Likely to tie in with her upcoming episodes from Universal Orlando, The Ellen Dengeres Show has announced that they are looking for kids "who know everything about Harry Potter":

Do you have a precocious child who knows everything there is to know about Harry Potter books and movies? Is talking about Harry Potter his or her favorite subject? If so, we want to hear about them! Click here to tell us about your little wizard.

You can fill out the submission form on this page. The page doesn't explicitly state any age limit - so everyone should feel free to apply!

NBC Universal has passed along a high-res photo of the Hogwarts Express from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. A full description can be read below:

"The Hogwarts Express arrives at Hogsmeade Station as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter continues to develop at Universal Orlando Resort. As guests enter Hogsmeade, they will be greeted by the iconic, smoke-billowing steam engine, made famous in the Harry Potter books and films for transporting students to a world of magic and wonder. Opening in Spring 2010 only at Universal Orlando Resort, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will feature multiple themed attractions, shops and a restaurant."

For everything we have on the theme park, check out our Wizarding World section.

We'll be getting an inside look at the making of Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in just three months.

NBC has announced that they'll be airing a "Making of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" special on Sunday, June 6th.

No details about the special have been announced. The Hollywood Reporter only says it is "a sneak peak".

We'll have more details if any are announced. We'll also remind you about its airing in June!

There are a few new ride details out thanks to a copy of Universal Orlando's 2010 Brochure, found at this link (in PDF format).

- The Flight of the Hippogriff ride will have Hagrid teach you the proper way to approach a Hippogriff. It dives through a pumpkin patch and brings you past Hagrid's Hut. You must be 36 inches (3 feet) tall.

- The Forbidden Journey ride will take you through Hogwarts classrooms and corridors of Hogwarts, then lets you soar above the castle. The minimum height requirement for this ride will be 48 inches (4 feet).

- The Three Broomsticks is described as a "counter service" restaurant, implying that you will pick up your food cafeteria-style.

Thanks to Screamscape for the tip.

Thanks to Carla and Paula for pointing out that Scholastic's official Harry Potter website is currently closed as it gets a revamp. The site reads:

"New Harry Potter Online Experience coming soon! Come back in two weeks to discover the magic of the Harry Potter books and demonstrate your wizarding skills."

In addition to this message, Scholastic has opened "The Real Magic of Harry Potter Sweepstakes"! By entering the contest at this link, you will be entered to win one of four grand prize trips to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. The contest is only open to those in the US between the ages of 7 and 14. You have until June 1st to enter!

Their contest page also includes a small new video of the park. To view it, click here and then click the "Play Video" button towards the bottom right of the page. It shows a small family experiencing a store with Quidditch supplies.

Finally, there's this small new piece of concept art depicting the Hogsmeade area of the park. Hopefully Universal will release it in high-res soon!

We should be getting an interesting new look at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Orlando, as Ellen DeGeneres will be filming a segment in the area later this month.

The Orlando Theme Park Examiner reports:

Ellen DeGeneres (pictured at right) is breezing back to Universal Orlando in the end of March to tape shows that will air on April 1 and 2. Both episodes will be taped on March 28.

While she's there, she will explore the brand-new Wizarding World of Harry Potter which is set to open this spring.

We're not sure how good of a look Ellen will get, but we'll post video of Ellen's visit when it's made available online!

Universal Orlando's existing 'Dueling Dragons' ride has temporarily closed in order to begin its transformation into 'The Dragon Challenge' for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

It has been open all this time despite Wizarding World construction surrounding it.

The new Dragon Challenge ride will be based on the existing the Dueling Dragons setup. The difference will be its new Potter-theme.

According to Universal, Dragon Challenge is "a twin high-speed roller coaster with many iconic elements from the Triwizard Tournament."

No Dragon Challenge concept art has been release other than the ride's entrance. We can't wait to see what the coaster itself looks like!

According to Screamscape, the ride will reopen on March 16th. It's likely this is just one phase of the transformation. Thanks to Heidi and Attractions Magazine.

Just over a week ago we announced a new partnership with Dolphin World of Vacations. They're a travel agency we teamed up with to provide MuggleNet fans with awesome travel deals to Orlando and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Orlando!

