Browse by Tags

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...

Between that basilisk in the basement, those pesky mountain trolls who wander in through open doors, not to mention the occasional dragon which slips its chain and then starts ripping up the roof of this famed castle, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has obviously previously had some problems...

sk anyone who's ever worked in themed entertainment about what the tougher job is: building a brand-new ride, show or attraction from the ground up OR finding a way to shoehorn a brand-new ride into a pre-existing show building. And to a man, they will tell you that the retrofit is always the tougher...

Just yesterday, Universal Orlando served up its five-millionth glass of Butterbeer. Which is quite an achievement. Given that -- prior to the June 2010 opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure -- this beverage only existed between the pages of J.K. Rowling...

So what's Christmas-time like in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter ? Given that holiday magic is kind of different from the sort of magic that they practice up at Hogwarts, Christmas in Hogsmeade is a somewhat understated affair. There's a wreath on the door at Zonko's and some garland...

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...

Earlier this week (Monday, to be exact), Bond from Upstate dropped a line to ask: Hi Jim, Long time fan... just wondering with "The Avengers" making a kajillion dollars and receiving near universal love, is Disney ready to go all in with a high profile Marvel area? With Universal Hollywood...

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...

Ben wrote in a while ago to ask: "What happened to those Unofficial Guide Disney Dish podcasts that you were doing with Len Testa ? I really enjoyed the first two recordings and thought that there were supposed to be more shows in this iTunes series. Didn't you also record walk-thrus of Disney's...

All over the US today, there are muddled Muggles wandering about. Devoted Harry Potter fans who just couldn't wait to see " Deathly Hallows - Part 2 ." Which is why - rather than opting to catch the very first show of this new Warners Bros. Pictures release on Friday morning - they decided...

In response to Wednesday's Entertainment Designer Forum article , JacksBack wrote in to say: Paper model of Wizard's Crag from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Signed by Ray Keim, this one-of-a-kind collectable will be just one of the items up for bid...

All around the world tonight, as children lay nestled, all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums dance in their heads ... Out in the living room, their parents will be quietly cursing as they attempt to assemble some overly complicated Christmas gift. If it's any consolation, while that...

With only 20 days now 'til Christmas, theme parks around the country are really getting serious about the holiday season. Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved At the Park that started it all, this past Friday, JHM's Shelly Valladolid got...