Where To Find 'Harry Potter Teens' Spring 2010
When the latest Harry Potter movie came out in theaters, Anastasia pointed to the number of devoted teen fans who turned up for the midnight screening. After nearly a dozen years, six films and seven books those 16 and 17 year olds (and many college students) have literally grown up with the Hogwarts School crew and the rich mythology of the wizarding world.
By now you’ve heard that in spring 2010 a new dimension will be added to the fantasy with the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park in Florida. Enthused murmurings were sparked last week by a video tour based on a conceptual map revealing re-creations of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley as well as three main attractions:
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a souped-up dark ride inside the Hogwarts castle that will depict famous scenes from the films; Dragon Challenge, a high-speed roller coaster based upon “Goblet of Fire’s” Triwizard Tournament; and Flight of the Hippogriff, a family coaster.
Looking at these images and hearing about the involvement of art directors from the film, it sounds like visually the world will match up as closely as possible to what fans have seen on screen. The same goes for the immersive experience offered within the recreated set pieces — in the New York Times (reg. required) piece on the park, a show producer mentions that visitors to the Olivanders wand shop will be chosen by their wand.
Still, while all of this sounds whimsical and incredibly high-concept, there’s a skeptical part of me that wonders how the logistic realities of an amusement park — long lines (especially with only 3 rides!), hiked up prices, mass produced Harry Potter merchandise everywhere — will put a damper on the fantasy. One of the most impressive qualities of the HP fanbase has always been the way they’ve personalized the franchise: maintaining online fan communities, holding their own Quidditch games, staging musicals, even wearing homemade “Hogwarts-style” costumes on opening night. It makes me wonder if and how the forces behind the park will embrace this strong tradition of ugc fandom booking Harry and the Potters for a gig or making a similar gesture.
Either way, I’m guessing it won’t stop droves of teenage and twentysomething fans from showing up along with families and adult fans. Fan site message boards are already full of plans to save money, buy plane tickets and convince parents to plan the family vacation NOW. For fans of all-ages who have lived and breathed Pottermania for more than a decade now, the chance to enter the Harry Potter universe will be a powerful motivator to visit… and stiff competition for the neighboring Disney World where plans for renovations also focus on interactivity, but are mainly limited to the tween-centric princess realm and characters who predate Harry Potter and friends by at least a decade.