We wanted to let you know that they've added many new MuggleNet Adventure options. At this link you can now find new 3-Star, Family, Luxury, and Resort packages that will save you hundreds on hotels and park tickets!

Be sure to check out the new packages, and we hope you plan an awesome vacation to Orlando!

A MuggleNet reader has passed along two nice photos of the Hogsmeade and Hogwarts construction areas at Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.

While we've seen this area before, the key difference is these photos were taken at dusk. The silhouettes of the buildings make for a beautiful sight - we can't imagine how it'll look and feel on a warm summer night!

- Photo 1
- Photo 2

On top of our below report surrounding some fresh Wizarding World rumors, we also have a new construction photo update from This Is Briandom.

Of particular interest is this photo of a new storefront within Hogsmeade. The storefront appears to read "Spintwiches" and "Tomes and Scholls".

Another interesting photo is this one which shows a new Honeydukes sign sticking out of the store. In the same photo we see items within a store window.

See many more photos on This Is Briandom.

Screamscape, a very popular theme park website, has posted some new rumors concerning the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park that we thought would interest our visitors.

For starters, Screamscape has heard that employees hired to work in Ollvander's Wand Shop will receive wand information supplemented by JK Rowling:

I’m told that over 20 actors have been hired to act as the shop keepers, and have been told that they will be given a “wand bible” written up by JK Rowling to memorize, detailing the names and descriptions of around 400 different wands.

We're a bit skeptical about the "400 different wands" part of the rumor, as Universal confirmed on January 28th that there will be 13 different wands within the store.

Screamscape also reports on employee costumes for the Wizarding World:

It seems some of the first costumes have been put on display at Universal’s wardrobe facility and they are said to be quite detailed and impressive. Amongst the costumes on display were those for “Hogwarts Students” as well as the “Dragon Handlers”, which is what they are calling the ride ops on Dragon’s Challenge. Apparently the costumes were all made to JK Rowling’s specs… though one insider has already commented that JK must have never visited Orlando in the summer, because some of the outfits may end up being a bit too much to handle in the hot muggy summers.

As always, please take these rumors with a grain of salt until Universal Orlando releases more details! Read more of Screamscape's report at this link (scroll down to the 2/22/10 note).

Thanks to Attractions Magazine we have a nice new update from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Orlando.

Their report reveals the exterior of the Owlery, a Hogsmeade sign, and beautiful aerial shots of the park that really give you a good idea of this park's size.

For all we've got on the Wizarding World, click here! Also visit our gallery for lots of images related to the park! Thanks to Wilmer for the tip.

EDIT: Universal has let us know that the comment about an alcoholic version of butterbeer is not accurate. There will NOT be any alcoholic butterbeer served in the park.

A new report from The Ledger reveals interesting details today concerning some Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park features.

The new information came from a meeting with Universal Orlando's sales coordinator who met with a Central Florida Vacation Property Managers. Quotes which reveal the good stuff:

The largest ride will be Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

“You'll go on this great journey specifically designed for this part of the park,” Holt said. “It's ground-breaking, state of the art technology that will even surpass the Spiderman ride. If you've been on Spiderman, you know that's pretty big.”

The theme park will host the Three Broomsticks restaurant and the Hog's Head Pub, where Holt said guests can buy “very old liquor, and we'll have animated hog's heads on the wall that will interact with you while you drink your old beer. The Butter Beer is going to be non-alcholic. However, you can go into the Hog's Head Pub and ask for the alcoholic version.”

There will be shops as well, like Honeydukes, a candy store that will sell, among other things, chocolate frogs and Treacle Fudge. Dervish & Banges is a toy store that will sell, not surprisingly, broomsticks among the many selections.

“Ninety-five percent of them are completely unique products,” Holt said. “You will not be able to buy them anywhere else.”

There's a Frog Choir that will perform five times day, Holt said, adding, “This is very top secret, so you're the first one's to hear about it.”

Universal Orlando is now offering a very special travel package for those interested in visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.

