It's Offical! The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter is Coming to

As seen from this article on Newsday, Universal Studios Hollywood will be expanding--yes, that's right, EXPANDING their park for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Knowing how land-locked Universal Studios is, never in many moons would I have imagined that USH would actually be expanding their park as opposed to their normal trend of replacing attractions. To make way for this massive project, it is said in the article that the Gibson amphitheater will be done away with.

After doing a comparison on Google maps with the Gibson Amphitheater in Hollywood and the HP area in Orlando, I've discovered that they can't cram Forbidden Journey and Hogwarts solely in the proposed area. They would have to utilize some other area to build the ride (Maybe the tram storage lot by the Curious George parking structure and the storage area next to it) and use Gibson for Hogwarts. If they are doing what I think they are going to do, they will have quite a bit of space to work with. If they're going to use all of that area for the expansion, would it really hurt to throw the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster from the Orlando park into the mix? USH could use another family-oriented ride, after all--especially if they get rid of the Curious George playground.

Regardless as to whether we are only getting Hogwarts and FJ or not, I'm VERY happy that it looks like USH will actually be ADDING to their attraction rather than replacing. This also puts to rest my fears of this interfering with Halloween Horror Nights, one of the best Halloween events in the nation. After hearing the news, I look forward to being able to ride one of the world's finest rides and have Butterbeer in such a short distance from where I live. I'll try not to be too eager as this ride will open around 2015.