The Knight Bus arrives at Diagon Alley in Orlando
That’s right! The Knight Bus now has a home at the brand new Diagon Alley expansion at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. Some eagle-eyed Muggles spotted the purple triple-decker bus on April 10, driving around Florida highways. This morning, on April 11, the top of the bus became visible over the construction wall at Universal Studios.
The Knight Bus will be located in front of the London waterfront on the Muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron’s brick wall. It will serve mainly as a photo-op for guests, but Universal executives say that it will also have an “unspecified entertainment component.” The position of the bus apparently does not match initial concept designs for the park, but those plans may change.
As many fans will know, the Knight Bus was introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Book 3 in the series. It helps transport witches and wizard who have need of it. As demonstrated by the film, it drives very recklessly at high speeds through the Muggle world, although no Muggle can see it.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has been open since June 2010, and is it located in Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. The park recreates Hogsmeade, the town located near Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. The new expansion was announced in December 2011 and will recreate Diagon Alley in the main Universal Studios theme park. It is due to open this summer, but the exact date of the grand opening is yet to be released. For all the latest news on the Orlando park, as well as the ones in Universal City, California, and Osaka, Japan, visit our new “Theme Parks” section!