Harry Potter Theme Park - Pictures and Videos

Pictures and videos of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando Resort theme park that will be opening in spring 2010. The highly anticipated theme park originally scheduled to open this year, includes faithful re-creations of the film’s memorable haunts like Hogsmeade, Hogwart’s Castle and more, according to new details revealed this week on Universal Studio's website. The $200-million 20-acre "world" will replicate aspects of Hogsmeade village, including Ollivander's wand shop, where the wand chooses you. But how that works is anyone's guess! Check out the artist impression pictures and videos here....

“It’s fantastic that people get to realize everything they have seen on screen,” Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Potter in the film series, explains in the promo video above. They’re going to be “walking into the films,” agrees Rupert Grint, who plays Potter’s pal Ron. Attractions for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter are weighted nicely between shops and rides. Zonko’s joke store sells Potter-themed tricks and gadgets, while Honeyduke’s hawks treats and sweets, and so on. On the coaster front, Dragon Challenge offers a high-speed approximation of the Triwizard Tournament, while the more family-friendly Flight of the Hippogriff gives fans small and large a ticket to ride.

There’s more, but probably not enough for Potter loyalists, whose captured imaginations have made author J.K. Rowling’s repurposed myths a brand worth $15 billion and counting. Are you one of them? Let us know if you’re itching to visit Florida next year, or if you’re holding out for the Lord of the Rings theme park yet to come!

Here is what the new Harry Potter Theme Park will feature....

Hogwarts Castle
The towers of Hogwarts Castle rise above Florida in this new photograph, released Monday by Universal Orlando. Although Universal says the castle is still “very much a work in progress,” the grand centerpiece of its Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park already looks amazing. When the park opens this spring, Hogwarts Castle will contain an attraction called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and will overlook the town of Hogsmeade, in which you and a million other fans will be jostling for your chance to drink Butterbeer and buy Chocolate Frogs.

This is how Hogwarts Castle looks today....

Photo: Kevin Kolczynski/Universal Orlando Resort

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Videos

The centerpiece is Hogwarts castle, rising more than 150 feet and visible from beyond park boundaries. It houses Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a "dark ride" that uses robotic arms to move passengers in various ways as they pass through scenes from the movies, says Robert Niles of industry tracker ThemeParkInsider.com. Two other rides, Dragon Challenge, a twin high-speed roller coaster, and Flight of the Hippogriff, a tamer coaster, use the core of existing attractions that have been re-themed.

Dragon Challenge
The Dragon Challenge is based on a component of the Triwizard Tournament, an event depicted in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The two sides of the Dueling Dragons attraction will be renamed as Hungarian Horntail and Chinese Fireball.

Flight of the Hippogriff
The Flight of the Hippogriff (a retheming of Flying Unicorn) is an upcoming roller coaster at the Islands of Adventure theme park. The ride will be located in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section, and is a mild alternative to the land's more extreme rides. In fact, it is located adjacent to the very extreme Dragon Challenge roller coasters.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is an upcoming attraction to be added to Islands of Adventure. The attraction will be a signature ride of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of the theme park, and will take riders through scenes and environments inspired by the various books and films of the Harry Potter series.

Hagrid's Hut
Hagrid's Hut is an upcoming attraction at Islands of Adventure. The attraction will be located in the new The Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park upon its opening in 2010. The attraction will be located next to the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster, and will be used for storage. It will be a recreation of Rubeus Hagrid's hut.

Hogwarts Express
The "Hogwarts Express" attraction seen at the far right of Hogsmeade Village. Hogwarts Express is an upcoming attraction at Islands of Adventure, to be located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of the theme park. The attraction is a recreation of the Hogwarts Express from the popular Harry Potter series, and it will be located at the entrance to Hogsmeade Village. It is planned to debut with the new section of the park in 2010. The only information which Universal Parks & Resorts has provided on the attraction states is "At the entrance of Hogsmeade, billowing steam and an iconic whistle signal the arrival of the Hogwarts Express into Hogsmeade station".

