New York Times staff editor Neil Genzlinger covers the newest Universal Studios attraction, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Did my homework before being dispatched to check out the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at the Universal Orlando Resort. Knew I’d be drinking some butterbeer. Knew I’d be talked at by paintings and have my mind blown by a high-tech ride. Did not, however, know that I’d be nearly trampled to death by a mob of post-Potter depressives. Early on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I was standing just inside the entrance to Wizarding World with my family, taking in the wonderfully detailed Hogsmeade, a village of quirky shops that plays a prominent role in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. We were the beneficiaries of a press tour and had the place more or less to ourselves. There we stood beside a barrel-shaped beverage cart, chatting with our two tour guides. – from NYTimes