Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley is now opened!

Above: Fans embrace at the opening of the WWoHP – Diagon Alley yesterday

After years of waiting, countless reports and concept renderings, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley finally opened its doors to the public Tuesday, July 8.

The full press release:

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES… 
THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER – DIAGON ALLEY NOW OPEN
AT UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT

The Most Spectacularly-Themed, Highly-Anticipated Theme Park Experience of the Year Rolls Out
the Red Carpet to Officially Welcome its First Guests

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 8, 2014) – It’s the day millions of people around the world have been waiting for…

This morning, Universal Orlando Resort officially opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida.   Confetti, fireworks and a red carpet lined with dozens of cheering Diagon Alley team members welcomed thousands of excited guests as they entered the all-new spectacularly-themed land for the very first time.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley brings even more of Harry Potter’s adventures to life at Universal Orlando Resort.   This fully-immersive area expands upon the global phenomenon launched by Universal Orlando when it opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure in 2010.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley is filled with incredible entertainment experiences for the whole family.  You arrive aboard the Hogwarts Express, which takes guests on a journey between the two lands of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and are transported into a spectacularly themed environment. The new area includes incredible shops with windows full of magical surprises, authentic food and beverages, a towering dragon that breathes fire and Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, a new attraction unlike any other that takes you on a mind-blowing ride through the Gringotts vaults – pulling you into an incredible adventure.

More details about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley and available vacation packages can be found atwww.UniversalOrlando.com/wizardingworld.

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Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley opening July 8

After months of speculation, Universal Orlando finally announced today that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley will be opening July 8, 2014!

The announcement was made on the Today Show during Universal’s media preview of the park. Tonight, the red carpet opening will be streamed live on the web, beginning at 8pm.

The following promotional video was also released today, and is the first to be sent out with the opening date.

In addition the promotional video and the announcement, Universal released a ton of new high-res images of the park, which you can see and download here.

Since most of us thought the park would open this month, are you surprised that it is opening in July? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Universal Orlando announces Wizarding World Expansion, opening in 2014

Concept art for the expansion was also released. Click for high-res.

Today, after months of speculation and rumors, Universal Orlando Resort finally confirmed and announced plans of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion.

According to the press release, the expanded area will open in 2014 and will include Diagon Alley and a London-themed area and will be located in Universal Studios Florida theme park, a separate park from where the current Wizarding World stands. It will officially be known as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.

More from the press release:

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Building on the global phenomenon that is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando Resort and Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced an expansion of historic proportion with the entirely new themed environment, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.

Scheduled to open in 2014, the world’s first centrally themed, multi-park experience expands The Wizarding World of Harry Potter across both Universal Orlando theme parks and allows Universal’s creative team to bring an unparalleled vision to this unique project.  The new area will bring to life some of the experiences and places found in and around London in the Harry Potter books and films, offering brand-new adventures for fans and theme park guests from around the world.

Diagon Alley and ‘London’ will be located within the Universal Studios Florida theme park, which is adjacent to Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, where guests now experience Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.  The new area within Universal Studios will be just as expansive, immersive and authentic as the existing themed environment.

And – just like in the books and films – guests will be able to travel between ‘London’ and Hogsmeade aboard the Hogwarts Express.

Work on the new area is already underway.  When complete, it will feature shops, a restaurant and an innovative, marquee attraction based on Gringotts bank – all directly inspired by the fiction and films.

More details on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley will be released over time.

To bring Diagon Alley and ‘London’ to life, Universal’s creative team is working closely with Warner Bros. and the production design team from the Harry Potter films – just as it did for Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

“I’m so pleased that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has proved so popular to date, and I’m sure that the attention to detail in creating the new Diagon Alley area will make this an even better experience,” said J.K. Rowling.

“We are continuing the journey and adding an entirely new level of adventure,” said Tom Williams, Chairman of Universal Parks & Resorts.  “And we are bringing the same drive, commitment, enthusiasm and innovation to this project as we did to the first.”

“We are thrilled to offer the legions of fans the opportunity to embark on this new journey and experience Diagon Alley as it was brought to life in the books and films,” said Brad Globe, president, Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

“Our vision is to create two amazing theme park experiences that combine into one, complete, magical journey,” said Alice Norsworthy, executive vice president, marketing and sales for Universal Orlando Resort.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade opened at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in June 2010 as a fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment – bringing to life the bestselling books by J.K. Rowling and the blockbuster feature films from Warner Bros.  Since that time, it has become a global phenomenon, entertaining millions of people from around the world.

Visitors to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter are swept into the adventures of Harry Potter.  They can tour Hogwarts castle, shop in Hogsmeade and dine at the Three Broomsticks.  They can soar above Hogwarts with Harry, be chosen by a wand at Ollivanders, sample Butterbeer and much more.