The biggest news in the theme park world this summer is the June 18 opening of the long-anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando in Florida. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was created with input from author J.K. Rowling and set designers from the Harry Potter movies. The level of detail is impressive, with butter beer served at Three Broomsticks Inn restaurant, magic wands for sale at Ollivander's shop, and puffs of steam rising from the Hogwarts Express train. The tourists can have an epic journey from Platform 9 3/4 at London's King Cross station.
今夏最轟動的主題樂園新聞非即將在6月18日開幕的「哈利波特魔法世界」莫屬，這個千呼萬喚終於落成的主題樂園，位於佛羅里達州奧蘭多環球影城。創建哈利波特的魔法世界，得原著小說作者羅琳和哈利波特電影布景設計師貢獻心力。細節之考究令人印象深刻：「三根掃帚餐館」將供應奶油啤酒，「奧利凡德商店」販賣魔杖，霍格華茲特快列車也噴著蒸汽奔馳。遊客並可在倫敦王十字站9?3/4月台展開探險之旅。
The marquee ride at Wizarding World, called “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey”, is located in a castle housing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even the line to reach the ride is designed to be entertaining: Visitors walk through the castle dungeon, a gallery filled with magical talking portraits, headmaster Albus Dumbledore's office, a Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the Gryffindor House common room, where a Quidditch match takes place. The ride is a magical flight with Harry and friends.
魔法世界的招牌飛車，稱為「哈利波特禁忌之旅」，位於霍格華茲魔法與巫術學院城堡式建築中。連要到搭飛車的路線也經過特別娛樂設計：遊客可以穿過城堡地牢，畫廊充滿會說話的神奇肖像、校長鄧不利多的辦公室、黑魔法防衛術教室，和葛來分多學院公共休息室，這裡並可體驗魁地奇飛天掃帚比賽，換言之，可以和哈利及他的朋友來趟魔幻飛行。
Two other roller coasters, “Flight of the Hippogriff” and “Dragon Challenge”, are located outdoors at the Harry Potter site, which is on 20 acres of Universal's Islands of Adventure park.
另外兩個雲霄飛車，「鷹馬的飛行」和「龍的挑戰」位於哈利波特露天園區，哈利波特園區位於環球探險島樂園，占地20英畝。
When the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens on June 18, after three-plus years of planning and construction, and an estimated $265 million will bring the Harry and his friends to glorious 3-D life. For Universal, the highly anticipated attraction -- included in admission to Islands of Adventure -- is a rare marketing opportunity to capitalize on 400 million copies of Rowling's seven Harry Potter books and six movies that have raked in $5.4 billion at the box office.
哈利波特的魔法世界主題樂園6月18日開幕，經過3年多的規畫和建設，並投入約2.65億美元經費，哈利波特和他的朋友的生活將光鮮奪目以3D呈現。對環球影城，這個高度期待的遊樂設施，包括到探險島的門票，是個難得的市場行銷機會，可充分利用羅琳7本哈利波特系列小說狂銷4億冊，和6部電影狂掃54億美元票房的商機。
As travelers curtailed their vacations, only 4.6 million people passed through the turnstiles at Universal's Islands of Adventure last year, an 11.3 percent drop from the year before. At adjacent Universal Studios, attendance dropped about 10 percent, to 5.5 million. “When Wizarding World opens, demand will be so high that the park could be overloaded, ”said AECOM senior vice president Ray Braun. Other Orlando parks will see a bump as well, he said -- including Disney parks, where admissions increased 1 percent or less last year, and SeaWorld, which saw a 6.8 percent drop. “ It's a significantly bigger investment than just a ride; it's a whole other level of impact, and it's going to bring people to the other Orlando parks,”Braun said.
由於遊客縮短假期，去年環球探險島只有460萬人入園，比前年劇跌11.3%，鄰近的環球影城，遊客也下跌10%左右，只剩550萬人。艾奕康公司高級副總裁布勞恩說：「當魔法世界開張後，市場需求將急遽升高，樂園可能塞爆。」奧蘭多其他樂園遊客也會跟著增加，包括迪士尼樂園在內，去年迪士尼遊客略增1%，但海洋世界遊客下跌6.8%。「這項投資遠比哈利波特禁忌之旅大得多，它會造成另一個層面的衝擊，也會給奧蘭多其他樂園帶來人潮。」布勞恩說。
As opening day approaches and Universal metes out information and official pictures of the new attraction at a pace calculated to stoke anticipation, chatter on the forums and bulletin boards has grown ever more heated. “OMG!!!! It keeps getting better and better!!! I can't believe how amazing it all looks!! I'm so EXCITED I could EXPLODE!!” iwantorlando05 posted on mugglenet.com .
隨著開幕日接近，環球影城不斷發布有關新遊樂景點的消息和官方照片，發布的速度掐得剛剛好，足以點燃粉絲的預期心理，他們不斷在討論區和電子布告欄熱烈發表意見。「歐買尬！它變得愈來愈棒了！我簡直不敢相信它看起來多壯觀！我興奮得快爆炸了！」iwantorlando05在mugglenet.com網站上留言。
It's not uncommon for a park to be mysterious about a new attraction -- it helps build anticipation, said Adam Roth, a thrill-ride lover studying theme park management at the University of Central Florida. “Especially for Orlando... we get the anticipation here when an attraction is shrouded in secrecy.”Fans of Hogwarts are used to the mystery. “Secrecy has been one of the keys to the success of the Harry Potter franchise,” said Andrew Sims, news editor of Mugglenet.com. “We had no idea what the plot would be for any of the books until the book was released.”
一個主題樂園對新遊樂設施保密到家，並非不尋常的事，這有助於建立預期心理，佛羅里達中部大學主修主題樂園管理、本身酷好雲霄飛車的羅斯說：「奧蘭多尤其如此……當一個遊樂景點刻意保持神祕時，我們這裡就充滿期待。」霍格華茲粉絲早就習慣這種神祕氛圍，Mugglenet.com新聞主編席姆斯說：「保密一向是哈利波特事業成功之鑰，小說上市發行前，我們完全不知道有什麼內容。」
But fans are still trying to get information about the attraction. After construction began, progress could be measured by photos uploaded to fan sites. A glimpse into Hogsmeade Village, a robotic contraption purported to be the seat for the Forbidden Journey ride, the enormous building behind Hogwarts said to house the ride and a sign warning the ride “will suddenly accelerate, stop, turn, climb and drop” were posted and dissected by fans on the half-dozen or so fan websites. “It is pretty spy-ish, I guess,” said Sims, whose site had photos shot from a helicopter by a TV news crew.
但粉絲仍想盡辦法獲取相關資訊。開始施工後，從上傳到粉絲網站的照片可以一窺進度：活米村一瞥；一個機器人的精巧設計，據說是禁忌之旅的座位；雲霄飛車聽說就在霍格華茲背後的龐大建築群中，還張貼了一個標誌，警告遊客這趟旅程「會突然加速，停止，轉向，爬升和下降」；半打左右的粉絲網站張貼類似的剖析。「我想這相當『諜對諜』。」席姆斯說，他的網站還有新聞小組從直升機上拍的空照圖。
Photo left shows actress Emma Watson receives her wand at the Ollivanders wand shop, while visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on May 20. In photo right, guests can pass through Dumbledore's office, an exact replica of the one seen in the films.
左圖顯示演員艾瑪．華特森今年5月20日到哈利波特魔法世界主題樂園參觀時，手拿奧利凡德魔杖店的魔杖。右圖則為百分百複製自電影的鄧不利多辦公室，遊客可到此參觀。（美聯社）