Toujours Pur (dot) Net

[Ginny Weasley]

I couldn't find a thread for this and I'm so shocked we don't already have one, lol. Anyways, I'm sure everyone has already heard about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which opens this Spring at Universal Orlando!

I am soooooo excited! Especially because a lot of new information has come out the past couple of days. In today's issue of USA Today there's an interactive map of the park and if you put it in front of your webcam it can like come to life or something, lol. The Leaky Cauldron also released a few interesting tidbits about the park today:

• The wand-choosing experience will last from 2-5 minutes per person, and the team is currently working on how to handle what are expected to be long wait times.
• The inside of the castle includes rooms built to full scale from the films - Dumbledore's office, the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Common room, and more
• The previous reports of wands interacting with the environment of the park have not yet been realized, but there's "a lot going on" in each area of the amusement
• "Every Harry Potter fan is going to be very critical of this [park]: we want to make sure that it's going to be absolutely fantastic and perfect."
• The Ollivander's shop will include every detail from the books possible, down to the tinkling bell, the single window, and the sign that hearkens the shop back to 382 b.c.
• Ollivander's in this "Hogsmeade" is, with permission from J.K. Rowling, an annex, a satellite shop of the main Ollivander's (which is in Diagon Alley in London; Hogsmeade is in Scotland). The wandkeeper will not be Mr. Ollivander. There will be only one in the shop at any given time.
• The wands have all been designed by Stuart Craig and approved by J.K. Rowling.
• The experience of having your wand choose you is free, though the wand costs money to buy. Pricing is to be determined.
• Customers may buy wands without doing the choosing.
• Questions will be asked of the customers, including birthdate and other factual details, to determine the appropriate wandwood based on the Celtic calendar (as frequently is done in the Harry Potter books).
• The wands are made out of 13 different types of wood.
• Children will be able to build their own wand
• When trying out your wands, there may be mishaps in the shop - flowers wilting, thunder and lightning in the store, etc. - when you use the wrong one.
• There are no current plans for "dark" areas of Hogsmeade, a la Nocturne Alley, but Coup said to "stay tuned for that."
• The presence of a Howler in the Owl Post shop window that will rant loudly as guests pass
• The Monster Book of Monsters will snarl and growl in Dervish and Banges
• The Hog's Head will be seen puffing his jowls at visitors who visit.
  

Everything about this makes me was to squee! I love how much detail they're putting into this (the bell in Olivanders!) and they're working so hard on making this entire experience perfect. This official picture of Hogwarts was released earlier this week and all I can say is wow, it looks amazing!

Are any of you planning on going when it opens this spring? I'm planning on going next summer when LeakyCon2011 is in Orlando!

[Cho Chang]

I am SO excited for this. I wonder if I could get a glance of the Hogwarts castle if I were to drive by, but I would probably not be able to see it :p I think the whole idea of choosing wands is just so amazing, probably one of the things I'm really psyched about. Oh, I have no idea when I'll be able to go or if I can go since I would need $$$, but I can't wait until even more pictures are released for the attraction.

[Ginny Weasley]

It was announced today that the WWOHP will open on June 18th! Leaky has toooonnns of cool information here and here!

The Forbidden Journey sounds so amazing. They even cast the Hogwarts founders! I really love that JKR played such a part in this and probably approved everything. And John Williams did the score for the attraction! I'm soooo excited! I won't be able to get there till next year but I hope you guys can go as soon as you can! Everything about it is going to be EPIC.

[Mrs. Norris]

meow.

[Ginny Weasley]

The grand opening of WWOHP is just under a month away! Which means that press has really picked up and people have been given special sneak peeks of the park, including some of the HP cast.

This review in particular is my favorite because it gives details on the different shops. Some of the cast was down at the park yesterday to take a walk through and film some promotional stuff:

Sampling Butterbeer
Outside the castle 1
Outside the castle 2
Emma in awe
At the Three Broomsticks
At the entrance
Walking through the park
Emma receiving her own wand

And there's some video now!! Video 2

[Lavender Brown]

So, though we know the park doesn't open until June 18th, this story on Mugglenet explains how some people who ordered holiday packages for between May 28th and June 18th, when it made it seem that it would be open from May 28th, have been allowed into the park for a couple of hours in the morning! This is so exciting that some normal people are beginning to be allowed in, and it also means we have a lot more photos and videos to get a glimpse of what it looks like. It really has surpassed my expectations, and it really is looking fantastic - I hope I get a chance to go some time soon!!

[spellbook]

My friend went for employee preview the other night and sent me a bunch of stuff, including Pumpkin Juice! This sounds so amazing. He said it lived up to the hype. The ride wasn't open, but he said they ere able to go through the queue line and it was perfect. The pictures on the walls move . ;] From the pics he sent, it looks like everything we want it to be. =D Oh, and you can get Butterbeer frozen or hot. Apparently hot tastes pretty baddddd...

[Ginny Weasley]

Now that some people are being allowed into the park we have tons of pictures and videos! Check out THIS LINK for a bunch of videos and pictures throughout the park. I haven't finished watching them but I can't get over how my DETAIL and THOUGHT that was put into this. It all looks so perfect! And Flight of the Hippogriff looks exactly like my type of ride LOL

[Severus Snape]

Cinematical.com just put out a review of the theme park (well, by just, I mean two or so nights ago) and I just thought I'd link it for everyone to read it. It's got a few spoilers, though, so if you don't want to be spoiled before you go to the park, don't read.

A Closer Look at TWWOHP

[Lavender Brown]

This was a great article! I skipped past the review of The Forbidden Journey just because it sounds like something that would work better as a surprise, but it was great to read someone's detailed opinion on it! I loved the idea they had of expanding the park to include a Men In Black/Toy Story style ride with wands, as it would work so so well, and it's one of my favourite type of attractions! Something that's really coming out in all of these articles is the detail that they've put in it, and I can't wait to be immersed in the world and experience it for myself.