Go Inside Hollywood’s Brand-New Harry Potter Theme Park

2 minute read

West Coast Muggles will be able to experience the magic of Harry Potter firsthand when a new Wizarding World park opens Thursday at Universal Studios Hollywood. The fictional village will feel familiar to fans who have seen the movies based on J.K. Rowling’s bestselling book series about the boy wizard.

Similar attractions exist at Universal Studios Florida, which opened Harry Potter’s Hogsmeade in 2010, and Diagon Alley in 2014. The Hollywood version includes a snowcapped village, a stationary Hogwarts Express and even an Owlery—unique to this location.

There’s also the famous Three Broomsticks restaurant and Hog’s Head pub, where visitors can get their hands on Butterbeer or original draught beers and spirits created exclusively for the park. Throughout the village, park goers can enjoy various shops that Harry himself visited in the books and movies, like Honeydukes and Ollivander’s Wand Shop.

The rides are similar to what’s in Orlando, like the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster and a Harry Potter. There’s also a new Forbidden Journey 3D-HD ride that uses Quidditch-inspired 3D goggles to immerse riders in a story with Harry and his cohort.

Rumors are circulating that the new ride is making people sick, but perhaps it’s just the Weasley twins playing a signature joke on park goers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hogwarts Castle at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, Calif.
Hogwarts Castle at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, Calif. David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, inside the Portrait Gallery in Hogwarts Castle.
Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, inside the Portrait Gallery in Hogwarts Castle.David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Dumbledore's office in Hogwarts Castle.
Dumbledore's office in Hogwarts Castle.David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Dragon skeleton in Hogwarts Castle.
Dragon skeleton in Hogwarts Castle.David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Dark Arts in Hogwarts Castle.
Dark Arts in Hogwarts Castle.David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Madam Puddifoot's.
Madam Puddifoot's.David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Hogsmeade Village.
Hogsmeade Village. David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Hogsmeade Village.
Hogsmeade Village. David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood, at Hogwarts Express.
David Sprague—Universal Studios Hollywood
Hogwarts Castle.
Hogwarts Castle.Nathaniel Chadwick—Universal Studios Hollywood

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com