Everything You Should Know About The 2nd Harry Potter Park

#photooftheday

Yes. Harry Potter has two theme parks at the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. The first theme park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™- Hogsmeade, was officially opened in 2010. And the second one, Diagon Alley was opened four years later. For those who have already been to Universal Orlando Resort knows that it consists of two parks:

- Universal Studios Florida and

- Island of Adventure

And as confusing as it already is, each has one Harry Potter theme park. That's right. If you, Harry Potter fans, think you can just purchase a ticket for one of the Universal parks and visit both Harry Potter theme parks, you are out of luck!

But not to worry! This is where Travel Fontaneously guide comes in handy. I have been to both parks, and hopefully my insight will help you decide which one is worth going to if you are just here for a short visit.


In my recent visit, I stopped by the Diagon Alley (the new addition at Universal Studios Florida). In terms of the entrance to the Harry Potter parks, they might look very similar, but the two parks are very different in a few ways.

Let's start from outside of the entrance:

Diagon Alley has an iconic triple decker bus parked right across the entrance, where as the first park (Hogsmeade) has the iconic train (Let me elaborate on the train later).

Once you enter, you will see HP theme stores (above) selling merchandises, food & beverages. That's where one of the major difference between the two HP parks is. Diagon Alley is more catering toward HP merchandises -- especially the magic wands. A majority of the stores front has interactive window displays. With a "magic wand" (cost around US$40) purchase at the park, you can "cast spells" and move objects around and make them come to life. How do you "cast spells" you ask? Well, each of them has a little instruction plaque that shows you the wand movement in order to "move things around". Yes, just like the movie. So in summary, without the wand, one would ask themselves why they are even there.

Here comes the dragon, the mascot of Diagon Alley, where as the first park has the iconic castle. According to staffs from this park, the dragon breathes fire at random, so if you want to witness it, be sure to stay patient, because no one knows when the next fire is going to come. (haha)

Same dragon, different angle.

Now let's talk about the ride and what comes with it:

Here is the entrance of the ride. It looks a little distorted just like in reality (definitely not by my camera).

Here's the lobby where the loooong queue will be patiently waiting before their turn to get on the ride. Don't worry, the line moves pretty fast.

You will also see newspapers like this with interesting moving images on it, just like the movie.

After waiting patiently for your turn, you'll find yourself seating in one of those carts. The cart will then ride around in the dark with screens everywhere to recreate a 4D experience as seen in the movies. This is very similar to the ride in the first HP park. The only difference between the two rides is, you'll be seating on an individual chair instead, with your legs hanging in the first HP park, so the ride itself is more vivid because you'll be "flying around" the whole time. This is why I like the first park better. So if you are into rides and only planning to visit one park, the first park (Hogsmeade) is a must.

More from Diagon Alley:

The is also one of the "magic wand" experience.
Exhibit A: That kid is trying to figure out how to "cast a spell" to make the robot come to life.

No, that's just a decor. He won't listen to your magic wand unfortunately.

Just a display. (Not for sale)

Maybe I should just stick with candy and chocolate, which is more of my thing.

Remember I mentioned the dragon breathes fire at random? I got a lucky shot : )
The blasts last for a few seconds, so if you see it coming, you'll definitely have enough time to fire up your camera and take the shot.

See that sign "Leicester Square Station" on the left? That's the entrance of the HP park.

In summary, if you're a grown *s* adult like me and are into rides, Hogsmeade (aka the first park) is definitely a better option. If you're visiting with kids, this Diagon Alley with the magic wand experience, is definitely your go to choice. But of course, you can always pay a little extra and visit both parks if you're a die hard HP fan and have never been to neither of them. The two HP parks are also connected with a full scale working replica of the Hogwarts Express. The train itself also has interactive screens on the train "windows" which gives your a full HP train ride experience. However, only visitors with a "Park-to-Park Admission" ticket can access the train. 

Other rides worth mentioning:

If you find yourself lucky enough to have half day left after the Harry Potter experience, here are other rides that worth lining up for.

The Transformer ride is definitely one of my favourites. It's unique in its way, and you got to experience some intense robot actions during the ride.

This Simpson ride is one of the older rides, but the ride experience is still fascinating compare to the Harry Potter one. You will understand what I mean once you get to try it.

And of course I didn't forget about the Minions ride! If you love Minions, you won't ask why : )

That's it! Hope this will give you a better understanding of the Harry Potter theme parks in general!

Find more info about the Universal Orlando Resort ticket here. 

(Please note: All photos in this post are taken by me, except the ones with me in it, so please be respectful and do not use them without my consent. Thank you.)