Ollivander's
Ollivander's is the given name for an upcoming attraction at Islands of Adventure, part of the park's new The Wizarding World of Harry Potter section. The attraction will be a recreation of Ollivander's from the Harry Potter series, and will be an interactive experience attraction using the fictional premise of "the wand chooses the wizard". Also located in the building of the attraction will be a gift shop of the same name selling recreations of wands from the Harry Potter series. It is scheduled to open in 2010. A costumed "wandkeeper," with the aid of some questions and special effects, will help shoppers find which of the 10,000 wands in stock is destined for them.

Shopping
This is a listing of gift shops to open in 2010 within the new area. Expect Harry Potter merchandise to be around every corner from Quidditch equipment to Spectrespecs.

• Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods (pictured below)
  A toy store themed to an emporium owned by the Potter character Argus Filch. It will be located in Hogsmeade Village.
• Dervish and Banges (pictured below)
  A toy store located in the recreation of Hogsmeade Village.
• Ollivander's (pictured above)
  A shop selling recreations of wands from the series, located in the building for Ollivander's Interactive Experience.
• Honeydukes (pictured below)
  A candy store which will sell recreated candies found at Honeydukes from the Potter series.
• Zonko’s (pictured below)
  A joke store, also to be located in a recreation of Hogsmeade Village.

Dining
This is a listing of restaurants which will be located in the new area. Like the Harry Potter merchandise, there will be distinctive Harry Potter inspired food and drink. The fare at the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head pub will include the first J.K. Rowling-approved recipe for Butterbeer.

• Hog’s Head
  A bar and restaurant based on the Potter location The Hog's Head Pub.
• The Three Broomsticks (pictured below)
  A dining establishment to be located in the recreation of Hogsmeade Village.

Other attractions

• Hogsmeade Village
  A recreation of Hogsmeade from the Potter series. It will house such attractions as Hogwarts Express and Ollivander's Interactive Experience, as well as various stores and restaurants.
• The Owlery (pictured below)
  A sitting area themed to the Potter location The Owlery, in which Owls deliver mail.
• Hogwarts Grounds
  A recreation of the Hogwarts Castle Grounds, from the Potter series. It will house such attractions as Flight of the Hippogriff, Dragon Challenge and Hagrid's Hut.
• Hogwarts Castle
  A recreation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series. The attraction Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey will encompass most of the castle, however, a small area in the building will still allow park guests to walk around while viewing the recreation.

Want to find out more then head over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter official website

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Airports of the World

What would us travel lovers do without airports! We take it for granted how easy it is to country hop and travel the world. Airports are essential for travel but every airport is different. This is a collection of some of the coolest, craziest and busiest airports from around the world.

Courchevel Airport, France
The landing strip in Courchevel, France is so short that you have to land on an inclined strip to slow down and take off on a decline to pick up enough speed. Who even needs to ski after a landing like that? The real problem for pilots at this airport isn't coming up short, it's that they only get 1 shot at a landing. If they mess up, they won't get much of a chance to execute a go around because they're flying straight at a huge mountain with very little available lift in the thin air at altitude.

Courchevel Airport - picture sourced from Airliners [Link]

Video of Courchevel Airport
Take off and landing a PC12 at Courchevel, France. Check out the slope! Only 550m long.

This airport was used in the James Bond Movie, Tomorrow Never Dies. The remote location is one of the world's few high-altitude airfields, Peyresourde, in the central French Pyrenees.

Video - Landing at Courchevel Airport

Gibraltar Airport
Gibraltar Airport is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence for use by the Royal Air Force as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian operators use the airport; currently the only scheduled flights operate to the United Kingdom and Spain. Passengers depart and arrive through the civilian operated terminal. Gibraltar Airport has the distinction of being the closest airport to the city that it serves, being only 500 metres from Gibraltar's city centre. In 2004 the airport handled 314,375 passengers and 380 tonnes of cargo. Gibraltar Airport is one of the few Class A airports in the world. Winston Churchill Avenue (the main road heading towards the land border with Spain) intersects the airport runway, so consequently has to be closed every time a plane lands or departs. This is one amazing airport, just check out this landing strip!

