Harry Potter fans rejoice! Construction of Hogwarts Castle is finally, officially underway at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure.
Though site prep continues in the “Lost Continent” section of that theme park …
Photo by Jeff Lange
… If you look to the right of those enormous gates next to “The Flying Unicorn” ‘s exit …
Photo by Jeff Lange
… you’ll see the first pieces of steel that were welded together last week as “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” finally entered the vertical phase of its construction.
Photo by Jeff Lange
According to Universal insiders, this bare framework is just the start. In the weeks and months ahead, literally thousands of pieces of metal will be hoisted up & then bolted into place. As a full-sized recreation of Harry Potter’s alma mater is built at the southwestern border of IOA’s “Jurassic Park” section.
Speaking of “Jurassic Park” … In order to give IOA visitors a smoother transition as they move from that portion of Islands of Adventure to “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” the folks from Universal Creative will be actually creeping in JP’s borders …
Photo by Jeff Lange
… so that there’ll then be a proper buffer zone between J.K. Rowling’s oh-so-English fantasy world and Michael Crichton’s dangerous dinosaurs-on-the-loose environment.
And as for Ms. Rowling … Over the past few weeks, some very interesting stories have begun filtering out about her dealings with Universal. To be specific, the IOA inspection tours that J.K. made before she finally agreed to award “Harry Potter” ‘s theme park rights to that corporation.
As I understand it, while it was reportedly the extensive detailing found in the “Lost Continent” ‘s Enchanted Oak Tavern that convinced Ms. Rowling that Universal Creative were the folks who could bring Hogsmeade to life …
… it was actually Seuss Landing that sealed the deal for J.K. Particularly the heroic effort that Universal put in to please Audrey Geisel AKA Dr. Seuss’ widow.
You see, for years various companies had attempted to acquire the theme park rights to Dr. Suess’ books & characters. But Audrey had repeatedly turned these offers down because … Well, Mrs. Geisel believed that none of these firms could ever do her husband’s drawings justice. They’d never be able to match Theodore’s wit and whimsy.
Copyright 1999 Universal Escape
But Universal wouldn’t take “No” for an answer. More to the point, every condition that Audrey set, they then agreed to meet. Every request that she made — be the placement of resturants & attractions right down to the color of individual street signs — was honored.
So when Mrs. Geisel said that she wanted to borrow a page from “The Sneetches and Other Stories” and actually have this land built around a North-going Zax and a South-going Zax …
Copyright 1999 Universal Escape
… That’s exactly what Universal did.
So when J.K. Rowling saw how hard Universal Creative had worked to make Audrey Geisel happy, she knew that these folks were the right people to translate the “Harry Potter” stories & characters into a theme park setting.
Mind you, that’s not to say that there weren’t a few bumps in the road before Rowling finally agreed to sign that contract. Like that time that Universal Security had to be told NOT to arrest the man who was climbing the hill behind IOA’s “Flying Unicorn” ride.
You see, that man was Stuart Craig. The three-time Academy Award winner who has designed all of the sets for the “Harry Potter” films. And Stuart was just climbing that hill to see if he could find the proper spot to build Hagrid’s cottage.
Speaking of which … “The Flying Unicorn” is expected to shut down sometime in September of this year. So that this IOA attraction can then be transformed into “The Flying Hippogriff.” More to the point, so that work can finally begin on Hagrid’s cottage.
Anyway … That’s the latest construction news on “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.” Your thoughts?