Preview: Keeping the Crowd Spell-Bound

The new wizard haunt in Universal City could change the theme park business, especially for many San Fernando Valley-area companies that design and build attractions. In two weeks, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will open at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, built on a space that for years had been the Gibson Amphitheatre. Wizarding World will feature the 3-D thrill ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and the park’s first outdoor roller coaster, Flight of the Hippogriff. Beneath Hogwarts Castle, visitors will be to walk the streets of Hogsmeade, lined with retail shops and restaurants as well as carts selling items based on the popular book and film series. While not the first Wizarding World to open – that honor belongs to the attraction opened in 2010 at Universal Studios Florida – the L.A. version builds on the expertise Universal Parks & Resorts, the studio’s theme park division, gained from that experience. But the opening has caught the attention of local professionals working in the themed attractions space. Read the full story in the March 21 issue of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.