Accio Theme Park!

Laura Cafasso

Harry Potter fans rejoice! Grab your book collections, fake wands and brooms! NBC Universial and Warner Brothers announced that “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” will open a new location at Universial Studios in Hollywood, as reported by Reuters.

This comes from the major success of the first theme park fashioned after the biggest movie franchises and book series of all time in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida that was built in 2010. But, all you eager fans will have to wait three to four years, the estimated time frame it will take to build this new attraction. Also, it is reported it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars but effectively offer over a 1,000 jobs.

Officials said to Reuters that the park’s vocal point will be the Hogwarts Castle, with surrounding roller coasters and other settings of Harry Potter’s world. But there is no certainity if the park would have the same rides as Orlando’s. “Dragon’s Challenge” rollercoaster in Orlando as well as the Hogwarts Train brought 7 million visitors and 1.5 billion dollars in revenue, so there is considerable hope and expectation that the new theme park will live up to the hype.

The chairman of Warner Brothers Barry Meyer told Reuters, “Everyone involved with these projects is committed to continuing the enchantment of J.K. Rowling’s masterful books as they were brought to life on screen in our eight films and dedicated to extending the magic of the experience for generations of fans to come.”

Also in the realm of theme parks for the future is an “Avatar” theme park to be up and running by 2013 in Orlando.