Costco Connection - August 2010

travel connection

PLACES TO GO.
PRICES YOU’LL LOVE.

Orlando vacation packages
– INCLUDING –
Universal Orlando® Resort
ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT COSTCO TRAVEL.
FOR DETAILS, VISIT COSTCO.COM.

Harry’s world comes alive in Orlando

EXPERIENCE A
UNIVERSE OF MAGIC
AND EXCITEMENT!

By Kristen Manieri

UNTIL RECEN TLY, the seven magical stories that have chronicled the triumphs and troubles of a humble boy wizard known as Harry Potter have existed only on page and screen.

But on June 18, fans stepped inside Harry’s enchanted existence as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter flung open its gates at Universal Orlando Resort, in Orlando, Florida. Joining thousands of other Muggles, I thoroughly absorbed every inch of this painstakingly accurate 20-acre sorcerous space, from frosty mugs of butterbeer to the Hogwarts Express parked at the entrance to the snowcapped roofs of Hogsmeade village, which includes such beloved locales as Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks and Ollivanders wand shop. Towering over it all is the majestic Hogwarts Castle.

The Wizarding World offers three rides, the most compelling of which is at Hogwarts: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. To reach it, I made my way through Hogwarts, looping through the lamp-lit corridors and devouring hundreds of details, such as the

The Costco Connection Costco Travel announces new Orlando vacation packages including Universal Orlando Theme Park tickets. For details, visit the “Travel” section of Costco.com or call 1-877-849-2730.

Sorting Hat and the Fat Lady who guards Gryffindor’s common room.

The Forbidden Journey is a knock-your-socks-off experience. From my magical bench, I was whisked into a free-flight frenzy that had me speeding inside and outside Hogwarts alongside Harry Potter himself. I chased the Golden Snitch in a Quidditch match, narrowly escaped the chilly grasp of a Dementor and barely missed a close-call collision with a dragon that bathed me in its hot, steamy breath. Using ultra-secret and groundbreaking movement and visual technology, this ride delivers an experience rumored to be unmatched in the theme-park industry thus far.

The word that best describes the Wizarding
World is “immersive,” which was precisely the
intention of Thierry Coup, the park’s designer
and vice president of creative development. “In
order to take you into this world and ensure
that you’re completely plunged, it was essential
that, no matter where you looked, there would
be nothing to distract you or take you away
from being inside the story,” he tells The
Connection. “Nothing was left untouched or
unfinished; every inch was completed and true
to the visuals from the films.”
Coup admits that pleasing an incredibly
dedicated fan base was the ultimate pressure.
But after nearly five years of creation and con-
struction, numerous visits to Scotland to con-
sult and collaborate with Harry Potter author
J.K. Rowling, and a rumored price tag of more
than $200 million, the result is something that
has impressed fans beyond their wildest expec-
tations, including me. I can’t wait to return,
even for just another sip of butterbeer. C

HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR.
(s10)
THE SIMPSONS RIDE TM Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The Simpsons TM & © 2010 Twentieth Century
Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Shrek 4-D TM & © 2010 Dream Works Animation L. L. C. Marvel Super
Hero character names and likenesses: TM & © 2010 Marvel © 2010 Universal Studios. Universal elements and all
related indicia TM & © 2010 Universal Studios. © 2010 Universal Orlando. All rights reserved. 245891/0510/AW

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