Man Says He Was Blinded on Harry Potter Ride

Carlos Montalvo rode the Dragon Challenge at Universal's Islands of Adventure on Sunday and says he has permanently lost vision in his right eye. Montalvo said something hit him in the face as the coaster moved along, and he was in pain and bloodied. Universal said it is doing everything it can to assist the Montalvos.

"We spent hours after the incident thoroughly inspecting and re-inspecting the ride, the ride vehicles, the tracks and the area underneath the tracks. We found absolutely nothing that could have contributed to this incident," said Universal spokesman Tom Schroder.
 
The dual coasters were re-opened Monday afternoon. Montalvo’s attorney, Clay Mitchell of Morgan and Morgan, will be speaking with Montalvo Wednesday. Montalvo said the whole ordeal has been a nightmare and he is in a lot of pain.

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Islands of Adventure Now World's Fastest Growing Theme Park

Orlando Sentinel: Harry Potter transformed Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure into the fastest-growing big theme park in the world in 2010 and peeled visitors away from Central Florida's other theme parks, according to a closely watched industry report released Thursday.

Estimated attendance at Islands of Adventure ballooned 30.2 percent for the year — from fewer than 4.6 million visitors to more than 5.9 million — as huge crowds descended on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the $265 million themed area that opened in Islands exactly one year ago.

Universal Orlando's original theme park, Universal Studios Florida, also benefited from the crowds drawn by Potter. Attendance there jumped 6.1 percent, also to 5.9 million.

Growth at Universal Orlando's two parks far outstripped the rest of the theme-park industry. Attendance at the top 25 theme parks in the world inched upward by an average of 1.9 percent each to a combined total of 189.1 million, according to the report, released jointly Thursday by AECOM, a Los Angeles consulting company, and the Themed Entertainment Association.

"We are incredibly grateful for the support and enthusiasm our guests have shown for everything Universal Orlando has to offer," Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said in response to the report. "We are also grateful for our team members, who have worked so hard to make sure our guests have an amazing experience while they visit us."

The attendance figures contained in the report are estimates, as all of the big theme-park operators closely guard precise totals. But in the absence of official figures, the AECOM/TEA report is widely considered the most reliable gauge of individual park attendance.

Even as Universal Orlando drew big crowds, the annual report found that Orlando's other big parks lost ground. Attendance slipped slightly last year at Walt Disney World and significantly at SeaWorld Orlando.

Disney's Magic Kingdom retained its title as the busiest park in the world, with a bit fewer than 17 million visitors for the year. But that was down 1.5 percent from 2009, according to the estimates.

Attendance also slipped 1.5 percent at Epcot and 1 percent at Disney's Hollywood Studios. But attendance rose 1 percent at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

SeaWorld Orlando sustained the deepest drop among the world's biggest theme parks, as attendance sank 12.1 percent to 5.1 million. The park was beset by a host of headwinds in 2010, including a lack of new attractions, stiff competition from Universal's Wizarding World, a still-soft economy and negative publicity after the death of killer-whale trainer Dawn Brancheau.

The effect of that February 2010 tragedy rippled beyond Orlando as well, as estimated attendance at SeaWorld San Diego also sank 9.5 percent. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment's other big Florida park, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, fared better, as attendance rose 2.4 percent.

Disney and SeaWorld would not discuss the attendance estimates. Executives at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, which operates 10 theme parks and water parks across the U.S., said recently that attendance is rebounding this year, rising chain-wide by 7 percent during the first quarter.

Universal Orlando wasn't the only theme park to have a big 2010. Attendance also soared at Universal Studios Hollywood in California, rising 26 percent to 5 million, at least in part because of the popularity of a new King Kong attraction.

And Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., had a better year than its East Coast counterpart. Attendance inched up 0.5 percent — to just fewer than 16 million — at the resort's namesake park and climbed 3 percent — to 6.3 million — at Disney California Adventure Park. The popularity of Disneyland's second gate is growing amid an ongoing, billion-dollar overhaul that included the opening of the "World of Color" water-and-lights show last summer.

Universal Ponders Wizarding World of Harry Potter Expansion

Los Angeles Times: With the unprecedented success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios executives are already wrestling with the question of how and when to expand the perpetually congested 20-acre theme-park-within-a-theme-park at Islands of Adventure in Florida.

Although officials won't discuss specific plans, several signs point to preparations being made for phase two of Wizarding World:

* In January, survey markings that possibly may be mapping out the potential expansion began appearing in the backstage areas behind the Lost Continent, the themed area of the park that was partially taken over to make room for phase one of Wizarding World.

* Visitor questionnaires suggest Universal Studios is considering doubling the size of the themed land within the next year or two to make Wizarding World "twice as big with twice as much everything."

* Universal Studios' licensing contract with Warner Bros. requires the theme park to incorporate elements from the final Harry Potter films, the last of which will open in theaters in July.

Universal Studios Orlando saw a 36% spike in attendance after the opening of Wizarding World in June 2010, drawing an additional 1 million visitors in just three months. During the same period, merchandise sales more than doubled while food sales jumped nearly 60%. Analysts expect the attendance lift and corresponding sales uptick to continue for several years.

The wild popularity of Wizarding World, which has seen shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and hour-long lines just to enter shops, has led to speculation that Universal plans to scrap the rest of the Lost Continent attractions to make room for a phase two expansion of the Potter-verse. Among the most oft-repeated rumored plans:

* Change the "Eighth Voyage of Sinbad" stunt show into a Harry Potter-themed live show.

* Convert the Lost Continent market into Diagon Alley, complete with a Leaky Cauldron restaurant.

* Transform the "Poseidon’s Fury" special effects show into an indoor steel coaster or a dark ride themed to Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

For now though, expanding Wizarding World remains wishful thinking.

Warner Bros. to Offer Harry Potter Studio Tour

Muggles will soon be able to see the sets, costumes and props used in making the highly popular Harry Potter movies. The Making of Harry Potter will let fans go on a walking tour through the franchise's production base in Leavesden, northwest of London.

Among the sets, they'll see Hogwarts head teacher Professor Dumbledore's office and the Great Hall of the wizarding school, where stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all filmed scenes.

The Great Hall, built in 2000, is 120 feet long by 40 feet wide with a solid stone floor. It includes the tables and benches where Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Hogwarts gang regularly gathered. Dumbledore’s office houses the Sorting Hat, the Sword of Gryffindor and Dumbledore’s desk. Ancient books and several paintings, including two of Professor Dumbledore, line the walls.

"We’re incredibly excited about next year’s opening of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — The Making of Harry Potter," says Josh Berger, president and managing director of Warner Bros. U.K., Ireland, and Spain. "It will celebrate the exceptional British creativity and craftsmanship that goes into making major movies here in the U.K.”

The Making of Harry Potter web site