronald Weasley in the Harry Potter movie series.
Harry Potter Actor Radcliffe At universal BLURBY 061710 ACTOR INTERVIEWS: Potter | Weasley Even Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself, believes what you get at the attraction is better than the movies.
"We went inside, all got our wands. It's just fantastic," Radcliffe said.
Some say the addition to Universal Orlando has the potential to be as big as the Magic Kingdom was when it opened at Disney World 40 years ago. However, Magic Kingdom still ranks number one in the world with 17 million visitors last year. Islands of Adventure had just over four million guests during the same time period.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau is already anticipating a 1.7 percent jump in tourists this year, partly due to the hype over Harry Potter.
Universal will not say how many visitors it expects Friday, but Gilmore said officials anticipate the park will break a single-day attendance record.
Admission to Wizarding World is included with ticket for Islands of Adventure. Online: Adults, $79, ages 3-9, $69 (find out the real cost). Gate price is $10 higher. See website for packages including lodging. Islands of Adventure is open daily 9 a.m.-10 p.m. through Aug. 14. Check calendar for closing times later in the summer.
Previous Stories: June 17, 2010: Pottertastic! Go Inside The Wizarding World With WFTV June 16, 2010: Harry Potter Plane Takes Flight