The Wizarding World Hollywood Opens Officially

April 7, 2016, 7:16 AM · Universal Studios Hollywood this morning officially opened its Wizarding World of Harry Potter to thousands of enthusiastic Potter fans.

Park president Larry Kurzweil brought Harry Potter film stars Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Evanna Lynch, James Phelps, and Oliver Phelps to the Hogsmeade gate to help open the land, which was revealed after hundreds of fans at the gate cast a "Revelio" charm.

Some fans camped overnight at the park to be among the first in line to experience the centerpiece of Universal Studios Hollywood's billion-dollar expansion plan. Universal Studios Hollywood's Wizarding World follows two successful Harry Potter-themed lands at the Universal Orlando Resort, and one at Universal Studios Japan, which has propelled Universal's most popular theme park to record attendance.

About two thousand fans appeared to be in the park for the land's 6:30am opening, far fewer than tens of thousands who crammed Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park for the opening of the original Wizarding World in June 2010. But Universal opened the Hollywood version at the crack of dawn on a Thursday during the school year, instead of at the height of the summer season. Nevertheless, the park announced that it had sold out all available advance-sale tickets for the day. Universal recently introduced a new ticketing system that ties advance sale tickets to a specific date of use, with varying discounts based upon the planned date of visit, in part to better distribute the large crowds that the Wizarding World is expected to attract to the park, which has posted strong attendance gains in recent years anyway.

The official opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on April 7, 2016

The Wizarding World in Hollywood began "technical rehearsals" in February, allowing thousands of fans the opportunity to experience the land in advance of the official opening. Please see our previous coverage for more about Universal Studios Hollywood's Wizarding World of Harry Potter:

Replies (6)

April 7, 2016 at 9:23 AM · Here's another look at fans walking into the land:

Universal swiftly activated its timed-ticket system for Wizarding World entry. When I left, shortly before 8am, visitors were getting return times about two hours after requesting a ticket. And once inside the land, the wait for Forbidden Journey was three hours.

April 7, 2016 at 10:31 AM · The "Revelio" charm was charming! I'm so proud of Universal and their amazing advances in theme entertainment around the world. I wasn't in a hurry to get to USH for WWOHP, but now I want to go! Mostly to see the looks on faces of first time muggles visiting this magical place. It may prove a bit of a shock to many, many Disneyland snobs...bless their hearts.
April 7, 2016 at 12:07 PM · Can't wait for Walking Dead attraction. The 3 hour wait is like that.
April 7, 2016 at 5:48 PM · By 4pm, afternoon rain had cleared the park somewhat. Return time tickets were available for pretty much an immediate return, and the FJ wait was down to about 30 minutes. Clearly, Southern Californians love British magical villages... but not in anything like British weather.
April 9, 2016 at 7:20 AM · Glad to hear WWOHP's doing well on the West Coast. Now all that's left is to see if whether or not they're gonna try and do Diagon Alley.
April 13, 2016 at 10:10 AM · I cannot wait to see WWHP at USH. I have found that I'm not the only one who hasn't been to USH since an elementary school field trip. It sounds crazy, but living in Orange County, it's a lot easier to go to Disneyland. That being said - all of us who haven't been to USH in 20-30 years, now cannot wait to go. I've been an AP holder for several years at DL but I've grown tired of the endless refurbs and now the SW Land construction aka #dirtwatch. I feel like I'm paying more than ever and getting less. It will be refreshing to ride new attractions and see new sights. Revelio!

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