"The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Vacation Package" includes hotel accommodations and admission to both Universal Orlando theme parks – along with a wide-range of benefits available only by booking through Universal Orlando Resort. On-site packages start at $645 per adult ($1,548 for family of four).

Benefits include early park admission, allowing guests to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter before other guests each day, as well as a traditional British breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, the signature eating establishment within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And by staying at an on-site hotel, guests get exclusive Universal Express Access to select attractions and shows, allowing them to bypass regular lines.

"There has been worldwide anticipation for this one-of-a-kind entertainment experience, and we are thrilled to be offering families a way to experience the magic and excitement of Harry Potter's world," said Alice Norsworthy, executive vice president of marketing and sales for Universal Orlando Resort.

Additional packages are available here and travel begins on May 28, 2010. For complete details on the Potter package, click "more" below.

We have an exciting partnership to announce this morning for fans who are looking to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Orlando.

MuggleNet has teamed up with Dolphin World of Vacations to provide great travel packages to our visitors. By visiting their MuggleNet Adventures page, you'll have access to sample rates and helpful travel information.

They also have special packages just for MuggleNet visitors - just let them know you're a visitor of our site and they'll help you put together an amazing Orlando vacation!

Dolphin World of Vacations is a trusted, experienced vacation planning company that we know you'll enjoy working with. We hope you enjoy your time down in Orlando and at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park!

Throughout all the recently speculation of when the park will open, we'd like to remind our visitors about a licensing agreement between Universal and Warner Brothers made way back in 2007.

The agreement read: "Grand opening means the date on which the themed area is fully operational and open to the public, which is targeted to occur in or about December 15, 2009 but may occur as late as June 30, 2010."

In related news, the Orlando Sentinel has a new report out detailing Universal's plans to handle increase crowds for the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter:

Unemployment is still high, but Orlando's theme parks are hiring ahead of the peak spring and summer travel periods.

A spokesman for Universal Orlando, which is scheduled to open Wizarding World of Harry Potter this spring, says it will be hiring more than 1,000 seasonal workers for spring and summer work.

Our friends at HPEF have just announced that their upcoming Infinitus 2010 Harry Potter conference, to be held July 15th - 18th at the Universal Studios Orlando Resort, will include a special event inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, exclusively for Infinitus attendees!

More details concerning events within the park will be coming soon. MuggleCast will also be hosting a podcast at Infinitus and will participate in various activities throughout the entire conference. To learn more information and to register for the event, click here! If you do register, be sure to put "MuggleCast" in the referral box so they know who sent you!

Two more pieces of Wizarding World news to report on today on top of our earlier report.

MuggleNet reader Bob recently visited Universal Studios Orlando and managed to get some great pics of construction. Most notable is this photo showing part of Hogsmeade from ground level - you can see Honeydukes and part of Zonko's. Also very interesting is this photo which shows the perspective you'll have of Hogwarts (at top of frame) by walking through Hogsmeade. View all of Bob's photos in our gallery.

Bob also spoke with employees around the park who gave him some bits of info. They first mentioned that the Dueling Dragons and Flight of the Hippogriff rides will be based on rides that already exist in Universal Studios - but that we already knew. What was new concerns the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. The employee told him that the ride will most likely NOT be ready for the Grand Opening that is planned in the Spring, so that particular ride will open at a later time.

Please take this with a grain of salt for now, even though it allegedly came from an employee. We reached out to Universal a few hours ago for comment and have not heard back yet. It's very possible the employee heard incorrect information.

An eagle-eyed theme park enthusiast at OrlandoUnited.com has spotted a Ford Anglia hiding behind some plants (click for picture) at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Given that the Anglia is sitting uncovered outside, we assume this specific car was not used for filming.

The enthusiast also caught sight of construction workers unloading what appear to be big pictures from a truck. To be used in one of the restaurants or attractions?

For all we've got on the theme park, click here!

Today, several Orlando theme park fansites posted new construction photos from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.

Most notable are these very cool shots from a helicopter taken just the other day. They show the entire construction area in views we've never before seen. We also get our first glimpse of Hogsmeade store fronts.

You can see other construction photo updates here, here and here.

Thanks to Pat for the tip!