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Ever since The Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened at Universal's Islands of Adventure back in June of 2010, thousands of people have entered Hogsmeade and -- after spotting that stationary version of the Hogwarts Express (which was parked at the entrance of this theme park land as a photo...

The Internet is really a wondrous place. Especially if you're a young person who's considering a career in animation. If you've ever considered becoming a character designer someday, you can always swing by Tom Bancroft 's Character Mentor Studio or Stephen Silver's blog and then...

It was a quiet, grey November day yesterday at Universal Studios Florida ... Photo by Jim Hill Which was kind of impressive unto itself. Given that the night before had been October 31st, Halloween, the very last night of operation for this year's edition of Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights...

Penn & Teller, Universal Orlando team up to create haunted house for Halloween Horror Nights In the nearly 40 years that they've been working together, Penn Jillette & Teller have accomplished a great many things. Thanks to their skillful blend of cynical showmanship & macabre magic,...

If you noticed some yellow & silver confetti drifting by yesterday ... Photo by Jim Hill ... Well, there was a good reason for that. " Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem " had its grand opening at Universal Studios Florida yesterday morning. Photo by Jim Hill And the Universal Orlando Resort...

It looks like Universal Orlando has really hit a hole-in-one with its new Hollywood Drive-In Golf complex. Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved Though the painters were still putting a few finishing touches on these two 18-hole courses while I "played through" at last night's...

When the very last member of the audience left the Blue Man Group theater back on January 22nd, that's literally when the work began. The crew at the Universal Orlando Resort had only two weeks to give this CityWalk venue a $5 million, hi-tech makeover and they weren't going to waste a moment...

There must have been a few confused tourists at Universal Orlando earlier today. Given the whales ... ... and polar bears that were parked right outside of the entrance of Universal Studios Florida this morning ... ... you have to wonder how many tourists thought (at least for a moment) that they had...

January used to be the start of the slow season at the stateside Disney Parks. How so? So slow that - immediately after New Year's Day -- Disneyland Park wouldn't even open on Mondays & Tuesdays. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Which -- as far as the maintenance crew...

Upstage: (verb) To divert attention or praise from; force out of the spotlight This wasn't how The Walt Disney Company envisioned 2012 starting out. After weeks of broadly hinting that the Mouse had something big in the works for Leap Year, Disney's PR department thought that Twitter & Facebook...

It's time to say "Good-bye" to " ... the mistake on the lake." Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved That's what the skippers who worked on "Jaws" used to affectionately call this Universal Studios Florida attraction. Which will be closing later today...

Hey, did I ever tell you my favorite grace-under-pressure story? It happened just recently. And not to me, thank God. But - rather - to poor Rupert Grint , the talented young actor who's played Ron Weasley in all of the "Harry Potter" movies to date. Photo by Jim Hill Now let me take a...

Four weeks from tonight, the Universal Orlando Resort will be premiering the 20th anniversary edition of Halloween Horror Nights . "And just what should we expect as HHN reaches this special headstone ... er ... milestone?," you ask. Well, to hear show director Mike Aiello talk, the 20th anniversary...

There have been lots of looky-loos lately over that Fantasyland Forest construction fence. Which has resulted in an equally large number of theories floating around online about what's currently going on with this $300 million project. Take - for example - all that soil that's been piled up towards...

By now, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the huge crowds that turned up on Friday . The line that stretched all the way back into CityWalk . Which was full of Harry Potter fans determined to be among the first to visit IOA ’s Wizarding World . Photo by Jim Hill Mind you, one of the main reasons that these...

Greetings from the Universal Orlando Resort . Where I’m now in my final day of covering the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter . Photo by Jim Hill It has been an absolutely amazing couple of days. And I’m heading back to New Hampshire tonight with all sorts of stories to share about...

It’s a problem that every theme park has faced at one time or another. As in: How to keep those turnstiles turning in the weeks & months just before a major new attraction opens. And in the case of the Universal Orlando Resort , there’s a very real fear among UOR managers that many Guests are now...

Denny P. dropped me a line on Saturday to ask: Did you see Jason Garcia’s story in the Sentinel yesterday about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter ? As a Disney fan, this sounds like complete hype to me. But what do you think? Is this Islands of Adventure addition really going to be a game changer for...

Go ahead. Admit it. At some point in your life, especially during this time of year, you’ve snuck around the house. Looked under the bed. Dug around in the back of the closet. Hoping that you’d then get a sneak peek at what you’d be getting for Christmas. Copyright 2009 Universal Orlando. All Rights...

How's this for a twist on social media? Universal Orlando has just set up a Facebook fan page for Halloween Horror Nights . Which is this seasonal USF event that typically features tons of performers who look as though they've just had their faces ripped off. If you can get past that grisly irony, then...