Hoping to revive its declining theme park business, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Universal Orlando Resort gave its first look at "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter."
The new addition to Universal will be the largest on their Islands of Adventure 110 acre complex, taking a full 20 acres of the total.
With the unveiling of what some of it will look like, it triggered a frenzy of online activity as fans and Internet bloggers started speculating immediately on whether the Harry Potter franchise would extend to Universal theme parks around the world, or initiate new ones based upon the popular series and characters.
"The potential to expand is there if it turns out that this meets everyone's expectations as we think it will," Warner Bros. Chief Executive Barry Meyer said. "We will then look to other places to expand."
The deal with Warner Bros. has limitations included, as "Potter" can only be put within Florida, and can run for 10 years after it opens - scheduled for late 2009. After that there are two five-year renewal options available. Creator of the Harry Potter world, J.K. Rowling, has to give approval before anything can go forward, as plans connected to the future must be brought before Rowling before they can go ahead.
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) could have had the rights first, but they declined because of the price for the rights demanded by Warner. Along with the rights licensed to Universal, rumored to be worth tens of millions, Warner will also receive royalties from merchandise sales.
The depth of the characters and plots of the series promise a strong chance at success for Universal, as it can built a seemingly endless amount of attractions based upon the fantasy world.
They need a big hit as their Florida theme parks have been dropping in attentance in a large way. Annual attendance is at 11.5 million for the two parks last year; down by 2.5 percent from 2005, which dropped 11 percent from 2004.
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