Catalina Airport
Catalina Airport is a privately-owned airport located six miles (10 km) northwest of the central business district of Avalon, California in the middle of Catalina Island. The airport is open to the public and allows general aviation aircraft to land there.

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is the only airport on the Caribbean island of Saba, in the Netherlands Antilles. It is well known among experienced fliers for the way in which airplanes must approach or take off from the airport.

Lukla Airport, Nepal

Lukla Airport is a small airport in the Town of Lukla in Khumbu, eastern Nepal. In January 2008, the government of Nepal announced that the airport would be renamed in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first persons to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Lukla airport is the last stop before getting out and walking in to Everest base camp.

Lukla Airport pictures sourced from airlines.net [Link]

Princess Juliana Airport

Princess Juliana International Airport serves the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin. It is the third busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean and serves as a hub for Windward Islands Airways and is the major gateway for the smaller Leeward Islands, including Anguilla, Saba, St. Barthélemy and St. Eustatius. It is named after Juliana of the Netherlands, who as crown princess landed here in 1944, the year after the airport opened.

Princess Juliana Airport pictures sourced from airliners [Link]

Florø Airport, Norway
Florø airport serves the town of Florø in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located south of the town centre, on an area of land called Florelandet. It had 141,194 travellers during 2005, making it the largest regional airport in Norway. Services from the airport are provided by Danish Air Transport using ATR-42 turboprop aircraft to Bergen and Oslo on public service obligation contracts. The airport also has a heliport, used to transport personnel to oil platforms in the North Sea.

Mexico City International Airport, Mexico
Mexico City International Airport also called Benito Juárez International Airport is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. It is Mexico's and Latin America's busiest. Although this was not its official name for several decades, it was formally named after the 19th century president Benito Juárez in 2006, and is Mexico's main international and domestic gateway.

Mariscal Sucre International Airport
Mariscal Sucre International Airport is an airport in Quito, Ecuador, named after Antonio José de Sucre, a hero of Ecuadorian and Latin American independence. It began operations in 1960, and currently handles about 3.9 million passengers and 125,000 metric tons of freight per year.

The airport, one of the highest located in the world (at 2800 meters AMSL) is located in the northern part of the city, in the Chaupicruz parish, within 5 minutes of Quito's financial center; the terminals are located at the intersection of Amazonas and La Prensa avenues.

Lord Howe Island Airport, Australia
Lord Howe Island Airport is a regional and international airport providing air transportation to Lord Howe Island, Australia.

Funchal Airport, Portugal
Madeira Airport (informally known as Funchal Airport, and formerly known as Santa Catarina Airport), is an international airport located near Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. The airport controls national and international air traffic of the island of Madeira. It was firstly opened on 18 July 1964 with two 1,600m runways.

Santos Dumont Airport
This airport serves Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the city's second major airport behind the Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport.

World's Busiest Airports

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, United States:
Largest number of passengers annually (1998–2008)
Most arrivals and departures (operations) annually (1999–2000, 2005–2008).
In 2007, Hartsfield again set the world's record for most aircraft movements in one year with 994,346.
Most flights (2006)

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

The following airports also make claims based on objective measures, but some of the claims are based on traffic classification:

London Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
Largest number of internationally-bound passengers annually (2004–present). Heathrow Airport is used by over 90 airlines which fly to 170 destinations worldwide. The airport is the primary hub of BMI, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Heathrow Terminal 4

Those travelers looking for Heathrow parking and Gatwick parking then there is a wide choice of companies offering services such as 'Meet and Greet' - a personal chauffeur meets you at the airport and drives your vehicle away to secure off-airport parking. Cool! Then on your return, the chauffeur will greet you with your vehicle ready to go.

Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, United States
Largest number of "origin and destination" (non-connecting) passengers annually (2001–present)

Van Nuys Airport, Los Angeles, California, United States
World's busiest general aviation airport (take-offs and landings annually)

Frankfurt International Airport, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Most international destinations served.

Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United StatesLargest number of passengers annually (before 1998)
Most arrivals and departures annually (before 1998, 2001–2004).

Tokyo International Airport, Tokyo, Japan (also known as Haneda Airport)
The world's busiest domestic-only airport until service to Seoul and Shanghai started. Busiest airport in Japan and Asia.

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai, China
The world's busiest domestic-only airport until service began to Seoul and Tokyo in October 2007. It handles 19.3 million passengers, which is more than Chicago Midway International Airport by around 0.5 million passengers. The international passenger services are served by Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which handles around 60% of the traffic within Shanghai. It is 15th busiest in Asia and 62nd busiest in the world.

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Hallstatt - Stunning Desktop Pictures

Hallstatt in Austria is a photographers dream. The pictures of this cool place make stunning computer desktop wallpapers. Hallstatt is tucked away in the mountains of Austria resting on the southwestern shore of the Hallstätter See. Less than 1000 lucky residents live in this beautiful area of the world.

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Hobbit Motel, New Zealand

This cool Hobbit Motel is located at Woodlyn Park in Waiton, Waitomo, New Zealand. The motel has a warm and homely hobbit feel. which Lord of the Rings fans will love. The world’s first hobbit Motel has a bar and restaurant to entertain people and adds a unique dimension to the culture of New Zealand.

 

Each room in the motel comes fully furnished with shower toilet facilities and a Kitchen. The ambience of the Hobbit motel is fascinating. The décor and furniture is built out of polystyrene blocks keeping guests warm in winters and supports enough cooling in winters.

 

The rooms come furnished with bunks and double beds and are of course big enough for humans. Each unit of the hobbit motel can house up to six people. This unique experience costs you $140 for a nights stay for a couple. The motel also charges $10 for extra people.

Via WoodlynPark

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Appealing Foreign Exchange Rates Set to Make UK a Popular Holiday Choice in 2010

Despite the disappointing summer holidays of 2009, many UK holidaymakers were eager to stay within our shores in order to save money during the recessionary climate - as well as to take the opportunity to explore more far-flung corners of the country than they perhaps ever had.

But whilst 2009 may have been a year of promoting the UK to itself, from the perspective of those who live in the Eurozone 2010 may see it as a significant attraction due to the Euro's foreign exchange strength against sterling - and the launch of a new campaign to promote the country's diverse cities as fine destinations for any travellers of any age.

National tourism agency VisitBritain is at the forefront of the campaign to promote the UK's cities, in a move that has not only been spurred on by the ongoing financial reasons for those in Europe to travel here, but also as an effort to build upon the increasing popularity of the country's cities for tourists with an interest in culture.

The popularity of the UK's cities has grown significantly over the last five years. According to visitbritain.co.uk 'eight out of the top ten most visited destinations in England are cities,' while Mary Rance of UKinbound stated at caterer.com that: 'The inbound tourism industry makes a great contribution to the UK economy,' and highlighted that the promotion of our most valuable assets in 2010 will be fantastic for the UK economy as a whole.

So which cities are set attract the most visitors in 2010? Currently, enjoyengland.com are promoting the top English cities (which are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle, York and Liverpool) alongside some smaller hidden gems, such as Bath and Chester, which offer fantastic architecture and an altogether more relaxing experience than the bustling urban centres already mentioned.

 Tower Bridge, London

Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham

Yorkminster, York

Historical Bath

Liverpool, Capital of Culture 

Edinburgh Castle

Beyond England, of course, Glasgow and Edinburgh offer quite different but uniquely Scottish city experience - whilst Wales is not only home to Cardiff and Swansea, but also the smallest city on the United Kingdom, St David's, in Pembrokeshire. After all, what more unique experience could be had than in a coastal city with a population of little ore than 1,500 people?

Check foreign exchange rates and order your foreign currency, travel money and buy your travel insurance from Post Office®.

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