Construction Update from Universal Orlando’s New Hogsmeade Attraction!
Jan 01, 2019
BigNews, Fandom, Fans, Films, Fun, News, Theme Park, WIzarding World of Harry Potter Orlando
A few weeks ago, Attraction magazine gifted fans with an early Christmas present in the form of photo updates of the Hogsmeade construction site at Universal Studios Resort in Orlando. Leaky has spilled a lot of proverbial ink over the last year speculating about the upcoming attraction, for which the theme continues to remain unclear. However, the latest images do reveal some incredibly exciting new details!
It now looks as though we can identify the vehicle transporting park visitors around the intricate track–and from the outline clearly scene below, it seems to be a train of motorbikes and sidecars similar to the enchanted bike flown by Hagrid both when he delivered baby Harry to the Dursley’s doorstep on Privet Drive and when he escaped, with Harry alongside, during the Battle of the Seven Potters.
It would be nothing short of magical to dive and dart around the track in a motorbike, but we confess we’re still stumped as to how it fits thematically with the other elements. Previously, Leaky theorized that the ride seemed geared toward a tour of the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts grounds. More recently we suggested that notable features such as the dead stop mechanism, Hagrid’s hut, the stone and window façade and animatronic base might indicate a Battle of Hogwarts focus.
But if Universal is opting to recreate a specific scene from the book or film, the motorbike wouldn’t fit particularly well with any of those options as it was only used in the story on the two occasions already mentioned. It’s possible the attraction could be a version of the Battle of the Seven Potters, with the motorbike and Hagrid flying into London to pick up Harry, passing through the Hogwarts grounds and later whipping through its spectacular cityscape and over the Thames River. The dead stop feature could be the airborne encounter with Voldemort!
If, however, Universal has chosen to put together an amalgam of events–a tour of major plot points and characters, if you will–then the motorbike is a vehicle for nostalgia adding to the overall experience, and that could easily work as well. In fact, that seems to be more likely given the clues included in the teaser image released by Universal earlier this year.
The official image shows ruins rising from the trees and an impish Cornish Pixie hovering in the corner. Those two inclusions still suggest a ride on Hogwarts grounds, whether it covers multiple scenes from the films or a specific succession of events, such as Harry’s escape from the castle’s Room of Requirement (wherein the pixies resided) followed by his flight through the battle to the depths of the forest. We still feel the motorbike is an odd choice for such an attraction but, who knows, maybe the emphasis really is on sentiment rather than accuracy.
What do you think, Potter fans? What does Universal seem to be doing with the new attraction and have you planned your next trip yet?!
View more photos, along with Attraction Magazine’s analysis, here.