Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando Resort – Opening on June 30?
After much speculation over when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley expansion at Universal Orlando Resort is going to open – we have our first piece of hard evidence – or do we?
A flash animation, seen on and subsequently taken off of, Universal’s website reveals that the opening date is June 30. MuggleNet is in possession of the original animation, and it does indeed say June 30, 2014, in the bottom right hand corner. The new animation can be seen here.
Universal has since come out on their Facebook page saying that the information is false:
We have not yet announced the official grand opening date for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter- Diagon Alley. We promise to tell you as soon as we can. Incorrect information was wrongfully circulated today, and we wanted you to know it’s not true. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.
We at MuggleNet strongly believe that the park will open sometime between June 20 and June 30. The ThEA Awards (Themed Entertainment Association) is no stranger to Universal Orlando Resort. They won four awards back in 2011 for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade. The deadline for submission for this year’s awards is July 11, and according to the official rules, the project must have opened or the event must have taken place between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2014. Surely Universal would like to repeat their success, given that Diagon Alley is supposed to be bigger, better, and more innovative than anything before it – so, it would make sense for the park to open by the 30 of this month.
So was this an oops by Universal? Or leaked on purpose? No matter the reason – we are EXCITED! Share your thoughts below!
Special thanks to @Parkscope and @Orlando_United for bringing this to our attention and to @AmusementBuzz for the proof.