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What is coming

Thanks to the recently-updated Universal Studios Japan website, we now know precisely what additional experiences are headed to the Asian Hogsmeade. Coming in at a cost of $442 million (more than half of all of the park’s annual sales) and at a size of nearly 10 acres, Harry’s new Japanese home is nearly as big as the Floridian original and will increase the park’s footprint by one-fifth – meaning there’s plenty of room for these new exclusives.

Of course, at the same time, such stats only help to make the new additions somewhat underwhelming – with all that money and all that real estate, it’s disappointing that Hagrid’s hut or fire-breathing dragons will still be MIA. Then again, if these experiences fall directly in your personal purview, it’s hard to deny the magic they’ll weave and the temptation they’ll provide to make the jaunt over to the other side of the planet.

The Black Lake

While not home to any particular type of attraction, Hogwarts Castle’s magical lake provides the most faithful adaptation of the Harry Potter source material yet – not to mention the fact that it’s absolutely beautiful. The fact that live owls will be kept on the grounds only adds to its charm, positively guaranteeing that this will be one of the most-photographed parts of any theme park in the world.

Image © UniversalImage © Universal

There’s one last bonus here: this is almost guaranteed to be exclusive to Japan, as there’s no room in Hollywood and there’s precious little chance that Orlando will go through the trouble of reshuffling its Hogsmeade Village lineup.

The Hogwarts Express (well, sort of)

While not the fully functioning ride that will shortly debut at Universal Orlando, Universal Studios Japan’s version of the Hogwarts Express will have a lavishly detailed interior that will allow guests to climb aboard for a pretty nifty photo-op. And, yes, the Conductor will still be on-hand for trivia and (more) photographs, which absolutely makes this a step-up from what’s available at Islands of Adventure.

Image © UniversalImage © Universal

Since this is, once again, an upgrade that would seem to be extremely unlikely for Florida (why mess with the original prop when there’s an actual working train just a few yards away?), the question becomes whether Universal Studios Hollywood will follow Japan’s lead. If not, expect the Asian Hogsmeade Village to become even more magical – and popular – by default.

Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment, Zonko’s Joke Shop, and Gladrags Wizardwear

It seems like Universal Studios Florida might be losing some of its new exclusive elements from its soon-to-open Diagon Alley, as Osaka is scooping up one of its stores (Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment) and stealing two other shops’ inventories (Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions).

Here’s the scoop: Wiseacre’s and Gladrags were originally fake storefronts in the original Hogsmeade, and although the latter is still there, the former has been removed and trotted over to London’s Diagon Alley, where it truly belongs (not to worry – that façade has been replaced with another, Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, which has the added benefit of one of the new [and, thus far, exclusive to Orlando] interactive spell-casting displays).

Image © UniversalImage © Universal

Zonko’s, meanwhile, started out life as a full-fledged shop (sharing a building with Honeydukes) before it was shut down a few months ago and had most of its merchandise similarly sent over to Diagon, where it rightfully belongs in Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Not having duplicate shopping experiences was Universal’s prime concern here, but the fact that Honeydukes – the most popular store in the Wizarding World to date – got some much-needed extra room certainly didn’t hurt matters.

Technically, USJ will be the exclusive home to walk-in Zonko’s, Gladrags, and Wiseacre’s (for now, at least), but, as previously stated, it seems like the wares they’ll be peddling will be suspiciously similar to their predecessors in Diagon Alley. Consider this the best of both worlds, then.

 
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