Universal's Diagon Alley's Connection To Harry Potter Books And Films

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Who wrote the titles for the songs Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees sing in Diagon Alley?According to wizarding lore how did Ollivander really feel about Gregorovich’s wand making work? And is this really Luna Lovegood’s Crumple-horned snorkack? Answers to this and much more in this edition of Pop UP Video!
Diagon Alley opened to tremendous fanfare in 2014. The entrance to Diagon Alley is through an unmarked wall next to a record store—just like in the books.Universal Creative wanted the Wizarding World experience to be as authentic as possible—which means the entrance to Diagon Alley is not obvious…invisible to muggle eyes so to speak Diagon Alley was built to replicate the Harry Potter universe in the movies and does it to a staggering level of detail which is incredibly immersive.The wizarding world is filled with Easter eggs for fans to discover. And to be honest we have been going for years and we are still discovering new things every time we go!Once you walk through the brick walls you cannot see or hear anything from the rest of the park and with only two entry/exit points making it feel like a bustling little village. There are 7,457 bricks at the entrance to Diagon Alley which weigh more than 37,000 lbs. Tens of thousands of people pass through the brick entrance to the alley every day!Diagon Alley is truly a place for all your senses: visual with the forced perspective, auditory with many of the faux storefronts having different sound effects, and of course it is a visual delight around every corner. Stuart Craig worked on the films and the parks.Norman Stuart Craig is the production designer who worked on set for the Harry Potter films since day one. At the request of J.K. Rowling herself, Craig was brought on board to work with the Universal design team to perfectly layout for design Diagon Alley.The street of Diagon Alley is purposefully narrow. The Universal design team specifically planned it to be small, so guests have the most realistic wizarding experience. Diagon Alley in the films was loosely based on Cecil Court in London which is a quaint pedestrian-only street that lines up various market shops. And if you look at the films, you will notice that Diagon Alley is a one-lane street that is packed with witches and wizards. Diagon Alley is where almost all witches and wizards in Britain get their supplies.Diagon Alley contains subtle tributes to the Jaws ride.In order to make room for the Wizarding World expansion, Universal Studios did away with the JAWS boat ride. In tribute to the past attraction, a record is visible in the windows of the shop on Charing Cross Road with a song called “Here’s to Swimmin’ with Bow Legged Women” (a quote straight from Jaws). There’s also a set of shark teeth in Mullpepper’s Apothecary,and the shrunken heads in Knockturn Alley sing the song “show Me the way to go home”.Diagon Alley has a few shops with some VERY cool authentic merchandise which include a Triwizard cup, Lucius Malfoys snake head walking stick, a Time-turner necklace and more!The books provided many details for the movies but not everything! There are several aspects in Universal’s Diagon Alley that you won’t see in the movies.Like Florean Fortescue’s Ice cream Parlor. Harry first visits the shop with Hagrid during his first trip to Diagon Alley. Hagrid bought him a chocolate and raspberry flavored ice-cream with chopped nuts which you can actually buy there and it’s personally my favorite! In Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry gets ice cream there almost every day while sitting outside the shop doing his homework during his stay at The Leaky Cauldron before the start of Hogwarts term. Just to the left of Gringotts Bank is a fan favorite place to sit and enjoy ice cream. Just watch out for sticky stairs!In the 3rd book, it is revealed that Florean has a surprisingly extensive knowledge of medieval history and was even know to help Harry with his homework. Mysteriously, Florean Fortescue disappeared during the Second Great Wizarding War. Sweet shops are mentioned in the books more than restaurants. While Harry Potter fans are aware of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley also has their very own candy store – Sugar Plum’s Sweet ShopEvery nook is stocked with colorful sweets from Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Bean to Acid Pops, Exploding Bonbons, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, and more.Near Sugar Plum’s is The Hopping Pot.Where did this refreshment shop get it’s name you may ask? Well, “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot” is a wizarding world fairy tale, part of the collection The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It is a sobering story of a young wizard who inherits a magical cauldron yet refuse
Source material
https://www.hp-lexicon.org/source/other-potter-books/tbb/
https://blog.discoveruniversal.com/
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/
https://www.universalorlando.com/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/
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33 thoughts on “Universal's Diagon Alley's Connection To Harry Potter Books And Films”

  1. I watched this this morning and it was awesome! I have never read the books and I tried to watch the movies but there are so many it is overwhelming to me. But I love to visit the parks with my HP fans family. The parks are amazing but this is kind of like a cliff notes for me to have an even better appreciation of it all. Thanks Nikki and Rick!

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  4. Love the video. I am so looking forward to my UO trip in September. Quick note, 3560°F (4019.67°R ) is "only" 7 times hotter than boiling water 672 degrees Rankine. You have to compare on an absolute temperature scale. Still very hot flames.

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  14. This is so fun! Love all the trivia! I’m a pretty new HP fan. I’ve only watched the movies X2 times through. Never read the books but I want to. Learned a lot from this video.

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  15. I saw a reel recently about a mom who surprised her son with a trip to Universal Orlando and there was something there I didn’t know was in the HP world not sure if it was diagon alley or hogs Meade , but it was a illusion wall that looks like you are walking through the wall. Does anyone of you know where that is? Man I wish I knew about it when we were there!!!

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  16. RECCOMENDATION: have a pop-up map of the locations for the closer up scenes you are shooting. Easier for people to find it and recreate the fun of discovery you had getting these video shots.

    PS: can't find confimation online, but a Diagon trivia video years ago said the clothes handing above the Diagon entrance (near Leaky Cauldron rooms) are old Jaws teammember uniforms

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  19. Love the pop-up videos. Amazing as always, Nikki. I do think we may need to discuss the term traditional British fare 😅😂 in relation to the food at the leaky cauldron.

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